13 killed in gunfight between 2 groups in strife-torn Manipur | India News

A gunfight between two unidentified armed gr-oups in a village 10km from the India-Myanmar border in Manipur‘s Tengnoupal district resulted in the killing of 13 people on Monday. This was the deadliest bloodshed since the state’s sectarian strife erupted on May 3leading to more than 180 fatalities so far.
Manipur policereleased a statement confirming the firefight and the death toll at Leithao village near Saibol.Police have found the bodies, but no weapon near the deceased. While official information on the identities of those killed and the killers is yet to be disclosed, security sources suggested that the deceased are likely hardcore members of a Myanmar-based insurgent group.

According to a security source, a group of about 24 members engaged in a fierce fight with suspected cadres of Myanmar‘s pro-democracy People’s Defence Force near the border early in the morning.
Group involved in shootout infiltrated via jungle route
It is speculated that group of insurgents from Myanmar was ambushed by rivals from the hills in Leithao, leading to fatalities.
“Armed rebels based in Myanmar have been infiltrating into Manipur through the porous border in large numbers for the past several months taking advantage of the conflict in the state,” the source said. The specific group involved in Monday’s shootout reportedly infiltrated through the jungle route, avoiding security forces in Saibol areas of Tengnoupal district.
The source noted that the conflict between Myanmar’s junta soldiers and People’s Defence Force in the Sagaing region along the international border has made the area less safe for Indian insurgent groups that had established bases with support from the Myanmarese military decades ago.
Watch Manipur: 13 militants killed in fighting between two militant groups

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Leah Sava Jeffries: ‘I was so scared back then in 'Beast' but in 'Percy Jackson' I'm ready to say 'Yeah, come on' - Exclusive | English Movie News

‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians‘ is set to thrill their fans soon. Prior to the release of this 8-episode series on OTT on December 20, ETimes got in touch with the film’s cast including Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, Aryan SimhadriJon Steinberg (Co-Creator/Showrunner/Executive Producer), and Dan Shotz (Executive Producer) to get some insights about the upcoming project.
During our exclusive conversation, Leah Sava Jeffries, who is playing the character of ‘Annabeth Chase’ in this TV series, explained her career move from the debut movie ‘Beast‘ to the current one, ‘Percy Jackson’.
When we asked Leah Sava, what changes she felt about from her debut movie ‘Beast’ and what makes Percy Jackson so special for her.

She replied spontaneously, “I was so scared back then in ‘Beast,’ I was screaming, always watching monsters, and was always nervous. But in Percy Jackson, I’m the one who is ready to say, ‘Yeah, come on, let me show you what I got.’ She was so happy while saying, I switched from that ‘No, I’m so scared’ character to, ‘hey, guys, stand back.’”

She further added the major difference that she felt, which is character adaptation in different movies. “It was fun and challenging. You know, I was able to switch my character and realize how someone can change themselves into anybody else that they want to play. From that 24/7 screaming character from my debut movie, I became the one who finally started saying to others, ‘Can you please stop yelling’ in this movie. That’s super cool to switch yourself into some other characters too easily. I really enjoyed it,” she said.
Further into the conversation, Walker Scobell, who is playing the leading character Percy Jackson, shared his experience with Leah Sava and Aryan Simhadri. When he asked him what did he learn or unlearn from his co-actors while doing this project, he told us, “There are a lot of actors in this movie; I literally learned a lot from almost everyone, but yeah, especially from Leah and Aryan, I learned some tips about fighting, edges, and more.” He left his co-actor Aryan, smiling as he added, “Also, Aryan is particularly cool with interviews and all. I’m a bit nervous and all, but Aryan helped me with that. Still, I’m a bit bothered. Yeah, these two people helped me in these ways.”

‘Percy Jackson And The Olympians’ Trailer: Walker Scobell and Leah Jeffries starrer ‘Percy Jackson And The Olympians’ Official Trailer

In this series, the team promised a lot of action scenes and thrilling events as they love working with a lot of adults and being able to be part of such a big project. Walker Scobell is playing as Perseus ‘Percy’ Jackson, a young demigod and son of Poseidon while Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena who has been training at Camp Half-Blood for five years, and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood, Percy’s best friend and a satyr disguised through magic as a 12-year-old boy.
Jeffries’ casting faced online criticism because Annabeth, as depicted in the novels, is not portrayed as black. Riordan condemned these comments, citing concerns about racial insensitivity.

‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians,’ written and created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, is a mythological fantasy revolving around the story of a 12-year-old demigod Percy Jackson who is accused by the Greek god Zeus of stealing his thunderbolt. The previously released trailer created much anticipation featuring a lot of scary creatures and mysterious narration. This fantasy drama, written by Rick Riordan 20 years ago, is set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st century. Let’s catch it on Disney Plus Hotstar on December 20.

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IAF pilot, cadet killed in trainer aircraft crash | India News

NEW DELHI: An IAF flying instructor and a cadet were killed when their Pilatus PC-7 Mark-II trainer aircraft crashed in Medak district of Telangana on Monday morning, in the first such crash of the Swiss-origin plane used to train rookie military pilots.
The crash took place just before 9 am after the instructor, a Squadron Leader-rank officer, and the cadet had taken off from the Air Force Academy at Dundigal, near Hyderabad, in the propeller-driven aircraft on a routine training sortie.

“Both the pilots on board sustained fatal injuries in the crash. No damage to any civil life or property on the ground was reported. A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident,” an IAF officer said.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh said, “Anguished by this accident. It is deeply saddening that two pilots have lost their lives. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the bereaved families.”
60 military personnel lost lives in over 50 crashes in 5 years
Defence minister Rajnath Singh said, “Anguished by this accident near Hyderabad. It is deeply saddening that two pilots have lost their lives. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the bereaved families.”
Though military aviation is inherently risky, the Indian armed forces have been dogged by an unusually high crash rate. Apart from civilians on the ground, around 60 military personnel have lost their lives in over 50 different aircraft and helicopter accidents in the IAF, Army and Navy in the last five years alone.
IAF uses Pilatus basic trainer aircraft (BTA) for Stage-1 training of rookie pilots after 75 of the turboprop planes were procured under a Rs 2,896 crore deal inked in May 2012. But IAF’s case for inking another contract for 38 more such trainers for Rs 1,450 crore was scrapped after the Swiss company was found to have hired arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, as was reported by TOI.
Defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics, in turn, is now producing the indigenous Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) aircraft for the IAF, under a Rs 6,828 crore contract for 70 such planes inked in March this year. The HTT-40, which has an indigenous content of around 56% at present, will be supplied to the IAF over the next six years to address the existing shortage of BTA for rookie pilots in the IAF.
Watch Telangana: 2 IAF Trainee pilots killed as aircraft crashes in Medak district

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Abetment only if instigation left suicide victim with no choice: Supreme court

The Supreme Court has said a person can be convicted of abetting suicide if his or her act of instigation was of such intensity that the victim had no other choice and such instigation was “in close proximity” to the suicide date.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal quashed criminal proceedings against a man charged with abetment of suicide as the deceased woman had taken the step 15 days after he had assaulted and threatened her and her husband for not repaying a loan.
“The question is whether the appellant instigated the deceased to commit suicide. To attract the first clause, there must be instigation in some form on the part of the accused to cause the deceased to commit suicide. Hence, the accused must have mens rea (intention) to instigate the deceased to commit suicide. The act of instigation must be of such intensity that it is intended to push the deceased to such a position under which he or she has no choice but to commit suicide. Such instigation must be in close proximity to the act of committing suicide,” the bench said.
The bench said it is impossible to conclude that the appellant instigated the deceased to commit suicide by demanding the payment of the amount borrowed by using abusive language. “The said incident allegedly happened more than two weeks before the date of suicide.”
Abetment, suicide proximity crucial factor, says court
The act of instigation must be of such intensity that it is intended to push the deceased to such a position under which he or she has no choice but to commit suicide. Such instigation must be in close proximity to the act of committing suicide, the Supreme Court bench said.
“The said incident allegedly happened more than two weeks before the date of suicide. There is no allegation that any act was done by the appellant in the close proximity to the date of suicide. By no stretch of the imagination, the alleged acts of the appellant can amount to instigation to commit suicide,” the bench added.

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4 die as cyclone brings Chennai to its knees, floods homes & snaps power

CHENNAI: Cyclone Michaung pummelled Chennai and its neighbouring districts non-stop, dumping 400 to 500mm of rain since Sunday morning, flooding homes and destroying cars and bikes across the coastal metropolis. In 2015, when the ‘Chennai deluge’ drowned the city, it had received 330mm of rain.
By the time the cyclone started moving away from Chennai on Monday evening, many thoroughfares, including Anna Salai, were reduced to waterways, and scores of parked cars drifted away from a gated community in Pallikaranai.Due to non-stop rain from 3am to 6pm on Monday, almost all Chennai roads, residential localities, railway stations, the airport and bus terminuses saw water running like mini-rivers. All 17 city subways were under water.

Four deaths were reported so far, including two workers who were trapped in a portable container office that slipped into a 50-foot trench caused by a landslip in Velachery. While three were rescued, the two are yet to be traced by men from disaster relief agencies.
Cyclone Michaung is likely to make landfall before noon Tuesday over Andhra coast between Nellore and Machilipatnam, close to Bapatla, as a severe cyclonic storm with 90-100kmph winds, gusting to 110kmph.

Flight and train services were hit in Chennai, with at least 30 flights cancelled and rescheduled. An airport official said the runway, taxiway and portions of the apron where planes stand were flooded and there was strong wind. With international flights suspended, passengers were stuck in other states.

Cyclone forces cancellation of over 100 trains in Chennai
While more than 100 trains from Chennai Central and Egmore stations were cancelled, Central station got cut off because incoming trains were short-terminated at Tiruvallur, Avadi and Beach railway stations. Some departures were operated out of Tiruvallur and Katpadi but later all trains were cancelled.
Customers of cab and food aggregators were the worst hit as the companies had withdrawn services. The city roads saw little traffic after 8am as the spells of rain grew stronger by the hour. Visuals of people wading through hip-deep water, falling off vehicles and tripping over obstacles hidden under the water flooded social media.
Later in the day, Union home minister Amit Shah contacted Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on the phone and inquired about the cyclone and its after-effects. Also, Stalin deputed eight ministers to visit and ensure availability of essentials in flood-hit areas, and called upon people to cooperate with rescue and relief operations.
Since Sunday evening, a large number of workers from the Greater Chennai Corporation, Tangedco, disaster relief agencies and police and fire service personnel had been slogging through the night to ensure an incident-free cyclonic storm. High-power pumps were deployed to pump out stagnant water and fallen trees were removed in a jiffy.
As all the five reservoirs that supply water to Chennai city are brimming, authorities scaled up water release from some of them. While about 7,000 cusecs of water was released from Chembarambakkam reservoir, nearly 19,000 cusecs was released from Poondi. SOS calls to ambulances never stopped ringing, and there were reports and visuals of preg-nant women and the elderly being rescued and rushed to hospital that went viral on social media.
Watch Cyclone ‘Michaung’ intensifies to severe cyclonic storm, flights suspend in Chennai

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TMC says funds for Central plans blocked, government hits back | India News

NEW DELHI: TMC members on Monday alleged in Lok Sabha that the Centre has imposed an ‘economic blockade’ against the West Bengal government by blocking funds for schemes like MGNREGA and PM Awas Yojana as the party demanded a immediate payment of the dues.
In response, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan accused the state government of “misappropriating” central funds, prompting the Centre to order a CBI probe.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, TMC leader in the House, Sudip Bandyopadhyay said an Rs 18,000 crore is due to the state.
“Under MGNREGA, (PM) Awas Yojana, National Health Mission, all money allocated by government has been blocked for last two years,” the TMC MP said.
“We demand that MGNREGA allotment and Awas Yojana allotment should be sent to the state government without delay. We are keen to place our demand to the PMa… and hope this issue would be discussed on the floor of the House,” Bandyopadhyay said.
Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “I want to mention on the floor of the House, in the PM Poshan Yojana – Mid Day Meal, they have misappropriated Rs 4,000 crore. The Government of India has ordered a CBI inquiry, everything will come out. They loot poor people’s money… half of their ministers are in jail. They are scared their leadership will go to jail.”

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BJP got Rs 720 crore in contributions of Rs 20k + in '22-23; Congress Rs 80 crore | India News

NEW DELHI: BJP received Rs 720 crore through contributions in excess of Rs 20,000 during 2022-23, marking a 17.1% rise in its receipts from 2021-22. Congress‘s receipts from similar contributions by individuals, corporates and electoral trusts fell by 16.3% to Rs 79.9 crore in 2022-23 from Rs 95.4 crore in 2021-22.
As per contribution reports filed by various national parties for the year 2022-23 and which were placed by the Election Commission in the public domain on Monday, BJP received Rs 719.8 crore through contributions, up from Rs 614.5 crore it had received in 2021-22.While Prudent Electoral Trust contributed Rs 254.7 crore to BJP (35% of the party’s total contribution), Einzigartig Electoral Trust contributed Rs 8 lakh. The contribution reports of political parties do not need to reflect in their receipts through electoral bonds, which must be declared by the parties only in their annual audit reports. The annual audit reports of all the national parties for the year 2022-23 are still awaited.
Congress’s donations dipped by nearly over Rs 15 crore ahead of its winning the assembly polls in Karnataka in May this year. At Rs 79.9 crore, Congress’s contributions are way below those declared by regional parties like Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the same year. BRS received contributions worth Rs 154 crore in excess of Rs 20,000 each during 2022-23, though it also declared receipts of Rs 529 crore via electoral bonds route in its contribution report for the year. As regards the 2022-23 contribution reports filed by other parties, AAP declared donations worth Rs 37.1 crore, which were 2.9% less than its Rs 38.2 crore contributions the year before.
Donations to Congress dipped by 15 crore ahead of Karnataka poll win
The contribution reports of political parties do not need to reflect in their receipts through electoral bonds, which must be declared by the parties only in their annual audit reports. The annual audit reports of all the national parties for the year 2022-23 are still awaited.
Congress’s donations dipped by nearly over Rs 15 crore ahead of its winning the assembly polls in Karnataka in May this year. At Rs 80 crore, Congress’s contributions are way below those declared by regional parties like Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the same year.
BRS received contributions worth Rs 154 crore in excess of Rs 20,000 each during 2022-23, though it also declared receipts of Rs 529 crore via electoral bonds route in its contribution report for the year.
As regards the 2022-23 contribution reports filed by other parties, AAP declared donations worth Rs 37.1 crore, which were 2.9% less than its Rs 38.2 crore contributions the year before. Interestingly, AAP has declared all its contribution receipts, including those less than Rs 20,000 crore.
CPM’s receipts from contributions in 2022-23 fell almost 40% to Rs 6 crore from over Rs 10 crore in 2021-22, while National People’s Party — founded by former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma — declared donations worth Rs 7.4 crore, registering a massive increase over its Rs 35 lakh receipts in contributions during Rs 2021-22.

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Key 26/11 plotter Sajid Mir in Pakistan hospital after 'poisoning' | India News

NEW DELHI: Amid persisting mystery about killings of Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives, a cascading buzz about the well-being of global terrorist and LeT commander Sajid Mirone of the key plotters of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, appears to have further deepened the uncertainty in Pakistan‘s jihadi circles.
Mir, who is being held in a Kot Lakhpat jail since his sentencing by an anti-terrorism court in June last year, was suddenly admitted to hospital.Reports suggest that he was poisoned and has since been on ventilator support. This comes in the wake of reports that threat inputs had prompted his transfer to a Dera Gazi Khan prison.
Sources here, however, appeared to be wary of the reports suspecting that these could very well be a ruse by Pakistan’s military-intelligence complex to dodge foreign insistence to take tough action against the Lashkar commander.
Mir was sentenced to eight years on charges of terror financing and a fine of Rs 4.2 lakh had also been imposed on him only after the pressure on Pak became unbearable and the risk of being further penalised by the FATF loomed large.
The LeT commander was detained last April in a hush-hush affair while the prison term was awarded in June 2022 just before a meeting of the FATF, an intergovernmental organisation which tracks terror financing and money laundering.
Sources in the Indian intelligence also said that staging his death could also be an eyewash in order to stop his extradition to the US. Mir, who has a five million dollar bounty on his head announced by the FBI, is wanted by the US government.
According to FBI, Mir (45) had changed his appearance through plastic surgery after the Mumbai attacks. He was LeT’s foreign recruiter at one time and the main handler for American terrorist David Coleman Headley alias Dawood Gilani.
A US justice department document mentions how the 26/11 attackers were in real-time telephonic contact with Mir and his associates- Abu Qahafa and Mazhar Iqbal -during the attack.
On Mir’s advice, Headley had changed his given name of “Dawood Gilani” to “David Coleman Headley” in order to facilitate his activities on behalf of Lashkar by enabling him to present himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani. Mir further advised Headley to open an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities and was given 25,000 dollars for the set-up.

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Ahead of 'Dunki' trailer release, Shah Rukh Khan makes a stylish appearance at the airport as he returns to Mumbai - See photos | Hindi Movie News

Fans are eagerly waiting for the trailer release of Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Dunk‘ ahead of its theatrical release on December 22. Amidst all the excitement and anticipation, Shah Rukh Khan made a stylish appearance at the airport as he returned to Mumbai.
Dressed in a white t-shirt, denim jacket and trousers from his son Aryan Khan’s collection, SRKlooked dashing as ever.He complemented his dapper looks with a cap and a silver chain.
Check out his photos here:

Joined by manager Pooja Dadlani, he smoothly drove away in his stylish white vehicle, capturing the attention of onlookers.

As soon as his pictures made their way onto social media, likes and comments poured in from all sides. While one fan wrote, ‘Always in style’, another one added, ‘no wonder he is the king’. Others dropped heart and fire emojis on the post.

Here’s how Shah Rukh Khan reacted when Suhana Khan complained about choreographer Ganesh Hegde

After delivering super blockbuster hits like ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Jawan’ earlier this year, Shah Rukh Khan is all set to hit a hat trick with ‘Dunki’ this year. Dunki will mark his first collaboration with director Rajkumar Hirani. It also stars Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal in lead roles.

Apart from this, he also has Sujoy Ghosh’s next where he will be seen sharing screen space with Suhana Khan for the first time. SRK is also a part of Siddharth Anand’s ‘Tiger vs Pathaan’.

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'Friends' star Matthew Perry's ex Julia Roberts finally breaks silence over his sudden demise; calls it 'heartbreaking' | English Movie News

The sudden passing away of ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry has been one of the most unfortunate things that has happened this year. His fans and friends have been mourning his loss ever since.
Still, many are honoring him by sharing photos and penning heartfelt notes in tribute. In line with this, Julia RobertsMatthew Perry’s ex and actress, has broken her silence for the first time since his unfortunate demise.

In a conversation with Entertainment Tonight, Julia Roberts, who had a small role in the popular TV show Friends, expressed her feelings about the untimely passing of someone so young. She emphasized that such events prompt everyone to value what they have and strive to move forward in a positive way.

‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry passes away at 54; Selma Blair, Viola Davis and others condole

Julia Roberts also shared that the ‘Friends’ cast was welcoming during her time on the show. She mentioned that they were friendly, especially considering her role as a one-off character. Reflecting on the experience, she expressed that it was an enjoyable period with positive thoughts and feelings.

Jennifer Anistonwho played Rachel Green in the show, also penned a heartfelt note on Instagram. She also shared a screenshot of her chat with Matthew. Matthew had written to her, “Making you love just made my day. It made my day.” To this, Jennifer replied, “Aww the firsts of THOUSANDS of times..” On a parting note, she remembered Chandler Bing’s inimitable way of talking and wrote, “Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying ‘could you BE any crazier?’ Rest little brother.

The funeral for Matthew Perry occurred on November 3 in Los Angeles, and his ‘Friends’ co-stars, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer, were in attendance.

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Youth Brigade: Ex-footballer, RJ power Lalduhoma's youth brigade | India News

AIZAWL: A former footballer and a woman RJ-councillor were part of Lalduhoma’s youth brigade that helped ZPM outplay rivals in the Mizoram polls by a long stretch.
While Jeje Lalpekhlua Fanai has earned his soccer stripes playing in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) and the Indian national team, Baryl Vanneihsangi has wowed audiences as TV presenter, radio jockey and councillor of the Aizawl Municipal Corporation.Baryl (32) is also the youngest of the three women MLAs elected this time.

Mizoram Election Result 2023: Major setback to MNF and BJP as Zoram People’s Movement gets clear majority

“Becoming an MLA was not my dream. All I wanted to see is an end to poverty and hunger. Until I retired from professional football, I was not interested in politics. Even when I was playing for clubs and the country, political parties invited me but I rejected their offers,” Jeje told TOI.
Baryl dedicated her victory to the women of Mizoram and flagged working for her constituency as a priority. “We contested for the welfare of the people. It’s time to give something back to society,” she said, listing health and education as top concerns.

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Congress: As allies attack Congress, Mamata says she will skip INDIA meet | India News

MUMBAI: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee expressed on Monday her disappointment with the election results in three Hindi heartland states, emphasising that it was “a defeat for Congress and not a defeat for INDIA”. She also announced her decision not to attend the bloc’s meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in Delhi on Wednesday, stating that she was “not informed earlier”.
Criticising Congress’s strategy, she remarked: “The electoral strategy must be right.Don’t expect to win elections by delivering speeches.” Expressing sadness over the “tactical defeat”, she highlighted the role of vote-splitters among opposition parties who, by fighting each other, inadvertently contributed to BJP’s advantage.
Banerjee’s criticism coincided with several INDIA bloc partners denouncing Congress’s alleged unwillingness to share seats.

Has Congress Defeat Found Trolls Within the India Alliance? Congress | TMC | JD (U) | Kunal Ghosh

Shiv Sena (UBT) took a swipe at Congress’s Kamal Nath, accusing him of neglecting alliance partners like SP in MP. An editorial in ‘Saamna’, the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece, criticised Nath for not adhering to the INDIA bloc’s principles, accusing Congress’s regional satraps of “undermining the efforts” of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray is set to participate in the INDIA bloc meeting at Kharge’s residence, but party MP Sanjay Raut expressed concerns about the alliance’s dynamics, highlighting the tendency for larger parties, such as Congress, to sideline smaller regional parties within the group.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan also scathing in his attack. “Congress displayed a greedy attitude, seeking to pocket everything and dominate rather than uniting all anti-BJP forces. The poll outcome is a consequence of that attitude,” he said.
Vijayan alleged that Congress is grappling with serious internal dissension, impacting its negotiations with other parties for alliances. “In MP, for instance, Digvijaya Singh was reportedly interested in an alliance with SP, but Kamal Nath allegedly scuttled it, leading to an outburst by Akhilesh Yadav,” he said.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday remarked that the era of arrogance has ended with the the elections. ” “We and those who have to compete with a big party like BJP will have to make a lot of preparations,” he said.
While Akhilesh maintained a conciliatory tone, some SP leaders attributed Congress’s defeat to its leaders refusing a seat-sharing pact in MP.
This refusal caused significant discord, further intensified by Kamal Nath’s remarks dismissing the SP chief as “Akhilesh-Wakhilesh”.

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Opposition Meet: SP stays away from opposition meet, but says it's with INDIA | India News

NEW DELHI: The results of the five assembly polls which saw Congress routed from the northern states came up for brief discussion at the meeting of opposition parties on Monday, with allies pushing for greater coordination and early seat-sharing deal for 2024 Lok Sabha contest. The results also found a fleeting mention in the meeting of the Congress parliamentary strategy group chaired by Sonia Gandhi on Monday evening.
Though differences have emerged among allies, with leaders of TMC, SP and RJD targeting Congress for “unilateralism” in the polls, sources said the discussions on parliamentary strategy in the chamber of leader of opposition and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge saw the allies stress on the need for greater unity and early settlement of election issues.
A senior member said leaders including those from TMC, Left, NCP, stressed that lessons should be learnt from the poll results, and there was need for moving more strongly politically, and for showing greater coordination. TMC leaders stressed upon the need for clinching the seat-sharing early, so that candidates get more time to prepare for the polls. SP was absent from the meeting, even though a party MP said the SP was firmly with the INDIA alliance.

Has Congress Defeat Found Trolls Within the India Alliance? Congress | TMC | JD (U) | Kunal Ghosh

Briefing reporters, party spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said, “an informal meeting” of INDIA allies will be held at Kharge’s residence on December 6, and a formal meeting may take more time.

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