NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked the government, alleging that under it unemployment, price rise, poverty and income of its “friends” have increased. “What did this government increase? Unemployment, inflation and poverty. And, only the earnings of friends,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.
He cited a media report that claimed 9.9 crore people were part of the middle class before the Covid-19 outbreak and they were reduced to 6.6 crore after it. Coronavirus: Live updates
LAHOWAL: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Friday assured that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will not be implemented in Assam if the party is voted to power in the state in the coming Assembly poll. It will be ensured in the state assembly that the CAA is not implemented in Assam, Gandhi told students of Lahowal College in Dibrugarh district. “In the other states, we will stop it (CAA implementation) after we (Congress) come to power at the national level,” he said. Asked to comment on whether BJP is mixing religion and politics, he said that the saffron party does not use religion but hatred to create divisions among different sections of the society. “No religion has asked to use hatred. Where is it written in Hinduism that there should be ‘nafrat’ (hatred)? It is BJP that spreads hatred to divide society and wherever they do it Congress goes there to promote love, brotherhood and harmony,” he said. In an apparent reference to the RSS, the senior Congress leader said that there is a force in Nagpur that is trying to control the entire country. But the youth of today should resist it with love and confidence as they are the future of democracy. Twenty years ago Assam was hit by violence but after Congress came to power it ensured peace and development. “BJP ka kaam hain todna, hamaara kaam hain jodna (BJP’s work is to divide but our job is to unite people), he said. Gandhi said there is a direct relation between hatred and unemployment. “If hatred increases, unemployment will increase and vice versa. Can two sections of the society fighting against each other do business together? For business and employment oppurtunities to thrive, there should be harmony and brotherhood”. He also accused the saffron party of selling off Assam’s resources to outsiders like the tea companies in the state, the Guwahati airport to the Adanis and the tea companies. The senior Congress leader said that at present the country has a ‘Hum do, Hamare do ka Sarkar’ (a government of two with two others)- one in Parliament (apparently Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah) and two outside (Adani and Ambani likely). “Assam’s resources and wealth must go into the pockets of the Assamese. The state must be managed in the interest of the people here”, the Congress leader said. The erstwhile Congress government, he said, had laid the foundation for the country’s future growth, employment and development by initiating several schemes, including MGNREGA and Food Security. “Can you name the schemes started by BJP? We had promised in Chattisgarh to waive off farm loans and we did it. We have a record of not making promises in the air. We give guarantees”, he asserted. In Assam Congress has given ‘5 guarantees’. They are five lakh government jobs to youths in five years, upto 200 units of free electricity per household, Rs 365 daily wage to tea workers and Rs 2000 per month to housewives besides the assurance not to implement the CAA in the state, he said. Asked by students about rising unemployment and Congress’ plans to tackle it, Gandhi said that the priority of the party if voted to power will be to first fill up vacant posts and focus on sectors like health and education for creating new jobs. When a student questioned him about privatisation of education, Gandhi said that it is a “big problem” created by BJP. “Education should not be commercialised as it is a fundamental right. We are against the commercialisation of education”. He said, “There are certain places for privatisation, but not in education and health where public sector has a role. We are fighting against BJP on this”, he said. The biggest sale is taking place in the agricultural sector and its privatisation is being done through the three farm laws, he claimed. To another question on why protesting students are being sent to jail, Gandhi said “The rulers are scared of the confidence of the youth. They are scared that if more become confident they cannot control. So the youth are sent to jail”. When another student pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not visit Assam during floods but only during elections, the Congress leader quipped, “What can you give him during floods? So why will he visit you? But now you can give him votes, so he is visiting you. “You can ensure that he does not come at all and stays at home by your vote. You have to save India’s democracy as you are the future of democracy. More youths should enter politics and actively participate in fighting against the wrongs”, he added. Gandhi is on a two-day visit to the poll-bound north eastern state from Friday. He will campaign in upper Assam and will release the party’s manifesto in Guwahati on Saturday, Congress sources said.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday asserted that his party, if voted to power in Assam, will ensure that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is not implemented in the state. Affirming that no religion teaches enmity, Gandhi, during his interaction with college students here in Dibrugarh district, said the saffron party was “selling hatred to create divisions among people”.
“It is the BJP that uses hatred to divide society. No matter where they go to spread hatred, the Congress will ensure it promotes there love and harmony,” he said.
In an apparent reference to the RSS – the BJP’s ideological fountainhead — the Congress leader said there is “one force in Nagpur that is trying to control the entire country” but the youths must resist this attempt with love and confidence as they happen to be the future of the country.
“Congress guarantees to Assam: we will give 200 units of free electricity to every family. We will give every housewife Rs 2,000 per month,” he added.
Gandhi, who is in Assam on a two-day visit, is scheduled to release the party’s manifesto in the poll-bound state on Saturday.
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that lakhs of families have suffered pain due to the government‘s “incompetence and myopia” as the unplanned lockdown continues to haunt the country. The government had imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 24 last year to curb the spread of coronavirus. Gandhi has been attacking the government for the lockdown, saying the poor and migrants have suffered due to it. “The unplanned lockdown disaster continues to haunt the country,” he said on Twitter. “Condolences to the lakhs of families being punished with indescribable pain for GOI’s incompetence and myopia,” he added. Gandhi also cited a media report quoting a UNICEF study that due to COVID-19, India is likely to see the highest rise in child mortality and maternal deaths among the six most populous South Asian countries.
India will implement a GPS-based toll collection system and do away with all toll booths within a year, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday. He also shared details of the vehicle scrapping policy, first announced in the Union Budget for 2021-22, according to which the automobile industry in India will see a jump in turnover to ₹10 lakh crore from ₹4.5 lakh crore.
Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde agreed with advocate Prashant Bhushan on Thursday to urgently hear a plea by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms to stay the sale of a new set of electoral bonds on April 1, before Assembly elections in crucial States such as West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
Top U.S. and Chinese officials offered sharply different views of the world on March 18 as the two sides met face-to-face for the first time since President Joe Biden took office. In unusually pointed remarks for a staid diplomatic meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi took aim at each other’s policies at the start of two days of talks in Alaska.
The EU’s drug watchdog said on March 18 it is still convinced the benefits of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the risks following an investigation into reports of blood disorders that prompted more than a dozen nations to suspend its use.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Insurance Amendment Bill 2021 that increases the maximum foreign investment allowed in an insurance company from 49% to 74%, amid criticism from the Opposition parties on the clause enabling “control and ownership” by foreign investors.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday forbade judges from making gender stereotypical comments like “’good women are sexually chaste”, women who drink and smoke ‘ask’ for sexual advances or presume that a sexually active woman consented to rape while hearing cases of sexual offence.
Union Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday that climate activist Disha Ravi’s arrest was based on law and order and it is under judicial process. He added that the House should consider “should some people abuse social media internationally to defame India to promote secessionism.”
Former Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian resigned from Ashoka University on Thursday, days after noted columnist and political commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s exit. In his resignation letter, Dr. Subramanian, said he had been “devastated” by “the circumstances involving the ‘resignation’ of Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta” two days earlier.
In a major embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two candidates announced by the party on Thursday for the Assembly polls from Kolkata have refused to contest on the party’s ticket.
The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed suo motu proceedings before the Delhi High Court on the administration of COVID-19 vaccine and transferred the case to itself. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde said a similar case concerning the vaccination drive was already pending in the Supreme Court, and the case from the Delhi High Court could be heard along with it.
The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to urgently hear a plea to release and protect over 150 Rohingya refugees reportedly “detained” in Jammu. Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde agreed to hear the application filed by a member of the Rohingya community, Mohammad Salimullah, represented by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Cheryl d’Souza, on April 25 (Thursday). Mr. Bhushan made an oral mention before the CJI for an early hearing.
The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the supplementary demand for grants (second batch for 2020-21) but not before significant concerns raised by Opposition leaders on the government’s disinvestment and asset monetisation plans, and rising fuel prices.
If Ishan Kishan was unfortunate to be ruled out of the fourth T20I due to a groin strain, lady luck smiled on his replacement Suryakumar Yadav. The Mumbai cricketer, dropped for the previous outing after not having faced a ball on his debut in the second T20I, grabbed his chance and made it count.
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Assembly Elections 2021 News LIVE Updates: In Bengal, TMC’s Sisir Adhikari may join the BJP.
Last Updated:March 19, 2021, 07:44 IST
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Assembly Elections 2021 News LIVE Updates: As the elections in the five states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry get closer and parties have announced most of their candidates list, it is becoming clear what the battle will look like in each state.
On Friday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be in Assam to campaign. He will interact with college students at Lahowal, Dibrugarh. He will then meet tea garden workers in Dinjoy Tea Estate in Chabua and have a public meeting in Tinsukia.
Meanwhile in Bengal, more TMC leaders are jumping parties. Sisir Adhikari is also likely to join the BJP.
This comes even as TMC leaders including two TMC MLAs, one former MP, a former TMC minister and a CPI MLA who joined BJP recently could not find their names in the list of candidates for the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth phases of West Bengal Assembly elections.
BJP General Secretary Arun Singh said, “BJP’s central election committee (CEC) has approved the names of candidates on 148 seats for West Bengal Assembly elections.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday told youth wing leaders that had Jyotiraditya Scindia remained in the party he would have certainly become chief minister but was now a “backbencher” in the BJP, according to sources.
He said he had told Scindia so, but “he chose a different path” by joining the BJP, where he can never be the chief minister.
Gandhi while addressing the executive committee meeting of the Indian Youth Congress said that even if Scindia returns to the party fold, “he cannot be the chief minister now”.
The former Congress chief exhorted youth leaders to adopt patience and be able to digest power. He said the party is observing the contribution of all of them, sources said.
“I told Scindia that he will 100 per cent become the chief minister one day. But he chose a different path. Had he not left the party, he would have been CM. He is today a backbencher in the BJP and can never become chief minister there,” a source quoted him as telling the gathering.
Scindia had left the party along with some legislators loyal to him to join the BJP. This led to the fall of the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh early last year.
However, IYC president B V Srinivas denied that Gandhi made any reference to Scindia and claimed it was “not correct”.
He said Gandhi told the youth that “anyone who wanted to join or quit the party was free to do so”, as he urged them to continue their fight against the RSS-BJP ideology and not fear anyone.
Sources, however, said he told the youth leaders that the coming days belonged to them and they should remain loyal to the party and continue their fight against the BJP/RSS and work hard for the party which was “observing” them and their contribution.
He said politics was a long process and one who worked sincerely for the party and remained loyal would get rewarded.
“I will continue to fight these forces. I do not fear from anyone, Gandhi said at the closed-door gathering,” the source said.
All state presidents and Indian Youth Congress national office-bearers attended the executive meeting.
The Youth Congress leaders made a presentation at the meeting on the work they proposed to do in the next year.
Gandhi told them to continue with their programme of protests on issues of price rise and unemployment and farmers’ issues and to take to the streets against the government.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and former state minister-turned-BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. (File Photo)
Over the years, West Bengal and the country have learned not to underestimate Mamata Banerjee. A fiery leader in disarming sari and chappals, she took lathis and more to do the impossible and topple the Left Front in the state. A decade hence, Mamata finds herself in the same spot, and the country is again watching. Does the two-time Chief Minister still have the fight in her to stop another opponent, far mightier, over the course of an election spread out longer than a month, aiming for what no longer seems impossible?
If the Trinamool supremo retains power, she would join the handful of political leaders in the country to have defeated the Narendra Modi-led BJP, cementing her place as one of the tallest Opposition leaders at a time that the Congress is doddering. If the BJP wins, West Bengal would join the list of states the party sees as crucial to its ideological framework to go its way.
At a time when the Congress is locked in a bitter tussle with the DMK over seat-sharing in Tamil Nadu, there is tension in the party in Assam over allocation of seats to partner AIUDF.
There were tense scenes and slogan-shouting by a section of the party workers at the Congress office, in the presence of party chief Ripun Bora and Mahila Congress national president Sushmita Dev, in Guwahati on Saturday. Sources said Dev is upset over the allocation of some seats to the AIUDF in her stronghold of Barak Valley.
Of the 15 Assembly seats in Barak Valley, comprising the Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts, the Congress had won three last time while the AIUDF had won four. All the three seats in Hailakandi district were won by AIUDF and the party is claiming these as part of the seat-sharing deal.
The deadlock in the seat-sharing negotiations between the DMK and Congress for the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls appeared to be clearing and there were signs of progress on Thursday, said sources in both parties.
Congress leaders, however, said a final understanding is expected to be reached following a telephonic conversation between DMK chief M K Stalin and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
According to the sources, both sides appear to be softening their stand. Earlier, the Congress had been demanding 34 seats and DMK was not willing to offer more than 18, but the former is now asking for 30 and the DMK is ready to offer 20, said the sources.
“We assume that a critical point has been crossed and hope that there will be an agreement soon with at least 24 seats for the Congress,” said a Congress leader.
Meanwhile, a Congress office-bearers’ meeting called by state Congress chief K S Alagiri Friday witnessed emotional scenes. According to sources, Alagriri’s eyes welled up as he narrated the alleged ill-treatment meted out to the party delegation led by former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy during the first round of talks last week.
Alagiri said what hurt more was not the number of seats DMK offered but the way they were treated, said sources. He concluded by saying that party members should decide on the next course of action and that he would agree to whatever they decide, sources added.
A Congress leader said, “There was nobody to receive the Congress delegation when they reached Arivalayam (DMK headquarters). Until DMK MP Kanimozhi reached there, it was an unbelievably arrogant and indifferent approach we faced.”
So far, the DMK has allotted six seats to VCK led by Thol Thirumavalavan, six to the CPI, three to the Indian Union Muslim League and two to Manithaneya Makkal Katchi. Thirumavalavan has said they did not get the “deserving” number of seats and that VCK agreed to the arrangement considering the political situation in the country and the “need to strengthen the secular alliance”.
AICC-in charge of Tamil Nadu, Dinesh Gundu Rao, said the seat-sharing arrangement is yet to be finalised. Asked about Alagiri’s emotional speech at the Congress meeting, he said, “When senior leaders come for alliance talks, usually there is a welcome approach, a friendly approach. But it happens. I don’t want to talk much about that. Our talks are in progress.”
Star Indian boxer Vijender Singh will be making his return to the ring on March 19 for a Vegas-style boxing match on the rooftop deck of the Majestic Pride Casino Ship in Goa.
The 2008 Olympic bronze medallist turned professional in 2015 and was last seen in action in November 2019 when he defeated Ghana’s Charles Adamu to keep his unbeaten record of 12-0 intact, including 8 knockout wins.
Ahead of his return, Vijender is excited about being back in the ring and that too in his own country.
“Yes I am excited that I can have a boxing match in India, in front of my own people, again as there has been no such event in India before, especially in Goa,” Vijender told News18.com in an exclusive interview.
Vijender has fought in India before — two in New Delhi and one each in Mumbai and Jaipur.
When asked what exactly is ‘Vegas-style boxing’, Vijender said: “Spectators will be seated with one seat gap, due to the pandemic. Matches in the United States have been organised with the pandemic in mind, following the rules and protocols and the fight has been live-streamed. So we are trying to do a similar thing in India and I am hoping that people will like the bout and enjoy boxing.”
Returning to the ring will not easy, especially after almost more than a year and Vijender knows that.
“I started preparations in January and will have around one-two weeks of training left before I get back in the ring, but I am ready for the fight. The pandemic changed a lot of things,” Vijender said.
“I have been training in Delhi with Jai Bhagwan, who is my training partner in India.
“There were some issues in the beginning, in the first week back, I faced a lot of problems. Got hit quite a lot and had a couple of injuries well. That slowly it all started coming back to me that I am in the ring again. After a point, you do get back on track,” he said.
Vijender is hoping that event will be a success and everyone involved will be safe.
“Hopefully, the vaccination drive has started rolling out, I am hoping that it is all well and that no one gets infected. Let’s hope for the best and everything will be fine as we will be following all the norms and rules,” he said.
Recently one of Vijender’s tweets went viral, of him complementing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his fitness. The Congress leader had visited Kerala and had jumped into the sea along with fishermen at Thangassery beach.
“Abs of a boxer. Most daring young fit & people’s leader. Way to go @RahulGandhi Ji,” Singh had tweeted on Thursday with a photo.
When asked about the story behind his viral post, Vijender said, “A lot of my posts go viral.”
“I like that picture because when I saw that picture on social media, my first thought was that – ‘he looks damn fit!’,” he said.
“Then I tweeted that ‘you look like a boxer’. I write what is the truth and what I feel in my heart. If people like it, fine. But he is so fit as he jumped into the Arabian Sea,” he added.
Vijender also clarified that he will not be asking Rahul Gandhi to join him in the ring for a friendly bout when asked.
“No, why. He is doing his job. He is fighting for our rights. I will invite him to come and see my fight in Goa, if he finds the time to come that, of course, it will be a pleasure for me,” he said.
Vijender had joined the Congress party and contested the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections from Delhi and had lost to BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri from the South Delhi constituency.
When asked about the future of his political career, Vijender countered, “The thing about a political career is that it is never on hold, I am always invested. It is not a career. I meet people when they come and am active on social media and always take time out for helping people out.”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and former state minister-turned-BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. (File Photo)