Nation Briefs

K Sudhakaran says won’t contest without party permission

Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi: Congress MP and party strongman K Sudhakaran on Thursday said that he will not be contesting in the upcoming Assembly polls in Kerala without the party’s backing. Sudhakaran also ended speculation about him leaving the Congress to form another party or join some other political front, saying “where will I go?” “The party has not pushed me out. It only denied me a seat. I will stay and work for the party. I am no one to challenge it as the party is so much bigger and I am so small. “I will accept the party’s decision,” the MP from Kannur told reporters as he left his accommodation in New Delhi for the airport to return to Kerala.

Congress slams govt over social media ‘crackdown’

New Delhi: The Congress slammed the BJP-led Centre on Thursday for its “crackdown” on social media, including X, YouTube and Instagram, by allegedly ordering the closure of several accounts and said undermining free speech is a threat to democracy. Addressing a press conference here, Congress spokesperson and the head of the party’s social media and digital platforms wing, Supriya Shrinate, claimed that multiple accounts across various social media platforms have either been blocked or restricted under official directives. She alleged that the government led by PM Narendra Modi is trying to suppress dissent and evade accountability by curbing digital expression.