Bengaluru: With the Congress completing its Bharat Jodo Yatra successfully in Karnataka, leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah has said that the people of Karnataka were grateful to Rahul Gandhi for helping them overcome their differences.

“The Yatra has completed its journey in the state and moved ahead, but the sense of awareness, unity and hope now among the people remains. We will continue the fight to uphold democracy in the country,” Siddaramaiah said, in a press release on Sunday.

“We are fighting against communalism, autocracy, polarization and maladministration. The Yatra has inspired us to raise the issues of the people even more vociferously now,” he said, it is learned.

“The Congress offers its gratitude to all citizens of Karnataka who joined the Bharata Aikyata Yatre (Bharat Jodo Yatra) keeping aside their differences in caste, community and even political party. The people have made the Yatra a huge success, with little children, students, youngsters, ladies, senior citizens, workers, farmers, artistes, soldiers, writers, thinkers, fighters participating in the rally. The aim of the rally to unite the citizens, therefore, has been fulfilled,” said the former chief minister.

The Congress leader is also reported to have thanked Rahul Gandhi for the attempt at uniting India. “Rahul Gandhi started the Bharat Jodo Yatra in an attempt to strongly counter the divisive agenda of the BJP, which has been dissecting the Indian society for its political gain. Karnataka is indebted to Rahul Gandhi for holding the unifying rally. As he predicted, the Yatra went on to become a rally of the citizens of India, instead of remaining a rally of only the Congress,” Siddaramaiah pointed out, adding that the response of citizens in Karnataka was promising.

He also said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra provided an opportunity for the people to learn about Rahul Gandhi from a close front. “There have been continuous attempts to wreck Rahul Gandhi’s character through rumours, lies and even rebuke. The Yatra has taught such ill-wishers what his character actually is,” the Opposition leader said, also stating, “The Bharat Jodo Yatra also provided the Congress an opportunity to learn the needs and even minds of the people.”

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Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.

In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.

In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.

Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.

He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.

The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.

Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.

The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.

It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.

In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.

He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.

Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.

Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.

The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.

Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.

"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.

The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.

He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.

Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.

During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.

The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.

Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.

The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.