New Delhi, May 20: Amid the growing verbal exchange between the Congress and BJP over India’s ‘alerting’ Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor, the latter stepped up the offensive and took a caustic jibe at the Leader of Opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday.

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya took to X to share a picture of Congress MP and Pak Army chief Asim Munir overlapping with each other.

“What’s next for Rahul Gandhi? The Nishan-e-Pakistan?” he wrote, taking a sharp swipe.

Rahul Gandhi, along with other Congress leaders, has been targeting the Centre over External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s statement that India gave a warning to Pakistan before launching a military operation. Congress claims that it was not just a strategic lapse but an ‘unpardonable’ crime. However, the charges have been outrightly refuted by the Ministry.

Amit Malviya, sharing the juxtaposed picture of Rahul and Pak Army chief on X, accused the Congress leader of speaking on behalf of Pakistan.

“It is not surprising that Rahul Gandhi is speaking the language of Pakistan and its benefactors. He hasn’t congratulated the Prime Minister on the flawless Operation Sindoor, which unmistakably showcases India’s dominance.”

He also claimed that the Congress MP hasn’t once inquired about how many Pakistani jets were shot down during the conflict, or how many were destroyed while parked in their hangars when Indian forces pounded Pakistani airbases.

“Instead, he repeatedly asks how many jets we lost – a question that has already been addressed in the DGMO briefings,” Malviya claimed.

The controversial image of Rahul and Asim Munir, put together in one frame, is set to create a political furore, with Congress taking a strong objection to it.

Early this morning, Assam cabinet minister Ashok Singhal also shared the same image and captioned it – ‘divided by borders, united by agenda’, reiterating the party’s charge that Congress’ talk of national security merely remains on paper and when it comes to action, they start taking sides of India’s adversary.

In another post, Malviya wrote that Rahul Gandhi was the new age Mir Jafar and also shared a cartoon.

Mumbai, May 20: Anti-corruption activist Anjali Damani on Tuesday slammed the Maharashtra government over veteran NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal’s induction into the state cabinet.

Soon after Bhujbal was inducted into the state cabinet, Damani wrote in a post on X in Marathi (loosely translated as): “Congratulations to the coalition government of Maharashtra. The state got another ED Bhushan Minister.”

Minutes before Bhujbal’s induction, Damani said, “Will Chhagan Bhujbal take oath as a minister at Raj Bhavan at 10 a.m. on Tuesday? Wow, Fadnavis, wow! Does this mean that one corrupt minister will be replaced by another corrupt minister? What is this nonsense? Or are there no decent people in politics?”

She further said, “And yes, when this same Bhujbal was in jail, a photo of him looking like a complete loser was shown in the media. So now what? I feel disgusted with Maharashtra politics. Remember the slogan below? “Action against corrupt officials, Ab Ki bar 400 paar.”

“Modi Govt’s Big Step Against Corruption. “Is this the big step? Is this the action?” she asked.

Bhujbal’s induction was done after the NCP president and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, party working president Praful Patel, and party state president Sunil Tatkare’s unanimous decision, especially ahead of the upcoming local and civic body elections.

Bhujbal is a leading OBC leader and the founder of Akhil Bharatiya Mahatma Phule Samta Parishad. He has been a strong advocate of the protection of the OBC reservation and caste-based census.

As another OBC leader Dhananjay Munde resigned in March in connection with the brutal killing of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, NCP decided to give ministerial berth to Bhujbal.

Bhijbal was sulking after not being inducted into the cabinet expansion held on December 15 last year.

New Delhi, May 19: The government is unlikely to extend the commercial airline IndiGo’s leasing agreement with Turkish Airlines due to strained diplomatic relations following Turkey’s open support for Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor launched by India to avenge the killings of 26 tourists.

“The current pact, which enables IndiGo to operate wide-body aircraft on the Delhi-Istanbul route, expires on May 31. The government review is underway and the deal is unlikely to be renewed given the broader diplomatic context,” according to an Media report, citing people in the know.

IndiGo currently operates over 500-seater Airbus A330s on lease from Turkish Airlines for its Istanbul flights. The partnership also includes a codeshare deal that allows IndiGo to sell connections to over 40 destinations in Europe and North America via Istanbul.

On Thursday, IndiGo defended the collaboration, calling it “strategic” and essential for offering Indian flyers long-haul international access.

Apart from the vocal support during the heinous Pahalgam massacre, Turkey has also supplied drones to Pakistan, which were used to attack India during Operation Sindoor.

The issue of renewal of the IndiGo agreement with Turkish Airlines comes up at a time when India is already snapping ties with Turkish businesses and universities.

The government on Thursday revoked the security clearance for Turkish ground-handling firm Celebi Airport Services at Indian airports, due to national security concerns.

The Turkish company handled around 70 per cent of the ground operations at Mumbai airport, including passenger services, load control, flight operations, cargo and postal services, warehouses and bridge operations.

Adani Airport Holdings has also scrapped its agreement with Turkish company DragonPass to provide the latter’s customers access to its airport lounges.

“Our association with DragonPass, which provided access to airport lounges, has been terminated with immediate effect. DragonPass customers will no longer have access to lounges at Adani-managed airports. This change will have no impact on the airport lounge and travel experience for other customers,” the Adani Airport Holdings spokesperson said on Thursday.

Hundreds of Indian tourists have cancelled their trips to Turkey and Azerbaijan as part of the nationalistic backlash against these countries for supporting Pakistan in the conflict with India. Leading online travel booking platforms MakeMyTrip and EaseMyTrip have reported mass cancellations and a sharp drop in Indian tourists wanting to travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Similarly, many Indian universities, including Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Millia Islamia, and Maulana Azad National Urdu University, have suspended academic ties with Turkish institutions.