New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Sunday took a dig at the Centre on the issue of price rise, saying unemployment and inflation were "two brothers" of the Modi government.
Ahead of Sunday's 'Mehngai par halla bol' rally of the party at the Ramlila Maidan here, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the rally was not being held to canvas for the 2024 polls, but to highlight the two "biggest challenges of inflation and unemployment to the people.
"We had protested against this even on August 5. About 70 MPs were detained, including Rahul Gandhi.
"People from 12-13 states are coming and we want to send an effective message to the insensitive Modi government that people are suffering from this back-breaking inflation and unemployment and solutions should be found for them," Ramesh said.
Asked about Ghulam Nabi Azad's rally in Jammu on Sunday, Ramesh said he would speak about the Congress rally not that of the BJP.
On BJP's allegation that the Congress was trying to divert people's attention from the issue of corruption, Ramesh said the party has been protesting against rise in prices for over a year.
"A rally was held in Jaipur. About 70 MPs were detained from Vijay Chowk. We have raised these issues inside and outside Parliament. We have held protests in various states. This rally is part of that series of protests.
"On September 7, we will begin the Bharat Jodo Yatra' which too will have the economic disparity as the biggest issue," Ramesh said.
"Modi government has two brothers unemployment and inflation. Modi government has two brothers ED and CBI," the Congress leader went on to say.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and a host of party leaders are slated to address the rally. Party workers from Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, and other parts of the country, are converging for the event.
The rally comes ahead of the opposition party's 3,500-km Bharat Jodo Yatra' which will traverse the length of the country from Kanyakumari to Kashmir starting September 7.
The Congress has said the rally's aim is to highlight the issues of price rice and unemployment, and promote communal harmony in the country.
The party said its workers will continue to raise these issues as a responsible opposition and will take to the streets to fight for the cause of the common people.
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Masyaf (Syria), Sep 9: The number of people killed in overnight Israeli strikes in Syria has risen to 18 with dozens more wounded, Syria's health minister said on Monday — the largest death toll in such an attack since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
One of the sites targeted was a research centre used in the development of weapons, a war monitor said. Syrian officials said civilian sites were targeted.
Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria linked to Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel's war against Hamas — a Hezbollah ally — in Gaza.
However, the intensity and death toll of Sunday night's strikes were unusual.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups.
Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria, particularly since Syria is a key route for Iran to send weapons to Hezbollah.
Israeli strikes hit several areas in central Syria, damaging a highway in Hama province and sparking fires, Syrian state news agency SANA said.
Speaking to reporters, Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabbash described the strikes as a “brutal and barbaric aggression”. He said the death toll had risen to 18 with nearly 40 wounded.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said 25 were killed, including at least five civilians, while the others included Syrian army soldiers and members of Hezbollah and other Iran-linked armed groups.
One strike targeted a scientific research centre in Masyaf, and others struck sites where “Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria”, the observatory said. It said the research centre was reportedly used for developing weapons, including short- and medium-range precision missiles and drones.
Minister of Electricity Mohammad al-Zamel said the strikes had caused “truly significant” damage to water and electricity infrastructure.
“This brutal attack targeted civilian targets, and the martyrs were mostly civilians, as were the wounded,” he said.
Local media also reported strikes around the coastal city of Tartous, which the observatory said were the result of air defense missiles falling.
On Monday afternoon, a charred car remained at the scene of one strike and smoke was still rising from some spots where fires had been put out.