Spanish consulate soon to be opened in Bengaluru: Jaishankar
Madrid (PTI): Spain will soon open a consulate in Bengaluru, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said calling it a "good sign" for deepening the relations between both the countries.
Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit to Spain, made these remarks on Monday while interacting with the Indian community here.
"In terms of our people-to-people relationship, I hope the people of Barcelona welcome that we have a consulate there... There will soon be a Spanish consulate in Bengaluru," he said while interacting with the community.
"These are good signs that our relationship is deepening and you create bigger establishments because you can say the business is becoming bigger. As the relationship deepens, for us to have a Consulate and who knows where we will be further in the future," he said.
"We have decided that we will mark 2026 as a dual year. A dual year where we will be celebrating culture, tourism and Artificial Intelligence in both countries. So through 2025, we will be working hard to prepare for 2026," he said.
This is Jaishankar's first visit to Spain as the external affairs minister - nearly two-and-a-half months after Spanish President Pedro Sanchez visited India.
On Monday, Jaishankar met his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares and discussed regional and global issues.
He also said that there are 230 Spanish companies in India and Delhi would welcome more of them to "join us and make in India, design in India and collaborate in India."
"When we look at our bilateral trade, it is about 10 billion euros. There are huge possibilities in railways, digital and urban technologies, smart cities, green and clean technologies...," he said.
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'Insensitivity towards poor, arrogance of power': Rahul Gandhi slams BJP over demolitions in Delhi
New Delhi, Jul 27 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said hundreds of slum dwellers in Delhi are going through the pain of being rendered homeless with their houses being destroyed by the BJP government, as he claimed that this "atrocity" exposes the ruling party's "insensitivity" towards the poor and its "arrogance of power".
The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha shared a video of his recent visit to Delhi's Ashok Vihar area where houses of several people were brought down by the administration.
"Imagine, how would you feel if the roof over the head of your parents, children or siblings is suddenly taken away - if your entire family is rendered homeless in a single moment? Hundreds of poor families living in the jhuggis of Delhi are going through this pain today," Gandhi said in his post in Hindi on X along with the video.
The small houses in which they had settled their entire life were "ruthlessly destroyed" by the BJP government, he alleged.
These were not just houses - these were their dreams, their dignity and their means of living, he said.
"This atrocity being committed in the name of administration exposes the BJP's insensitivity towards the poor and its arrogance of power," Gandhi said.
"We stand firmly with these displaced families. This fight is no longer just for homes, it is for justice and humanity - and we will fight on every front," the former Congress chief said.
Last week, Gandhi had met some families in Ashok Vihar's Jailorwala Bagh and Wazirpur, whose houses were "bulldozed by the BJP government of Delhi".
In the video, Gandhi is seen interacting with the families who were rendered homeless. He assures them of taking up their cause and providing legal assistance.
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) last month had carried out an anti-encroachment drive in West Delhi's Ashok Vihar and razed over 300 illegal dwellings.
A simultaneous anti-encroachment drive was also carried out in North Delhi's Wazirpur area by Indian Railways.
The demolition was carried out amid heavy police and paramilitary deployment. A total of 308 illegal dwellings were cleared from the Jailorwala Bagh in the Ashok Vihar area, as part of DDA's efforts to remove unauthorised settlements.
According to DDA, the action targeted jhuggi structures belonging to residents who were either already allotted alternative flats or were found ineligible under the rehabilitation policy.
सोचिए, अगर आपके अपने माँ-बाप, बच्चे या भाई-बहन के सिर से अचानक छत छीन ली जाए - अगर आपके पूरे परिवार को एक ही पल में बेघर कर दिया जाए, तो आपको कैसा लगेगा?
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 27, 2025
दिल्ली की झुग्गियों में रहने वाले सैकड़ों ग़रीब परिवार आज इसी दर्द से गुजर रहे हैं। जिन छोटे-छोटे घरों में उनकी पूरी ज़िंदगी… pic.twitter.com/lftR8NxwKD
