Teachers recruitment case: Priyanka Gandhi slams BJP for playing 'double game' with youth
New Delhi (PTI): Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday slammed the BJP over the teachers recruitment case, alleging that it was playing a "double game" with the youth from both reserved and unreserved categories and harming them socially, economically and mentally.
Her remarks come a day after the Supreme Court stayed the Allahabad High Court order asking the Uttar Pradesh government to prepare a fresh selection list for the appointment of 69,000 assistant teachers in the state.
The top court also stayed the High Court verdict setting aside the selection lists of the assistant teachers issued by the state authorities in June 2020 and January 2022, which included 6,800 candidates.
"The anti-youth and anti-social justice attitude adopted by the BJP in the matter of recruitment of 69,000 teachers in UP is shocking. By playing a double game, the youth from both reserved and unreserved categories are being harmed socially, economically and mentally," she said in a post in Hindi on X.
"First, the reservation scam in the recruitment process took away the rights of hundreds of Dalit and backward candidates. And even now the BJP's intention is to delay and misdirect social justice. This injustice must stop," she said.
While putting on hold the high court’s verdict, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra also issued notices to the state government and others, including the secretary of the UP Basic Education Board, on a plea filed by Ravi Kumar Saxena and 51 others.
The top court said it will accord a final hearing in the matter and asked the counsel for the parties involved to file short written notes not exceeding seven pages.
The bench said it will fix the plea for hearing in the week commencing September 23.
Earlier, the high court had directed the state government in August to prepare a fresh selection list for the appointment of 69,000 assistant teachers in the state.
A division bench of the high court had issued the order while disposing of 90 special appeals filed by Mahendra Pal and others challenging a single-judge order of March 13 last year.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
