Yemen's Houthi rebels release ex-president Saleh's sons: Report
Sanaa, Oct 3 : Yemen's Shia Houthi rebels on Wednesday released two sons of slain former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the media reported.
"The sons of Ali Abdullah Saleh, Salaah and Madyan, were released upon an amnesty from the (so-called) President of the Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat (top Houthi official)," the Houthis rebels said in a statement cited by state news agency Saba.
The release came nearly 10 months after the rebels arrested them along with dozens of the former President's relatives following deadly clashes in the capital that killed Saleh at the hands of Houthis.
On December 4, 2017, the Houthis said they killed Saleh, their once partner, after he sought peace with Saudi Arabia, the Sunni Gulf country that led an Arab military coalition against Iranian-allied Shia Houthi rebels.
A senior Houthi militia member told Xinhua news agency that the release came following a "mediation from Oman" and that the sons of Saleh would be transported by an "Omani plane to United Arab Emirates (UAE), where they would join their exiled older brother Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh in Abu Dhabi".
Saleh's family allied with the government of Saudi-backed exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after the former broke out from alliance with Houthis in late 2017. There were no comments from the government on the Houthi statement.
Last week, the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government said that the "Houthis prevented a UN plane from landing in Sanaa on September 28 to transport sons of Saleh, according to an agreement to release them signed by the Houthis".
Saleh's family members, most of whom were military commanders and ran the country's elite Republican Guards and Counter-terrorism Special Forces during his 33 years of rule, are reportedly backed by the US, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
In September 2014, the Houthis advanced from their stronghold Saada province, storming the capital and controlled it and other northern cities by force, including the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.
The move triggered Saudi Arabia to lead an Arab military coalition and launched an Air Force campaign on Yemen in March 2015 to reinstate the government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The war has killed more than 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, and displaced 3 million others, according to UN aid agencies.
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Congress chief Kharge writes to PM Modi, seeks time to explain party's 'Nyay Patra'
New Delhi, Apr 25: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought time from him to explain in person the party's 'Nyay Patra'.
In his two-page letter, he told the prime minister that he is being misinformed by his advisors about things that are not even written in the 'Nyay Patra' -- the Congress' manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.
The letter comes after the prime minister attacked the Congress over its manifesto, alleging that the party aims to "redistribute the wealth" of people and give it away to "infiltrators".
Modi also accused the Congress of snatching women's "mangalsutra".
In his letter, Kharge said the Congress' 'Nyay Patra' aims at providing "nyay (justice)" to the youngsters, women, farmers, labourers and marginalised people across all castes and communities.
"It has become your habit to seize on a few words taken out of context and create a communal divide. You are lowering the dignity of the chair by speaking in this manner," he said.
"You are being misinformed by your advisors about things that are not even written in our manifesto. I would be more than happy to meet you in person to explain our 'Nyay Patra' so that, as prime minister of the country, you don't make any statements that are false," he added.
The Congress chief also said he is neither shocked nor surprised by the language used by the prime minister in his recent speeches.
"It was expected that you and other leaders from your party would start speaking in this manner after you saw the dismal performance of the BJP in the first phase of the elections," Kharge said in the letter.
The Congress has been talking about the deprived poor and their rights ("nyay"), he said and added, "We are aware that you and your government do not have any concern for the poor and dispossessed."
"Your 'suit-boot ki sarkar' works for the corporates whose taxes you reduced while the salaried class pays higher taxes. The poor pay GST even on food and salt and the rich corporate claim GST refunds. That is why, when we talk of inequality between the rich and the poor, you are purposely equating it with Hindu and Muslim," Kharge claimed.
"Our manifesto is for the people of India -- whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jain or Buddhist. I think you have still not forgotten your pre-Independence allies the Muslim League and colonial masters," he charged.
Kharge claimed the Congress has always served to empower the poor while "you have ruled to snatch the earnings and wealth of the poor".
He said in the letter, "Your government was the one who used demonetisation as an 'organised loot and legalised plunder' to transfer the money deposited by the poor in the banks to the rich in the form of loans. Then, as part a of conscious design, these loans were surreptitiously written off by your government. The lakhs of crores of corporate loans that your government has written off since 2014 is a transfer of wealth from poor to rich. No farmer's loans, artisan's loans, MSME loans or student loans were waived off by you."
"You and your government have repeatedly turned away from the atrocities that the poor and backward women are facing … Today, you talk about their 'mangalsutra'. Isn't your government responsible for the atrocities against women in Manipur, against Dalit girls, garlanding of rapists? When farmers are committing suicide under your government, how are you protecting their wives and children?," Kharge asked.
The Congress chief suggested that Modi read about "Nari Nyay" that, he said, the party will implement when its comes to power.
Kharge also advised the prime minister to not "get carried away by your own people who are clapping at your speeches".
"They are not allowing you to hear the crores of right-thinking citizens who are disappointed by your speeches," the Congress chief said.
Sharing Kharge's letter on X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge ji has just written to the prime minister, saying that he would be happy to meet him to explain the reality of the Congress' 'Nyay Patra', which Mr Modi may have missed in his persistent efforts to distort and defame it."
कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष मल्लिकार्जुन @kharge जी ने अभी प्रधानमंत्री को पत्र लिखकर उनसे मिलने का समय मांगा है। प्रधानमंत्री #CongressNyayPatra पत्र की जिन चीज़ों को लेकर भ्रम फैला रहे हैं और लोगों को गुमराह करने की नाकाम कोशिश कर रहे हैं, उन्हें खरगे जी प्रधानमंत्री को मिलकर सही अर्थों… pic.twitter.com/7D4Mk085je
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 25, 2024
