Afternoon briefing: Congress president takes a dig at Modi’s guarantees; more

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told the party’s working committee on Tuesday that the country “wants change” and the Narendra Modi government’s guarantees “will meet the same fate as the ‘India Shining’ campaign of 2004”. ‘India Shining’ was a key slogan of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in the run up to the 2004 general elections, but it failed to capture the discontent on the ground and Vajpayee lost the polls. Kharge’s comments assume importance as ‘Modi’s guarantees’ are one of the key planks of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in this election. Dig Deeper
Vinay Kumar, a seasoned diplomat who served as India’s envoy in hotspots such as Afghanistan and Myanmar in recent years, was on Tuesday named as the new ambassador to Russia. Kumar, an officer of the 1992 batch of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), has been the ambassador to Myanmar since late 2021. He will replace Pavan Kapoor, recently appointed the new secretary (West) in the external affairs ministry, in Russia. Dig Deeper
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Following a faltering start to their journey in the Indian Premier League (IPL), with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) failing to make the playoffs in their first three seasons, Gautam Gambhir was roped in as a captain in 2011. KKR won two titles in the next three seasons. With the two-time champions having finished seventh in the table in 2023, KKR once again acquired Gambhir, but this time as a mentor. However, co-owner Shah Rukh Khan’s message to him remained exactly as it was 13 years back – “Make it or break it.” Dig Deeper
Unarguably one of the most well-known actors in Bollywood, Kareena Kapoor, entered the film industry alongside Abhishek Bachchan in JP Dutta’s Refugee (2000). The film not only got critical acclaim but also won her a Filmfare Award For Best Female Debut. In an interview with Rediff in May 2000, a month before she made her acting debut, Kareena had opened up about her relationship with Abhishek and her take on his father, actor Amitabh Bachchan. Dig Deeper
Keeping cholesterol levels in check can not only prevent you from the risk of early death but also infuse more energy and happiness into your daily life. As we all know that cholesterol itself isn’t bad and the waxy substance aids in building cells and producing certain hormones. However, courtesy our modern lifestyle choices, we are accumulating too much of it in our body due to our poor eating habits and lack of an active lifestyle. High cholesterol levels in the body can wreak havoc putting us at risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure all the risk factors which could affect quality of our life and even prove to be fatal. Dig Deeper