Khattar targets Sonia Gandhi over her return as Cong chief, says 'Khoda Pahad Nikli Chuhiya'
Sonipat (Haryana): Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has again targeted Sonia Gandhi, this time over her return as the Congress chief after a three-month search by the party to choose a president, using the Hindi proverb "Khoda Pahad Nikli Chuhiya".
Addressing a poll rally in Kharkhoda here on Sunday, Khattar launched a fierce attack on the Congress and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), asking the voters to show the door to these "family-based parties".
The Congress was quick to hit back, saying the remark by the chief minister showed the "anti-woman" character of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and demanded an immediate apology.
"The chief minister's remarks are inappropriate, he stooped to the lowest level and it also shows the anti-women character of the BJP. We strongly condemn his remark and demand that he must immediately tender an apology," the Congress party tweeted.
At the rally, Khattar said the Congress took three months to look for a national president outside the Gandhi family, but in the end, chose the family again and Sonia Gandhi became the interim chief.
"These family-based parties are there in the state and in the Centre too, what kind of 'tamasha' these 'Parivarvad' based parties are doing, you know it. Now, within the family too fights are taking place. On one side is Pappu and on the other side Mummy..," Khattar said.
"It was Pappu Chaudhary, he said he will not remain party chief after the Congress lost the Lok Sabha polls and Rahul Baba resigned as party chief. He then ask his party to look for new party chief the outside Gandhi family. We thought it was a good thing that they were moving away from "parivarvad" (dynastic rule). After all, we should appreciate good thing of opponents too," said Khattar.
"They started searching for national president throughout the country for three months and after that you know who became the chief--Sonia Gandhi. Again the same Gandhi family. 'Khoda Pahad, Nikli Chuhiya (much ado over nothing), woh bhi mari hui', this is their condition," the chief minister said.
A week ago, Khattar at another poll rally in the state, had accused the Congress of sympathising with terrorists and said its party president Sonia Gandhi "sheds tears for militants".
In the Kharkhoda rally here on Sunday, Khattar also took potshots at the Congress, and said its former state unit chief Ashok Tanwar quit the party after levelling allegations that "tickets are being sold in the Congress".
He also took a dig at Congress over its manifesto.
"They have promised freebies for which Rs 1.25 lakh crore will be needed, which can never be fulfilled. They are making promises as if state's coffers are their 'Baap Ka Maal' (as if it is their father's property)," he said.
The JJP, which came into existence after a vertical split in the INLD, was also targeted by the chief minister. "This party, Jhootee Jagda Party, will become the Jamanat Jabad Party as its candidates will lose badly," he said. Targeting JJP leader Dushyant Chautala, he referred to him as "Gappu", saying he was only indulging in big talk and spreading lies.
Seeking votes for BJP candidate Meena Narwal, Khattar said the ruling outfit "gave clean and transparent administration and gave jobs on merit. We undertook equitable development without any regional bias.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
