No alliance with BRS for Telangana, Lok Sabha polls: Congress

News Network
June 27, 2023

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New Delhi, June 27: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and top leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday told leaders from poll-bound Telangana that the party will not enter into an alliance with the K Chandrashekar Rao-led BRS in the state or as part of the national Opposition alliance.

Rahul also asked leaders to forget whatever differences they have with each other and work together to form a Congress government in Telangana, which is now ruled by the BRS, party leaders said after a meeting senior Telangana leaders had with central leadership.

The assertion of the top Congress leaders came as Rao ventured into Maharashtra by holding a public meeting on Monday, a move which was not taken kindly by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), the NCP, and the Congress.

BRS was also not part of the meeting of 15 Opposition parties in Patna last Friday, as it felt that sharing a platform with the Congress, which is perceived to have gained ground in Telangana after the recent victory in Karnataka, would be detrimental to its interests.

It was also not part of the 19 parties that issued a joint statement boycotting the inauguration of the new Parliament building. Though it did not officially announce the boycott, the BRS MPs were not present at the function.

“Kharge-ji and Rahul-ji have told us that there will not be any alliance with the BRS. BRS is also not going to be part of the national Opposition alliance because BRS and BJP are working together. They are nothing but one,” Telangana Campaign Committee chairman Madhu Goud Yaskhi told reporters.

When asked whether there is a possibility of a post-poll alliance in case of a hung assembly, Yashki ruled out such a possibility. “In such a scenario, BRS and BJP will join hands,” he said.

The Congress is specifically unhappy with the BRS for entering Maharashtra and other states where it is stronger. “Wherever Congress is strong, BRS is coming there to help the BJP. That is happening across India,” Congress Telangana in-charge Manikrao Thakre said.

He said Rahul told the meeting that the state unit should start preparations for the elections and whatever differences they have, they should forget it and unitedly fight to win the polls. Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal too acknowledged that there are differences in the party but they have decided to face the elections unitedly.

At the meeting also attended by senior leaders like Congress General Secretary Uttam Kumar Reddy, Renuka Chowdhury and Hanumantha Rao among others, the leaders decided to focus on the poor and formulate specific programmes targeting farmers, youth, women, minorities and other social groups.

The major thrust of the campaign would be the alleged corruption of the BRS government, like the way the Congress heralded its campaign in Karnataka.

The central leadership also asked Telangana leaders to start a door-to-door campaign. “We need to move faster,” Thakre said.

Kharge tweeted, “people of Telangana are yearning for change. They are looking towards the Congress party. The Congress party is ready to take on any challenge. Together, we will usher a brighter future for Telangana, based on shared democratic values and all-around social welfare.”

Venugopal said in a tweet, “Telangana is ready to defeat KCR's feudal govt and crush the unholy alliance between BRS and BJP. Telangana is just the beginning. In every village, in every town, the people are looking at the Congress with hope. All over the country, leaders with their ear to the ground are picking up this huge undercurrent in favour of the Congress and are eager to join.” 

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News Network
November 10,2024

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Mangaluru: A heart-wrenching tragedy unfolded in the quiet Bellayuru village on the outskirts of Mangaluru as a man’s life ended on a railway track following an apparent double murder. Authorities from the Mulki police station identified the man as Karthik Bhat, 32, whose lifeless body was discovered on the tracks with his head positioned on the rail, indicating a tragic suicide.

Nearby, police recovered keys to a scooter and a house, which eventually led them to uncover a series of chilling events. Following the trail, officers located Bhat’s scooter parked near Mahammayi Temple. Inside the vehicle, they found documents confirming his identity, including an RC, insurance papers, and his driving license.

Their search continued to Bhat's home in Pakshikere, Kemral village, where they discovered a locked room. With the keys retrieved from the tracks, police unlocked the door, only to be confronted by a horrifying sight. The bodies of Priyanka (28) and her young son Hriday (4) lay in a pool of blood, pointing to a brutal murder that occurred just hours before Bhat’s suicide.

Initial investigations suggest Bhat, beleaguered by ongoing family disputes, committed the murders of his wife and son on the evening of November 8 before tragically ending his own life. A death note found in his diary hinted at his mental state and tragic intentions.

Priyanka’s family, residing in Shivamogga, was informed of the incident. The couple, married for six years, now leaves behind grieving relatives and unanswered questions. Police have initiated formal proceedings, collecting statements from family members as they continue their investigation into the tragic sequence of events.

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News Network
November 21,2024

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Shares of Adani Group companies lost about $28 billion in market value in morning trade on Thursday after US prosecutors charged the billionaire chairman of the Indian conglomerate in an alleged bribery and fraud scheme.

Gautam Adani's flagship company Adani Enterprises tumbled 23 per cent, while Adani Ports, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar and Adani Energy Solutions, ACC , Ambuja Cements and NDTV fell between 20 per cent and 90 per cent.

Adani group's 10 listed stocks had a total market capitalisation of about $141 billion at 0534 GMT, compared to $169.08 billion on Tuesday.

US authorities said Adani and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar Adani, agreed to pay about $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain contracts expected to yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years, and develop India's largest solar power plant project.

Adani Green in a statement on Thursday said the US Justice Department had issued a criminal indictment against board members Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani and the Securities and Exchange Commission had issued a civil complaint against them.

The US Justice Department also included Adani Green board member Vneet Jaain in the criminal indictment, it said.

Adani Green's units had decided not to proceed with the proposed US dollar denominated bond offerings due to developments, it added.

"Investors will shy away from Adani Group stocks ... and that's what this sharp selling is signifying," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president of retail equities research at SMC Global Securities.

"This could hurt the credibility of the group and maybe borrowing costs will rise," he said.

The indictment comes nearly two years after US shortseller Hindenburg Research alleged that Adani had improperly used tax havens and was involved in stock manipulation, allegations the conglomerate denied.

Also in early Asian trading on Thursday, Adani dollar bonds slumped, with prices down 3c-5c on bonds for Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone. The falls were the largest since the Adani Group came under a short-seller attack in February 2023.

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News Network
November 18,2024

Advisors to US President-elect Donald Trump have instructed his allies and associates to refrain from using the inflammatory language they previously employed when discussing issues related to migrants and the deportation of asylum seekers, in a bid to avoid “looking like Nazis.”

US media reports said that Trump’s associates had been asked to stop using the word “camps” to describe potential facilities that would be used to accommodate migrants rounded up in deportation operations across the country.

The reports said the US president-elect’s allies had been ordered to stave off such charged terms as they would bring to mind “Nazis,” and be used against Trump.

“I have received some guidance to avoid terms, like ‘camps,’ that can be twisted and used against the president, yes,” one Trump ally told American monthly magazine Rolling Stone.

“Apparently, some people think it makes us look like Nazis.”

The presidential advisers also cautioned surrogates and allies to keep racist terms, which have dogged Trump’s campaign, out of their remarks.

They said with Trump’s heated rhetoric that used to compare undocumented immigrants to “animals” and his slight that they are “poisoning the blood of our country,” detractors did not need to reach too far to find parallels to Nazi Germany.

Stephen Miller, who Trump tapped to be his deputy chief of staff of policy, specifically used the word “camps” to describe holding facilities that he hoped the military could put together for immigrants.

Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is chosen by Trump to be in charge of the US borders, was no stranger to such language.

“It’s not gonna be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said in an interview earlier this week. “It’s not gonna be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”

Becoming a little more forthright about the new government’s aggressive deportation plans, Homan likened the early days of the Trump administration to the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“I got three words for them – shock and awe,” he said. “You’re going to see us take this country back.”

Trump made immigration a central element of his 2024 presidential campaign but unlike his first run, which was mainly focused on building a border wall, he has shifted his attention to interior enforcement and the removal of undocumented immigrants already in the United States.

People close to the US president and his aides are laying the groundwork for expanding detention facilities to fulfill his mass deportation campaign promise.

The businessman-turned-politician deported more than 1.5 million people during his first term.

The figure do not include the millions of people turned away at the border under a Covid-era policy enacted by Trump and used during most of Biden’s term.

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