Sonia Gandhi Speaks To Sharad Pawar Over Nephew's Switch Extends Support

After the split in Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Sunday spoke to NCP chief Sharad Pawar over the phone and discussed the current situation and extended support to him.

This comes after NCP's senior leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday joined Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra and took oath as the state's Deputy Chief Minister.

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal told ANI that, "CPP Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has spoken to Sharad Pawar over the phone and discussed the situation and extended support to him, earlier Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi spoke to Sharad Pawar."

On the other hand, hours after the reshuffle, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said, "This is not 'googly', it is a robbery" and that he was worried about the future of those who left the party.

Talking to reporters after his nephew and eight other party leaders rebelled and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra, Mr Pawar said he was not worried about what happened and will work to strengthen the party again.

He also hinted at action against party leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, saying they did not follow their responsibilities.

Sharad Pawar said some of those who joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government were facing ED cases. Ajit Pawar took oath as Deputy Chief Minister. Eight other NCP leaders took oath as ministers.

"This is not 'googly', it is a robbery. It is not a small thing," Sharad Pawar said. "Some of my colleagues have taken a different stand. I had called a meeting of all the leaders on July 6, where some important issue was to be discussed and some changes were to be made within the party but before that meeting, some of the leaders have taken a different stand."

Sharad Pawar said that in the next two-three days, they will sit with Congress and Uddhav Thackeray to access the situation. "Our main strength is the common people; they have elected us."

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Andhra Medical Student 23 Dies By Suicide In College Hostel Room

A woman medical student was found dead in the hostel of a medical college in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday. It is suspected that she committed suicide by hanging, according to the Police.

"The deceased was identified as Chaitanya, 23, a resident of Palasa of Srikakulam district. Chaitanya, who was married two months back, was working as a house surgeon at Narayana Medical College in Nellore. A case has been registered for unnatural death and an investigation has been started," said the police.

Chaitanya was found hanging in the college hostel room on Sunday morning by hostel mates who immediately informed the incident to the authorities.

Police sources said that in their preliminary investigation, it is found that there were quarrels between Chaitanya and her husband.

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Sonia Gandhi Speaks To Sharad Pawar Over Nephew's Switch Extends Support

After the split in Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Sunday spoke to NCP chief Sharad Pawar over the phone and discussed the current situation and extended support to him.

This comes after NCP's senior leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday joined Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra and took oath as the state's Deputy Chief Minister.

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal told ANI that, "CPP Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has spoken to Sharad Pawar over the phone and discussed the situation and extended support to him, earlier Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi spoke to Sharad Pawar."

On the other hand, hours after the reshuffle, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said, "This is not 'googly', it is a robbery" and that he was worried about the future of those who left the party.

Talking to reporters after his nephew and eight other party leaders rebelled and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra, Mr Pawar said he was not worried about what happened and will work to strengthen the party again.

He also hinted at action against party leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, saying they did not follow their responsibilities.

Sharad Pawar said some of those who joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government were facing ED cases. Ajit Pawar took oath as Deputy Chief Minister. Eight other NCP leaders took oath as ministers.

"This is not 'googly', it is a robbery. It is not a small thing," Sharad Pawar said. "Some of my colleagues have taken a different stand. I had called a meeting of all the leaders on July 6, where some important issue was to be discussed and some changes were to be made within the party but before that meeting, some of the leaders have taken a different stand."

Sharad Pawar said that in the next two-three days, they will sit with Congress and Uddhav Thackeray to access the situation. "Our main strength is the common people; they have elected us."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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KCR Calls For Change In Governance As Maharashtra Ex-Servicemen Join Party

BRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday called for a radical change in the traditional decades-old existing governance and administrative system and to move forward with the goal of welfare, development and upliftment of all sections.

Speaking after several ex-servicemen from Maharashtra, who joined the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Hyderabad, Mr Rao, also known as KCR, asserted a qualitative change will be achieved only by 'Parivartan Bharat' (India Transformation).

Leaders of ex-Military Associations and ex-servicemen from Maharashtra joined the BRS party in the presence of KCR, who welcomed them into the party fold by offering them the pink (party) scarves, an official release said.

KCR said that it was a remarkable occasion that the soldiers of the country were coming forward to establish the "Farmers Regime" on a call of 'Ab ki baar kisan sarkar'.

The BRS chief explained about the various development and welfare schemes which were being implemented in Telangana.

KCR called upon the ex-servicemen that the time has come to rededicate themselves and continue their duty as heroic soldiers to bring a qualitative change in the lives of the people in Maharashtra.

Ex-soldier and secretary of 'Fauji Janata Party' from Nashik district Bapurao Pagare joined the BRS, the release said adding along with him several other former army personnel, who have served in various ranks in the India Army joined the BRS party.

After renaming the TRS as BRS in December last year, KCR addressed rallies in neighbouring Maharashtra in recent months as part of plans to expand the party.

The BRS has seen leaders from different parties and trade unions from Maharashtra and other states joining the KCR-led party during the last couple of months.

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Bhim Army Chief Injured In Attack To Get Security: Deputy Chief Minister

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Saturday said the state government will provide security to Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad who was recently injured in an attack.

"Chandra Shekhar is our friend, the attack on him is being investigated and the culprits will be caught. He will be provided security. In every situation, our government is committed to identify and punish every criminal in the state," Mr Pathak, who was in Bahraich to attend a programme, told reporters.

Four people were arrested from Haryana's Ambala district on Saturday for their alleged involvement in the attack on Mr Aazad. They were arrested in a joint operation by the Haryana and Uttar Pradesh police, Haryana Special Task Force Deputy Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar said.

Mr Aazad was shot at by car-borne attackers in Deoband on Wednesday evening. He suffered an injury as one of the bullets grazed his waist. He was discharged from the district hospital in Saharanpur on Thursday.

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An Appeal To Lt Governor After Agents Issue Fake Amarnath Yatra Permits

Around 300 devotees have been left stranded at the Jammu base camp after they were stopped from proceeding on the Amarnath Yatra due to fake permits issued by their travel agents.

Desperate to continue their pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath, these pilgrims have sought assistance from Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, urging him to consider their special circumstances and allow them to proceed with the yatra.

"We implore Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to intervene and spare us further hardship. We humbly request their facilitation of our pilgrimage to Amarnath," said Suresh Kumar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh stranded in Jammu due to a fake permit.

Over 430 Amarnath pilgrims were found in possession of fake registration permits in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts on Friday.

Ramesh Arora, a Delhi resident stuck at the Jammu base camp said, "We have been deceived by travel agents in Delhi who provided us with counterfeit permits for the yatra. While they have put us in this difficult situation, the administration is not permitting us to continue our pilgrimage due to the fake documents." Over the past two days, these stranded pilgrims, including women and children, have been tirelessly seeking help from the authorities concerned.

The devotees said their appeal for assistance has largely gone unanswered, leading to mounting uncertainty and frustration among them.

Nevertheless, they have refused to leave without paying obeisance to Lord Shiva at Amarnath.

On the lookout for a temporary shelter until they hear from the authorities, hundreds of these pilgrims have taken refuge at the Asaram Bapu ashram near the Jammu base camp.

"We appeal to the government to approach this issue with compassion. We are at a loss both due to fraudulent travel agents and the administration's refusal to allow us to complete the yatra," said Susheela, another stranded resident of Delhi awaiting help from the authorities.

Responding to the situation, a senior official said, "Such pilgrims are not at fault. We are committed to facilitating their pilgrimage and are providing them with assistance in terms of accommodation and meals." Around 300 fake registration permits for the Amarnath Yatra were detected by the district administration in Jammu along with the police on Friday, the officials said.

Meanwhile, 65 people were found carrying fake registration documents at the Lakhanpur entry point in Kathua district, while 68 were intercepted with such fake documents in Samba district.

Jammu Deputy Commissioner Jammu Avny Lavasa said an FIR has already been registered in the matter and police investigation is underway.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jammu-Samba-Kathua range, Shakti Pathak warned of legal action against those involved in duping Amarnath pilgrims by providing fake registration permits.

The 62-day-long annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath located at a height of 3,880 metres in the south Kashmir Himalayas began on July 1 and will continue till August 31.

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British PM Rishi Sunak 'Sad' Over Cricket Racism And Sexism Report

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he was "sad" to read a damning report that claimed racism and sexism are rife within English cricket. The publication of the Independent Commission report into Equity in Cricket came in the wake of a racism scandal centred around the treatment of Pakistan-born bowler Azeem Rafiq at English side Yorkshire.

Rafiq went public with allegations of racism and bullying in 2020, prompting the England and Wales Cricket Board to commission the report. Six former Yorkshire players found guilty of using racist language in the Rafiq case were last month fined by the Cricket Discipline Commission.

Of the more than 4,000 individuals interviewed for the ICEC report, 50 percent described experiencing discrimination in the previous five years, with the figures substantially higher for people from ethnically diverse communities. Women were often treated as "second-class citizens", the report found, also stating that not enough had been done to address class barriers, with private schools dominating the pathway into cricket.

Appearing on BBC Radio during the second Test between England and Australia at Lord's on Saturday, Sunak said: "It was, for people who love cricket, really hard to read and you were just sad."

A total of 44 recommendations were made in the report, including a call for equal pay for male and female international players by 2030. Sunak said the ECB was "absolutely committed" to fixing the problems outlined in the report.

"I have spent a little bit of the morning talking to the team at the ECB and I think they have approached it in exactly the right way," he said.

"They commissioned this report off their own back because they wanted to be proactive so they deserve credit for that."

Sunak hopes the report provides cricket with a chance to reset its moral compass. "They have offered an unreserved apology and are fully committed to implementing change and for this to be a reset moment for cricket," he said.

"We all want it to be open for everybody from all backgrounds and where everyone can feel respect and supported when playing it.

"So that's what we want and I'm confident the whole cricketing family share that ambition."

Sunak, the first British Asian Prime Minister, said he had endured his own problems regarding racism, although he acknowledged the progress made on the issue in the United Kingdom.

"Of course I have experienced racism growing up, in particular, and of course I know it exists," he said. "It stings you in a way that very few other things do. It stings you. It does hurt."

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