NEWS

The Congress party on Sunday slammed the RSS for claiming earlier that it could get ready in three days, unlike several months needed by the Indian Army, to go to the front and fight on the border while alleging that militancy had been on the rise in Jammu and Kashmir and development on the back burner in the state.

The allegation against the RSS and particularly its head Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat was leveled by senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal during his interaction with the news agency ANI here.

Slamming the BJP-led Centre for using central agencies to conduct raids on leaders in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena on Sunday said “contract killings” have now been replaced by “government killings” to finish off political rivals in Maharashtra.

Sena MP Sanjay Raut in his column ‘Rok Thok’ in party mouthpiece Saamna said central agencies like ED, CBI, NCB and I-T department were working as contract killers for the party that wields power in Delhi. “Is there a rule of law or rule of raids in Maharashtra? This is the one question that comes to mind given the record number of raids that are being conducted by central agencies...,” Raut wrote.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra mounted a scathing attack on the Congress party, alleging that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was insulted during the recent CWC meeting and that his role in the integration of Jammu and Kashmir in India was questioned.

Citing some newspapers, Patra alleged that CWC member Tariq Hameed Karra created misconception over Kashmir by saying that Sardar Patel tried to keep J&K separate from India while Jawaharlal Nehru was the one who ensured its integration.

Despite the Centre repeatedly expressing its reservations, the Supreme Court collegium has reiterated at least 12 names for appointment as high court judges — nine advocates for judgeship of the J&K, Calcutta and Karnataka HCs, and three district judges for the Allahabad HC.

Some of the collegium’s recommendations have been repeated twice since 2018 and have been pending with the government because of “adverse” reports — some reportedly lack eligibility criteria — against them.