Congress MP Rahul Gandhi reached out to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Thursday evening, amid talk of yet more rifts in the INDIA bloc ahead of next year’s general election. Sources have told NDTV Mr Gandhi could not speak to the Janata Dal (United) boss since he was in a meeting, but the two are expected to talk later today. While the agenda is not known, there is speculation the two will speak on the fallout of Wednesday’s meeting, at which Nitish Kumar seemed to be overlooked as a possible convener for the group and/or prime ministerial candidate.

In fact, sources told NDTV Nitish Kumar clashed with INDIA leaders on several issues, including renaming the bloc as ‘Bharat’. That proposal was swiftly nixed by the Congress’ Sonia Gandhi. He reportedly also got angry with Manoj Jha of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, a state ally, because Mr Jha translated his speech from Hindi to Tamil for the benefit of political leaders from the DMK.

There was also talk Nitish Kumar lashed out at the Congress after its dismal performance in November’s Assembly polls, which were widely seen as a dry run of INDIA’s pull with voters. The Congress was routed in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan – heartland states that INDIA must win (at least some anyway) in order to defeat the BJP – after seat-sharing squabbles with allies.

The JDU, Bengal’s Trinamool Congress, and the Samajwadi Party of Akhilesh Yadav had all called out the Congress for failing to acknowledge the need to share seats, particularly with regional parties.

At the Delhi meet – itself a flashpoint after the Congress prioritised last month’s polls over strategising for the 2024 Lok Sabha election – Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Delhi counterpart, Arvind Kejriwal, set tongues wagging after proposing Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge as a potential convener and even Prime Minister, should INDIA actually defeat the BJP.

READ | Kharge As INDIA PM Face? Mamata, Kejriwal’s Surprise Pitch

Mr Kharge immediately declined, saying he preferred to focus on first winning the election.

Nitish Kumar has publicly refuted talk of his prime ministerial ambitions but, privately, is believed to be an aspirant. His party has been more explicit; in August and September, JDU leaders backed their boss for the country’s top job, and, this month, said he had “all the qualities and experience that a PM should have”. However, the JDU was careful to also acknowledge this must be a collective call.

READ | Nitish Kumar, Priyanka Gandhi’s Names Proposed For This Big Challenge

Ms Banerjee and Mr Kejriwal proposing Mr Kharge for the job, therefore, seemed to catch Nitish Kumar by surprise, and sources said he left the meeting in a huff. JDU spokesperson KC Tyagi later said, “… we (INDIA) will not project any face for 2024. This was the decision taken in Mumbai meeting and such decisions are not changed simply because one person says something.”

The JDU also insisted Nitish Kumar did not leave angry, and underlined its commitment to the bloc, which Mr Tyagi referred to as “… our child”. “We gave birth to it… how can we be angry with it?”

The “Kharge for PM” episode has further unsettled INDIA – which was created to unite the opposition so it might beat the BJP’s election-winning machinery. Nitish Kumar was one of its prime movers, arguably even its founder, and to lose him now, so close to the polls, will be an image issue INDIA cannot afford.

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There is “no feeling of discrimination towards any religious minority” in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted Thursday in a wide-ranging interview with British publication Financial Times (article might be paywalled). Responding to questions on the future of Muslims in India, he pointed to the country’s “status (as) the world’s fastest-growing economy” and rubbished critics, foreign and domestic, who say anti-Islamic sentiments and hate speech have flourished since he came to power in 2014.

“Indian society itself has no feeling of discrimination towards any religious minority…” the Prime Minister said when asked about the Muslim minority. This was after praising the economic success of the country’s Parsi community, which he described as a “religious micro-minority residing in India”.

“Despite facing persecution elsewhere in the world, they (Parsis) found a safe haven in India, living happily and prospering,” he told FT, which noted that he made no direct reference to the country’s roughly 200 million Muslims.

The comments were an echo of what he said in June, during his State visit to the United States. Mr Modi then said “… there is no space for any discrimination, caste, creed, religion, or gender, in India…”

In September, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar doubled down on the PM’s statement, declaring at an event in the US, “I defy you to show me discrimination… actually it has become fairer.”

READ | PM Modi Breaks Silence On US’ Sikh Murder Plot Claim

To a question about alleged crackdowns on the government’s critics, the Prime Minister laughed out loud, FT said.

“There is a whole ecosystem that is using the freedom available in our country to hurl these allegations at us every day, through editorials, TV channels, social media, videos, tweets, etc…” Mr Modi said, in an apparent reference to BJP ministers’ “toolkit” and “tukde tukde” jibes about the opposition.

“They have the right to do so. But others have an equal right to respond with facts.”

Speaking to FT from his official residence in Delhi’s Lok Kalyan Marg, and against the backdrop of the BJP’s dominant showing in the Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh elections, Mr Modi also dismissed criticism his government is dismantling long-standing secular and democratic traditions.

“It’s important to recognise India would not have achieved the status of the world’s fastest-growing economy if the issues you’ve highlighted were as pervasive as suggested,” he responded.

“Our critics are entitled to their opinions and the freedom to express them. However, there is a fundamental issue with such allegations, which often appear as criticisms,” he said about concerns over the health of Indian democracy. “These claims not only insult the intelligence of the Indian people but also underestimate their deep commitment to values like diversity and democracy.”

“Any talk of amending the constitution is meaningless,” the PM also told FT.

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A couple survived two separate plane crashes that occurred only a few miles apart on the same day. Stefano Pirilli, 30, and his fiance Antonietta Demasi, 22, en route to Turin, Italy, experienced harrowing moments as their planes plummeted to the ground.

As Mr Pirilli’s aircraft went down, Ms Demasi’s plane also encountered trouble soon after. Firefighters promptly rescued the pair from each crash site.

Miraculously, the couple and the pilots, including Ms Demasi’s pilot Paolo Rotondo, 38, survived the incidents. Ms Demasi suffered a pelvic injury, while pilot Rotondo sustained a head wound, the Daily Mail reported. Mr Pirilli was unharmed from the wreckage of a two-seater Tecnam P92 Echo Super.

This was Antonietta’s first flying experience, Mr Pirilli said, adding he was sorry for how it turned out. He added that their day started on a beautiful note but ended with both crashing in separate planes. He said they were fortunate to not have died, adding their thoughts were with the injured pilots.

Sunday was a perfect day for flying blue skies, sunshine and not a cloud, it was the perfect way to have some fun in the air, he said. And now Mr Pirilli just wanted his girlfriend and the pilot to get better.

Reflecting on the events leading to the crashes, he explained, “We fell foul of the weather and the time – the mist started to come up as the temperature dropped and then all of a sudden it was night.”

Mr Pirilli said they decided to try and land at Busano, and he called Antonietta to inform her. The pilot of her plane said he would land at the airfield near San Gillio. As they headed to the airstrip, they were enveloped in mist and darkness. There were electricity cables around and before they knew it, they crashed onto the ground and into a meadow, Mr Pirilli said.

Despite the challenging circumstances, Mr Pirilli maintained his focus on the well-being of his fiance and the pilot. He managed to call the emergency services and then tried calling Antonietta but there was no answer. The firefighters turned up and said how crazy it was as this was their second plane crash. “I rushed straight to the hospital and have been there ever since. I just hope Antonietta and Paolo are out of the hospital soon,” he added.