India news: US envoy’s Kashmir remarks reignite Pakistan row

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday questioned the transparency and spending of the PM CARES Fund.

The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund was launched in March 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Nevertheless, the PM CARES Fund is a non-public fund managed on the discretion of the prime minister and its trustees and doesn’t type a part of the Authorities of India’s accounts.

Kharge in a submit on X, mentioned that the fund held ₹8,452 crore (~€754 million) on the finish of 2024-25 however spent solely 0.01% of the quantity through the yr.

Kharge questioned why the fund, chaired by Prime Minister  Narendra Modi and overseen by the protection, dwelling and finance ministers as trustees, shouldn’t be topic to India’s Proper to Data (RTI) legislation, audited by the Comptroller and Auditor Common (CAG), or accountable to Parliament.

The Congress chief additionally questioned the rationale for the emergency fund accumulating hundreds of crores whereas spending solely a fraction of its steadiness.

In his submit, Kharge linked the difficulty to the alleged Ram Mandir Belief donation theft case and accused the Modi authorities of overseeing each donation-funded entities.

India’s self-styled “Cockroach” protest motion used viral social media posts to problem Modi’s authorities.

Now activists allege a web-based crackdown, with protest content material disappearing from platforms like Instagram.

Police in Pune within the western state of Maharashtra have registered a case in opposition to eight individuals from a right-wing group accused of assaulting home vacationers after taking offense at an 8-year-old woman carrying shorts.

The incident occurred on the metropolis’s Sinhagad Fort on Sunday, a day after India’s Independence Day.

Based on media experiences, members of the right-wing group Samast Hindu Bandhav Military confronted a household over their 8-year-old daughter carrying shorts. A person, recognized by experiences because the woman’s father, was allegedly assaulted by the group.

The confrontation escalated into bodily assaults, with girls, kids and aged guests additionally allegedly focused, the experiences mentioned.

Maharashtra is ruled by the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in a coalition with different regional events.

The Cockroach Janta Party protests, which put the federal government on the again foot final month, have continued to reverberate by means of the corridors of energy in New Delhi,.

Now the federal government has briefed cupboard ministers on their social media engagement, urging them to engage with Gen Z.

Throughout a Cupboard assembly on Wednesday, media experiences mentioned, union ministers got an evaluation of their social media efficiency.

The directive was easy:

• Step up digital outreach
• Interact extra with Gen Z

The assessment lined posts throughout numerous social media platforms and assessed metrics together with common every day posts, engagement, likes, followers and general traction, whereas additionally evaluating the efficiency of political leaders throughout events, the experiences mentioned.

The assessment comes amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) pushing for higher engagement with younger individuals following current Gen Z-led protests.

Within the wake of the protests, the federal government has needed to cope with posts from younger individuals mocking the BJP’s makes an attempt to look youthful whereas holding the give attention to schooling reform and accountability, exposing the chinks within the BJP’s digital technique designed for an earlier period.

Indian authorities on Thursday eliminated security barricades outdoors the Pakistan Excessive Fee in New Delhi, a day after Pakistan objected to US ambassador to India’s remarks describing Jammu and Kashmir as an “vital a part of India.”

On Wednesday, Sergio Gor made the remarks throughout his first go to to Kashmir, including that Washington would rethink its journey advisory for the area. The US at present locations most of Jammu and Kashmir, excluding japanese Ladakh and Leh, underneath a Degree 4 “Don’t journey” advisory, citing terrorism and civil unrest.

Each India and Pakistan declare Kashmir in full however rule it partially, making a decades-long flashpoint between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

On Wednesday, Pakistan summoned Washington’s prime envoy in Islamabad and “strongly condemned and categorically rejected” remarks by Gor.

“It was underscored that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally acknowledged disputed territory,” Pakistan’s Overseas Ministry mentioned in an announcement.

Pakistan additionally eliminated safety bollards and parking poles outdoors the Indian Excessive Fee in Islamabad.

In the same motion, Indian authorities early on Thursday dismantled the protection barricades and site visitors bollards outdoors Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, experiences mentioned. This included queue boundaries close to the visa part.

Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday mentioned the federal government is dedicated to creating infrastructure in border areas after dismissing claims of Chinese incursion within the japanese Arunachal Pradesh state.

Rijiju mentioned border growth had been uncared for underneath earlier governments however was now a “prime precedence” underneath the Modi authorities.

The minister was in Arunachal just lately to supervise vital infrastructure initiatives.

Earlier, Rijiju dismissed claims that China had made a 60-km incursion into Arunachal Pradesh, calling them “incorrect” and saying such experiences may undermine the morale of Indian safety forces and create confusion.

Rijiju mentioned the India-China border within the state stays undemarcated in a number of areas.

Hi there! That is Shakeel from DW’s New Delhi studio bringing you the latest updates from across India.

It is a cloudy morning in Delhi at present, however maybe not as cloudy because the strained relations between India and Pakistan after US envoy Sergio Gor’s remarks on Kashmir brought on a furor.

In the meantime, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju mentioned the Narendra Modi authorities is dedicated to creating infrastructure in border areas, particularly in Arunachal Pradesh, amid allegations of Chinese intrusion.

The fallout from the Cockroach protests continues to reverberate by means of the ability corridors of New Delhi, with the federal government briefing cupboard ministers on their social media engagement and asking them to interact with Gen Z.

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