LUCKNOW: A 27-year-old burqa-clad woman, who is a triple-talaq victim, is campaigning for the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls to make the Muslim women realise the “good work” being done by the saffron party in the state.

She is usually accompanied by female members of the BJP as well as members of the party’s minority cell during the campaigning. “I have done door-to-door campaigning and held small meetings with the female voters for BJP candidates both in Meerut and Bareilly. I will also join the campaigning for the party in central and eastern UP districts,” Khan, who joined the minority wing of the BJP in January this year, told PTI.

“We move in smaller groups for door-to-door campaigning and try to meet the maximum women voters in a day. I inform the voters about welfare schemes of the BJP government We usually campaign in areas with considerable Muslim voters,” Khan said.

When asked about her reasons for joining the BJP, Khan, who hails from Bareilly, said, “I have realised that all political parties be it the Samajwadi Party, the Congress or the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), all use Muslims only as a vote bank. They take our votes to get to power and then forget us for the next five years. This is why the Muslim community is one of the least developed communities in our society. However, this is not the story in the BJP, where everyone is considered as equal.”

“I want the women of the Muslim community to realise the good work of the BJP under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.I am confident that the social condition of the Muslims will improve if the BJP comes to power again in Uttar Pradesh,” she added.

On BJP not giving tickets to any Muslim candidate in the assembly polls, Khan said, “I believe that the decision for ticket distribution is done on the basis of merit and not just on vote bank in the BJP. I am sure that the party will get suitable candidates from the Muslim community who will get tickets in future elections.”

A post-graduate pursuing law, Khan came into the spotlight in 2017 after she filed a complaint of domestic violence and dowry against her husband and his family members.

She had alleged that her husband, who comes from an influential religious family in Bareilly, gave her instant triple talaq. The cases are under trial in local courts in Bareilly. “The harassment I suffered just after marriage gave me strength to fight for other Muslim women who are victims of triple talaq as well as dowry,” she said.

Khan said the anti-triple talaq law passed by the Centre as well as the Uttar Pradesh government’s unlawful religious conversion law are a “boon for the Muslim women and the society”.

Lucknow: The Congress on Wednesday promised to waive farm loans within 10 days and provide 20 lakh jobs if the party forms the government in Uttar Pradesh.

The poll manifesto released by party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also vowed to provide Rs 3,000 as compensation to farmers for crop damage by stray cattle, a problem gripping cultivators in many parts of the state.

The manifesto — “Unnati Vidhan” — was termed by Priyanka as “Jan Ghoshna Patra’ (people’s manifesto).

The vision document was brought released a day before voting starts in 58 assembly seats in the state.

Two earlier manifestos — “Shakti Vidhan” for women and “Bharti Vidhan” for youth — have already been released by the party.

The BJP and the Samajwadi Party released their manifesto for the UP election on Tuesday.

Releasing the manifesto, Priyanka said, the Congress will waive loans of farmers within 10 days of government formation, and also purchase wheat and paddy at Rs 2,500 per quintal as well as sugarcane at the rate of Rs 400 per quintal, after coming to power.

She said in Chhattisgarh, her party’s government had written off farmers’ loans within three hours of being sworn-in.

The issues of unemployment and inflation have been taken care while formulating the manifesto of the state, she said.

“Our government will provide 20 lakh government jobs. While 12 lakh jobs will be given for filling vacant posts, 8 lakh new jobs will be created,” she said, adding 40 percent of these would be earmarked for women.

She said, “Rs 3,000 compensation will be given to farmers for crop damage by stray cattle. ‘Godhan Nyay Yojna’ will be started under which cow dung will be purchased at Rs 2 per kg,” she said.

Priyanka said the Congress wanted to end outsourcing in the government, and will regularise those, who are on contract or are being outsourced, in a phased manner.

The manifesto also promised to reduce electricity bills to half and provide Rs 25,000 as compensation to families who have lost earning members to Covid.

Priyanka said the budget provision on health services will be increased by 5 per cent and promised Rs 50 Lakh compensation to those who lost lives due to coronavirus.

To support small businesses, the party promised to develop traditional business hubs like brass in Moradabad and leather in Agra.

“Two lakh teachers will be recruited and Siksha Mitra will be made permanent on the basis of their experience and expertise. Vacant post of Sanskrit and Urdu teachers in the state will also be filled,” the Congress general secretary said.

The future roadmap also promised to increase emolument of sweepers, village heads and Rs 3,000 compensation to the specially-abled, the manifesto promised.

The Congress also promised a reserved seat in Legislative Council for ex-army men and withdraw false cases lodged against journalists in the state.

Priyanka said provision for home district transfer for women police personnel to be done, adding that SC/ST students will be given free education from KG to post-graduate level.

“Nishad (boatmen) community will be given right on river resources and Kol community will be included in the ST category,” the manifesto said.

Priyanka said while fee hike in schools will be controlled at the block level and public libraries with internet facilities will be opened.

The Congress general secretary said the “Unnati Vidhan” has promised land rights for urban development and the slum land will be in the name of the person concerned.

“Also the middle class will get land and economic incentives for affordable housing,” she said.

Asked about the old pension scheme, Priyanka said, “We have discussed the old pension scheme. We think a mid way can be found in this. The government should increase its share of the pension.”

Last year, Priyanka had launched ‘Shakti Vidhan’ manifesto for women promising that 40 percent of the 20 lakh new jobs her party aims to create in the state will be allotted to women.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and party’s state unit president Navjot Singh Sidhu |

Ludhiana: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday declared Charanjit Singh Channi as his party’s chief ministerial face for the high-stakes Punjab Assembly polls.

Gandhi made this announcement while addressing a virtual rally here.

“People of Punjab said we need a CM from ‘gareeb ghar’ (poor family),” said Gandhi.

The other main contender for the party’s CM face was Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, a Jat Sikh face.

The party had taken feedback from its leaders and workers, and had also sought the opinion of the public on who should be its chief ministerial candidate through an automated call system.

Gandhi also lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is not the PM but a “king”.

Have you seen him helping anyone on roadside, he asks.

BAGHPAT: AIMIM national president Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday cautioned minorities against Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, claiming that he will not keep his promises once the election process is over.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief also alleged that those behind the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi were the ones who opened fire at him.

“They fired bullets at me because I dared to look into the eyes of BJP and tell the truth. Those who fired at me are the very people who had murdered Mahatama Gandhi. If you kill one Owaisi, lakhs of Owaisis will be born,” he claimed at a public meeting in Asara village in support of party candidate Anees Ahmed from Chhaprauli seat.

On Thursday, gunshots were fired at Owaisi’s vehicle at Hapur in western Uttar Pradesh when he was returning to Delhi after campaigning for the assembly elections.

On the participation of Muslims in politics, he said, “They go to the doorsteps of others and ask for tickets, they should come to me, we will give (them) tickets. Sounding a cautionary note against the SP president, Owaisi claimed, “I’m alerting you today that Akhilesh will cheat you again. “

“He is giving a lollipop to minority community leaders that they will be made Rajya Sabha members, MLCs, but he will not do anything later. He said his party will make minority community members sit on their shoulders and polish their politics but “Akhilesh will drown them.”

In an attempt to highlight the power of a vote, he said that just as an elephant is tied from a chain, similarly Muslims have been tied up by political parties. “They should recognise their power and break the chains to become as strong as an elephant,” he said.

Owaisi also attacked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and alleged, ‘Yogi Baba’ tells lies like ‘his Ustad (Narendra) Modi’.

Lucknow: The BJP on Monday announced the names of three more candidates for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, including Union Minister S P Singh Baghel, who will challenge Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Karhal constituency.

Karhal assembly segment is part of Mainpuri, which is represented by Akhilesh Yadav’s father and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav in Parliament.

Karhal goes to polls in the third phase on February 20.

The BJP has fielded Vivek Shakya from Jaswant Nagar in Etawah district. The constituency is currently represented in the legislative assembly by Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) chief Shivpal Singh Yadav.

Shivpal Singh Yadav is once again contesting from Jaswant Nagar as a candidate of the SP-Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) alliance.

The BJP also named Manoj Prajapati as its candidate from Hamirpur.

Both Hamirpur and Etawah will also vote on February 20.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition by a Congress leader seeking postponement of assembly elections in five states on the grounds that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was spreading fast.

The high court, while terming the plea by Congress leader Jagdish Sharma as frivolous, asked whether the petitioner was living on Mars as cases of COVID-19 are declining.

Expressing displeasure, a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said, It is a frivolous petition. Are you living on Mars. Delhi is now dealing with a declining number of cases. You withdraw it or we will dismiss it with cost.

The counsel for the petitioner then withdrew the plea.

Sharma had sought directions to postpone the elections citing the third wave of COVID-19 as the Omicron variant is spreading fast.

He also sought directions to the central and state governments to submit a plan for distribution of essential supplies and services during the third wave of the pandemic.

He urged the court to direct the governments to submit the plan for availability and distribution of oxygen and to give directions to the Election Commission to postpone the polls for a few weeks or months in all the five states.

The assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur are starting from February 10 and will end on March 7. The results will be announced on March 10.

“The court should also order a writ in the nature of mandamus, thereby directing the Delhi government to issue a direction for 14 days or less quarantine for people returning”, from these states where the election process has commenced, the plea said.

The petitioner cited the devastation caused during the second wave last year when a large number of people lost their lives due to shortage of beds and oxygen as the virus spread rapidly in the country.

He also pointed out inadequacies in the arrangements to prevent the spread of the virus and for treating the COVID patients.

Noida: Jailed Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s son and wife have filed their nominations from the same assembly constituency as the party’s candidates for the Uttar Pradesh polls.

Both Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan, who was released from jail recently, and his mother Tazeen Fatma have filed their affidavits from the Suar assembly seat in Rampur district, according to the Election Commission (EC) website.

Azam Khan, who was a cabinet minister in the previous Akhilesh Yadav-led government, had on Thursday filed his nomination papers, while being in jail, for the assembly polls from the Rampur seat.

“We have seen the BJP government framing a former minister, who had developed Rampur, in frivolous cases of goat and cycle theft. They can manipulate even nomination of our candidates and not let them contest the polls and because of political vendetta,” Samajwadi Party (SP) spokesperson Abbas Haider told PTI on the dual nomination from Suar seat.

The SP, he said, is resolved to “rooting out” the BJP and its “jungle raj” from Uttar Pradesh in the elections.

According to the SP’s list of candidates, Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan is its nominee from Suar.

Suar goes to polls on February 14 during the second of the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh elections.

While Saturday is the date for scrutiny of nominations for the seat, candidates can withdraw their nomination till January 31, according to the official schedule.

Azam Khan, his son and his wife had surrendered in a Rampur court in 2020 after they were booked under multiple charges, including cases of forgery and land grab.

While Fatma got bail in 2020, Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan was released in January this year after almost a two-year jail term, even as Azam Khan, an eight-time MLA and Lok Sabha MP, continues to be imprisoned.

The family has often claimed that they are being framed because of political vendetta.

Azam Khan had won from the Rampur assembly seat in the 2017 elections, bagging over 47 per cent of polled votes. He was later elected to Lok Sabha in 2019 and Fatma replaced him as Rampur MLA in the state assembly in the bye-election.

Their son Abudullah had won the Suar assembly seat in 2017 in his first election, bagging over 51 per cent of the votes polled in the constituency.

BJP’s candidates were second in both the seats during the last elections.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi and PPCC President Navjot Singh Sidhu at Golden Temple in Amritsar

Jalandhar: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the party will go to the Punjab Assembly polls with a CM face and the decision on it will be taken soon after consulting party workers.

Addressing a virtual rally here, Gandhi said Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state party president Navjot Singh Sidhu has assured him that whoever is chosen as the CM face, the other will support him.

“Normally, we don’t do this but if the Congress party, our workers and Punjab want this, we will take a decision on the CM face,” he said.

“We will take this decision after consulting our workers. Others will work as a team,” he said.

The demand for declaring chief ministerial face will be met as soon as possible, Gandhi added.

Rahul said both Channi and Sidhu told him that the biggest question in Punjab is who will lead the Congress in the state.

“Media people call it the chief ministerial candidate. Both Sidhu and Channi gave me an assurance that two people cannot lead and only one can lead. Both told me whoever leads, the other will put all his energy behind him,” said Gandhi.

Earlier in his address, Sidhu said people want clarity who will implement the agenda and roadmap, to which Channi later said he was never after any post and anyone whose name is announced, he will wholeheartedly back the decision.

Gandhi arrived here in the evening from Amritsar. His arrival here got delayed as he had reached Amritsar three hours behind schedule owing to bad weather.

Dr Kafeel Khan

Lucknow: Paediatrician Dr Kafeel Khan, whose name surfaced in the 2017 BRD Medical college tragedy in which several children died allegedly for lack of oxygen, said on Tuesday that he may contest against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath from Gorakhpur if any party supports him.

Dr Khan was terminated from the service on November 9 last year and he has challenged it in the High Court.

“I can contest the assembly election against Yogi Adityanath in Gorakhpur. If any party gives me a ticket I am ready,” Khan said while talking to PTI.

When asked if he is in touch with any party or approached by anyone, “He said yes, talks are on. If all goes well I will be contesting the polls.”

Gorakhpur is going to poll in the sixth phase on March 3.

Khan said that he was made a scapegoat in the August 2017 tragedy in BRD Medical college in which children of 80 families died.

Khan alleged that despite the fact he was not in Gorakhpur, his 70-year-old mother was being harassed by the police, which reached at his home to enquire about him.

“I am active on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc., and tell about my whereabouts there. Presently, I am in Mumbai. From here I will be going to Hyderabad and Bangalore for the promotion of my book- ‘The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy- A Doctor’s Memoir of a Deadly Medical Crisis’, which has become a bestseller with over 5000 copies sold,” he said.

“After the launch of my book on December 17, 2021 police reached my home on Dec 20 and then on Dec 28 and again in January. Police say I am history-sheeter at Rajghat police station of Gorakhpur and due to the election, verification of such people are on,” he said.

“If they had to do the verification, one policeman can go to my place. I have photographs that show a number of policemen reaching my place and clicking outside my house as if they had to show ‘someone’ that they are doing their job,” Kafeel said.

Kafeel’s mother lives in the Basantpur locality of Gorakhpur with his brother Adeel Khan’s family.

Regarding his book, Kafeel said it is about the incident on the evening of August 10, 2017, when liquid oxygen ran out at the state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College’s Nehru Hospital in the Gorakhpur and reportedly over the next two days, more than eighty patients 63 children and 18 adults lost their lives.

He said as the news of the tragedy grabbed national attention, he was called “a hero” for working ceaselessly to control the crisis and drawing attention to a healthcare system in dire need of repair.

But a few days later, an FIR was filed against nine individuals, including him, for corruption and medical negligence among other grave charges and was jailed, he said.

Kafeel was arrested in January 2020 and charged under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) for his allegedly inflammatory speech at the Aligarh Muslim University and spent five months in prison before the NSA charge was dropped against him by the Allahabd High Court.

LUCKNOW: Calling Congress party as mere ‘votekatuwa’ (vote cutting party) , Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has urged the people of poll bound Uttar Pradesh not to waste their vote on the grand old party.

“In such a situation, it would be better for the voters not to waste their vote on Congress instead they should vote for the BSP unilaterally,” said the BSP chief in a twitter post. Continuing her onslaught on the political rivals, Mayawati said it was necessary to vote out the BJP in the interest of the people of UP.

“While the parties like Congress are mere vote cutting organisations and the BJP should be voted out in the interest of Sarvsamaj, BSP is the only tried and tested party number one to be voted for,” tweeted Mayawati.

It may be recalled that after claiming that she was Congress’s face in UP during a press conference on Friday, AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra negated it saying it was merely a tongue-in-cheek statement in response to repeated queries from media person on the same issue. Priyanka had even expressed surprise over the absence of the BSP chief from the poll arena calling it a low profile campaign by Mayawati even in the middle of polls.

In the previous 2017 assembly elections, BSP had secured 19 seats and Congress just seven. Till the current elections, while Mayawati faced a series of desertions by her MLAs and left with only three in the assembly, Congress also faced the same challenge and two of its MLAs switched sides to the BJP in the