Reacting over the blasts that took place at a prayer meeting in Kerala’s Kochi, Congress national spokesperson Charan Singh Sapra said that the incident is “unfortunate” and the state government will take action on it.

“The blasts that happened are unfortunate, it should not have happened. The government there will definitely take action on this…,” Charan Sapra said speaking to news agency ANI on Sunday.

Reacting to Union Minister Ramdas Athawale calling Rahul Gandhi a liar for promising a country-wide caste census, Charan Sapra said Mr Athawale is not aware that the Congress has fulfilled its promises in Karnataka as well as in poll-bound Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

“Mr Athawale does not know what to say and what not to say. He does not know that Congress has fulfilled the five promises made in Karnataka. It has fulfilled the promises made in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh…,” the Congress spokesperson said.

Speaking on the hunger strike called by Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil in Maharashtra, Charan Sapra said that his demand is reasonable.

“Manoj Jarange Patil’s demand is reasonable, the government shows him carrots. Eknath Shinde takes false oaths, Devendra Fadnavis cheats the Maratha people…Ajit Pawar himself is a Maratha, if he is not able to give reservation to Marathas then they should drown…,” Charan Sapra said.

Manoj Jarange Patil once again started a hunger strike in Jalna on Wednesday, after the purported deadline of 40 days given to the state government to announce the reservation expired.

Jarange Patil said that this time the community would intensify its protest and hold chain hunger strikes and candle marches till their demand is fulfilled. The Maratha community has been protesting for the community’s inclusion on the OBC list in the state.

Stressing the importance of taking care of a country’s community, Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar said that India has carried out one big operation every year since 2015 to bring back its citizens from different parts of the world during times of conflict.

He said that at any point in time, India has to take care of around 3.5 crore people outside the country, and this requires preparation on a daily basis.

Addressing an event at Town Hall in Bhopal, Mr Jaishankar said, “Since 2015, we have had one big operation every year. Operation Maitri in Nepal, Operation Rahat in Yemen, and Sankat Mochan in South Sudan. This is today, necessary. And to do this today, you need to have the preparation, thinking, planning and resources”.

“In Turkey during the earthquakes, in Israel during the terror attacks, we had to bring our people back. During Covid, there was a mission called Vande Bharat mission. Through this, we brought back 70 lakh people back to India. No country in the world has ever done this,” he added.

The EAM further said that the time of Bharat has come, and people go around the world considering the world as a global workplace.

“If you look around the world, the NRIs, the person of Indian origins, their total number in around 3.5 crore. Now, think, we have to take the responsibility of 3.5 crore people daily. Almost half of them are foreign citizens, but still, around 2 crore Indian citizens are outside India. At any point in time, around 13 lakh Indian students are outside India,” Mr Jaishankar said.

He added, “Around 2-3 lakh Indians are engaged in merchant shipping. Around 90 lakh people live and work in Khadi. Imagine the challenge for us and why it is necessary to prepare for it, because, for Bharat, the time has come. It will not just stay in Bharat. The Bharat will go through the world. For us, the world is today, a global workplace”.

Speaking on India’s G20 presidency, the EAM recalled how the African leaders expressed gratefulness for the African Union’s inclusion as a permanent member of G20.

“All of you know that in September, G20 took place in New Delhi and it took people by surprise that when G20 had so many conflicts and tensions, how come we were able to bring a joint statement that too on the first day of the summit? When I went to New York at the end of September for the UN General Assembly, all the African leaders came across and told me that because of India, Africa got a permanent membership of G20,” Mr Jaishankar said.

He further said that India takes a strong position on terrorism because “we are big victims of terrorism.”

“Today, a good government and strong governance stand up for its people. Just as good governance is necessary at home, right judgements are necessary abroad. We take a strong position on terrorism because we are big victims of terrorism. We will have no credibility if we say that when terrorism impacts us, it’s very serious; when it happens to somebody else, it’s not serious. We need to have a consistent position,” he said.

His remarks come after India abstained from voting on the Jordanian resolution which called for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

However, it is pertinent to note that India was in favour of the Canadian resolution which condemned the terrorist attacks by Hamas.

The Jordanian-led draft resolution was adopted by the General Assembly, with 120 votes in favour, 14 against and 45 abstentions. The 45 nations that abstained from voting on the resolution included Iceland, India, Panama, Lithuania and Greece.

Telangana Congress leaders on Sunday urged party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to reconsider the first and second lists of candidates for the November 30 Assembly polls as some leaders appear upset with the “parachutes given priority at the cost of loyal leaders”.

Kisan Congress national vice president, M Kodanda Reddy and TPCC senior vice president G Niranjan in their letter said that the first and second lists of the candidates announced by the party created flutter and dissatisfaction among the cadre and leaders those who are with the party for the decades.

“There is an opinion as the parachutes are given priority at the cost of committed and loyal leaders though they are competent to fight the elections in all respects,” the letter stated.

“In view of the feelings and dissatisfaction of the cadre we request your good self to review and reconsider the names of the candidates announced in the first and second lists to repose the confidence among the people and to set right the prevailing atmosphere in the Party,” it added.

The party has fielded 100 candidates, so far, for the 119 member Assembly seats, going to polls on November 30.

In the first list announced on October 15, the Congress announced the names of as many as 55 candidates. The party released its second list of 45 candidates, fielding former India cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin from the Jubilee Hills seat.

The counting of votes will be done on December 3.

Telangana is set to witness a triangular contest between the BJP, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi, and the Congress in the upcoming assembly election.

In the previous Assembly election held in 2018, BRS managed to win 88 seats out of 119 and had a dominant vote share of 47.4 per cent. Congress came in a distant second with 19 seats. Its vote share was 28.7 per cent.