Sorry if we have hurt Sonia Gandhi's feelings: Veerappa Moily

News Network
August 25, 2020

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Bengaluru, Aug 25: "If we have hurt her (Sonia Gandhi's) feelings, we are sorry for it," M Veerappa Moily, one of the 23 senior Congress leaders who sought urgent organizational reforms, said on Tuesday, asserting they never questioned her leadership.

At the same time, the former union minister defended being a signatory to the letter addressed to the interim Congress president, as he stressed the need for rejuvenating and restructuring the party. Moily also disapproved of the media leak of the letter and called for an internal party enquiry to find out those behind it and wanted them to be punished.

The former Karnataka chief minister asserted that none of 23 leaders have any intention to leave the Congress. "We have never questioned the leadership of Soniaji," Moily told PTI in an interview, a day after the Congress Working Committee in a meeting prompted by the letter unanimously resolved to strengthen the hands of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in every possible way.

The partys top decision-making body also made it clear no one will be permitted to undermine or weaken the party and its leadership. "Soniaji is like a mother to the party. We revere her even now. There is no question of any intention to hurt her feelings. If we have hurt her feelings, we are sorry for it," Moily said. In her concluding remarks at the CWC meeting,

Sonia had agreed to continue but said this arrangement cannot remain "open ended", as the new party chief has to be selected soon. She had also said that she does not hold anything or any kind of "ill-will" against any of her colleagues irrespective of how hurtful were the remarks made by them. Noting that the party is passing through difficult times, Moily said "We can't afford to lose the Congress party which we have nurtured by our perspiration, dedication and sacrifice."

"We do recognise the sacrifice made by Soniaji, she was reluctant (earlier to take up the post), but she gave life to Congress party. Nobody can be ungrateful to Soniaji. And we still treat her as our own mother and guide the destiny of the party and also destiny of the nation," he said.

"That respect will continue to be there. But at the same time, the party needs to be rejuvenated. Our main theme of the letter itself is rejuvenation of the Congress at all levels. That does not mean she should not be President. Her becoming interim President again is welcome. We all love her." He said wholehearted efforts should be made to rejuvenate the party, adding, the organisation will have to be properly restructured.

Moily claimed some mischievous elements leaked the letter written by the leaders. "I dont know from which end it was released. That was not correct. We dont approve of that, none of us approve of it," he said adding none of the signatories leaked it.

Moily said the leak had occurred "somewhere after it is given to...I dont want to go into that. I think a proper inner party enquiry will have to be done and those who have leaked it will have to be punished, he added.

On some senior Congress leaders, including Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor, meeting at their senior colleague Ghulam Nabi Azads house in Delhi on Monday evening after the CWC meeting,

Moily said he did not know about it as he was not in the national capital. He added: "There is no question of any one of us thinking to condemn the party or be away from the party. No question. Question of joining hands with the BJP does not arise at all. We hate BJP, we continue to hate BJP and policies of (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi."

Without naming anyone, Moily attacked 'betrayers' of the Congress. "There are many people who betrayed the Congress many a times, they think that they are more loyal than us," he said. Moily said he joined the Congress in 1968 and had remained loyal to the party.

"There are some people who really let Indira Gandhi, and the Congress party down... they think they are more loyal than the King whereas many of us stood by Congress party and fought in most difficult times for the Congress party," he added.

After a marathon seven-hour-long meeting, the CWC on Monday decided that Sonia Gandhi will continue as the party's interim president and effect necessary organisational changes while an AICC session will be called at the earliest to start the process of electing a new chief.

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News Network
March 28,2025

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Millions of people across Iran and the world took to the streets on International Quds Day, expressing solidarity with Palestinians and condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif, spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and head of the Intifada Committee in Tehran, stated that rallies began at 10:00 a.m. local time (0630 GMT) in over 900 cities across Iran.

Demonstrators from various walks of life carried Iranian and Palestinian flags, as well as banners reading “Free Palestine” and “Al-Quds Must Be Liberated.” Flags of regional resistance groups, including Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (Hashd al-Sha'abi), Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and Yemen’s Ansarullah, were also displayed.

Mass rallies were held across West Asia, including in Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon, as well as in other parts of the world.

Iranian Leaders Condemn Western Stance

Senior Iranian officials participated in the rally in Tehran, where Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf addressed the gathering.

“Iranians have taken to the streets in a massive show of support for Palestine and the Islamic Ummah,” Qalibaf said. “The Palestinian struggle is not just an issue for the Islamic world but a lesson for all of humanity.”

He criticized the West’s response to Israeli actions in Gaza, calling it a stain on Western civilization. “These crimes will be remembered as a lasting ignominy, exposing the West’s duplicity in human rights advocacy,” he added.

Qalibaf also defended the October 7, 2023, Palestinian attack on Israeli-occupied territories, describing Operation al-Aqsa Flood as a “rightful and legitimate response to 77 years of oppression by Israel, the U.S., and Britain.” He further described Israel as a “spare regime” dependent on U.S. support.

Quds Day: A Global Symbol of Resistance

Al-Quds Day, observed annually on the last Friday of Ramadan, was established in 1979 by the late Imam Khomeini to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians and oppose Israeli occupation. The event has since become a symbol of resistance, with large rallies held worldwide, particularly amid Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

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coastaldigest.com news network
March 20,2025

Mangaluru International Airport (MIA), Karnataka’s second busiest airport, has seen 148.5kg of gold smuggled between 2019 and December 2024, with 90% arriving from the UAE. Customs officials recorded 346 cases, averaging 30kg of gold seized per year (2.5kg per month). Most smugglers are from Kerala and Bhatkal.

A senior customs officer revealed that MIA sees at least five gold smuggling cases per month. Numbers dropped during the pandemic but surged after flights resumed. Many offenders are first-time carriers, while some are habitual smugglers. With fewer flights, customs thoroughly checks passengers, making smuggling harder.

Smugglers constantly innovate concealment methods. Hiding gold in the rectum remains common, but gold is also found in trolley bags, mobile covers, chocolate boxes, milk powder, biscuit packets, and clothing layers. Electronic devices like car speaker magnets, LED bulbs, AirPods, wristwatches, and ballpoint pens have been used.

Unusual tactics include hiding gold in a woman’s hairband, a baby’s diaper, and even a kheer mix packet (347g). In one case, a passenger attempted to smuggle 100g in his mouth under a mask but was caught.

Officials note that while the UAE remains a key source, smugglers now bring gold from other Gulf countries, continuously adapting to evade detection.

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News Network
March 28,2025

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When the ground violently shook beneath his feet, Prem Kishore Mohanty, an Indian expatriate in Bangkok, was attending his five-year-old daughter's school sports day. What began as a routine event—children competing, parents cheering—quickly turned into a moment of panic as tremors struck.

"I felt my head spinning and had to sit down. The overhead lights swayed, and chairs moved," said Mr. Mohanty, 44. The school's PA system quickly announced an emergency evacuation, directing everyone to the outdoor field while warning against using nearby lanes lined with high-rise towers.

Water from rooftop swimming pools, including those at the InterContinental Bangkok, cascaded down buildings, as captured in viral videos.

Fear and Chaos as Bangkok Shakes
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake, with its epicenter in Myanmar, sent powerful tremors into Thailand, bringing Bangkok to an abrupt standstill. Public transport was suspended, traffic snarled, and people evacuated buildings, waiting anxiously for the all-clear.

Earthquakes are rare in Bangkok, a city more accustomed to heat and monsoons than seismic shocks. For the Mohanty family, who live in a high-rise apartment in Sukhumvit, confusion and fear gripped them as the evacuation began.

"It was terrifying. We were told to take the fire escape stairwell and wait outside. There was no time to think," Mr. Mohanty recalled.

Now safe, he remains shaken by the unexpected jolt that turned a normal day into a moment of chaos for his family and thousands across the city.

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