New Delhi, April 29: Congress leaders on Tuesday stepped up their demand for a special session of Parliament, endorsing the call made by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge in response to the brutal terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

The attack, orchestrated by ‘The Resistance Front’, an offshoot of the banned Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, saw terrorists open fire on a group of tourists in the Baisaran Valley, killing 26 people and injuring several others.

Rahul Gandhi and Kharge have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to convene a special session of both Houses of Parliament at the earliest to demonstrate a united national stand against terrorism.

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit told Media, “This is a good thing. We will be able to raise our views together. In such a time, there won’t be any differences between the ruling and the Opposition; everyone will be united on this issue. It will send a good and strong message of unity to the world.”

“Whenever such things happened, special sessions were convened. So, it will be good if a special session is held soon,” Dikshit added.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari also spoke to Media, saying, “Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge had said in the all-party meeting that the Congress party is with the government in India’s fight against terrorism. We will be with the government in whatever steps it takes. The special session will be welcomed by the Opposition.”

Congress leader Udit Raj further emphasised the need for the special session, stating that the government should have acted sooner.

“Now the matter becomes even more serious. If a terrorist was part of the Pakistani Army and their Defence Minister himself admitted that they had been providing training, and 26 people were killed in Pahalgam, necessary action must be taken,” he told Media.

“The government should call a Parliament session instead of the Opposition seeking it. It was Congress that demanded the all-party meeting. It seems the government only want to make allegations and not take action,” Raj added.

In his letter dated April 28, Rahul Gandhi wrote, “The terrorist attack in Pahalgam has outraged every Indian. At this critical time, India must show that we will always stand together against terrorism. The Opposition believes that a special session of both Houses of Parliament should be convened, where the representatives of the people can show their unity and determination.”

Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, echoed Rahul Gandhi’s appeal, stating, “At this moment, when unity and solidarity are essential, the Opposition believes that it is important to convene a special session of both Houses of Parliament at the earliest. This will be a powerful demonstration of our collective resolve and will to deal with the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam on innocent citizens on April 22. It is our fond hope that the session will be accordingly convened,” his letter read.

Following the attack, the Central government convened an all-party meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and addressed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Rahul Gandhi attended the meeting and extended full support to the government’s proposed actions.

The Congress party assured the government of its complete backing to take necessary steps to avenge the killings of innocent civilians in the Pahalgam terror attack.

Kolkata, April 28: BJP’s Information Technology (IT) cell chief and the party’s central observer for West Bengal Amit Malviya, on Monday, used an innovative cartoon with the tagline “Join TMC, Become Citizen” to accuse the West Bengal government and the ruling Trinamool Congress of making the state an open field for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

Malviya has said the cartoon is in connection with the recent arrest of an illegal Bangladeshi infiltrator, Ahammed Hossain Azad, by the Enforcement Directorate officials. Investigation revealed that Azad was not residing in West Bengal illegally but was also involved in money laundering, as well as arranging fake Indian identity documents for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

In the cartoon, a portrait of a woman (arguably featuring West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee) is seen behind a counter with the hoarding — “Seva Kendra- One stop for every document”.

The counter window has three taglines, namely — “Welcome New Voters, Join TMC, Become Citizen”, “AADHAAR, Voter ID, Ration, Pan”, and “No document required, no question asked”.

The counter board contains an additional tagline — “Special Assistance available for Rohingyas & Bangladeshi”.

Since the beginning of the new year, there have been several incidents of arrests in connection with operations being conducted in the state. Those arrested were involved in arranging fake Indian identity documents, including Indian passports, for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

Last month, Kolkata Police filed a charge sheet in the case of the forged passport scam at a lower court in Kolkata, where it was mentioned that of the 130 individuals mentioned in the document, 120 are Bangladeshi residents and the remaining are Indian nationals.

The main charges against the Bangladeshi nationals are that they paid huge money to secure fake Indian passports.

The charges against the accused Indian nationals are that they played the roles of facilitators for arranging fake Indian identity documents, including Indian passports, for these infiltrators.

Earlier, Kolkata Police arrested Abdul Hai, a retired Assistant Sub-Inspector of the city police. The details of Hai’s involvement in the matter were also mentioned in the charge sheet.

It contained details of Hai’s financial gain through these 52 police verification clearances, where he was the on-ground inquiry or verification officer.

The cops investigating the fake Indian identity document rackets have identified a specific pattern.

Any infiltrator illegally crossing over to the Indian territory contacts the local agents, and after showing willingness to pay out hefty amounts for getting fake Indian identity documents, is first provided with safe shelters in different villages adjacent to the borders with Bangladesh in the state, both land and coastal.

Thereafter, the agents arrange for fake ration cards for them, which is the first step for making other identity documents. By virtue of the fake ration cards, other identification documents like EPIC, PAN, and Aadhaar cards are acquired. The last step is getting fake passports based on these fake identity documents.

New Delhi, April 28: The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has carved a significant milestone in the annals of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) elections. Vaibhav Meena, representing the ABVP, has ascended to the position of Joint Secretary, breaking a decade-long dry spell for the organisation.

This victory is emblematic of ABVP’s stellar performance, as it clinched an impressive 23 out of 42 councillor seats across 16 schools and special centres — a record-breaking achievement for any student body.

Amit Malviya, the BJP’s National Information and Technology Department In-charge and Co-incharge for West Bengal, celebrated this victory on his X handle: “Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) conquered: Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) candidate Vaibhav Meena has been elected as Joint Secretary. And it doesn’t stop there. ABVP has delivered an unprecedented performance in the JNUSU elections, winning 23 out of 42 councillor seats across 16 schools and special centres – the highest number of seats won by any student organization.”

Throughout the vote-counting process, ABVP candidates showcased remarkable dominance, leading in all four central panel positions and mounting a formidable challenge to the university’s entrenched Left-leaning political dominance.

Although the ABVP fell short in securing the posts of President, Vice-President, and General Secretary, the narrow margins of defeat underscored a palpable shift in the campus dynamics.

Vaibhav Meena’s victory as Joint Secretary was secured with an impressive tally of 1,518 votes.

Nitish Kumar of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) emerged as President, garnering 1,702 votes, while Manisha and Munteha Fatima, both from the Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), claimed the posts of Vice-President and General Secretary, respectively.

Manisha secured 1,150 votes, while Munteha Fatima’s win further solidified DSF’s presence in the central panel by securing 1,520 votes.

The ABVP fielded a comprehensive panel, with Shikha Swaraj, Nittu Goutham, Kunal Rai, and Vaibhav Meena contesting for the positions of President, Vice-President, General Secretary, and Joint Secretary, respectively.

Their campaign reflected a strategic and determined effort to reshape the political narrative on campus.

The elections, held on April 25 after delays caused by campus unrest, witnessed an enthusiastic voter turnout of nearly 70 per cent, with approximately 5,500 students casting their ballots.

The multi-cornered contest was marked by intense competition among strategic alliances: the All India Students Association (AISA) allied with the Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), while the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) joined forces with the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA), the All India Students’ Federation (AISF), and the Progressive Students’ Association.

The ABVP contested the election independently.

This year’s turnout of 68.3 per cent, though slightly lower than the record-breaking 73 per cent participation in the 2024 elections, still reflected robust engagement. Of the 7,906 registered voters, 5,400 exercised their franchise on election day. Polling was conducted in two sessions, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., across 17 booths on the JNU campus on April 25. The counting of votes commenced late on Friday night, with the results officially declared on Monday (April 28).