Rahul Gandhi on Saturday tore into the Narendra Modi government over various issues including the controversial Citizenship Act.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Saturday tore into the Narendra Modi government over various issues including the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.

Rahul Gandhi said, “I was asked to apologise in the Parliament yesterday by the BJP members. They tell me to apologise for the correct thing. I am not Rahul Savarkar, my name is Rahul Gandhi. I will never apologise for the truth. Neither will any party worker apologise.”

He also called Narendra Modi a liar. “Demonetisation was a fraud. Narendra Modi lied to you at the time of demonetisation. He lied to you by saying he will fight against corruption. He snatched the money from your pockets and put it in the pockets of Adani and Ambani, ” he said.

Prior to Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi also took pot-shots at the Narendra Modi government.

Addressing the Bharat Bachao rally here at Ramlila ground, Priyanka Gandhi said: “This law will become the reason for the division of the country. If we don’t raise voice now, the country will be further divided. If you love the country, then raise your voice against it.”

Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Priyanka Gandi said, “Laws are being passed which are unconstitutional.”

Mocking the BJP government over its slogan of ‘Modi hai to mumkin hai’ (If Modi is there everything is possible), she said, “In newspapers or at bus stops, we see the advertisements that Modi hai to mumkin hai, but reality is that under Modi government, onion is selling at Rs 100 per kg, unemployment is at 45-year high, economy is in doldrums, Navratna PSUs are being sold, Indian Railways is being privatised and 15,000 farmers have committed suicide. This is possible only under the Modi government.”

Evoking her father’s memory while talking about Unnao rape victim, who was burnt alive by the rape accused, Priyanka said, “The blood of the Unnao daughter has mixed with the country, much like my father’s blood,” she said.

She also hit out at the government over the economic crisis and said that in six years of Modi government, the economy has only gone downward.

“Our economy was developing at a rate that the world turned their attention to, but in six years of the Modi government, our economy has tanked, people are losing jobs, factories are shutting down,” she said.

The protest rally comes amid an economic slowdown and raging protests across the northeast and in West Bengal over the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The Chief Minister is reported to have assured the delegation that the State Government will not allow implementation of National Register of Citizens in Odisha.

BHUBANESWAR:  Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik assured a delegation of leaders from Muslim community that the State Government will safeguard their future. 

The Chief Minister is reported to have assured the delegation that the State Government will not allow implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Odisha.

A delegation of Chauda Mahala Muslim Jamat from Bhadrak, Balasore and Jajpur districts met the Chief Minister at Lok Seva Bhavan here and requested him not to implement NRC in Odisha.

They also apprised him about the doubts and fear in Muslim community after the passage of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Parliament.

Naveen told the delegation that while supporting CAB in Parliament, the BJD had made it clear that NRC was a separate issue and needed wider discussion. 

“The Chief Minister told us not to panic about the enactment of CAB and assured that the State Government will safeguard our future,” a member of the delegation told media persons.

Gujarat, Haryana and Tamil Nadu accounted for 14 deaths each — the most for states.

NEW DELHI:  Eighty-three people have died while cleaning sewerage lines till November 6,  according to government data submitted in Parliament. Gujarat, Haryana and Tamil Nadu accounted for 14 deaths each — the most for states. The data was submitted in response to the question on how many deaths happened since 2016. 

According to the data, there were 50 deaths in 2016, 83 in 2017, and 66 in 2018. Since 2016, a total of 282 deaths have been recorded by the government, with the highest number of deaths reported from Tamil Nadu. Between 2013 and 2019, over 60,000 manual scavengers have been identified in the survey. Over 35,000 manual scavengers were identified from Uttar Pradesh – the highest across states. 

While over 7,000 manual scavengers were identified from Maharashtra, Uttarakhand identified over 6,000 manual scavengers. A total amount of `180 crore has been spent since 2013-14 for providing rehabilitation benefits for identified manual scavengers, according to another response to a Parliament question. A central sector scheme, Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS) is implemented through the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC). 

In 12 seats polling will end at 3 pm, while voters in the remaining constituencies will be able to exercise their franchise till 5 pm.

RANCHI: An estimated 14.2 per cent of the over 56 lakh eligible voters exercised their franchise till 10 am on Thursday in the third of the five-phase Jharkhand assembly elections in 17 constituencies.

Though polling began on a sluggish note long queues, with women outnumbering men, were seen in several polling stations.

Senior Congress leader and former union minister Subodh Kant Sahay was among the early voters.

The voting began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements, officials said.

In 12 seats polling will end at 3 pm, while voters in the remaining constituencies will be able to exercise their franchise till 5 pm.

Altogether 56,18,267 voters, including 26,80,205 women and 86 third gender voters, are eligible to vote to decide the fate of 309 candidates, including 32 women nominees.

The seats going to polls in the third phase are Kodarma, Barkatha, Barhi, Barkagaon, Ramgarh, Mandu, Hazaribag, Simaria (SC), Dhanwar, Gomia, Bermo, Ichagarh, Silli, Khijri (ST), Ranchi, Hatia and Kanke (SC), an EC release said.

Two of the constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates and one for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidate.

Notable candidates in the fray are former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi, Urban Development Minister C P Singh and Education Minister Neera Yadav.

Babulal Marandi, president of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), is contesting from Dhanwar seat, while Singh and Yadav are contesting from Ranchi and Kodarma constituencies respectively.

Former deputy chief minister and AJSU party president Sudesh Mahto is trying his luck to regain Silli seat after he lost the 2014 assembly polls and the subsequent bypoll to JMM candidates Amit Mahato and his wife Seema Mahato.

The JMM has re-nominated Seema Mahato from the seat.

The BJP has not fielded candidates from Silli.

About 40,000 polling personnel have been deputed to conduct smooth and peaceful voting, Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer Vinay Kumar Choubey said.

Adequate security personnel have been deployed in the seats spread across eight districts, he said.

Of the total 7,016 polling stations set up for the third-phase, 1,008 are marked as critical and 543 sensitive in Naxal-affected areas.

The first of the five-phase polling for 13 constituencies had concluded on November 30 and the second phase polling for 20 seats was held on December 7.

The rest of the phases will be held on December 16 and 20. Counting will take place on December 23.

The Haryana Assembly had in March 2018 unanimously passed a bill which provided for death penalty to those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 years or less.

CHANDIGARH: A 12-year-old girl has alleged that she was raped repeatedly by four persons, including a minor, on several occasions in Haryana’s Karnal district, police said on Thursday.

In her compliant, the girl has alleged that the accused, who live near her house in Karnal, committed the crime at her home when her parents used to be away for work, they said.

“We received a complaint from the victim, who approached us with her parents on Tuesday and on the same day we registered the case under relevant provisions of law including under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act,” Station House Officer, Karnal (City) Police Station, Inspector Harjinder Singh said over the phone.

The girl has alleged that she was raped by the accused over a period in September, he said.

While three accused are aged between 18-20 years, the minor boy is aged around 15 years, Singh said.

“We have detained the accused and further investigations are on,” Singh added.

“The medical examination of the girl was conducted and she was counselled by the Child Welfare Committee,” the SHO said.

Police said they are verifying who among the four accused was known to the victim and took advantage to gain entry into her house and committed the crime and later how others too sexually exploited her.

The Haryana Assembly had in March 2018 unanimously passed a bill which provided for death penalty to those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 years or less.