Following the resignation of Assam Lok Sabha MP, Pradyut Bordoloi, from the Congress, party leader Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday termed the development as “unfortunate” and “truly regrettable,” expressing disappointment over his exit.

Bordoloi reportedly submitted his resignation to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, ending his long association with the party amid allegations of internal dissatisfaction.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Priyanka Gandhi said, “It’s very unfortunate. I think he was upset over one ticket allocation, and I wish we had had a chance to discuss it. It’s truly regrettable.”

Meanwhile, Purnia MP Pappu Yadav said the party is taking the resignation seriously and acknowledged its significance. “The BJP often creates such break-ups. While it may not affect the party’s core ideology, such developments can have an impact during elections. The top leadership will certainly take this seriously,” he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP, Priyanka Chaturvedi, also expressed concern, alleging that leaders from the Congress are being repeatedly poached. “It is a matter of concern that leaders from the Indian National Congress are being drawn into the Bharatiya Janata Party, with even elected representatives switching sides,” she said.

Echoing similar concerns, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ashutosh Verma pointed to two possible reasons behind the resignation. “Either he did not receive adequate respect within the Congress, or there may have been external pressure. In recent years, several Opposition leaders have shifted towards the BJP,” he said.

On Tuesday, in a letter addressed to Mallikarjun Kharge, Bordoloi expressed “an overwhelming sense of sadness” while announcing his decision to step down from all posts, privileges, and responsibilities within the party. ​

The brief resignation letter, dated March 17, did not specify the reasons behind his exit, but sources indicate that the move comes amid growing internal dissent and shifting political alignments in Assam. ​

Bordoloi also recently wrote a letter to the Congress leadership expressing his displeasure with the functioning of the Congress party and its state president, Gaurav Gogoi. ​

The central leadership of the Congress did not issue any statement on Bordoloi’s letter, which might have fuelled his exit from the party. ​

New Delhi, March 17: The situation in Afghanistan is going from bad to worse and in the latest attack by Pakistan, 400 people were killed in an airstrike. Officials said this escalation is a dramatic one and signals that Pakistan has no plans of stopping the war that it got into with Afghanistan.

This is the deadliest strike in Afghanistan following the one that took place in 2021 when the US troops were withdrawing from the country. In that attack, which was a suicide bombing, 169 Afghan civilians and 13 US service members were killed.

Since the start of the war in February, there have been repeated clashes between the two sides in the border areas. Pakistan has also used its air power extensively to subdue the Afghan Taliban.

Officials said that Pakistan knows that it cannot sustain boots on the ground with the Taliban. It has tried reaching out to the Taliban, but Kabul has remained firm that it wants no interference from Islamabad.

Another official said that Pakistan is attempting a regime change in Afghanistan. The targeting of a hospital is an attempt by Islamabad to send across a message to the Taliban that they would have to come to the negotiating table, the official added.

Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesperson, Mandullah Fitrat, said the airstrike had hit the hospital at around 9 p.m. local time. A large section of the 2,000-bed facility had been destroyed. He also said that the death toll so far stood at 400, while the number of those injured was at 250. Around 2,000 people were being treated at the drug treatment hospital when the strikes took place.

Fitrat said that rescue operations are on and teams are working to control the fire and recover the bodies. The casualties are likely to be higher, the spokesperson also said.

The ramifications of this strike could be huge, Afghanistan watchers said.

It is clearly a miscalculation by Pakistan, and in this act of madness, it has only managed to unite the Afghan people further. The Afghan people, who were initially not siding with the Taliban, started backing the regime after Pakistan threw out Afghan refugees. This was seen as an act of barbarism by the people of Afghanistan, and they started justifying the Taliban’s actions against Islamabad.

Pakistan was, however, quick to deny any role in the attack. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman, Mosharraf Zaidi, said that the allegations made by Kabul are baseless and no hospital was targeted.

Pakistan further said that the strikes precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure that included technical equipment storage and ammunition storage of the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan continued to claim without proof that the Afghan Taliban is backing terror groups to target innocent Pakistani civilians.

Islamabad has been attacking Afghanistan since February 26. While Pakistan claims that it has hit military targets, the fact remains that there have been many misses as a result of which there have been a large number of civilian casualties.

With the latest strikes, there have been at least 475 civilian deaths, while 1,15,000 people have been displaced.

Officials said that Pakistan is out to destroy Afghanistan, and the targeting of civilians clearly shows that. Pakistan is also looking to take advantage of the fact that the world is focused on the war in Iran.

With no intervention from the rest of the world, Pakistan hopes to inflict maximum damage on the people of Afghanistan, officials also added.

Since the start of the war, Pakistan has been attempting to change the regime in Afghanistan. Islamabad realises that the regime has the backing of the people. This explains why so many civilians are being targeted.

Media accounts clearly suggest that the Afghan people are ready to go with their children to the border and fight against the Pakistan Army.

The Pakistan Army wants to dissuade the people from backing the Taliban and hence is resorting to killing civilians, officials also said.

New Delhi, March 17: Over 200 prominent senior citizens, including former ambassadors, retired army officers, bureaucrats and senior advocates, on Tuesday raised their voice against the alleged conduct and demeanour of Rahul Gandhi, the senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LOP), alleging that it weakens the dignity and effectiveness of the country’s Parliament.

The letter is signed by 204 prominent citizens, including 116 retired army officers, 84 former bureaucrats, four ambassadors and four advocates.

The letter addressed to citizens of the country, released by former Jammu and Kashmir DGP, S.P. Vaid, says, “The events witnessed on 12th March are deeply concerning. Parliament is the supreme forum of democratic deliberation where the collective will of the people is articulated. Parliament is rightly regarded as the temple of democracy where elected representatives come together to deliberate on matters of national importance. Unfortunately, Shri Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly contributed to lowering the level of public discourse and decorum through theatrics both inside and outside Parliament.”

The signatories said such actions suggest a pattern of conduct driven less by respect for democratic institutions and more by a sense of personal privilege that treats Parliament as a stage for provocation rather than a forum for serious deliberation.

“In the process, valuable public time and resources are lost. Parliamentary proceedings must not be disrupted or trivialised in ways that undermine the functioning of this vital democratic institution. In his efforts to question the government of the day, the actions of Shri Rahul Gandhi are damaging the reputation of our country and our democracy. The fact that such behaviour is being carried out by a person who occupies a position as responsible and important as the Leader of Opposition makes it even more disturbing,” the latter said.

“As custodians of a constitutional institution that embodies the democratic aspirations of over a billion people, Members of Parliament must remain conscious that their actions carry symbolic and institutional significance. The credibility of Parliament is reinforced when its Members uphold the traditions of propriety and restraint that have always defined parliamentary life,” the signatories said.

They said that as citizens who have served this nation for decades in public life, they are deeply pained to witness repeated attempts by Rahul Gandhi and his associates that risk weakening the effectiveness of this temple of democracy.

“As citizens committed to the preservation and strengthening of India’s democratic institutions, it is incumbent upon all of us to call out conduct that diminishes the dignity of Parliament, an institution that embodies the sovereign will of the people of India. The events witnessed reflect a troubling sense of hubris and privilege that has no place in a constitutional democracy, least of all in the conduct of the Leader of the Opposition. Shri Rahul Gandhi must apologise to the nation for this behaviour and introspect. The Parliament of India occupies a unique and elevated position within the constitutional architecture of the country.

“The dignity of Parliament, therefore, is not a matter of mere convention but an essential element of the constitutional ethos that governs our democracy. The conduct of Members within the precincts of the Parliament House must, consequently, conform to the highest standards of propriety and institutional respect,” the letter mentioned.

“Shri Rahul Gandhi, along with several Members of Parliament, was seen sitting on the steps of Parliament having tea and biscuits in a manner that was wholly unbecoming of members of the nation’s highest legislative body. The steps of Parliament are not a venue for spectacle or political theatre. Such conduct within the precincts of Parliament represents a clear disregard for established norms of behaviour and decorum. It reflects an attitude of arrogance and entitlement, and a troubling lack of respect for an institution that embodies the democratic will of the people,” the letter pointed out.

“Parliamentary practice and long-standing conventions recognise that the sanctity attached to the Chambers of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha extends equally to all areas within the parliamentary precincts, including its stairs, corridors and lobbies. These are not incidental spaces but integral parts of Parliament itself, and the conduct expected therein must reflect the dignity of the institution, so that the solemnity, authority and institutional sanctity of the Parliament remain fully preserved,” the letter added.