In a major political tussle in the INDIA bloc, the Aam Aadmi Party today said that it would ask parties in the alliance to remove Congress from the bloc if the grand old party does not act against its Delhi leader Ajay Maken.

Ahead of the assembly elections, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh today accused the Congress of helping the BJP. Sanjay Singh said that the Congress is doing everything to ensure that the BJP benefits in the election. 

He said that Ajay Maken reads the BJP script, makes statements at the BJP’s behest, and targets AAP leaders on BJP’s instructions. He added that on Wednesday, he crossed all limits and called Arvind Kejriwal an anti-nation. The Congress or Ajay Maken have never called any BJP leader in Delhi anti-national, he continued.

This face-off follows months after the AAP and Congress contested the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi in alliance. During the Lok Sabha election, leaders of both parties had campaigned for each other’s candidates. However, the efforts came to naught because the BJP won all seven seats in the capital.

Sanjay Singh said that Arvind Kejriwal had campaigned for Congress candidates in Delhi and Chandigarh too. He further mentioned that AAP repeatedly stands with the Congress on issues in Parliament, and they are calling the AAP leader anti-national, the youth Congress is registering FIR against him.

Sanjay Singh then referred to the Haryana Assembly polls and said the AAP had tried its best to ally with Congress, but the Congress disagreed. AAP fought the election but did not utter an inappropriate word for Congress or its leaders, he said.

The Rajya Sabha MP further said that all limits have been crossed. He stated that the audacity Ajay Maken has shown, demands that the Congress acts against him within 24 hours. Otherwise AAP will approach the partners in the INDIA alliance and seek removal of Congress from the bloc. Furthermore, Chief Minister Atishi said the Congress’s actions and words make it clear that it has tied up with the BJP for the Delhi election. 

Earlier, Delhi Congress released a 12-point white paper targeting the AAP and BJP for mismanagement of pollution, civic facilities and law and order in Delhi. Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken said AAP came to power riding on an anti-corruption movement but has failed to set up a Janlokpal in Delhi. The Congress leader said that if there is one word to describe former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal here then it would be Farziwal. He further continued that if anyone is the king of fraud in the entire country then it is Kejriwal and that is why they have come here with a white paper on the Kejriwal government and also on the BJP government at the Centre.

President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed their condolences on Thursday for the passing away of the eminent Malayalam literary figure M T Vasudevan Nair.

In a post on social media X, President Murmu said that the literary world has lost a significant voice with Nair’s death. She stated, “With the demise of Shri M T Vasudevan Nair, renowned Malayalam writer, the world of literature has become poorer. Rural India came alive in his writings. He was honoured with major literary awards and made significant contributions to films. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan.”

Furthermore, she extended her heartfelt condolences to Nair’s family and his numerous readers and admirers.

“I convey my heartfelt condolences to the members of his family, and the large number of his readers and admirers,” the post further read.

Prime Minister Modi honored Nair’s legacy, emphasizing that his works, marked by a profound exploration of human emotions, have influenced generations and will inspire many more in the future. Expressing his sorrow, he acknowledged Nair as one of the most respected figures in Malayalam cinema and literature.

“Saddened by the passing away of Shri MT Vasudevan Nair, one of the most respected figures in Malayalam cinema and literature. His works, with their profound exploration of human emotions, have shaped generations and will continue to inspire many more. He also gave voice to the silent and marginalised,” the post read.

“He also gave voice to the silent and marginalised. My thoughts are with his family and admirers. Om Shanti,” Modi stated.

Nair, a distinguished literary figure and Jnanpith Award recipient, passed away on December 25, 2024, at a private hospital due to heart failure, at the age of 91. He also penned essays, short stories, and travelogues, and even took to directing films.

In the wake of his passing, the Kerala government announced official mourning on December 26 and 27 to pay tribute to MT Vasudevan Nair, as stated by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

A major technical issue disrupted the IRCTC website and mobile application today, preventing thousands of users from successfully booking their Tatkal (emergency) tickets. This outage, which occurred precisely at 10 a.m., left many users frustrated as they faced difficulties while trying to book tickets for their urgent travel needs.

The glitch was widespread, affecting both the official IRCTC website and the mobile app. When users attempted to access the platform, they were met with an error message reading, “unable to perform action due to maintenance activity.” This unexpected technical failure came as the Tatkal booking window opened, a period when millions of users rushed to secure tickets for their travel.

This is the second time in the month that the IRCTC app has faced significant downtime, triggering a wave of complaints across social media platforms. Many users took to Twitter (now X), voicing their frustration over the repeated technical failures, particularly during the highly sought-after Tatkal booking period.

Frustration continued to mount as many users expressed disbelief that the IRCTC system, which caters to millions of passengers daily, was unable to handle peak booking hours effectively. Others pointed out the recurring nature of the problem, with one user calling for immediate action from the Ministry of Railways, tagging Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the Rail Ministry’s official Twitter account. 

Despite the ongoing backlash, there has been no official response from IRCTC or the Ministry of Railways at the time of publication. The IRCTC website and app are widely used by millions of railway passengers across India, particularly for the crucial Tatkal ticket booking window, which opens at 10 a.m. daily.

The frequent glitches on the platform have raised concerns about the adequacy of the infrastructure supporting this vital service. Passengers, many of whom rely on the timely availability of Tatkal tickets, are calling for a more reliable system to prevent such outages in the future.

With the ongoing festive season and increased travel demand, users are hoping that the authorities will address these technical issues and provide a seamless booking experience moving forward.