Author: News Analysis India

Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi, the party’s candidate from East Delhi, has asked Gautam Gambhir why he decided to enter politics after he turned down her “open challenge” for a debate. “If you don’t believe in debates, then why have you entered politics? The Delhi government is going to start a cricket academy, why don’t you run that?” she asked him on Twitter after Gambhir told CNN-News18 that he does not believe in “dharna or debates”. 

The Supreme Court has pulled up Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for attributing the ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ remark to the court and said he is compelling the bench to take action against him for contempt. “We never said it.. You attributed the comment to us and now you are trying to justify it,” a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said. 

A debate over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on caste boiled over today as the Congress’s new general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra weighed in, saying her party had never raised questions about his caste. Caste is one of the key factors in the heartland state of Uttar Pradesh and Mayawati, who commands a chunk of the Scheduled caste votes, has used it to attack PM Modi.

“I am still not aware of the caste that Modi belongs to. And the opposition and the Congress have never raised the issue of his caste,” Priyanka Gandhi told the media at Amethi, her brother and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s parliamentary constituency.

PM Modi’s caste became a matter of national debate ahead of the 2014 elections, with allegations that he is not a member of backward castes by birth and used the caste card only for electoral gains.

Yesterday, Mayawati said the Prime Minister had included himself among the backward castes during his term as the Gujarat chief minister for political benefits.

Speaking at Kannauj later, the Prime Minister had requested Mayawati not to “drag” him into “caste politics”.

Pragya Thakur, the BJP candidate from Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal, was seen weeping on meeting party veteran Uma Bharti while campaigning today. The two saffron-robed politicians hugged in an emotional moment captured by a posse of TV cameras.

Union Minister Uma Bharti, who is not contesting the election but has won from Bhopal in the past, was seen consoling Pragya Thakur, who stayed seated in an SUV, wiping her tears.

Pragya Thakur had gone to meet with Uma Bharti as she landed in Bhopal this morning amid talk of a rift. While leaving in an SUV, Pragya Thakur broke down.

Uma Bharti was seen consoling her and offering her water. She was also seen bowing to Pragya Thakur.

Amid the non-stop rallies and political clashes, Congress’ Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shared a moment of sibling banter on Saturday when they bumped into each other at Kanpur airport in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress president and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary were both headed to separate meetings on the last day of campaigning before the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha polls.

In the video Rahul Gandhi posted on Facebook, the Congress president jokingly said with his arm wrapped around his sister, “Let me tell you. Let me tell you what it means to be a good brother. I’m doing massive, massive long flights and going in a little helicopter like that, squeezed up. And my sister is doing short flights, and is going in a big helicopter…” 

The Congress-in-charge for UP East laughed, playfully struck his hand and said, That is not true. That’s not true. I had an hour flight.”

“But I love her,” Rahul Gandhi quickly quipped in the end before momentarily parting ways with Vadra. The two leaders were then seen obliging to the airport staff’s request for a photograph. 

Rahul Gandhi is slated to hold rallies in Congress’ bastion seats of Raebareili and Amethi while Priyanka Gandhi will hold a roadshow in Unnao and address public rallies in Barabanki and Dewa.

Ramesh Raju has become a hero to the shell-shocked congregation of the Zion evangelical church in Batticaloa after he died stopping a suicide bomber who was bent on killing hundreds of people.

Nearly a week after the bombing, the road leading to Raju’s house in the eastern city is flanked by posters and photographs of the 40-year-old father of two who blocked the attacker at the church door.

A stream of well-wishers queue to express condolences to his widow, a Sunday school teacher.

Raju was one of 29 people, including 14 children, that media reports say died in the blast at Zion, one of three churches and three hotels targeted by Jihadist bombers.

But about 600 people who were inside at the time escaped the human bomb. The dead from the other two churches make up the majority of the 253 overall death toll.

“When he felt suspicious about the bomber he could have run away to safety but I think he chose to scuffle with him in order to stop him from entering the church,” his father Velusami Raju told AFP.

“I feel very proud that he saved so many lives, especially so many children,” he added.

Jihadist Target

The east coast city is thought to have become a target as the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) blamed for the attacks came from the region.

Zion church was packed at the time and there were dozens of children fresh from Sunday school. Raju had volunteered to help manage the crowds, according to witnesses.

When he spotted an unfamiliar man carrying two huge bags, Raju confronted hm and asked him to leave them outside. The bomb went off during the argument.

A number of other children and parents who were outside at the time were killed along with him.

“He was a very good man,” said Raju’s father, who described his eldest son as the “pillar” of their large family.

“Every memory we shared is so precious… He was the main support for our family, for his three younger sisters and younger brother,” the 63-year-old said.

Father and son spoke just minutes before the explosion, Velusami said. Raju promised to call him back once the service was over.

The next time his phone rang, it was a parishioner calling to tell him his son had been killed in a blast.

Raju’s younger sister also died in the bombing, along with her husband and 20-month-old son.

“I have lost my grandson but at the same time I feel so proud that my son saved so many children, so other families don’t have to go through what we are going through,” the retired mill worker said, choking back tears.

Services Halted

Tucked away on a leafy street, the church is now surrounded by heavy security and investigators comb the premises for evidence.

The congregation does not know when a service will be held there again.

The other two churches attacked were Roman Catholic and the church’s leaders have suspended all services across the country until Sri Lankan authorities can guarantee security.

Raju was a success story in the Muslim-majority town, setting up his own company at the age of 28 and raising a family with his high school sweetheart.

To his loved ones, the moments leading up to his death serve as yet another reminder of the scale of their loss.

She claimed that Gambhir, in his affidavit to the returning officer while filing his nomination had “concealed the information that he is also registered to vote in Karol Bagh, which is punishable under Sec 125A of the Representation of the People Act with up to six months jail time.”

Gambhir had joined the BJP on March 22, saying that he was impressed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision.

The BJP has fielded the former cricket star from the East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency.

A Delhi court will hear the matter of the criminal complaint against him on May 1.

Gautam Gambhir had held a massive roadshow in Delhi on Tuesday ahead of filing his nomination from East Delhi. The BJP has fielded Gambhir from the constituency in place of sitting MP Maheish Girri.

The seven Lok Sabha constituencies of Delhi will go to polls on May 12. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

The Supreme Court Thursday constituted a one-man panel of former apex court judge Justice A K Patnaikto hold inquiry into the allegations of larger conspiracy to frame Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and fixing of benches in the top court.
The apex court asked the Directors of CBI and IB as also the Delhi Police Commissioner to cooperate with Justice (Retd) Patnaik as and when sought by him during the inquiry.

It said the outcome of the inquiry will not affect the in-house committee which is dealing with the complaint against the CJI.
The apex court said that on the completion of inquiry, Justice (Retd) Patnaik will file a report in a sealed cover before the court after which the matter will be heard again.

In a candid and “non-political” conversation with actor Akshay Kumar on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he often reads the kind of content people – including Twinkle Khanna – usually post about him on social media.

The actor, while talking to the PM about his daily routine, his love for mangoes and his sleep schedule in the sprawling lawns of his residence, also discussed Modi’s presence on social media and showed him some of the memes based on him.

During this particular segment, Modi made a witty remark while revealing that he follows Twitter handle of Kumar and his wife Twinkle Khanna, too, referring to her critical tweets about him.

“I follow you (Akshay Kumar) and Twinkle Khanna ji on Twitter. From the way she targets me, I understand there must be peace in your family life,” he said, much to the amusement of Kumar. “All her anger must have been spent on me, and so you must be feeling at peace,” he added.

Now in an interview with Hindustan Times, Kumar has described his emotions during his candid chat with Modi.

“I did not know where to look. I was stumped by his wit, and the very sporting manner in which he said it. I didn’t know what to reply. I could only laugh embarrassingly and I thought to myself – ‘ek taraf biwi, ek taraf desh ka Pradhan Mantri. Both have powerful portfolios in my life. It’s best to stay quiet’,” said Kumar when asked about Modi’s good-natured dig at Khanna’s tweets.

Mohamed Hasan has barely left his home in Colombo since a string of deadly blasts hit Sri Lanka on Sunday, afraid he could be attacked because he is Muslim.
He has a job at a printing press, but the 41-year-old’s family have begged him to stay home.

“They are worried that if I go out, will I be able to come back alive?” he told AFP outside the Jumma mosque in Dematagoda, where he had ventured briefly to pray.
More than 350 people were killed in the carnage unleashed by the Easter attacks against churches and hotels, which have been claimed by the Islamic State group.
The deaths have horrified Sri Lankans and been condemned by Muslim groups, but many in the community have been left feeling vulnerable.
Zareena Begum, 60, said she had barely slept since the weekend. “I know people are angry at Muslims,” she said in tears outside the mosque. “Infants being carried in the arms of their mothers were killed.
“I never imagined such hatred being there in the hearts of these people (who attacked). Hatred must not sow more hatred.” Wearing a black dress and white headscarf, Begum added: “We have been huddled at our homes. We are scared about going out.”
Sri Lanka’s population of 21 million is a patchwork of ethnicities and religions, dominated by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority.
Muslims account for 10 percent of the population and are the second-largest minority after Hindus. Around seven percent of Sri Lankans are Christians.
Ethnic and religious tensions abound in the country, which suffered through a decades-long Tamil insurgency and more recently has seen outbreaks of sectarian violence.
Muslims have been on the receiving end of sporadic violence and hate attacks since the civil war ended in 2009.
Hardline Buddhist monks have led campaigns against the community, and in 2013 and 2018, Muslim businesses came under attack.
Rumours were even spread that Sinhalese could become sterile if they wore underwear bought from Muslim shops, and that food sold by Muslims would cause infertility.
In the wake of the attacks, Sri Lankan leaders including Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have urged calm and solidarity.
“The vast majority of Muslims condemn this and they are as angry as the Tamils and the Sinhalese about what happened,” he said Tuesday, calling for unity.
But at the Jumma mosque there was an atmosphere of anxiety, and several worshippers said they hoped police would “take care of every citizen in such critical times”.
Hilmy Ahamed, vice-president of the influential Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, said the community was braced for a backlash, with emotions running high. “Hundreds of people are being buried (so) there is going to be an emotional outburst and some of it could be justifiable,” said Ahamed.
“We have asked the government … to ensure security is maintained. This (attack) has not been carried out by the Muslim community but by some fringe elements.”
In fact, Ahamed and other Muslim leaders said they had warned Sri Lankan authorities years earlier about the leader of the National Thowheeth Jama’ath, a group the government says is its key suspect in the attacks.

With an annual income of over Rs. 12 crore, cricketer-turned-politican Gautam Gambhir is among the richest of all the candidates in fray for the Lok Sabha election in Delhi.

Mr Gambhir, who was nominated by the BJP in East Delhi against AAP’s Atishi Marlena, has shown an income of over Rs. 12.4 crore in the income tax returns filed for 2017-18.

In Delhi North West, BJP’s singer-turned politician Hans Raj Hans has an annual income of Rs.9.28 lakh, as per the IT returns filed in 2017-18.

His Congress counterpart, Rajesh Lilothia had an annual income of Rs. 26.34 lakh, as per the IT returns filed in 2017-18.

Congress candidate from South Delhi Vijender Singh has declared an annual income of Rs. 45 lakh in 2017-18. He also declared movable and immovable assets worth Rs. 3.57 crore and Rs.5.05 crore respectively.

BJP’s sitting MP and candidate from South Delhi Ramesh Bidhuri has movable and immovable assets worth Rs. 18 crore, an increase of close to Rs. 3.5 crore in the last five years, according to his affidavit.

Mr Bidhuri, his wife and dependent Himanshu have shown an income of over Rs. 16.72 lakh, Rs.3.09 lakh and Rs. 3.18 lakh respectively in the IT returns filed in 2017-18.

Former Chief Minister and Congress candidate Sheila Dikshit, who filed her nomination from the North-East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday, declared personal assets worth over Rs. 4.92 crore.