Category: Articles

Congress in-charge for east UP, Priyanka Gandhi, attacked the BJP government for “not just betraying Amethi but the entire nation”. “PM Modi has not visited a single village in Varanasi. Let them beg for votes, Amethi and Raebareli will never bow down in front of anyone,” she said.

Countering PM Modi’s ‘diwali nuclear button’ comment, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said Pakistan has not kept their nuclear weapons for Eid. “Every other day they (Pakistan) talk about nuclear button. But that doesn’t mean they have reserved it for Eid,” she said. Addressing an election rally in Rajasthan’s Barmer town on Sunday, PM Modi had said the strategic experts earlier used to warn that Pakistan had the nuclear button. “What do we have then? Have we kept our nuclear bomb for Diwali,” he asked, while affirming that India had the capability to launch nuclear attacks from land, air and sea.

Malegaon blast accused and Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency’s BJP candidate Pragya Singh Thakur on Friday said former Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare died in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks as she had cursed him for treating her “very badly” while she was in custody in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

“Hemant Karkare falsely implicated me. He died of his karma. I told him, he will be destroyed. I told him his entire dynasty will be erased. Maine kaha tera [Karkare] sarvanash hoga,” she said.

The IPS Association tweeted in response to her comment, “Ashok Chakra awardee late Sri Hemant Karkare, IPS made the supreme sacrifice fighting terrorists. Those of us in uniform condemn the insulting statement made by a candidate and demand that sacrifices of all our martyrs be respected.”

Karkare was killed along with two other senior police officers while fighting terrorists during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in November 2008.

Pragya Singh Thakur is set to have a direct electoral contest with Congress veteran and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh in Bhopal.

Likening Congress leader Hardik Patel to Hitler, the man who slapped him at a rally in Gujarat’s Surendranagar on Friday, said he had decided in 2015 that he would hit the Patidar leader.

“My wife was pregnant when Patidar agitation happened, she was undergoing treatment at a hospital, I had faced problems then, I had decided then, I’ll hit this man. I have to teach him a lesson anyhow,” the attacker Tarun Gajjar was quoted by ANI as saying

“During his rally in Ahmedabad when I had gone to get medicine for my child, everything was shut down. He shuts down the roads, he shuts down Gujarat whenever he wants to, What is he? Gujarat’s Hitler?” added Gajjar, who was admitted in hospital after being attacked by Congress workers following the slapping incident.

The Election Commission of India sent a notice to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi today, for violation of Model Code of Conduct, over banners put up in family stronghold Amethi on Wednesday. The banners, which had a picture of Rahul Gandhi, said, “Ab hoga nyay“. Rahul Gandhi has been asked to reply to the Election Commission’s notice in 24 hours.

The election body, in its notice, said that the banners were put up without the permission of the local election officers and the owner of the building. 

Flying squads of the poll body came across seven, 10 X 25 feet banners across Amethi, said the election body in its notice. The Election Commission further said that when its officers asked for relevant papers, the Congress workers could not show anything.

The poll panel said action will be taken if the Congress chief is unable to give a satisfactory reply. 

“Nyay“, which means justice, is a flagship scheme promised by the Congress to provide basic minimum income support to the poorest of the poor families in the country if it is voted to power

Party chief Rahul Gandhi in a tweet urged people to “vote for nyay“, as polls for phase two of Lok Sabha elections began in 95 seats across 11 states yesterday.

Barter trade between India-Pakistan across the Line-of-Control (LoC) has been suspended from tomorrow, a notification of the Union Home Ministry (MHA) issued on Thursday said, ascribing the move to suspicion that the avenue is being used to smuggle weapons, drugs, and fake currency into India. .

The cross-LoC trade was started in 2008. Goods worth Rs 5,000 crore have been bartered since. From both sides of Kashmir, traders were allowed to deal in 16 items, including spices, vegetables, dry and fresh fruits, carpets, rugs, embroidery items, shawls, paper mache goods, clothes and wooden furniture.

The decision to start cross-LoC barter trade was agreed upon by New Delhi and Islamabad in 2004 but the trade started four years later, in 2008.

The cross LoC trade was through “Trade Facilitation Centres” at Salambad in Uri , Baramulla District and Chakkan-da-Bagh, Poonch District. The trade takes place four days a week.

“This action has been taken as the Government of India has been receiving reports that the Cross LoC trade routes are being misused by the Pakistan based elements for funnelling illegal weapons, narcotics and fake currency etc,” the statement of the MHA said and added that “it has, therefore, been decided by the Government of India to suspend the LoC trade at Salamabad and Chakkan-da-Bagh in Jammu and Kashmir with immediate effect. Meanwhile, a stricter regulatory & enforcement mechanism is being worked out and will be put in place in consultation with various agencies. The issue of reopening of LoC trade will be revisited thereafter.”

After the Pulwama attack by a terrorist of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed on February 14, that left 40 soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) dead, India withdrew the “Most Favoured Nation Status” (MNF) from Pakistan.

“Inputs have also been received that in order to evade the consequent higher duty, LoC trade is likely to be misused to a much larger extent,” MHA added in its statement. .

Earlier, in 2014-2015, the National Investigative Agency (NIA) investigated the cross- LOC trade. It allegedly found items were under and over-invoiced , generating a huge surplus, part of which was being diverted to fuel protest in the valley.

The suspension of cross-LoC trade evoked sharp political reactions in Jammu and Kashmir. Former J&K chief minister and the vice- president of National Conference, Omar Abdullah blamed the BJP government for ending the legacy of former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. “The Modi Govt buries another of the Vajpayee era CBMs (confidence building measures). Cross LoC trade was a legacy of the Vajpayee Govt decision to facilitate greater people to people contact across the Line of Control in J&K. That the LoC trade may have been used by some traders for illegal activities was suspected for years now and it was to plug this that the state has been pleading for the installation of full truck scanners at the trade points,’’ tweeted Omar Abdullah.

PDP president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti accused BJP of using Kashmir as a scapegoat. “Using Kashmir as a scapegoat to claw its way to power won’t help BJP. This is an excuse to worsen ties with Pakistan despite their peace overtures. By doing this PM Modi has dismantled a CBM Initiated by Vajpayee ji . Won’t be surprised if an attack on Pak is in the offing.” .

Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi, who had expressed her displeasure against the party in a tweet, on Friday joined the Shiv Sena. She sent her resignation to Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday evening.

At a press conference she addressed along with Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai, Ms Chaturvedi said, “Happy that the Sena has taken me in as a family member. I am thankful to Uddhavji and Adityaji.”

Mr. Thackeray said, “No need to introduce Priyankaji. She confidently defended her party. She thought that the Sena is best choice. I welcome you to the Sena family.”

Earlier, as Ms Chaturvedi put her resignation letter on her Twitter handle, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Rout told reporters that the former Congress spokesperson from Mumbai would be joining their party.

In her resignation letter, Ms Chaturvedi said, “In the last few weeks, certain things have convinced me that my services are not valued in the organization and I have reached the end of the road. At the same time, I also feel the more time I spend in the organization will be at the cost of my own self respect and dignity.”

The letter, copied to K.C. Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala, read, “What saddens me is that despite the safety, dignity, empowerment of women being promoted by the party and has been your call to action the same is not reflected in the action of some of the members of the party.” 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed anguish over loss of lives in various parts of Gujarat due to unseasonal rain.

“Authorities are monitoring the situation very closely. All possible assistance is being given to those affected,” he tweeted.In another tweet, the prime minister’s office said, Modi has approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to unseasonal rain and storm in various parts of Gujarat.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi Wednesday reached out to the people of Wayanad, saying he did not want to make false promises,but was committed toresolving their issues after hearing their “heart and soul”.

Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said he was not here to tell his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ but to understand the difficulties, including the night travel ban, man-animal conflicts and lack of medical facilities, being faced by the people here.

“I am not like the Prime Minister.. I am not here to tell you that I will give you 2 crore jobs, Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts. I will give farmers and give them whatever they want.. I am not going to lie to you.. Because I respect your intelligence.. your wisdom,” Gandhi told a rousing crowd of thousands here.

“I just don’t want to have a relationship of just few months. I want a lifelong relationship with you. I want the sisters of Wayanad to say that I am like their brother, fathers and mothers to say that I am their son,” he said.

The Congress chief said he wanted to represent Wayanad as the “beautiful place” symbolises different ideas, cultures and that the rest of the country can learn from Kerala and Wayanad.

“Once I decided to fight election from south India, I realised that Wayanad was the best place. Because it represents many many different ideas, cultures.

Visit New Delhi during the election season, and there’s one boredom you’ll have to suffer. Everybody, from colleagues and concierges to acquaintances and drivers, is obsessively breaking words on the electoral fortunes of one state: Uttar Pradesh. All talk revolves around the toxicity of the narrative, and attempts to communally polarize the electorate there. The only other state that perhaps competes for mind space is Bihar.

If you are lucky to be in slightly eclectic company, then the spoils of West Bengal may get discussed because the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is competing hard there. But otherwise, it is as if there is no election happening anywhere else in the country. As if the numbers from other states don’t really add up to 545.

One expected that with Congress president Rahul Gandhi filing his nomination from Wayanad in Kerala, there would be sufficient curiosity about southern Indian states, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. There may be a slight academic interest, but if you confuse that for genuine enthusiasm, and start reeling out ethnographic details of the state, disinterest becomes palpable. Or they come up with fatuous questions, like what I was asked the other day in a lounge in Lutyens’ Delhi: “What’s the difference between Kerala communists and Bengal communists?” I replied: “Kerala communists are fighting, Bengal communists have retired.”

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to consider Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati’s plea against the 48-hour ban on campaigning imposed by the Election Commission.

Mayawati had moved the top court against the poll body’s order on the ground that it was “taken under pressure” from the ruling dispensation.

“All citizens have the rights to move about and put forth their point of view. But here, the Election Commission has suddenly given an order which has cruelly deprived me of my rights on the basis of wrong facts. This order will be remembered in the history of Election Commission as a black day,” said Mayawati on Monday reacting to the EC order.

The poll body has imposed a nation-wide ban on Mayawati restricting her from campaigning in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The Election Commission had found her remarks made at a poll rally in Uttar Pradesh. Some other political leaders were banned from campaigning for their “provocative” remarks, which the EC said had the “propensity to polarise the elections”.

At an election rally in Deoband last week, Mayawat had appealed to Muslim voters to vote for the grand-alliance of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party and not for the Congress to ensure that anti-BJP votes are not divided.

The Election Commission, following a Supreme Court remark to act tough against those violating the poll code, cracked its whip against some of the top politicians. The poll panel imposed a nationwide campaign ban on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and SP candidate Azam Khan for 72 hours, and on Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and BSP chief Mayawati for 48 hours beginning Tuesday morning.