Page 233 - Bjp

RSS-BJP like poison, Oppn must fight Lok Sabha elections unitedly: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday described the RSS-BJP combine as "poison" that has "destroyed" the country, and called on all opposition parties to unite to defeat the ruling party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This election is to save democracy, the country and the Constitution, he said at 'Loktantra Bachao' rally of the opposition INDIA bloc at the Ramlila Maidan here. The rally seeks to highlight the "threat to democracy" after the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren. The wives of both Kejriwal and Soren were also present at the rally and addressed it. "We need to unite and only then will we be able to fight the BJP. We won't succeed if we keep attacking and fighting each other," Kharge said. "This election is for saving democracy and the Constitution and we must fight unitedly," he said. Training his guns at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kharge said, "There is no level-playing field in this ...

Uddhav Thackeray slams BJP over electoral bond issue, Bawankule hits back

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday attacked the BJP over the electoral bonds issue, terming it "Bhrasht Janata Party" and said that its real face has been exposed before the people. The former Maharashtra chief minister also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the BJP's 'Modi Ka Parivar' campaign, saying he does not understand the meaning of "parivar" (family) as one has to take responsibility of a 'parivar'. "When I was the chief minister during Covid, I made a resolve that 'mera parivar, meri zimmedaari' (my family, my responsibility). There is only you and the chair in your 'parivar'," Thackeray said at a press conference. The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief, who is in Delhi to take part in the INDIA bloc's 'Save Democracy' rally, claimed the BJP does not have any real issue now as its "mask is off" with the details of electoral bonds coming to light. "It has emerged that the BJP is the most corrupt party. It is the 'Bhrasht Janata Party'. Their real face has been ...

BJP being criticised across world over Kejriwal's arrest: Akhilesh at rally

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said the BJP is "worried" about losing power as he attacked the ruling party for "misusing" probe agencies to target the opposition. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also said that the BJP is being "criticised" across the world for the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Yadav, who arrived in the city for the INDIA Bloc rally at Ramlila ground, told reporters at the airport, the "BJP is worried that it is going (out of power). While we (opposition leaders) are coming to Delhi today, the PM is going out of Delhi. This shows who is going out (of power)". He was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Meerut later in the day. While mounting an attack on the government over the issue of electoral bonds scheme, he said, "This is a new invention... put ED, CBI, IT to work, and get as much donation as you like". On Kejriwal's arrest, he claimed, "The BJP is being criticised across the world for arresting

India moving towards autocracy: Thackeray as he appeals people to throw BJP

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, at the INDIA bloc rally here on Sunday, claimed the country was moving towards becoming an "autocracy" as he appealed to people of the country to throw the BJP out of power. Addressing the INDIA bloc's rally at the Ramlila Maidan here, he hit out at the BJP and said, "We are not here for an election campaign, we are here to save democracy... you level allegations and send people to jail. What kind of government is this?" he said. "When two of our sisters are fighting, how can the brother stay behind? So we are here for our sisters, Kalpana ji and Sunita ji. Not just us, the whole country is with you," Thackeray said, referring to former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren's wife Kalpana Soren and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal. Both Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren have been arrested by federal agencies in different cases of corruption. "Some time ago, we had this doubt that our nation is moving towards an ...

LS polls: Challenge BJP to cross even 200 seats; won't allow CAA, says CM

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday mocked the BJP's target of winning 400-plus seats in the Lok Sabha polls and challenged the saffron camp to win at least 200 constituencies. Banerjee also asserted that she won't allow the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act in the state. She cautioned people that applying for CAA would turn an applicant into a foreigner and urged them not to apply for it. "The BJP is saying "400 paar", I challenge them to cross the 200 seats benchmark first. In 2021 assembly polls, they gave a call of 200 plus seats but had to stop at 77," she said. "The CAA is a trap to turn legal citizens into foreigners. We would allow neither CAA nor NRC in West Bengal," she said while addressing her first rally in the election season after her injury earlier this month. Banerjee, the TMC supremo, slammed the opposition bloc INDIA partners -- CPI(M) and Congress-- for "joining hands with the BJP" in West Bengal. "There is no INDIA alliance in W

Lok Sabha polls: South will help reach Modi target of 370, says Gadkari

Avowing abiding confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of 370 seats, BJP leader Nitin Gadkari says the additional seats to its current strength of 288 will come from gains in southern India in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In a wide ranging interview with PTI at his residence in Nagpur, Gadkari said there is "no doubt" in his mind that the BJP-led NDA alliance will cross 400 seats and that Modi will take over as prime minister for a third term because of the solid work done by the government in the last 10 years. He dismissed allegations that the Modi government is weaponising central probe agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and CBI to weaken the opposition, saying BJP's rivals should make efforts to overcome adversity by winning the confidence of the people. Is it our responsibility to make the opposition weak or strong? When we had just two MPs and were weak, we never got any package out of sympathy, Gadkari, who is seeking a third Lok Sabha term from ...

LS polls: Cong eyes win in 6 seats in Chhattisgarh in which BJP never lost

Six out of the 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh have been the Bharatiya Janata Party's bastions where it never lost the elections since the state's formation in 2000. While the Congress has expressed confidence of breaching the saffron citadels this time, the BJP is hopeful of retaining them and also pocketing the other Lok Sabha seats in the state. Of these six seats, Kanker, Surguja and Raigarh are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, Janjgir-Champa for the Scheduled Castes, while Raipur and Bilaspur are for the general category candidates. In Rajnandagon Lok Sabha seat, the BJP never tasted defeat since 2000 but in a 2007 bypoll, the Congress emerged victorious. This time, the Congress has fielded former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel from Rajnandgaon. After Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh, the BJP fared well in both the assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the state. The saffron party ruled the state uninterrupted for 15 years from 2003 to 2018 and came to power fo

Lok Sabha polls: DMK forces rival AIADMK to target BJP in Tamil Nadu

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami's soft approach towards the BJP seems to have given the edge to DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin in making it a poll issue. Stalin's double barreled gun aims shots at both the AIADMK and the BJP, often provoking Palaniswami to become a vocal critic of the BJP. The narratives set by these two parties have narrowed down the poll battle between them and almost eclipsed the election campaign of other players such as the Congress, the left parties, Seeman's Naam Tamilar Katchi, though BJP state chief K Annamalai fires sharp barbs at the DMK. Palaniswami's argument that the need to criticise the BJP doesn't arise as the AIADMK parted ways with the saffron party does not hold water with the ruling dispensation. Faced by constant criticism, Palaniswami, who in the past has not been harsh in criticising his erstwhile colleague and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, is forced to respond. Nor has he been critical of V K

Not 'save democracy' but 'save family', hide corruption: BJP on Oppn rally

The BJP on Sunday slammed the opposition INDIA bloc's rally at Ramlila ground here, saying it is not a "save democracy" meeting as projected but a "save family" and "hide corruption" rally. BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi cited corruption cases of a host of leaders, including those from the Congress, DMK and the RJD, to assert that all these charges date back to pre-2014 period amid the opposition's accusation that the Modi government is implicating them in graft probes due to its political vendetta. Ramlila ground once hosted "India against corruption" movement under the leadership of Anna Hazare, Trivedi said, adding that it is hosting on Sunday a rally for "everybody with corruption". People who trashed many leaders as thieves and crooks have joined hands with them, and it is a strange and startling sight, he said, in an apparent reference to the coming together of the Aam Aadmi Party with other opposition parties. Their leader is now Lalu Prasad Yadav, a convict in several .

LS polls: BJP once again falls back on Yediyurappa to deliver in Karnataka

BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa is out of power and electoral politics for sure, but his clout in the party's affairs in Karnataka remains undiminished as its central leadership seems to be once again falling back on this seasoned oarsman to deliver in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Whether it is selection of candidates or quelling dissidence in multiple constituencies, the party's 81-year-old central election committee member is seen to be "man-of-the-season." Stakes are indeed high for the BJP Parliamentary Board member as he will have to ensure that his son B Y Vijayendra consolidates his position as the party's state President and silence critics who have questioned his selection for the post ignoring the claims of experienced hands. The octogenarian, who has already announced his retirement from electoral politics, is sought to be put on the pedestal by the BJP's central leaders, making him a key poll mascot in the state, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The reasons are not f

LS polls: Cong slams BJP over setting up manifesto panel at 'last moment'

The Congress on Saturday announced that it will release its manifesto on April 5 and took a swipe at the BJP over it setting up a manifesto committee at the "last moment". The BJP on Saturday announced a 27-member committee, which included several Union ministers and chief ministers, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to prepare its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls. Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Congress released its 'Paanch Nyay', 'Pachees Guarantees' on March 16 and its 'Ghar Ghar Guarantee' campaign to distribute eight crore guarantee cards across the country will begin on April 3. The manifesto will be released on April 5, he said. "The BJP's manifesto, begun at this last moment, is merely an exercise in ticking boxes. It reflects the contempt with which the party sees the public," Ramesh alleged. The Congress manifesto was compiled after carrying out nationwide consultations and after receiving thousands of suggestions

Himachal Minister Vikramaditya says comments against Kangana 'unfortunate'

Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh on Saturday said the derogatory comments made against actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut were "unfortunate" even as he questioned her absence during the 2023 floods in the state. Ranaut has been fielded by the BJP as its candidate from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat. She will take on Congress state chief and sitting Mandi MP Pratibha Singh -- the wife of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and the mother of Himachal Public Works Department minister Vikramaditya Singh. Days after Ranaut was named the BJP candidate from Mandi, the Congress kicked up a proverbial storm after derogatory comments about the actor and her constituency were posted on the social media handles of its leaders Supriya Shrinate and H S Ahir. "I would be the first to defend Kangana Ranaut if someone made an unwanted remark against her but where was she when the worst monsoon disaster struck Himachal?" Singh told reporters here, asserting that Ranaut was like his elder

BJP names 11 more LS candidates; fields ex-ambassador Sandhu from Amritsar

The BJP on Saturday named its candidates for 11 more Lok Sabha constituencies, fielding a number of leaders who joined it from different parties recently such as Bhartruhari Mahtab, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Sushil Kumar Rinku and Preneet Kaur. All these leaders have been fielded from the seats they represent in the outgoing Lok Sabha, while former Indian ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu will be making his poll debut from Amritsar. Hans Raj Hans, who had won from North West Delhi in 2019 on a BJP ticket, will contest from the Faridkot seat, which is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs). Veteran parliamentarian Mahtab, who quit the BJD recently, will contest from Cuttack, Bittu from Ludhiana, Kaur from Patiala, and Rinku from Jalandhar, a seat reserved for SCs. Both Bittu, the grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, and Kaur, the wife of former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, were in the Congress before joining the BJP, while Rinku was in the Aam Aadmi Party. The BJP o

Rajnath to head BJP's LS manifesto committee; Sitharaman made convenor

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will head the BJP's 27-member manifesto committee for the Lok Sabha polls as the party brainstorms and seeks suggestions from people across the country for its election promises. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be the committee's convener and another Union minister Piyush Goyal its co-convener. Several other Union ministers, besides chief ministers of states such as Gujarat, Assam and Madhya Pradesh, and seasoned hands like Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje are among the members of the committee.

Prez Murmu to give Bharat Ratna to Karpoori Thakur; family thanks PM Modi

Namita Kumari, former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur's granddaughter, said that it is a "historic moment" not just for the family but for the entire family

Kejriwal arrest: AAP plans mega rally, INDIA bloc to attend; details here

Lok Sabha elections 2024: AAP organises mass protest following Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, ahead of the general elections

Vote for INDIA bloc for democracy, social justice: TN CM Stalin to people

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday attacked the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre and appealed to people here to vote for the INDIA bloc if they want democracy and social justice to prevail in the country. Flaying Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Stalin said that if her claim of not having enough money to contest the Lok Sabha polls was true, the question is what happened to the fund the BJP received through electoral bonds. "Madam, if you want to contest the polls, you should meet the people and should toil hard for people's welfare. Since you know the result that the people will not vote for you, you have decided not to contest," he said. At a recent event in New Delhi, Sitharaman had commented that she declined the offer of the BJP to contest elections, pleading that she did not have the "kind of funds" required for the fighting the Lok Sabha polls. Canvassing votes for the DMK's Dharmapuri candidate A Mani and Congress nomin

Highlights: Sunita Kejriwal releases phone number to rally support for Delhi CM

From Muktar Ansari's death to the dip in student applications to Harvard University, catch all the latest updates from around the world here

Congress gets fresh Income-Tax notice, complains of 'tax terrorism'

Party asked to pay Rs 1,823 cr; CPI claims to have received notice; BJP asks Cong to follow rules

Paddy custom milling delay disrupts rice delivery in Chhattisgarh

After Punjab, Chhattisgarh is the largest rice contributor to the current season's central pool