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Yashwant Sinha hits back at Modi, likens him and Amit Shah to Duryodhan and Dushasan

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Former union minister Yashwant Sinha

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The former finance minister quotes characters from Mahabharata to counter Prime Minister’s similarly veiled-attack in which he referred to Shalya

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have thought that he scored a point over political leaders – including those from the BJP – who were chastising him for the slowing pace of India’s economy by referring to them as Shalya, a character from Mahabharata, former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha has now used the same Hindu epic in his riposte to the jibe.

The BJP ‘margdarshak’, who had last week hit out at Union finance minister Arun Jaitley for making a “mess” of the Indian economy, likened the Prime Minister and BJP national president Amit Shah with the eldest Kaurava brothers Duryodhana and Dushasan while speaking at a book launch function in New Delhi on Friday evening.

Urging people to “stand up” to save the great tradition of parliamentary democracy, Sinha said that “darr” (fear) and democracy don’t go together.

Modi and Shah

“Mahabharata has been the flavour of the last couple of days,” Sinha said adding that “some people are talking about Shalya. I don’t know how much they know about Shalya. In Mahabharata, there are two famous characters – Duryodhana and Dushasan. The Kauravas were 100 brothers. Out of them only two became infamous, Duryodhana and Dushasan. Do I need to say anything more.”

Sinha’s not-so-veiled attack on Modi and Shah was in reference to the Prime Minister’s recent comment in which he had said that like the Mahabharata character Shalya, some people were “spreading pessimism and get a good night’s sleep only after they spread gloom and hopelessness.”

The character that Modi had referred to – Shalya – was the ruler of the Madra kingdom in the historic Hindu epic. Being the brother of Madri, one of the wives of King Pandu, Shalya was expected to fight for the Pandavas against the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra battle. But on being wooed by the Kauravas, led by Duryodhana, he decided to be with them and became the charioteer of Karna, another warrior who should have been part of the Pandava army but ironically ended up fighting against them.

Modi’s comment was an indirect attack at Yashwant Sinha and former Union minister Arun Shourie – both senior BJP leaders who were seemingly helping the Opposition by attacking the Centre over its economic policies.

What is certain to have irked the BJP even more about Sinha’s comments was that they were made at a function organised to launch a book, titled ‘Tidings of Troubled Times’, which has been authored by Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari.

Comparing the Modi-Shah duo with the two key villains of Mahabharata aside; Sinha also made other scathing criticisms of the BJP and its central leadership.

“The soul of democracy is consensus. So even if you have the numbers, you have to reach out to other people and parties to try and get them along,” the BJP veteran, who alongwith LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi was made part of the party’s ‘margdarshak mandal’ soon after Modi was elected Prime Minister in 2014, said while recalling the era of former prime ministers like Chandra Shekhar and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

“Nobody talked about Mukt-this Mukt-that because we are all part of the democratic process and we know that democracy means discussion, debate and an evolution of consensus based on these discussions,” Sinha said in a clear reference to the BJP’s “Congress-mukt Bharat” poll slogan.

“If debates and discussions don’t take place, consensus will not be there and that will kill the very fabric of democracy,” the senior BJP leader added while stressing on the need to have dissenting voices in a healthy democratic set-up.

Sinha didn’t miss a chance to take a dig at his favourite punching bag these days – Union finance minister Arun Jaitley. “Some people believe that at this ripe old age of 80, I am perhaps looking for a job,” Sinha said in reference to Jaitley’s recent comment where he made a veiled attack at his senior BJP colleague calling him a “job aspirant at 80”.

“Now, I come from a part of the country that has produced a famous character. His name is Babu Kunwar Singh. Babu Kunwar Singh became a major freedom fighter in the first war of Independence of 1857. When he joined the war he was 80 years old. So there is no age bar for fighting for freedom,” Sinha said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Rahul Gandhi says air pollution in North India a national emergency, tourism declining, global reputation crumbling

“We need a collective national response, not political blame games,” the Congress leader said on his X handle.

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Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the air pollution in North India is a national emergency that needs a collective national response and not a political blame game. The Congress leader added that due to air pollution tourism is declining and “our global reputation is crumbling”.

It is a public health crisis that is stealing children’s future and suffocating the elderly, Gandhi said, adding an environmental and economic disaster that is ruining countless lives.

“As Parliament meets in a few days, MPs will all be reminded of the crisis by our irritated eyes and sore throats. It is our responsibility to come together and discuss how India can end this crisis once and for all,” the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said.

The former Congress chief said the poorest “among us suffer the most”, unable to escape the toxic air surrounding them. Families are gasping for clean air, children are falling sick, and millions of lives are being cut short, he added.

The Rae Bareli MP noted that the pollution cloud covers hundreds of kilometres. He said cleaning it up will require major changes and decisive action from governments, companies, experts, and citizens.

“We need a collective national response, not political blame games,” the Congress leader said on his X handle.

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Indian Navy submarine collides with fishing boat near Goa coast, 2 fishermen missing

A spokesperson from the Navy told the media that eleven crew have been rescued so far.

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Indian Navy submarine collides with fishing boat near Goa coast, 2 fishermen missing

Indian Navy officials on Friday said that an Indian fishing vessel with a crew of 13 collided with an Indian Naval submarine near the Goa coast. 

Following the incident, a massive search and rescue operation has been launched by the Indian Navy, which has deployed six ships and aircraft. Reportedly, while 11 crew have been rescued, two are still missing.

The Ministry of Defence issued a statement and said that the vessel, Marthoma, collided with a Scorpene-class submarine about 70 nautical miles off the Goa coast. It added that search and rescue efforts for the remaining two are underway and are being coordinated with Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Mumbai (MRCC). It further mentioned that additional assets including from the Coast Guard have been diverted to the area to augment the efforts.

The statement said that the cause of the incident is being investigated. Notably, Scorpene-class submarines are a major part of India’s naval power in the Indian Ocean as they can undertake multifarious types of missions, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, and area surveillance.

Reports said that the state-of-the-art technology utilised for the construction of the Scorpene-class submarines has ensured superior stealth features such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimized shape and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision-guided weapons. Furthermore, the attack can be launched with both torpedoes and tube-launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on the surface.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy in its statement said that 13 crew members were aboard the fishing vessel at the time of the collision. It added that while 11 crew have been rescued so far, two fishermen are still reported missing.

A spokesperson from the Navy told the media that eleven crew have been rescued so far. He stated that search and rescue efforts for the remaining two crew members of Marthoma are in progress and are being coordinated with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Mumbai. Additional assets including from the Coast Guard have been diverted to the area to augment the efforts, he continued.

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10 Naxalites killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma

The District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) continue their search operation in the area.

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Ten Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Friday.

The confrontation started in the morning within a forest area under the jurisdiction of the Bhejji police station, where a joint operation was being conducted by security personnel as part of an anti-Naxalite initiative, according to Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P. 

This operation was initiated following intelligence regarding the presence of Maoists connected to the Konta and Kistaram area committees, situated in the forested regions around Korajguda, Dantespuram, Nagaram, and Bhandarpadar villages.

So far, the bodies of ten Naxalites have been recovered at the scene. Additionally, a significant cache of weapons was seized, including an INSAS rifle, an AK-47, and a Self Loading Rifle (SLR). 

The District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) continue their search operation in the area. This incident contributes to the year-to-date total of 207 Naxalite fatalities recorded in various clashes across the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, comprising seven districts. 

On Wednesday, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital, North Block. Their discussion focused on developmental progress in Naxal-affected areas of Chhattisgarh and efforts aimed at enhancing peace and stability in these regions. 

The Chief Minister emphasised that both the state government and security forces are diligently working to eradicate Naxal influence in Chhattisgarh, aligning with the Union Home Minister’s commitment to eliminate Naxalism by 2026.

“I met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and updated him about the Naxal activities in Chhattisgarh. Over the past 11 months, close to 200 Naxals have been neutralized, and approximately 600-700 have surrendered. We are making significant strides towards the goal set by the Prime Minister and Home Minister to achieve a Naxal-free India by March 2026,” CM Sai told reporters following the meeting.

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