Imphal, March 20 (Nasheman News) Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said it is his party alone which can protect the culture, language and history of the people of the Northeast, and claimed to have blocked the passing of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in the Rajya Sabha.
Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said he and his party would continue to oppose that bill as he reminded the people at the rally here in Manipur that all Modi has done for the eight states in the region is rename Manmohan Singh’s “Look East” policy as “Act East” policy.
Apart from the nomenclature there has been no progress, the Congress chief added.
He also slammed the Prime Minister for failing “to create the two crore jobs annually” that he had promised and flayed him for “instead destroying 30,000 jobs everyday over the past five years”.
Gandhi poked fun at Modi over his demonetisation move. “One fine morning, PM woke up and said I do not like the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currencies bills. These ought to be demonetised.
“Common people had to stand in the long serpentine queues in banks”, but that did not matter to the ruling dispensation, he said.
About the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which Gandhi calls the “Gabbar Singh Tax”, he said it was introduced to benefit Modi’s “wealthy friends while the small and medium traders were hit below the belt”.
Appealing to the people to vote for the Congress and not the “RSS-BJP” nexus which is out to destroy the country, the Congress chief said “whenever Modi says something, he has a nasty plan and he always divides the people by spreading hatred.”
Gandhi will be in Tripura later in the day.
Manipur goes to the polls in the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections.
Actress Sumalatha files nomination from Mandya seat
Mandya (Karnataka), March 20 (Nasheman News) Multilingual south Indian actress Sumalatha Ambareesh on Wednesday filed her nomination to contest the Lok Sabha elections in April as an Independent from the Mandya seat.
Sumalatha, 55, is the widow of late Congress leader M.H. Ambareesh, who represented Mandya in the Lok Sabha.
Accompanied by her son Abhishek, the actress filed her nomination at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Mandya, about 100 km from Bengaluru.
Several of Sumalatha’s supporters and Ambareesh’s fans gathered at the office to offer their support.
The actress has about 200 films in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi to her credit.
Sumalatha will be contesting against Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
While the ruling ally Congress will be supporting the JD-S candidate as part of the pre-poll alliance between the coalition partners, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was yet to announce its candidates from the southern state.
Protest shutdown hampers life in Valley
[Nasheman news] Srinagar Life across the Kashmir Valley was adversely affected on Wednesday following a shutdown called by separatists to protest against the death of a youth in police custody on Monday.
Rizwan Asad Pandit, 28, died in police custody in Srinagar, three days after he was arrested from south Kashmir’s Awantipora town.
The custodial death of the youth, who worked as a teacher in a private school, has been condemned across the political and social divide in Kashmir.
Authorities have ordered a magisterial inquiry into it under Section 176 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc).
A departmental inquiry has also been ordered by police to ascertain the circumstances that led to the youth’s death.
Shops, public transport, other businesses and educational institutions remained closed in Srinagar city and other district headquarters of the Valley.
Though skeletal private transport moved in the uptown area of Srinagar city, inter-district transport remained closed.
Authorities have made sufficient deployments of police and paramilitary forces to maintain law and order in the Valley.
Mobile and internet facilities have been suspended in south Kashmir districts, while its speed has been slashed down in other parts of the Valley as a precautionary measure.
Unhappy BJD leaders pose headache for party
[Nashman news] Bhubaneswar Managing disgruntled leaders appears to be a big headache for Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) as several leaders have quit the party while others have expressed their displeasure after being denied party ticket.
The BJD has so far declared candidates in nine Lok Sabha and 54 Assembly seats.
Outgoing BJD MP from Kandhamal, Pratyusha Rajeshwari Singh, on Tuesday threatened to quit the party after she was denied renomination. BJD President and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik named Achyut Samant as the candidate from Kandhamal.
Pratyusha Singh now wants to contest from Nayagarh Assembly constituency.
“My aim is to work for the people of Nayagarh. I have told the party President… If I do’t get a chance to contest from Nayagarh, I may think of joining another party or contesting as an Independent,” said Pratyusha Singh, a member of the erstwhile Nayagarh royal family.
Kalahandi MP Arka Keshari Deo has also raised his ante against the party after he was denied ticket. Deo has been replaced by Kalahandi MLA Pushpendra Singh Deo in the Kalahandi parliamentary constituency.
“I have laboured tirelessly for the last five years for strengthening BJD. I could have been notified prior to the announcement of the candidate list. I am in shock,” he said.
Deo said he had sent a letter to the BJD President expressing his displeasure.
On the other hand, three disgruntled BJD leaders on Tuesday resigned from the party.
Former Paralakhemundi MLA K. Narayan Rao, Kusum Tete from Sundargarh and Kalahandi General Secretary Pramod Patnaik quit after being denied ticket.
Earlier, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi and Nilgiri MLA Sukanta Nayak had resigned from the primary membership of the party.
Elections will be held for 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats in four phases in Odisha beginning April 11.
Pant grabbed his chance, now up to selectors: Saha
By Baidurjo Bhose (10:46)
[Nasheman news] New Delhi An injury can change a sportspersons career graph overnight and not many would know that better than India and Sunrisers Hyderabad wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha. From being a Test regular to watching Rishabh Pant take the coveted spot after the Bengal player suffered a shoulder injury, Saha has seen it all.
Speaking to IANS, Saha not only acknowledged the fact that Pant has grabbed his opportunity with both hands, but also said that he always believes that the team is the priority and the success of the team comes before individuals.
Back in the thick of things and Saha wants to go out and showcase his talent all over again in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League.
“Injuries can happen at any time and someone will come in. The person who comes in will obviously look to give it his best and Rishabh has done just that.
“Team is the priority and I want the team to do well and also I feel Rishabh has done well and proved himself. Now it is on the selectors to decide how they are looking at things going forward,” Saha said.
“Have been out of the game for a while and I had a good prep with the Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Having played that I feel good and I know that the IPL is an opportunity to establish myself as a good IPL always makes people take note of you,” he smiled.
Asked if he was in talks with the team management post the injury and while undergoing rehab, Saha said: “I met the team after the operation when I was in England. After that when I was at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) the team management kept a check through the trainers at the NCA.”
While he is making a return to top-level cricket with the IPL, another Sunrisers player, who will be in the spotlight, is Australia opener David Warner.
The batsman is set to make a return to the IPL this year after missing the previous season due to the 12-month ban he suffered for his involvement in the Sandpaper Gate.
Saha for one is excited to have the opener back in the squad.
“There is no doubt that Warner is a champion player. The team is definitely looking forward to having him take the field for us. A player like him doesn’t come everyday and it is an honour to be playing with him.
“While I have also played against him, getting to know him from up close and seeing how he prepares for games and his work ethics also makes you a better player,” he said.
While Warner was away, the IPL got to see the tactical acumen of Kane Williamson and the Kiwi batsman impressed all with his captaincy skills. Saha believes that the best part about Williamson is his cool and composed nature and that allows the Kiwi to make quality calls.
“He is a brilliant captain and keeps a very cool head and that is inspiring. He is an outstanding person who is always there to help you both on and off the field. He is very welcoming and you can go up and chat with him at any point in time,” he revealed.
Even as Saha looks to make a return to top flight cricket, he remembers what M.S. Dhoni once told him.
“Personally had last spoken to MS bhai when I was part of the team with him. But I remember one thing he always told me. He said that I should focus on backing my basic strength.
“He insisted that if the path I took from day one has got me till here, I should keep looking to follow just that and not change anything. I follow that to the hilt,” he signed off.
Crisis of candidates grips Congress, BJP in Rajasthan
By Archana Sharma (10:52)
[Nasheman news] Jaipur With both the Congress and the BJP stressing on the winnability of candidates as the prime factor in distribution of tickets, the parties face a strange predicament in Rajasthan. Both fielded most of their winnable candidates in the Assembly elections and are now facing a severe dearth of faces for the Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress is loathe to field legislators with a strong support base due to its wafer-thin majority in the state assembly.
“We reached the majority figure of 101 in the 200-member Assembly after a very tough fight. We are standing on the edge and any risk can spell doom for us in the House. So the party refused to take any chances and allow its MLAs to contest the Lok Sabha elections.
“But the air strikes in Balakot have changed the public sentiment. We can’t take chances by fielding any Tom, Dick and Harry. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has become stronger with the changed political narrative and we need to come out strong too,” a Congress minister told IANS.
In the changed circumstances, the Congress is planning to field Assembly Speaker C.P. Joshi from Jaipur, ignoring other Brahmin faces from the constituency, Mahesh Sharma and Archana Sharma.
“Jaipur has many eligible faces, but because the seat is a Brahmin stronghold we need to zero in on a Brahmin face,” the Congress leader said.
Mahesh Sharma has won and lost each of the last two Lok Sabha elections, while Archana Sharma, a state vice president, lost the Assembly elections. So the party needs a fresh face, Congress sources said.
BJP MLA Satish Punia couldn’t resist a dig at the ruling party’s predicament. “The Congress fielded all its winnable candidates in the Assembly elections, so a crisis of of candidates looms over the party,” Punia told IANS.
But, another senior BJP leader confessed that his party’s situation is no different.
“The BJP’s strong candidates are now MLAs while the other senior leaders have lost the elections. Hence the party leadership is struggling to find fresh faces,” he explained.
The party is considering Union Cultural and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma for a ticket from Alwar, his home town. Sharma represented UP’s Gautam Budh Nagar constituency in the outgoing Lok Sabha. His name came up after BJP’s dependable Sanjay Sharma won the Assembly election from Alwar.
However, a local leader said Sharma contesting from Alwar may not augur well for the party as he has not done anything in his home town. “So, how can he bring in trust among voters? There is a need for the party to think in this direction,” he added.
The other worrying trend for the parties are their internal rifts. From Bikaner for example, which is a reserved seat, BJP’s dependable seven-term MLA Devi Singh Bhati recently resigned from the party after reports that it was yet again planning to field its MP, Arjun Meghwal for the Lok Sabha elections.
Thirteen of Rajasthan’s 25 constituencies will vote in the fourth phase of the seven-phased general elections on April 29, while the remaining 12 will vote in the fifth phase on May 6.
Priyanka’s visit to Lucknow cheers Congress workers
[Nasheman news] Lucknow Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s arrival here on Sunday has once again enthused party workers ahead of the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Priyanka Gandhi, who held her last meeting at the Nehru Bhawan office on February 14 during her first visit after being made in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, returned to the stage capital on Sunday to meet party workers and groups who had been protesting against Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in the state.
Soon after her arrival at the party office, scores of Congress workers gathered to cheer her and raise slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They also played Holi with each other.
Surendra Singh, a former state Minister during Congress rule in the 1980s, told IANS that “conditions in the state have changed after the arrival of Priyanka Gandhi in active politics”.
Singh, who hails from Ballia and was to meet her along with other leaders, said, “People are excited to listen to Priyanka Gandhi as she is the daughter of the state.”
On her proposed river tour from Prayagraj to Varanasi from March 18 to 20, Congress worker Shahshi Kant Tripathi said, “During her river ride, she will connect with the people of lower castes like the fishermen community, Bind community and others residing near the banks of the Ganga.”
Tripathi also said that during her journey, Priyanka Gandhi will also dent the upper caste votes of the Bharatiya Janata Party as she will touch many Rajput and Brahmin dominated villages during her journey.
In a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, another party worker, Anurag Tripathi from Rae Bareli said, “Ganga maiya ne Priyanka didi ko bulaya hai, kyuki unka ek beta jumlebaaz nikla (Mother Ganga has called sister Priyanka, because one of her sons turned out only to be champion of rhetoric).”
Priyanka Gandhi, considered the second most prominent leader in the party after her brother and party President Rahul Gandhi, is being seen as a turn-around leader for the party in the state, where it was reduced to its family boroughs of Amethi and Rae Bareli seats in the 2014 elections, while BJP-led NDA alliance won 73 out of the state’s 80 seats.
Uttar Pradesh will vote in all seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections scheduled from April 11 to May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Rahul Gandhi dictatorial; curtailing Freedom of Speech: Shri R. Ashok
Bengaluru (March 19): The Congress has yet again displayed its dictatorial trait by arresting four persons for raising pro-Modi slogans, said former Deputy Chief Minister and State BJP Election Management Committee President R Ashok today.
Addressing a press meet,Shri Ashok said that when Congress President Rahul Gandhi was in the city for an event, pro-Modi slogans were raised by four persons who were later arrested by the police and harassed.The Congress has infringed upon the rights of the people—freedom of speech and expression. Shri Ashok further condemned police inaction in cases relating to Congress members who were caught red handed recently with unaccounted cash; and those who made derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Modi ji.
Basava Kalyan legislator Narayan Rao recently made derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Modi ji at a recent function held in Kalaburgi in the presence of Rahul Gandhi. Also, Congress leader Belur Gopalakrishna publicly remarked that Modi Ji should be killed. The Congress has not initiated action in this regard, Shri Ashok pointed out.
It was during the Emergency that Smt. Indira Gandhi had curbed Freedom of Speech and Expression. Now the AICC President Rahul Gandhi is following the same path. Terrorists are respected by Rahul Gandhi while Modi ji is criticised by him. Such remarks do not befit the statute of the AICC President who is wasting time by uttering lies through his speeches. Such a person is unfit to become the prime minister of the country, Shri Ashok said.
Indira Canteen funds diverted for Election funds: Indira Canteen food is a threat to the lives of the poor and is only a means for the Congress to loot public funds. The fund allocated for Indira Canteens is being misused at various levels and there should be a probe into this scam, Shri Ashok demanded. No place for intolerance: Shri Rajeev Chandrashekar, Member of Parliament, who was present at the press meet said that the Congress party has yet again displayed its true colours by arresting four persons who raised pro-Modi slogans. Intolerant people should not be in politics,he said
.The youth support Prime minister Modi ji. It is not possible to silence them with Police force, he remarked while condemning the coalition government in failing to ask the Police, to act against those with unaccounted cash. State BJP Spokesperson Sri Pramod Hegde, Co-spokesperson Sri S. Prakash, Sri A.H. Anand and State Yuva Morcha General Secretary Sri Tammesh Gowda were also present.
Highlights of the Joint Press Conference addressed by Ex Deputy Chief Minister Sri R.Ashok, Rajyasabha Member Sri Rajeev Chandrashekar, State Spokesperson Sri Pramod Hegde, Co-spokesperson Sri S. Prakash, Sri A.H. Anand and State Yuva Morcha General Secretary Sri Tammesh Gowda. Pro- Modi slogans raised by some software engineers last night during AICC Chief Rahul Gandhi’s interaction with business leaders in Bangalore at Manyata Tech Park led to the police arresting them till 10 pm.
It was only after the intervention of our Karyakartas that the software engineers were freed.
Is it a crime in Karnataka to raise slogans cheering PM Modi ji?
The incident clearly reflects Rahul Gandhi’s empty words about Freedom of Speech, besides, his selective blindness to the undemocratic methods adopted in Karnataka by the coalition government partner Congress.
Congress leader Belur Gopalakrishna has publicly remarked that Modi Ji should be killed. The police has not initiated action, despite, a complaint filed in this regard.
Rural Development Department FDA was recently caught red-handed with Rs 2 crore unaccounted cash at a private hotel. The police did not initiate action to nab him.
The Model Code of Conduct is in force and those carrying unaccounted cash above Rs 50, 000 are liable to be held. Yet, the coalition government did not take action against Minister Krishna Byre Gowda to whom the cash was to be handed over, as confessed by the engineer who fled from the hotel.
Unfortunately, the coalition government is only acting against those raising pro-Modi slogans.
The youth in Karnataka has rejected Rahul Gandhi and this was amplified last night through the pro-Modi slogans. It was clear that the youth realised that Rahul Gandhi’s speeches filled with utter lies will not get their support.
Rahul Gandhi’s stale speeches lack any mention of pro-people’s programmes and this has forced the youth to reject him. Basava Kalyan legislator Narayan Rao has made derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Modi ji at a recent function held in Kalaburgi in the presence of Rahul Gandhi.
Congress leaders are busy competing against each other in calling Modi ji as terrorist, Hitler and other unacceptable words.
We urge the State Election Commission to intervene immediately and order that Congress leaders must sanitise their speeches. It is of serious concern that Indira Canteens in Bangalore are serving food with fungus and bacteria as found recently.
The KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao has claimed inflated bills for Indira Canteen service in his constituency. It is more than three times the actual amount and a clear example of the Congress cheating the poor in the State.
Indira Canteen food is a threat to the lives of the poor and is only a means for the Congress to loot public funds.
The KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao is guilty of cheating people of his constituency.
KPCC President should make clear the amount pocketed by him through this scheme.
The double standards of the Congress are out. It sheds crocodile tears for the poor but back- stabs them by gobbling funds meant for their welfare.
We demand that the government constitute a high-level committee to probe into the Indira Canteen scam and arrest those guilty.
After Pulwama, Modi govt trying to turn 2019 vote into a khaki election: Shashi Tharoor
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the Modi govt is restricting electoral debate to national security while daily terror of hunger, poverty & disease remains.
Thiruvananthapuram: The Lok Sabha polls should be fought on perennial issues like poverty and disease and not on a tragedy of one moment , says Congress leader Shashi Tharoor while accusing the BJP-led government of trying to turn the 2019 vote into a khaki election after the Pulwama attack.
The momentum was with the Congress when the Pulwama tragedy struck on 14 February, killing 40 CRPF soldiers, Tharoor said, hitting out at the government for trying to make the upcoming Lok Sabha polls a “national security based election .
“We were doing very well by all estimations and the momentum was with us when the Pulwama tragedy struck us. Thereafter, the government has tried to make this a khaki election, a national security-based election, Tharoor told media in interview.
They are trying to hype their nationalist message that they were trying to protect the nation at the time of danger which, to my mind and my party’s view, has not been the principle challenge facing the country,” said the former diplomat and author who is aiming for a hat trick from the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat this time.
In his view, a daily terror of hunger, poverty and disease strikes the hearts of millions of India and the government must deal with that too.
“I am not minimising national security, but I am saying that the election has to be fought on perennial issues and not on a tragedy of one moment. That tragedy will be dealt with, has been dealt with and should be dealt with.
“But there is a daily tragedy, the daily terror of hunger, poverty, disease that is also a terror that strikes the hearts of millions of our fellow Indians and that too needs to be dealt with by the government,” he said.
Agreeing that some surveys have suggested the BJP’s chances have improved after the terror strike, Tharoor said it was the job of his party to remind people of the real issues.
According to the Thiruvananthapuram MP, there has been a dramatic change in the character of India under BJP rule.
An estimated 97 per cent of all communal violent incidents relating to cow vigilantism have happened in last four years, Tharoor said.
And those are figures issued by the Home Ministry of Rajnath Singh. Not by Congress, not by any NGO. These are government figures. These are very serious crises,” he said.
Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said “triumphant majoritarianism celebrates violence” and the “prime minister stays silent”.
So the condoning of this kind of thing is a deep assault on the very foundations of our democracy,” the former Union minister said.
He said there are attempts by the centre to undermine the Constitutional arrangement that India was a country for all religions.
“That’s being undermined in the ruling party’s language and rhetoric and is also undermined by steps like the citizenship amendment Bill which will allow every citizen of a neighbouring country except Muslims to settle here. That kind of bigotry was never part of Indian nationhood,” he said.
Tharoor also expressed the hope that the people of India will vote out the BJP as the party doesn’t deserve a second chance.
Addressing the issue of farmer distress, he said, “Sadly, more farmers are committing suicide than there are victims of terrorism in India. I am not saying we should minimise… we should also keep our country safe, but we want the people to address the existing real problems which includes major levels of agrarian distress. For the first time in history, we have eight farmer suicides in Kerala.”
The former UN diplomat also mocked the claims of the BJP government over job creation and said the saffron party was only interested in keeping its own job in Delhi.
The Congress wants every person in India to have a job, he said.
Due to the failed employment policies of the BJP government, skill development has not taken off effectively in the last five “wasted” years, Tharoor said, alleging that the exports and manufacturing sectors had taken a beating.
“Thanks to demonetisation, not only the GDP growth got hit of 2 per cent, but small and micro enterprises have shut down across the country.
Asked whether the Congress was ready to take on the BJP, he said it was “absolutely” ready.
Common people, the Congress leader said, were suffering under NDA rule.
An LPG cooking gas cylinder, which cost Rs 390 under the UPA regime, was priced Rs 975 under the BJP government for no good reason, he said.
Excise duties for petrol have gone up to Rs 19.48 under BJP rule even when the world prices are dropping, he added.
Agencies
One Dead as Under-Construction Building Collapse
At least one person has been killed and six others injured after an under-construction building collapsed in North Karnataka’s Dharwad district on Tuesday, 19 March. The incident took place in Kumareshwar Nagar off Bengaluru-Pune highway on Tuesday afternoon.
According to the police, at least 40 people are feared to be trapped in the debris.
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy took to Twitter and said the rescue operations are underway.
“The rescue operation is on and five people have been extricated, so far, from the debris. I have instructed the concerned officials to be on location,” Kumaraswamy added.
Apart from Dharwad district, additional rescue teams have been called in from neighbouring districts of the Belagavi, Huballi, Tumkuru, Chitradurga and Haveri.
According to fire management centre in Bengaluru, as the rescue is expected to take time, additional rescue units have been sent from Bengaluru’s Peenya, Rajajinagar fire stations located approximately 450 km away from the location of collapse.
Agencies