Mumbai: Shocking visuals of violence have surfaced from the Congress office in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan on Thursday. The video shows Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Yuva Morcha workers vandalising the Congress office in Azad Maidan this afternoon. The police resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd. Yuva Morcha members clashed with the police while attempting to enter the Congress office, prompting the police to use force to remove them from the spot.

The video also shows a few BJP Yuva Morcha workers shouting slogans against Congress, kicking, and pushing the entrance door of the Congress office in Azad Maidan, aggressively trying to enter. They alleged that the Congress had insulted Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and claimed that the party has consistently disrespected Ambedkar.

The BJP is protesting against the Congress party after it accused Union Home Mnister Amit Shah of insulting Dr. Babsaheb Ambedkar during his speech in Rajya Sabha on the last of Parliament Winter Session while speaking on the Constitution. A scuffle broke out between Congress and BJP MPs in the Parliament on Thursday morning. Two BJP MPs allegedly suffered injuries to their head in the scuffle and they are receiving treatment for their injuries at the hospital.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge gave ultimatum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked him to sack Amit Shah over his remarks against Babasaheb Ambedkar. PM Narendra Modi has not responded over the issue yet. Congress claimed that BJP MPs stopped them from entering the Parliament after which the scuffle broke out. Mallikarjun Kharge also said that he suffered injuries to his knee in the incident.

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi held a press conference today and accused BJP of trying to divert the attention of the people from Adani issue in the United States. He also claimed that BJP is anti-Ambedkar. There are reports that the BJP has filed an FIR against Rahul Gandhi over the scuffle which broke out in the Parliament. A case of attempt to murder has been filed against Rahul Gandhi.

New Delhi, Dec 19: Amidst a litany of complaints, charges and counter-charges over a scuffle outside the Parliament, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on Thursday outrightly rejected BJP’s claims that the Congress MPs created a ruckus and rather blamed the ‘anti-Ambedkar’ BJP for the ugly showdown near Makar Dwaar, the main entrance of the complex.

Addressing the media at Congress HQ, Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress was holding a peaceful demonstration over Amit Shah’s insulting remarks on Babasaheb Ambedkar and it was the BJP members, armed with sticks who created chaos by intimidating and threatening him and other INDIA bloc MPs.

“We were blocked and stopped on the stairs of the Parliament by the stick-wielding BJP lawmakers. We are still waiting for Amit Shah’s resignation over the insult to the Dalit icon,” he said, while dubbing the BJP as ‘anti-constitutional, anti-Ambedkar.’

He said that it was a deliberate attempt by the BJP government to deflect attention from the real issues. He also accused the BJP of deploying blatant means to erase the contributions of Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution and said that Amit Shah’s statement in Rajya Sabha showed the intent and motive of this government.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge also pinned blame on the BJP over the raging controversy, leading to injury to two of its MPs Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput and termed it a ‘well-crafted drama’ by the ruling party as part of its damage-control exercise.

Further, shedding light on what led to an ugly showdown outside the Parliament, Kharge said, “Since yesterday, we have been demanding either Amit Shah’s resignation or his sacking by the Prime Minister. Since nothing happened, our MPs gathered outside the Parliament to stage a demonstration.”

“We started our march from Babasaheb Ambedkar’s statue towards the Makar Dwaar. They stopped and blocked us from entering the House. We wanted to enter the House but they stopped us by force. Even women MPs were blocked and attacked,” he further said in direct charge at the BJP.

He dismissed BJP MPs’ claims of being pushed and shoved by Congressmen and stated that he was himself pushed aside, leading to his fall and injury to his knees.

Citing Amit Shah’s ‘calling Ambedkar…Ambedkar, has become a fashion’ remark, he also vowed to launch agitation against the ruling dispensation’s bid to ‘erode’ the contributions of Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Ankara, Dec 19: Turkey will continue its military activity in northern Syria until Kurdish fighters fully “disarm,” Turkish semi-official Anadolu Agency reported Thursday, citing a Defence Ministry source.

Highlighting ongoing threats from Kurdish forces within Syria to Turkey’s southern border, the source said, “Our counter-terrorism measures and preparations will persist until terrorist groups lay down arms and their foreign fighters leave Syria.”

The source made the remarks in response to allegations that the Turkish Armed Forces and the Syrian National Army, a coalition of armed groups backed by Turkey, are preparing for operations against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the east of the Euphrates.

Turkey sees the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, and has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades.

The Turkish military has launched several operations since 2016 in northern Syria in order to create a YPG-free zone along its border with the neighbouring country.

Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that Ankara will not allow Syria to become a conflict zone and be divided once again.

“Any attack on the stability of the new Syrian government or the integrity of ancient Syrian lands will face both the Syrian people and us,” Erdogan said at a ruling party meeting, Xinhua news agency reported.

“We cannot accept any steps or provocations aimed at preventing the return of our Syrian brothers and sisters to their homes,” he noted.

Syrian militant groups, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), waged a major offensive from northern Syria starting November 27 and swept southwards through government-held areas, capturing the capital Damascus within 12 days.

Following the offensive, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad resigned and arrived in Russia for asylum.

Mohammed al-Bashir, an electrical engineer and head of the ‘Syrian Salvation Government’ in Idlib formed in 2017 by the HTS and other Syrian militant groups during the Syrian civil war, was tasked with heading a transitional government in Syria until early March 2025.