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‘Disaster for common people’: Amit Mitra slams Union Budget

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New Delhi, Feb 1: Dr Amit Mitra, Principal Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister and Finance Department of West Bengal, criticised the Union Budget on Saturday, saying it was “a disaster for the common people”.

Claiming that there is nothing for the common people in this budget, he told media, “It (Union Budget) has cut everything. Social services were cut by 16 per cent. Housing cut by 4.38 per cent. Welfare and scheduled cast and scheduled tribes were cut by over 3 per cent. Social services and welfare, very important for the common people, were cut by 5 per cent. Now what is interesting is that even food subsidy had been cut by 1 per cent.”

“And there’s nothing for the youth, women or farmers. Unemployment as you know, youth unemployment today is 46 per cent. Among them, 30 per cent are unemployed who are graduates. According to CMIE, as much as 37,000,000 people were unemployed between October and December,” the Principal Chief Advisor to the CM claimed.

On 100 per cent FDI allowed in insurance, Mitra said, “It is a challenge to all the public sector companies like LIC and a host of other insurance companies and including Indian private sector companies. Now while they are coming in, they’ll come in with a 100 per cent equity. When our state asks for GST on insurance, including life insurance, to be reduced from 18 per cent goods and services tax to 0 because it’s only punishing people who are taking insurance. The central government did not allow it. It postponed it. That leads me to the question. Is there some kind of a conspiratorial process here that foreign direct investors come in 100 per cent equity, but the GST remains at 18 per cent for insurance for the common people? Who benefits from this?”

Commenting on the manufacturing sector, he stated the survey has directly said the growth rate has been cut.

“Manufacturing is only 15 per cent of our GDP. And the promise was to take it to 25 per cent. What is there in the budget which is gonna take manufacturing to that 25 per cent target of Mr Modi? So how will you get higher growth? Naturally, growth is tumbling and conservative in its expectations. So what has the budget done for the common people? It has consistently cut,” Mitra stated.

Commenting on the new tax exemption limit announced in the budget, the Principal Chief Advisor to the West Bengal Chief Minister said, “Taxes from 7 lakh threshold have been raised to 12 lakh. So the income of 12 lakh level will not pay taxes, but remember inflation is rising and there is nothing in the budget to control inflation.”

Explaining the new tax exemption limit, he said, “Only 8 crore people pay taxes. Even if some proportion of those people gain a little bit, it’ll get eaten up automatically by inflation. That means your real gain is 0. This is the kind of very clever trick that the budget plays.”

Slamming the budget, he said, “What has it done for inflation? In fact, to keep the fiscal deficit at 4.4 per cent central government is again going to borrow almost Rs 15 lakh crore. So the debt of the country will keep going. So my conclusion, is nothing for the common people, nothing for the youth, only unemployment. Nothing for women of any significance, only words. Nothing for the farmers accepting some homilies.”

Mitra also alleged that there was a deep-rooted conspiracy indicated by a lot of experts on Saturday.

“Inviting 100 per cent equity of foreign direct investment insurance, but not cutting the GST tax on insurance, does it have a connection between the two? In this government between somebody or the other, an international lobby?” he questioned.

National News

‘My Mother’s Tears Fell When Terrorists Killed My Father’: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Reacts To Union HM Amit Shah’s Remarks On Sonia Gandhi’s Tears

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New Delhi: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks referencing her mother, Sonia Gandhi’s tears, stating that her mother wept when her father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was killed by terrorists, and that she understands the pain of the Pahalgam terror victims.

Addressing the Lok Sabha during the discussion on Operation Sindoor, Priyanka Gandhi said, “Union Home Minister spoke about my mother’s tears today. I want to answer this. My mother’s tears fell when terrorists killed my father. Today, when I talk about those 26 people (victims of the Pahalgam attack), it is because I understand their pain.”

Her remarks came after Union Minister Shah said that Sonia Gandhi was “sobbing” at the Batla House incident.

“I remember one morning during breakfast, I saw Salman Khurshid crying on the TV. He was coming out of Sonia Gandhi’s residence… He said that Sonia Gandhi was sobbing at the Batla House incident. She should have cried for Shaheed Mohan Sharma instead of the terrorists of the Batla house…” Shah had said.

Further questioning the Union Home Minister over the ceasefire, Priyanka Gandhi said, “The Union Home Minister today spoke about what Nehru and Indira Gandhi did. He even went on to talk about my mother’s tears. But he never answered why the ceasefire was announced…”

Furthermore, Congress leader Vadra accused the government of “escaping” the questions and having “no sense” of accountability towards the citizens of the nation.

“This government always tries to escape the questions…They have no sense of accountability towards the citizens of the nation. The truth is that they have no place for the public in their heart. For them, everything is politics, publicity…” she said.

“Most of the people who are sitting in this House today have a security cover…But on that day in Pahalgam, 26 people were killed in front of their families. All those people who were present in Baisaran Valley on that day did not have any security. No matter how many operations you conduct, you cannot hide behind the truth…” she stated.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai 26 July 2005 Floods: When City Was Submerged With 944 mm Of Rain In 24 Hours Leaving 914 Dead, Thousands Displaced

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Every year, the monsoon season disrupts life across Indian cities with heavy rainfall, waterlogging and traffic chaos. But July 26, 2005, stands out as a day that etched itself into Mumbai’s history as one of its darkest and most devastating.

On that day, Mumbai received an unprecedented 944 mm of rain in just 24 hours, nearly half of its annual average. Between 8 am and 8 pm alone, 644 mm poured down. It remains the eighth-highest 24-hour rainfall ever recorded anywhere in the world. The city, unprepared for such intensity, was brought to a grinding halt.

Internet Flooded With Old Visuals, Still Haunting Mumbaikars

Several netizens took to social media to share haunting visuals from the 2005 Mumbai floods, recalling the day when the city came to a complete standstill. Many described it as an unforgettable chapter in Mumbai’s history, marked by chaos, resilience and unity.

While some reflected on the overwhelming scale of the disaster, others remembered how the crisis revealed the undying spirit of Mumbai, with strangers helping each other and communities coming together in the face of adversity.

Mumbai’s Lifeline Took Serious Hit, 52 Local Trains Damaged

As floodwaters rose, roads vanished beneath torrents of water. Local trains, the city’s lifeline, stopped completely, with tracks submerged and 52 trains damaged. Thousands were stranded in stations, schools and offices overnight. Low-lying areas like Dharavi and the Bandra-Kurla Complex were heavily inundated, while vehicles were swept away or immobilised.

The scale of disruption was staggering. Over 37,000 auto-rickshaws, 4,000 taxis, 900 BEST buses and 10,000 trucks and tempos were either damaged or rendered unusable. Even the skies were no refuge. For the first time ever, Mumbai’s airports shut down, with Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and the Juhu airstrip closed for more than 30 hours. More than 700 flights were cancelled or delayed, creating nationwide ripples in air traffic.

Over 900 Killed, Property Worth ₹5.5 Billion Destroyed

The economic loss was estimated at Rs 5.5 billion (around 100 million USD). But the cost in human lives and suffering was far greater. According to official reports, 914 people lost their lives, many due to drowning, electrocution and landslides. More than 14,000 homes were destroyed, leaving thousands without shelter, food or drinking water.

Communication networks also failed. Around 5 million mobile users and 2.3 million landline connections went dead for several hours, hampering emergency rescue operations. Emergency services were overwhelmed, as the city grappled with a disaster it had never imagined.

The 2005 floods served as a harsh wake-up call, exposing Mumbai’s vulnerability to extreme weather. In the years since, the government has worked on improving disaster preparedness, such as creating specialised disaster management units, upgrading early warning systems and installing floodgates and dewatering pumps at critical points.

Yet, even two decades later, as visuals from 2005 resurface each year, a haunting question persists: Is Mumbai truly prepared to face another flood of that magnitude?

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National News

Congress Leader Jairam Ramesh Slams PM Modi’s ‘Boasted Friendship’ With Donald Trump, Cites US Engagement With Pakistan

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New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “much boasted friendship” with US President Donald Trump is now proving to be “hollow” and cited several overtures the latter recently made to Pakistan.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh also alleged that Indian diplomacy was failing in the light of the US partnering with Pakistan.

“The abject failure of Indian diplomacy, especially in the past two months, is revealed most tellingly by four facts. These expose the tall claims made by the Prime Minister and his drum-beaters and cheerleaders,” he said in his post.

Ramesh said that since May 10, 2025, Trump has claimed 25 times that “he personally intervened to stop Operation Sindoor, threatening India and Pakistan that if they didn’t bring the war to a halt, they would not have a trade agreement with the USA.” On June 10, 2025, he claimed, Gen Michael Kurilla, the head of the US Central Command, hailed Pakistan as a phenomenal partner of the US in countering terrorism.

On June 18, 2025, Trump held an unprecedented luncheon meeting with Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in the White House, Ramesh noted.

“Two months earlier, Munir’s inflammatory, incendiary, and communally provocative remarks had provided the backdrop to the brutal Pahalgam terror attacks on April 22, 2025,” he said.

Just yesterday, the Congress leader claimed that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and thanked Pakistan for its partnership in countering terrorism and preserving regional stability.

“The PM’s clean chit to China on June 19, 2020, has already cost India heavily. His much boasted friendship with President Trump is now proving to be hollow,” Ramesh said in his post.

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