Spoke to Sharad Pawar, he is coming for Opposition meeting Tuesday morning: Kharge
New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said he has spoken with NCP chief Sharad Pawar and was informed that he would participate in the Opposition meeting in Bengaluru on July 18.
Responding to reports that Pawar would skip the Opposition meeting on Monday and take part in it on Tuesday, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh rejected such insinuations, saying the official meeting of opposition parties is on Tuesday and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is only hosting a dinner on Monday.
Asked about Pawar, Kharge, while interacting with reporters, said he has spoken with Pawar earlier in the day.
"He said the (Maharashtra) Assembly is starting there today and he would like to be there (Mumbai). But he will be present for the meeting tomorrow. I called him up to say that it is important for him to come... He said he is coming on July 18 morning, there is no concern about that," Kharge said.
"There is no problem, everyone is coming. Mamata ji is coming, read in the papers Kejriwal ji is coming, Nitish ji, Tejashwi ji, Stalin ji... In fact, more people are aligning with us than those present at the Patna meeting," the Congress president said.
Top leaders of 26 opposition parties are expected to brainstorm in Bengaluru on Tuesday at the official conclave of Opposition parties where they are likely to start work on a common minimum programme and announce a joint agitational plan to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
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ED raids in case against former Punjab Police DIG Bhullar, linked entities
Chandigarh (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate on Monday conducted searches at multiple locations in Punjab as part of a money laundering probe against former state police DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar and entities linked to him, officials said.
They said about 11 premises in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Patiala, Nabha and Jalandhar linked to the accused, his associates and suspected benamidars (the owner in whose name a benami property is held) are being covered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case registered against Bhullar on allegations that he sought illegal gratification through a middleman for settlement of a criminal case, along with detection of assets disproportionate to known sources of income.
The searches aim to trace further proceeds of the alleged crime, identify benami assets and gather evidence related to money laundering, ED officials said.
Bhullar, who was serving as the deputy inspector general (DIG) of police (Ropar Range), was arrested by the CBI in October 2025 after a scrap dealer alleged that bribe was demanded from him through an intermediary to settle a case.
