Cong extended support to Centre in action against perpetrators of terror attack: Kharge
Bengaluru (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said his party has extended full support to the central government in its actions against the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack and that they will have to properly utilise it, take everyone into confidence, and move ahead.
The country is important and everyone will have to fight together to protect it and work for its welfare, he said, as he also expressed reservations about Prime Minister Narendra Modi skipping Thursday's all-party meeting that was convened to discuss the terror attack.
The terror attack in Pahalgam of Jammu and Kashmir on April 22 has left at least 26 people dead, including two from Karnataka.
"I have already said that he (PM) should have come (for the all-party meeting). Him not coming is not right...the country is important, religion, language come later. So all of us should fight together for the country. I have said it several times that we extend support to the government," Kharge said in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "We will extend support. Properly utilise it. If they (Centre) take everyone into confidence, further steps will be easy. But going on criticising each other will not go well."
"Some people have already started it, it is not right. We have spoken about what was discussed in the meeting. Some people are speaking giving different meanings to it, which is not right...everything discussed at the meeting cannot be revealed in the interest of the country. I may be there or may go, similar is the case with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, but the country will remain. So all of us should strive together for its welfare," he added.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
