Top news of the day: PM Modi tears into TMC over Murshidabad violence, teacher scam in Bengal; Congress, Tharoor spar over 2016 surgical strikes remark, and more 

PM Modi tears into TMC over Murshidabad violence, teacher scam in Bengal; Congress, Tharoor spar over 2016 surgical strikes remark, and more in The Hindu’s top news of May 29, 2025.

Launching a blistering attack on the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (May 29, 2025) said the State is “plagued” by violence, corruption, and lawlessness, and asserted that people are now yearning for change from the “Nirmam sarkar” (cruel government). Addressing a rally in Alipurduar, PM Modi said incidents of communal violence in Murshidabad and Malda are grim reminders of the TMC regime’s “cruelty and indifference” to the sufferings of ordinary citizens. Turning his guns on the West Bengal teacher recruitment scam, PM Modi accused the TMC of “ruining the future of thousands of teachers and their families” through rampant corruption and irregularities.

The discord between the Congress party and Shashi Tharoor intensified over his remarks on the 2016 surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC). Mr. Tharoor claimed, during a public address in Panama, that India had “crossed the LoC to target Pakistani terror launch pads for the first time” in response to the Uri terror attacks. Mr. Tharoor, who is currently leading a parliamentary delegation abroad, described his critics as “zealots” and “trolls”, while attempting to contextualise his statement in a social media post. He clarified that he was specifically referring to cross-border action taken in response to terrorist attacks and not to conventional warfare or earlier military operations. “For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC: in the past, I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars,” Mr. Tharoor wrote. 

The Kerala Government on Thursday (May 29, 2025) declared the wreckage of the Liberian-flagged cargo ship, MSC ELSA-3, which sank 14.6 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala on May 24, a “State-specific disaster”. Tinku Biswal, Principal Secretary of the State Disaster Management Department, stated that the shipwreck posed a potentially serious threat to Kerala’s coast, both environmentally, socially, and economically. Ms. Biswal stated in the government order that the maritime incident had raised serious environmental concerns, including the potential for oil spills and drifting of debris, including cargo containers, in the littoral waters abutting Kerala’s 640 km coastline.

Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of diverting attention from the BJP-led Centre’s failures, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday (May 29, 2025) posed five ‘counter-questions’ in response to the PM’s remarks about crises allegedly affecting West Bengal. In a post on X, the party called upon PM Modi to first “fix the mess” in Manipur, which had witnessed severe law and order problems for over two years. “Modi ji listed 5 ‘Sankats’. Let’s talk facts,” the TMC said in its official X handle. Coming to other posers, the party said, “Women’s safety? From Unnao to Hathras, @BJP4India’s track record is soaked in silence and shame.” “Youth hopelessness? Paper leaks, NEET scam, and 45% unemployment - BJP’s national gift to students,” the regional party said. “Corruption? Half your Cabinet are out on bail. Irony died a slow death,” the party said, turning the corruption charge towards the Modi cabinet.

The Supreme Court Collegium on Monday (May 26, 2025) recommended the appointment of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice N.V. Anjaria, Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi, and Bombay High Court’s Justice A.S. Chandurkar as judges of the top court. “In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Justices (i) N.V. Anjaria, Chief Justice, High Court of Karnataka; (ii) Vijay Bishnoi, Chief Justice, High Court of Gauhati; and (iii) A.S. Chandurkar, Judge, High Court of Bombay, as Judges of the Supreme Court of India,” Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said.

People of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are part of the Indian family, and the day is not far when they will return to India’s mainstream voluntarily, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday (May 29, 2025). Laying out India’s policy approach towards Pakistan, Mr. Singh said New Delhi has “redesigned and redefined” its strategy and response to terrorism and that possible dialogue with Islamabad will be only on terrorism and PoK. “I believe that the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are our own, part of our family. We have full faith that those of our brothers who are geographically and politically separated from us today will also return to the mainstream of India someday, listening to their voice of soul,” he said.

The Allahabad High Court Bar Association has welcomed the Centre's reported move to impeach Justice Yashwant Verma and said it will increase people's trust in the judiciary. Allahabad High Court Bar Association president Anil Tiwari told PTI on Thursday (May 29, 2025), "This move (impeachment) will increase people's trust in the judiciary. If judges become corrupt, people's trust in the Court will be lost. “It is necessary for the existence of the court that action is taken against corrupt people. Here, the question is not of Justice Yashwant Verma, but the question is of the existence of the court, people’s trust, and democracy. If the trust in the judiciary is lost, democracy will end.”