Modi's taking oath followed by disasters in country: Lalu

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Sunday said the country was afflicted by a number of disasters as the Prime Minister had taken oath at an "inauspicious" time. "PM Modi ne ashubh samay me shapath liya. Isliye desh me apda ki bharmar ho gayi hai. (PM Modi took oath at an inauspicious time leading to increase in number of disasters in the country)," Prasad told reporters here. He, however, did not elaborate on the disasters. Stating that no one takes notice of the PM, Prasad wondered what happened to Adarsh Gram Yojana. He also alleged Modi had failed to contain prices of pulses.
 

Modi pitches for polls in LS, Assemblies simultaneously

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (pictured) on Sunday once again made a strong pitch for holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, a suggestion that found favour with Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, but drew barbs from the opposition Congress.

"These days there is talk of frequent elections. People say hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. Chief ministers are here. They have to go to the people every five years. Sometime even three-four times as there are frequent elections. All parties are telling me how elections to Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha can be held simultaneously because things get stalled and a lot of time is spent on elections. Decisions remain pending for 40-50 days due to model code (of conduct). Opposition leaders had also met me and asked to find a way out," Modi told a conference of chief ministers and chief justices of high courts here.

But Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, when asked about the suggestion, said, "They (the Centre) are not even saving democracy and are neither protecting the Constitution, but are talking of holding elections to both Lok Sabha and state assemblies (simultaneously)."

Modi, Shah to campaign for Assembly election in Kerala

The top guns of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will head for Kerala this week to campaign in rallies for the May 16 Assembly poll. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah are among top leaders slated to address some of the 70 rallies planned to be held by the party in the state.

Union ministers Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu and Nirmala Seetharaman will be the top campaigners.

The BJP is contesting 97 of the 140 Assembly seats. Its main ally the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a new political party formed by Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, a powerful organisation of the backward Ezhava community, has been allotted 37 seats, while the remaining six have been given to small partners. The election is crucial for the BJP to demonstrate its growth in the southern state.