Ajit Pawar ahead in numbers as 35 of 53 NCP MLAs, 5 of 8 MLCs attend meet

New Delhi: After the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government did not allow the Australian Deputy High Commissioner to meet three West Bengal ministers during his proposed visit to the state, the Trinamool Congress on Wednesday alleged 'federal and fiscal terrorism' on the state as people had defeated the BJP in the state.

Australian Deputy High Commissioner Nicholas McCaffrey was to visit Kolkata and Sunderbans between June 18 and 21. During this visit, he wanted to meet Commerce Minister Shashi Panja, Information Technology and Electronics Minister Babul Supriyo and Agriculture Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay.

However, Trinamool Congress said, the Oceania Division of the MEA wrote to the High Commission saying that they do "not recommend" meetings as requested by the Australian side with the ministers.

At the same time, the Oceania Division had "no objection from political angle" in the diplomat meeting BJP MPs Sukanta Majumdar and Dilip Ghosh and Trinamool Congress MPs Derek O'Brien and Jawahar Sircar.

Trinamool Congress sources said the Deputy High Commissioner had not come to Bengal as scheduled and their MPs would not have met him when the ministers were not allowed.

The Australian side had requested for meetings to discuss opportunities for collaboration against the backdrop of India-Australia trade discussions and explore areas of economic interest in West Bengal.

Government sources said that they have allowed the Australian diplomat to meet officials at appropriate level based on the principle of reciprocity. They said the Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Australia is not allowed to meet Australian ministers.

When contacted, an Australian High Commission spokesperson said, "Australia and India are close friends, with strong strategic, economic and community ties. Australian diplomats travel regularly across India to continue strengthening the political, business, cultural and sporting linkages between our two countries. We don’t comment on the specific details of programs when our officials travel."

Attempt to 'spite Bengal'

Setting stage for another round of confrontation, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha Deputy Leader Sagarika Ghose said the union government's action was 'completely autocratic' and an attempt to 'spite Bengal'. She said they would strongly raise this 'serious issue', which he described as 'fiscal terrorism', in Parliament after discussing it with I.N.D.I.A. allies.

Addressing a press conference here, Ghose and another MP Saket Gokhale claimed that the federal structure of the state is being destroyed.

"The representatives of the states who want to go abroad are being stopped and the way they are doing this in such a dirty, uncivilised manner is very shameful," Ghose said.

Gokhale described the development as "federal terrorism" while alleging that several diplomats have claimed that they were informally told by the union government that they could get clearance for investments only if they choose Gujarat. 

The Israeli ministry of military affairs says the number of disabled Israeli soldiers has surpassed the 70,000 mark for the first time, adding that 8,663 troops have also been injured since the start of the war on Gaza.

The report revealed by the rehabilitation division of the Israeli ministry said that 35% of those wounded since the start of the Gaza massacre are struggling with mental health conditions, while 21% sustained physical injuries.

The department is expecting for an influx of approximately 20,000 additional injured soldiers from the beginning of the ongoing conflict until the conclusion of 2024.

An expert analysis revealed that approximately 40% of the individuals who will be admitted by year-end may experience a range of psychological responses, such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, adaptation and communication difficulties, etc.

The Israeli medical association has reported that more than 1,000 new male and female veterans are under treatment in the department on a monthly basis, with about 20% of them dealing with mental reactions and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Out of the total number of disabled Israeli occupation forces, including soldiers from all Israeli wars, a significant portion of 9,539 soldiers are suffering from PTSD and mental reactions.

On June 7, 2024, an Israeli military soldier named Eliran Mizrahi took his own life, after he was called back to war while suffering from PTSD and two injuries.

A recent study by researchers said in March that over half a million of Israelis are at risk of developing PTSD in the aftermath of the Gaza genocide.

Despite facing huge sufferings, the Israeli military persists in its aggression against Gaza, disregarding the UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

The regime also defies the International Court of Justice's order to halt the invasion of Rafah and implement measures to prevent genocide amid the dire humanitarian conditions in the Strip.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for maintaining "silence" on the NEET exam issue and asserted that his party is committed to strongly raising the voice of the youth from the streets to the Parliament for ensuring strong policies against paper leaks.

The former Congress president said the arrests made in Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana clearly show that there has been organised corruption in the examination in a planned manner and added these BJP-ruled states have become the "epicentre" of paper leaks.

"Narendra Modi, as usual, is maintaining silence on the tampering with the future of more than 24 lakh students in the NEET examination," Gandhi said in a post on X in Hindi.

"The arrests made in Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana clearly show that there has been organised corruption in the examination in a planned manner and these BJP ruled states have become the epicentre of paper leak," he claimed.

In the manifesto, the Congress had guaranteed to secure the future of the youth by making strict laws against paper leaks.

"While fulfilling the responsibility of the opposition, we are committed to formulate such tough policies by strongly raising the voice of the youth from the streets to the Parliament and putting pressure on the government," he said.

Gandhi's remarks came after the Supreme Court on Tuesday said even if there was "0.001 per cent negligence" on the part of anyone in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 examination, it should be thoroughly dealt with.

Observing that students have to labour hard while preparing for these examinations, the apex court said the litigation pertaining to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate)-2024 examination ought not be treated as adversarial.

"Even if there is 0.001 per cent negligence on the part of anyone, it should be thoroughly dealt with," a vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti told the advocates appearing for the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA).

The NTA conducts the all India pre-medical entrance test.

The bench was hearing two separate petitions raising grievances, including on grace marks given to the students in the examination held on May 5.