Congress Prez Kharge, Rahul Gandhi laud 'Naatu Naatu', 'The Elephant Whisperer' for wins at Oscars
New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi on Monday hailed the teams behind the song "Naatu Naatu" and the Tamil documentary "The Elephant Whisperers" for their respective wins at the Oscars, saying the achievement have done India proud.
While "Naatu Naatu", the chartbuster from SS Rajamouli's Telugu period action film "RRR", became the first Indian track to win the Academy Award in the Best Original Song category, "The Elephant Whisperers" created history at awards by becoming the maiden Indian production to win in the Documentary Short Subject category.
"We join millions of Indians in rejoicing at the great news of Naatu Naatu from 'RRR' winning the Oscar for Best Original Song. Thank you for bringing so much joy and happiness to India," Kharge said in a tweet.
Many congratulations to the entire team of "RRR", he added.
Lauding the win of "The Elephant Whisperers", Gandhi said the heartwarming story of India's efforts in elephant conservation from the Madumalai Forest Reserve has brought accolades to the country and made every Indian proud.
"Congratulations @guneetm for winning the Oscars for the Best Documentary, short film. Truly, well deserved," he said.
Gandhi congratulated director Kartiki Gonsalves, producer Guneet Monga and the entire team of "The Elephant Whisperers" for winning the Oscar.
"These two women have made India proud with their heart-warming showcase of the beauty and importance of wildlife conservation," the former Congress chief said.
Hailing the Oscars win for 'Naatu Naatu, Gandhi said the song India danced to has truly gone global.
"Congratulations MM Keeravaani, Chandrabose and the entire RRR team for winning the Best Original Song at the Oscars for Naatu Naatu," he said.
In a tweet, Congress general secretary organisation K C Venugopal said, "Superb win for Naatu Naatu at the Oscars 95 Awards, congratulations to the entire RRR team for this global recognition and for bringing pride and happiness to billions of Indians all over the world! Jai Hind."
"Congratulations to Guneet Monga, Kartiki Gonsalves and the entire team of The Elephant Whisperers for bagging the Best Documentary (Short) award at the 2023 Oscar Awards! You have made the whole country proud!" Venugopal said.
The Congress, from its official Twitter handle, congratulated the entire team of "RRR" for winning the award.
The entire country congratulates the "RRR" team on their momentous victory, the party said.
In another tweet, the party said, "Congratulations to Director Kartiki Gonsalves and producer Guneet Monga on winning the first Oscar for India in the 'Best Documentary Short' category. A befitting honour!"
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
