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RSS capturing educational institutions: Rahul Gandhi

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Rahul-Gandhi

New Delhi: Launching a scathing attack on the Modi government over the lingering strike in FTII, Rahul Gandhi today alleged educational institutions were being “captured” by the RSS and only those “singing praises” of the Prime Minister and BJP are being “placed on top”.

Gandhi, who led a Congress delegation to President Pranab Mukherjee to protest the appointment of actor Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of FTII, said creativity was being “crushed” by the desire of the RSS to “control” the education system.

“The people who are placed on top of them (the students) do not have the merit to be placed on top. The only merit they have is that they have sung praises of the Prime Minister, the BJP and believe in the ideology of the RSS,” the Congress vice president told reporters.

Holding that Chauhan lacks merit to govern the institute, Gandhi said the message the government was trying to convey was that “leave behind your capability and merit and pay your obeisance to Modiji and RSS and come to this institution.

“This is a wrong message to the students”, he said.

Rahul who had earlier visited Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) campus in Pune to express solidarity with the students who want Chauhan removed, said the delegation articulated the fact that India’s soft power as reflected in institutions like FTII is being crushed by RSS which wants to control the country’s education system.

“They have already destroyed the education system in Madhya Pradesh with the Vyapam scam. We are not going to allow them to destroy these institutions,” he said.

“The capturing of educational institutions by the RSS is a political issue. I am not politicising it. The BJP is politicising it.

“Every institution that has been developed over the last 50-60 years on merit is being destroyed. This is a political issue not a social issue,” the Congress Vice President said.

Gandhi was accompanied to Rashtrapati Bhawan by Congress leaders Mani Shankar Aiyar, Manish Tewari, Kumari Selja, Raj Babbar among others.

“We briefed the president on the FTII matter and I want to send the message mainly to the students of this country and in particular to the boys and girls of FTII that what they are fighting for is a very very important thing,” he said.

Students’ agitation at FTII is going on for over two months after government announced the appointment of Chauhan as head of its governing council.

The students have been boycotting classes since June 12, demanding Chauhan’s removal, maintaining that he lacks “academic credentials, vision and stature” to head the premier institute.

While the students have been able to garner support from many Bollywood bigwigs, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has refused to withdraw Chauhan’s appointment, asking the agitators to return to academic activity or face action including rustication.

Congress sources said he would lead a delegation to President Pranab Mukherjee to seek his intervention over the ongoing students stir against the appointment of actor Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).

“I don’t know what qualities the government sees in him (Chauhan). It is thrusting mediocrity on the country. We will not allow it,” said Rahul who had earlier also visited FTII to support the demand of the students who want Chauhan to be removed.

“The capturing of educational institutions by the RSS is a political issue. I am not politicising it. The BJP is politicising it.

“Every institution that has been developed over the last 50-60 years on merit is being destroyed. This is a political issue not a social issue,” the Congress Vice President said.

Rahul will meet the President seeking his intervention for resolving the issue related to FTII, the party sources said.

Students agitation at FTII is going on for nearly two months after government announced the appointment of Chauhan as head of its governing council.

The students have been boycotting classes since June 12, demanding Chauhan’s removal, maintaining that he lacks “academic credentials, vision and stature” to head the premier institute.

While the students have been able to garner support from many Bollywood bigwigs too, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has refused to withdraw Chauhan’s appointment, asking the students to return to academic activity or face action including rustication.

(Agencies)

Sushma’s family received money from Lalit Modi: Rahul Gandhi

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Rahul-Gandhi

New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s family has “received money” from former IPL chairman Lalit Modi.

“Whenever there is a robbery or stealing, a financial transfer takes place. There has been a financial transfer here as well. Sushma’s family has received money from Lalit Modi. She should tell the country exactly how much money Lalit Modi has paid her family to keep himself out of jail,” Gandhi said outside parliament.

Sushma Swaraj on Thursday told the Lok Sabha that she did not recommend to the British government to give travel documents to former IPL chief Lalit Modi. She also said the allegations against her of recommending travel documents for Lalit Modi were “wrong and baseless”.

The minister had also questioned Congress president Sonia Gandhi what she would have done had she been in her place.

Rahul Gandhi said: “As Sonia Gandhi’s son I can say she would not have done the same thing. Whenever there is some stealing happens, secrecy is maintained by the thief. In this case, Sushma has maintained full secrecy. Nobody in the ministry other than Sushma Swaraj knew about this decision. After this decision, government of the United Kingdom changed their position.”

Sushma expert at theatrical politics: Sonia Gandhi

Congress president Sonia Gandhi said on Friday that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is an expert at “indulging in theatrical politics”.

Sushma Swaraj had said on Thursday that she was ready to face the consequences if helping former IPL chairman Lalit Modi’s wife on humanitarian grounds was a crime.

“She (Sushma Swaraj) is an expert at indulging in theatrical politics,” said Sonia Gandhi before she joined her party colleagues protesting the suspension of 25 Congress MPs by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

(IANS)

FTII Row: Film-maker Girish Kasaravalli slams Paresh Rawal for Rahul Gandhi jibe

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girish-kasaravalli-slams-paresh-rawal

Bengaluru: National Award-winning film-maker Girish Kasaravalli today hit out at BJP MP and actor Paresh Rawal for his jibe at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi inconnection with the row over the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the FTII chairman.

Responding sharply to Rawal’s remark whether the striking students of the premier Pune institute were seeing an “actor” in Gandhi if Chauhan was, for them, a “political worker”, the Kannada director told PTI, “That is a stupid argument… If he (Rawal) says it is wrong, then that person does not understand democracy at all.”

Kasaravalli said that the students protesting against Chauhan’s appointment have not accepted Gandhi as their chairperson, but were seeking his help to take the issue to Parliament.

“They are not accepting Gandhi as chairperson. They areseeking his help and support; in a democracy, you go to MPs for support. What’s wrong in that,” he said.

In a dig at the Congress leader for “politicising” the FTII issue, Rawal had said, “I just want to ask the students at FTII that if they are seeing a political worker in Gajendra Chauhan, then are they seeing an actor in Rahul Gandhi?”

Kasaravalli, meanwhile, said that in case the protesters were to accept Gandhi as their chairperson, then he would be the first to raise his voice against such a development.

“If they accept Gandhi as the chairperson, I will be the first person not to accept that,” he said.

Asked if he would accept actor-turned-BJP leaders Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini and Shatrughan Sinha as the FTII chairperson, Kasaravalli said, “We are demanding a committee to be formed to find a replacement. That is left to the committee. How can I say?”

As to whether Nana Patekar, for him, could be a choice for the said post, he averred, “I know Nana Patekar as an actor. I do not know about his film-making abilities. For me, the FTII chairperson should be a complete film-maker.”

Kasaravalli further said that the post should not be given to a member of a particular political party as that would not the right approach.

“UR Ananthamurthy and Mrinal Sen were appointed by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee and previous UPA governments, respectively, knowing full well that they were critics of BJP and Congress,” he added.

Supporting the cause of the protesters, Kasaravalli sought the resignation of Chauhan saying he is an “ill-informed” film personality, even if a good actor.

“Chauhan should be replaced or resign himself. He is ill-informed. He is not the right choice. When you have legendary film personalities, why bring the young man. He is not a senior. He is not a seasoned man,” Kasaravalli said.

 

Congress protests for second day against suspension of MPs

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congress-protest

New Delhi: Congress top brass Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh and leaders of six other opposition parties today staged a dharna in Parliament complex for the second day today in protest against suspension of its MPs.

Sharad Yadav and K C Tyagi of the JD-U, Dharmendra Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Jaya Prakash Narayan Yadav of the RJD, P Karunakaran of the CPI-M, D Raja of the CPI and E Ahamed of the IUML were among other political party leaders who participated in the protests.

The Congress chief vociferously raised slogans along with other protestors denouncing the Narendra Modi dispensation.

“End dictatorship”, “Prime Minister break silence” “Where the “Achhe din” have gone”, “Sushma Swaraj resign”, were among the slogans raised by the protestors who also carried black flags.

“We will continue the agitation tomorrow”, Sonia Gandhi told reporters. The Congress leader said she was not aware of any proposal from the government to end the logjam or for revocation of the suspension of the 25 Congress MPs.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said, “We have not liked the LS Speaker’s decision on suspension of Cong MPs but we respect her position”.

(PTI)

To shut you up, they call you ‘Anti-National’, ‘Anti-Hindu’: Rahul Gandhi

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Rahul Gandhi

Pune: Rahul Gandhi’s pep-talk to protesting students of the Film and Television Institute of India or FTII today segued into a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP.

“The nature of the discussion is – you agree with us then fine…if not, we will smash you. To shut people up they call you anti-national, anti-Hindu,” he told the students, who have been on strike for nearly two months over the appointment of TV actor Gajendra Singh as their chairman.

In the open session that was televised, the Congress vice president said that the FTII protest was a part of the “real fight,” which was for what the real idea of India is.

“Only the PM decides in the BJP, only one man has power. If the PM wants somebody, the BJP can’t remove them,” Mr Gandhi said.

Also referring to the BJP’s ideological mentor RSS or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he commented on what he called a “fundamental difference in your thinking and the RSS’ thinking.”

Dressed casually in a tee-shirt and jeans, the 44-year-old took questions and also asked many of them.

“This will make a really nice movie – how the entire might of the Indian government was trying to push 250 students aside,” he remarked to a hall-full of film students.

The students have boycotted classes for weeks and refused to return unless the central government cancels the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan, who is seen as close to the ruling BJP. Several alumni and film personalities say Mr Chauhan’s stature fall far short of the qualities needed for the top post.

“This is not just about FTII. It is happening in a lot of higher education and cultural institutions,” one student told Mr Gandhi, who nodded in agreement.

“The real question is how strongly you are willing to fight this issue. I am ready to fight with you,” replied the Congress leader.

The BJP has accused the Congress of trying to whip up politics over the film institute protests. “If students see Gajendra Chauhan as a politician, then is Rahul a filmmaker?” scoffed actor-politician Paresh Rawal.

(Agencies)

No discussion until Sushma steps down: Rahul Gandhi

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rahul gandhi

New Delhi: Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “silence” on the Lalit Modi controversy, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said his party was against discussion until External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj steps down.

Claiming that Modi’s credibility is on the decline, Rahul said the Prime Minister should listen to the voices of the people of the coutry who are demanding an answer from him over controversies confronting the government.

“The Prime Minister had assured the country that he will not tolerate corruption. His words should carry weight. But he speaks in air, he speaks whatever comes to his mind, his credibility is slowly declining.

“We asked the PM what he thinks about Lalit Modi. We got no answer. We got no answer on the Vyapam scam, no answer on Chhattisgarh and no answer on Sushma,” he told reporters outside Parliament.

Rahul’s comments come against the backdrop of the stalemate persisting in both the Houses of Parliament with Congress-led opposition aggressively pressing for ouster of Sushma and Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan over the Lalit Modi controversy and Vyapam scam, which the government rejected.

He made it clear that there would be no discussion on the Lalit Modi controversy unless Sushma quits office.

“What we have said is that (there will be) no discussion without resignation. Sushma has done a criminal act. He (Lalit Modi) is a ‘fugitive’. You have signed it (the recommendation for grant of travel document). The High Commission does not know about it. The Indian government too in unaware of that,” he said and alleged that there were business links between the families of Lalit Modi and Sushma Swaraj.

(PTI)

Rahul Gandhi backs Greenpeace, meets activist Priya Pillai and others

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Rahul-Gandhi

New Delhi: Opening another front against the Narendra Modi Government, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday met members of civil society including Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai, who had a running feud with NDA dispensation and expressed solidarity with their struggle.

Opening another front against theNarendra Modi Government, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday met members of civil society including Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai, who had a running feud withNDA dispensation and expressed solidarity with their struggle.

“Rahul Gandhi expressed full solidarity with the people’s struggle to safeguard hard-won Constitutional freedoms.

“A wide cross-section of Civil Society Leaders met Rahul Gandhi on the issue of BJP Govt’s continuing attack on Freedom of Speech & Dissent,” the twitter handle of Rahul’s office said on the microblogging site after the meeting.

Pillai, a Greenpeace senior campaigner was “offloaded” at Delhi airport on January 11 from a flight to London where she was scheduled to make a presentation before British MPs regarding alleged human rights violation at Mahan in Madhya Pradesh.

The incident had happened a few months after the blocking of funds to Greenpeace by the Home Ministry. The issue had led to a huge controversy.

A joint press release by the members of the civil society said that they met Gandhi and expressed concern about “attack” by the government on their freedom and autonomy and right to dissent.

Besides Pillai, RTI activist Nikhil Dey from MKSS, Ravi Nair, South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, Tapan Bose, South Asia Forum For Human Rights, M J Vijayan, General Secretary, Programme for Social Action (PSA), Rajendra Ravi, National Alliance of People’s Movements and Jarjum Ete, President of All India Union of Forest Working People(AIUFWP) met the Congress Vice President.

In the interactive session, Gandhi assured the members of civil society that the Congress Party would be in the vanguard of defending and enhancing all the fundamental fights and directive principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution.

“He said that he shared the concerns raised by the delegation on democracy and dissent being curbed,” the release said.

Their meeting with Rahul is the first in a series of meetings with all political parties “not in alliance with the BJP-led NDA” and seeks to explore commonalities of how civil society across India can encourage a broad anti-authoritarian, pro-poor, pro-environment platform, the activists said.

The civil society members, many of whom alleged that from “draconian” changes in the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act and its authoritative misuse, to attack on Human rights defender and environmental activists, the

Modi led NDA regime is involved in “stifling” democratic dissent and subversion of constitutional rights.

They demanded that all Intelligence agencies should be brought under the purview of Parliament and the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The activists said that their meeting with the Congress Vice President addressed the urgent need to put the brakes on the rise of “Hindutva authoritarianism as exemplified by the BJP-RSS combine”.

The civil society members alleged that in the past one year, the NDA government has “targeted” the country’s robust civil society organisations.

“With an authoritarian government in place and a shrinking space for dissent, the members of civil organisations have called upon all political parties that are not a part of the BJP-led NDA to support them reclaim the space they deserve in a democracy,” they said.

They said that certain provisions of laws governing voluntary organisations (VOs) like the Societies Registration Act of 1860, the Indian Trusts Act (1882), the Charitable and Religious Trust Act (1920), Section 25 of the Indian Companies Act (1950), Foreign Contribution Regulation Act of 1976 (FCRA) and similar legislation need to be redrafted.

(Agencies)

Modi took lessons from Manmohan Singh on economy: Rahul Gandhi

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Manmohan Singh Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with his successor Narendra Modi had fuelled intense speculation but Rahul Gandhi had a different take — the Prime Minister took “lessons” on economy.

In keeping with his new-found aggression, the Congress vice president targeted Modi, saying he called Singh to his residence Wednesday after the economist-turned politician tore into the handling of the economy by the government.

“Manmohan Singh criticised the health of economy in the morning yesterday (Wednesday). Narendra Modi took pathshaala (lessons) from him in the evening. I will ask him (the former PM),” he said addressing the national convention of NSUI, drawing a huge round of applause from the gathering. Hours after slamming the NDA government, Singh met Modi at his 7 Race Course Road residence and discussed issues related to economy and foreign policy.

“Very happy to meet Dr. Manmohan Singh ji & welcome him back to 7RCR. We had a great meeting,” Modi tweeted later along with their photographs.

In a statement, Singh’s office said the former prime minister met Modi at the latter’s “invitation” and “they discussed the economic situation in the country and foreign policy issues.”

At the NSUI event, Gandhi also took potshots at the Prime Minister’s pet ‘Make in India’ scheme, saying a “zero” will come out of it. “Nothing is going to come out of ‘Make in India’. It’s a big zero. It is going to yield a zero. For ‘Make in India’, you have to give power to common man. For ‘Make in India’, you have to give confidence to poor people. They think that they will empower two or three big industrialists and ‘Make in India’ will happen. “It will not happen. See after five years but why five years? Just see the one year of their government. Has anybody got employment,” he asked.

(PTI)

Business Man and Yoga Guru Ramdev calls Modi government arrogant, lauds Rahul

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Ramdev

New Delhi: Multi Million Ayurvedic products owner Ramdev, who has been a staunch supporter of the BJP for years now seems to have changed his stance as he slammed the Narendra Modi-led NDA government on Tuesday.

In an exclusive conversation with Aaj Tak, Ramdev said that a few BJP leaders have become arrogant after their landslide victory in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Ramdev praised PM Narendra Modi, but he also emphasised that the central government should work to improve its anti farmer image. Watch Video

Quite surprisingly, Ramdev appreciated Rahul Gandhi’s efforts to revive the Congress party, which suffered a major setback in the 2014 Assembly elections. He appreciated Rahul Gandhi and said he has injected new life in congress. He said strong opposition is important for democracy. Opposition has succeeded in portraying govt as anti poor.

Besides the yoga guru also appreciated Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and said he is doing good work. Ramdev and Kejriwal had earlier worked with anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.

On black money issue Ramdev said will wait till June and then decide on the future course of action.

On the Putrajeevak beej controversy, Ramdev said he welcomes any investigation. Taking a dig at KC Tyagi, Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev also said that if the JD(U) leader has a problem then he can try ‘Putrajeevak Beej’ and then he’ll surely become a father again.

(Agencies)

Key posts vacant as government wants to 'grab' land from common people: Rahul Gandhi

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Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Stepping up his attack on the Modi government, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today questioned why it was keeping the posts of RTI commissioner, Lokpal and Chief Vigilance Commissioner vacant.

Gandhi also reiterated his “suit-boot” barb, saying the government kept the posts vacant as it wanted to “grab” land from common people on behest of its “industrialist friends”.

“Our government fought for transparency. The appointments to the post of RTI commissioner, Lokpal and CVC are not being done by the government and the posts are lying vacant.

“That’s because the ‘suit-boot ki sarkar’ wants to grab land from the people on the behest of its few industrialist friends and give entire power to them,” he told reporters outside the Parliament.

His attack came on a day Congress President Sonia Gandhi accused the government of making a “blatant U-turn” on the issue of transparency and charged it with “deliberately” keeping the posts of Chief Information Commissioner, CVC and Lokpal vacant.

“Information delayed is information denied. This is simply not acceptable. Protecting wrongdoers cannot be part of any government ethos,” she said, recalling Modi’s promises of transparency and good governance.

(PTI)

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