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Will Rahul Gandhi’s promises to Adivasis fetch votes for Congress?

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Congress party’s former president Rahul Gandhi has promised to scrap the rivers interlinking project in Gujarat, provide free health services and education.

Though these issues are deeply touching the bottom of the pyramid, the big question for Rahul and the party is, will these promises bring votes for their candidates and win more seats than the 2012 and 2017 Assembly elections.

Rahul Gandhi is on a day’s visit to Gujarat on Tuesday. While addressing Adivasi Satyagrah rally in Dahod, he said tribals have rights on the natural resources, and development should not be at the cost of their existence and livelihood.

He promised that if the Congress comes to power in the state it will scrap the Par- Tapi- Narmada interlinking project, which is being opposed by tribals from Valsad, Navsari, Tapi and Surat districts.

Reminding that during the BJP regime, he said that the privatisation has grown by leaps and bounds in social sectors like education and health sectors, this has become a burden for some parents and families. Rahul promised to give free health and education in the state, as the party did in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

In an effort to expose the BJP’s failure in tackling the Covid pandemic, he mentioned about the shortages in oxygen, ventilators and beds faced by the people of the state in first and second wave. He said because of the shortage “some three lakh persons lost their lives during the pandemic”. He also mentioned about the bodies floating in the Ganga River during the pandemic.

To connect with tribals as well as the general public, Rahul Gandhi recalled how the Land Acquisition Act 2013 was benefitting the people at large because strict norms and connecting land price with market value is helping in getting good financial rewards if their land is acquired for development projects. He also emphasised that the Congress brought changes in the ages old land acquisition Act introduced by the British.

He said that this was not a public meeting, “the Congress today launched ‘Satyagrah’ for the Adivasis’ rights and will continue to fight for their rights till they get justice. During the BJP rule people have benefitted less, but millionaires have made huge profits and the Indian society is divided into two parts — rich people’s India and poor India…”

For the first time Gujarat Congress has aggressively used social media to reach out to millions of people. Will Rahul’s speech influence the voters is difficult to answer, because to win elections the BJP will also fight aggressively. The Congress has to work hard as it has to overcome its internal fighting, build confidence and trust among the people and show they can deliver results, only if people are convinced such meetings will reap results, is the assessment of Hari Desai, a political analyst.

International News

Iran’s IRGC claims targetting US air base, CENTCOM headquarters in Jordan

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Tehran, July 29: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday claimed that its Aerospace Force has attacked a US air base and the US Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters of the American military in Jordan, local media reported.

Highlighting that the action was taken in response to attacks carried out by the US military against Iran, the IRGC statement mentioned that its Aerospace Force attacked the US air base and the US military’s CENTCOM headquarters in Jordan using ballistic missiles. The IRGC vowed to continue resistance until Iran faces “threats, illegal and hostile moves” from the US forces, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

The latest attack comes amid renewed tensions in West Asia following the military exchanges between Iran and the US.

Meanwhile, the US military said that it intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched from Iran in what it described as an attempted “surprise attack” on American forces in the Middle East.

“At 5:45 p.m. ET today, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on X.

“All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted,” it said, adding “US forces remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness.”

On July 24, IRGC said that its forces carried out retaliatory strikes against the US bases and assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. In statements carried by its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said the strikes were conducted in response to what it described as US “crimes” against Iran.

The IRGC said its forces had targeted and completely destroyed a “very large” US ammunition depot at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait using “advanced and ultra-heavy” kamikaze drones, Xinhua News Agency reported. It further said that its forces targeted facilities housing US forces at the base.

The IRGC said its forces completed their earlier military operation against the data centre of a US firm in Bahrain, destroying its remaining building. It further said that it has destroyed three US ammunition and equipment depots at the Al-Adiri Camp in Kuwait, and targetted the watchtower of the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.

The IRGC also said US fighter aircraft suffered damage after its aerospace forces struck Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan. It further mentioned that barracks housing US forces at the base were also targeted.

According to the statement, the IRGC’s forces destroyed a Patriot air defence system and an espionage balloon and hit the US troop accommodation facilities after it carried out operations against US military positions in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai Garbage should be removed immediately, surprise inspection of garbage collection vehicles, public cleanliness work reviewed during Ashwini Bhide’s visit

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Mumbai: Effective measures should be implemented to maintain cleanliness at ‘Garbage, Cricket and Garbage’ (GPS) sites by giving them priority. Garbage collection operations should be carried out in two shifts daily, and the number of garbage collection vehicles and trips should be increased. Garbage collection systems in slums and similar areas should be strengthened and regularized to ensure that garbage does not accumulate anywhere. Coordination with local public representatives should be enhanced to ensure their active participation. CCTV cameras should be installed at unsafe locations and strict disciplinary action should be taken against those who throw garbage in public places. Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has issued clear instructions to formulate area-specific cleanliness policies that take into account the geographical layout, population, volume of waste generation and local needs of each area. Cleaning of busy roads should be given priority before traffic starts, and effective planning is required to keep important roads and highways clean. Bhide also directed that footpaths should be kept free from encroachments and made suitable for pedestrian use. Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide personally visited Mankhurd and Govindi areas in the eastern suburbs and Parel area of ​​the city division on Wednesday (July 29, 2026) at 7:00 am to take a detailed look at the public sanitation system. During the visit, he inspected the sanitation posts, maintenance posts, and road repair posts to observe the daily operations. He checked the attendance of sanitation workers, attendance records, available sanitation machinery and other necessary facilities. While interacting with the concerned authorities and staff, he reviewed the process of collection, segregation and disposal of garbage daily. He also issued instructions to ensure that the operations are carried out more efficiently to ensure the quality, efficiency and strict time management of the sanitation system. The visit was attended by Deputy Commissioner (Municipal Commissioner Office) Prashant Gaikwad, Deputy Commissioner (Zone 5) Scindia. Deputy Commissioner (Zone 2) Prashant Sapkale, Assistant Commissioner Ujjal Angule, and other concerned officers.

The visit began from the Motor Loader Post on Mandla Road in Mankhurd. Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide reviewed the solid waste management procedures, population, available manpower, and number and trips of garbage collection vehicles in M-East ward. Bhide said that, considering the geographical layout and population of M-East ward, the work of garbage collection in at least two shifts per day should be strictly implemented. He directed that the number of garbage collection vehicles and their trips should be increased as per the requirement and the efficiency of garbage collection and transportation should be further strengthened. Special care should be taken to ensure that the garbage collection system is robust, regular and efficient, especially in slums and similar densely populated areas, to prevent the accumulation of garbage. Special attention should be paid to those ‘sensitive’ locations where there is a risk of garbage accumulation. Continuous sensitization of the ‘Swachh Mumbai Prabudhan Abhiyan’ (SMPA) staff is essential to ensure their active participation. Efforts should be made to ensure maximum involvement of public representatives, especially corporators, to enhance the effectiveness of sanitation management.

Surprise inspection of operations of garbage collection compactor vehicles
After visiting the motor loader post, Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide conducted a surprise inspection of the garbage collection compactor vehicle (MH 01 CV 2303), reviewed its entire route and the actual process of garbage collection. She personally verified whether the vehicle was running as per its scheduled route, if waste collection was timely and efficient, if disinfectant was sprayed after waste removal, and if the collected waste was being transported properly. CCTV cameras should be installed at sensitive locations where there is a risk of waste accumulation. Citizens should be made aware against dumping solid waste in roads and drains. Punitive action should be taken against those who throw waste in public places like rivers, drains, major roads and highways. Criminal cases should be registered if necessary. Ms. Bhide also directed that care should be taken to ensure that ‘strange articles’ (heavy or unusual waste items) are not left lying for a long period of time.

Review of Daily Sweeping Operations
Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide then visited Amba Bhawan sanitation post and road maintenance post near Govind (East) Railway Station to inspect the operations there. He reviewed the attendance of sanitation workers, planning of daily cleaning activities and available manpower and machinery while also interacting with the concerned authorities and staff. While reviewing the daily cleaning operations, he issued necessary instructions.

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Maharashtra

Net Paper Leak: Gujarat connection Rohit Pawar’s new claim, politics intensified after tweet on X, paper leak revealed three days before exam paper

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Mumbai: Even after the protest of the Cockroach Janata Party at Delhi Jantar Mantar and the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, new revelations have started in the case of the Net paper leak. A sensational summary and explosion regarding the paper leak has been made by NCP Sharad Pawar group leader and MLA Rohit Pawar. Rohit Pawar has alleged in a tweet on X that the paper leak is connected to Gujarat because the NET re-exam paper was delivered to Gujarat three days ago and the paper was leaked from Gujarat. Rohit Pawar’s tweet on X has once again caused a stir. Rohit Pawar has written on X that the NET paper was leaked three days ago. This is news. It should be clarified. I have all the documents, links and WhatsApp chats related to this. Regarding this, Rohit Pawar has also shared a copy of an email on Twitter X, in which he has demanded an investigation into the entire matter, in which all the documents are also mentioned. On one hand, there is a ruckus in Parliament during the discussion on the Paper Leak Reforms Bill, and on the other hand, Rohit Pawar has made an explosive revelation regarding the leak of the NET paper that was being re-conducted, after which politics has also intensified in this matter.

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