Congress worst communal party: BJP
New Delhi, July 16 : Stepping up its attack on the Congress, the BJP on Monday dubbed it the "worst communal party" and sought its clarification over the reported remarks of Rahul Gandhi that his party is for the Muslims.
"The Congress is the worst communal party. It has always done communal politics. What Rahul Gandhi has said is against the spirit of the Constitution and against every principle of democracy," Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.
Javadekar's attack comes in the wake of a report in an Urdu daily according to which Gandhi told a meeting of Muslim intellectuals earlier this week that the "Congress is a party for the Muslims".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday attacked Gandhi, saying whether the Congress was interested only in the welfare of Muslim men and not women.
"The Congress has damaged the country to a great extent. We condemn their policies. The communal policies do not serve the country. Rahul Gandhi should speak on this," he said.
He said that though the Congress has denied that the party President made such remarks, the party's minority cell chief clarified that Rahul Gandhi has spoken the truth.
"The Congress is exposed. Its appeasement policies have damaged the country. You are distributing natural resources on the basis of religion. That was exactly the basis of whole history of partition. The Congress is a communal party. Their thinking is destructive. Shah Bano case is the biggest example of Congress being a communal party," Javadekar said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses defence minister in surprise announcement
Jerusalem, Nov 5: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”
In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the Hamas group.
Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life's mission."
Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.
