Tamil Nadu Congress chief stopped from taking part in Kancheepuram temple ritual
'The 'kudamuzhuku' festival went well and my congratulations. Lakhs visited Thiruchendur temple, and I went there under the supervision of the minister. But officials' apathy was visible. We don't know who is controlling whom,' said Selvaperunthagai later, expressing disappointment at the treatment.He added that although the situation was handled peacefully, the incident highlighted deeper systemic issues: 'This is a 2000-year-old issue and it can't be settled overnight. Officials did it and we stood with people and watched. I don't want to say anything that affects the Chief Minister or the minister's (PK Sekarbabu) good name.'Selvaperunthagai, who belongs to a Scheduled Caste community, said he was not allowed to see the deity and had to leave for another engagement.'Officials should behave like officials. That is the problem. I don't know why they stopped me and didn't allow me,' he remarked.- EndsMust Watch
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The Hindu
33 minutes ago
- The Hindu
When will PM Modi breaks silence: Congress after Donald Trump repeats ‘stopped India-Pak conflict' claim
The Congress on Tuesday (July 8, 2025) said U.S. President Donald Trump has for at least the 21st time repeated his claims on bringing about a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan, and asked when will Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his "silence" on this issue. In his remarks on Monday (July 7, 2025), Mr. Trump repeated the claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan by telling the two neighbours that Washington would not do trade with them if they continued the fighting. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "For at least the 21st time in the last 59 days, President Trump has said that he "stopped the four-day India-Pakistan war in May; the war was about to escalate into a nuclear conflict." Mr. Trump has stated that India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire because the carrot-and-stick of trade with the U.S. was used by him, Mr. Ramesh said. "In other words, his message was: stop the war at once or face the real prospects of losing American markets (and presumably investment)," he said. 'President Trump has trumpeted all this just as he was also announcing that a US trade deal with India and Pakistan was about to be declared very soon,' Mr. Ramesh said. "When will Narendra Modi — once described by his senior colleague Ghanshyam Tiwari as the BJP's 'trump card' - break his silence on this issue?" the Congress leader said. Mr. Trump on Monday (July 7, 2025) said the U.S. is close to making a trade deal with India. "Now, we've made a deal with the United Kingdom, we've made a deal with China. We're close to making a deal with India. Others we met with and we don't think we're going to be able to make a deal, so we just send them a letter. If you want to play ball, this is what you have to pay," Mr. Trump said. Repeating his claim about bringing about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Trump said, "We did a job with India and Pakistan, Serbia, Kosovo, Rwanda and the Congo, and this was all over the last three weeks or so and others that were ready to fight." "And we stopped a lot of fights. I think the very big one, frankly, a very, very big one, was India and Pakistan. And we stopped that over trade," he said. "We said we're not going to be dealing with you at all if you're going to fight. And they were maybe at a nuclear stage. They're both nuclear powers. And I think stopping that was very important," Mr. Trump added. Since May 10, Mr. Trump has repeated his claim several times that he helped settle the tensions between India and Pakistan and that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America will do a lot of trade with them if they stop the conflict. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10. New Delhi has been maintaining that India's fierce counter-attack that day forced Pakistan to plead for ending the hostilities.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
When will PM break his silence: Congress after Trump again claims he stopped India-Pakistan conflict
The Congress on Tuesday said US President Donald Trump has for at least the 21st time repeated his claims on bringing about a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan, and asked when will Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his "silence" on this issue. In his remarks on Monday, Trump repeated the claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan by telling the two neighbours that Washington would not do trade with them if they continued the fighting. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "For at least the 21st time in the last 59 days, President Trump has said that he "stopped the four-day India-Pakistan war in May; the war was about to escalate into a nuclear conflict." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like End of Season Sale is Live! Get Upto 40% Off Rare Rabbit Shop Now Undo Trump has stated that India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire because the carrot-and-stick of trade with the US was used by him, Ramesh said. "In other words, his message was: stop the war at once or face the real prospects of losing American markets (and presumably investment)," he said. Live Events President Trump has trumpeted all this just as he was also announcing that a US trade deal with India and Pakistan was about to be declared very soon, Ramesh said. "When will Narendra Modi - once described by his senior colleague Ghanshyam Tiwari as the BJP's 'trump card' - break his silence on this issue?" the Congress leader said. Trump on Monday said the US is close to making a trade deal with India. "Now, we've made a deal with the United Kingdom, we've made a deal with China. We're close to making a deal with India. Others we met with and we don't think we're going to be able to make a deal, so we just send them a letter. If you want to play ball, this is what you have to pay," Trump said on Monday. Repeating his claim about bringing about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Trump said, "We did a job with India and Pakistan, Serbia, Kosovo, Rwanda and the Congo, and this was all over the last three weeks or so and others that were ready to fight." "And we stopped a lot of fights. I think the very big one, frankly, a very, very big one, was India and Pakistan. And we stopped that over trade," he said. "We said we're not going to be dealing with you at all if you're going to fight. And they were maybe at a nuclear stage. They're both nuclear powers. And I think stopping that was very important," Trump added. Since May 10, Trump has repeated his claim several times that he helped settle the tensions between India and Pakistan and that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America will do a lot of trade with them if they stop the conflict. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10. New Delhi has been maintaining that India's fierce counter-attack that day forced Pakistan to plead for ending the hostilities.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
A Rajput show of strength as Brij Bhushan makes star appearance in Haryana wrestling heartland
THE OPPOSITION from some khap panchayats notwithstanding, former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and ex-BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh made an appearance as chief guest at an event in Haryana's wrestling backyard Sunday. The leader who is facing sexual harassment allegations from several wrestlers was invited to an event to felicitate wrestler Rachna Parmar, in Bond Kalan village of Charkhi Dadri district. Parmar, a member of the Rajput community, recently won a gold medal in the women's 43 kg category at the Under-17 Asian Wrestling Championship in Vietnam. Charkhi Dadri is also the home district of Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who is currently a Congress MLA from Julana in Jind district. In 2023, Phogat was among the wrestlers who led a protest in Delhi against Singh over the sexual harassment allegations. Brij Bhushan was invited, along with local BJP MLA Sunil Sangwan and Lok Sabha MP Dharambir Singh, for the felicitation event by the Rajput Mahasabha. Both members of the Jat community like Phogat, Sangwan and Dharambir reportedly left the venue before Singh's arrival, citing time constraints. However, this is being viewed as an effort to avoid ruffling the feathers of the Jat community, given the caste equations in Haryana. Several khap leaders from the region had publicly opposed Brij Bhushan's visit, and urged the organisers not to invite him. In a statement, local khap leader Krishan Phogat said: 'Such persons come to break brotherhood, not to unite. The local MLA and MP should not attend the function either.' However, the Rajput Mahasabha leader from Charkhi Dadri, Pawan Sanjarwas, called those opposing the visit 'anti-social elements' and warned that they would be 'taught a lesson' if they even tried to protest. Sanjarwas told The Indian Express the opposition to Brij Bhushan had only helped the Rajput Mahasabha. 'It led to more presence at the felicitation event.' Sanjarwas also said that Rajput votes would consolidate behind the BJP with Brij Bhushan's visit. Colonel (retd) Devender Singh Rana, a Rajput community leader from Karnal, also supported the visit, saying it would help make a political impact. The Rajput community, estimated to be around 8% of Haryana's population, is concentrated mainly in the districts of Rewari, Mahendragarh, Gurgaon Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Ambala, and Karnal, Rana said. According to him, this translated into electoral sway in 17 of the 90 Assembly constituencies. Still, as of now, Haryana has only two Rajput MLAs – Shyam Singh Rana (Radaur), who is a minister in the BJP's Nayab Singh Saini government, and Yoginder Singh Rana (Assandh). While the Rajput community is traditionally considered a BJP vote bank, cracks had surfaced in 2023 over the controversy surrounding a statue of 9th-century king Mihir Bhoj. Thirty-five BJP leaders from Kaithal had threatened to resign after some party members from the Gurjar community referred to the king as 'Gurjar Pratihar Samrat Mihir Bhoj' during a statue unveiling. The contention of the Rajput community is that Mihir Bhoj belongs to the community and should be referred to as 'Hindu Samrat' instead. The matter is currently pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Vinod Rana Thamber, a Rajput leader from Ambala, said Brij Bhushan's visit should not be seen in the context of politics. 'The event organised in Bond Kalan village was just a social function to honour a member of the community.'
