Page 11 - Opposition

INDIA leaders abusing, threatening me to stop nation's development: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit out at the opposition INDIA alliance saying its constituents were working to protect the corrupt and abusing and threatening him to stop the country's development. Addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat district, Modi said the upcoming Lok Sabha election was a mission for building a new India and sought the people's blessings to take big and historic decisions in the ruling NDA's third term. He said the "sea of saffron" gathered to hear him shows what the poll results will be on June 4. PM Modi said leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc were abusing and threatening him to stop the country's development. The opposition parties were working to protect those indulging in corruption, he said. When Modi gives a guarantee of the country's security, they abuse me. When Modi fulfills the guarantee of abrogating Article 370 (which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir), they start talking in the language of Pakistan, he said. "We h

Modi ki guarantee means putting Oppn leaders behind bars: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of taking action against the corrupt after June 4 meant that opposition leaders would be imprisoned post Lok Sabha elections. Results of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections from April 19 to June 1 will be announced on June 4. Addressing a rally at Bankura, the TMC chief alleged that the National Investigation Agency had gone to Bhupatinagar in Purba Medinipur district without informing the local police. "The Prime Minister is coming to West Bengal to address election rallies. I have no issues with that. But the way he is saying that stern action will be taken against the opposition over corruption after the Lok Sabha poll results is unacceptable," she said. Modi, while addressing an election rally in Jalpaiguri on Sunday, had claimed that while he says "remove corruption", the opposition says "save the corrupt", promising more stringent action against the corrupt after June 4.

LS polls: Oppn missed chances, BJP may win 300 seats says Prashant Kishor

Validating the BJP's claims, eminent political strategist Prashant Kishor said the ruling party will add significantly to its seats and vote share in south and east India, the two regions where its hold is weak-to-non-existent, barring Karnataka. In an interaction with PTI editors, Kishor also said despite the BJP's apparent dominance, neither the party nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi is invincible, pointing out that the opposition had three distinct and realistic chances of stopping the BJP juggernaut but frittered away the opportunities because of laziness and misplaced strategies. "They (BJP) will either be first or second party in Telangana which is a big thing. They will be number one in Odisha for sure. You would be surprised as, in all likelihood, to my mind, the BJP is going to be the number one party in West Bengal," he said. In Tamil he said, BJP's vote share may hit double-digit percentage. Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Kerala ...

Opposition, activists express solidarity with Newsclick founder Purkayastha

The opposition leaders and activists on Saturday expressed solidarity with Newsclick founder Prabir Purkayastha and accused the ruling BJP of crushing dissent. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, party leader Brinda Karat, CPI general secretary D Raja, AAP leader Gopal Rai, former IAS officer and activist Harsh Mander, and senior journalist P Sainath were among those who expressed solidarity with Purkayastha, who was arrested in October 2023, following raids on Newsclick. Yechury said that his friendship with Purkayastha goes back to his days in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and recalled he was also arrested during emergency. "We are not just here to express solidarity with a person... he has played an important role in all people's movements," Yechury said. "In my last speech in the Parliament, I said it's our responsibility not to make India a Hindu Pakistan. We have to save ourselves. Voices like Prabir are needed to ensure that," he added. Yechury said arrests ar

Oppn concern is 'Hindi, Hindutva, Hindustan' agenda, won't support: Tharoor

With BJP leader Jyoti Mirdha issuing a clarification over her "samvidhanik badlav" remark, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said the opposition's concern stems from the "Hindi, Hindutva, Hindustan" agenda of the proponents of Hindu Rashtra. The Congress had on Tuesday said that after Anantkumar Hegde, another leader of the ruling BJP, Jyoti Mirdha, openly said that the party's aim is to change the Constitution The Congress said the remark exposed the "deliberate strategy" of the BJP. Tharoor on X shared an undated video of Mirdha, the BJP candidate from Rajasthan's Nagaur in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, showing her purportedly talking about the need for the saffron party to secure a majority in both houses of Parliament to be able to make constitutional amendments. Mirdha later in a post issued a clarification saying that she made the comment in a public meeting on March 31, and that it was "unnecessarily blown out of proportion by some honourable leaders of the ...

Oppn leaders join BJP as their parties face leadership crisis: UP Dy CM

Opposition leaders are coming to the BJP fold as the leadership of their parties is changing "colours like a chameleon" and has no regard for core ideology, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has said. In an interview with PTI, he said the BJP never compromises with its ideology and those joining the party know this. They too have to strictly adhere to "our ideology", Maurya said. The BJP leader also dismissed as "far from the truth" the allegations of opposition parties that the Narendra Modi government is misusing central probe agencies to intimidate and poach their leaders and that those facing corruption charges come out clean from the "BJP's washing machine" after they join the party. The leaders of opposition parties that have formed a "ghamandia gathbandhan" are levelling such allegations against the BJP-led government at the Centre as part of their strategy to prepare a "script" in defence of their imminent defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, Maurya said. H

Cracks in Oppn as Vijayan rakes up Congress' role in probe against Kejriwal

The unity among 18 anti-BJP parties, who gathered in New Delhi to protest the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, showed signs of fracture a day later when veteran CPI(M) leader and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday accused the Congress of demanding the ED probe into the Delhi liquor excise policy case. Addressing a press conference amidst his Lok Sabha poll campaign, seeking votes for LDF candidates, who are in direct fight against the Congress-led UDF in many constituencies, Vijayan alleged that it was the grand old party which levelled the allegations against the Delhi government, demanded the ED probe, and lodged a complaint regarding the matter. The Marxist veteran said the huge participation of people in the INDIA bloc rally held in New Delhi a day ago was a strong warning for the BJP. He, however, added that the Congress should also learn a lesson from the rally. Referring to the stand taken by the Congress in the Delhi liquor excise policy case, h

Huge public participation in INDIA bloc rally, a warning to BJP: Kerala CM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said the huge participation of people in the INDIA bloc rally held in New Delhi a day ago was a strong warning for the BJP. Addressing the media here, Vijayan also attacked the Congress party and said it was the steps taken by the grand old party which led the Enforcement Directorate to probe the Delhi liquor excise policy case. AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested recently by the ED in the liquor policy case. Aam Aadmi Party is part of the INDI Alliance. "The huge participation of people in the INDIA bloc rally held in Delhi on Sunday gives a strong warning for the BJP," Vijayan said. A day after 18 anti-BJP parties came together in New Delhi to protest against the arrest of Kejriwal, he said that the Congress should also learn a lesson from the rally. The grand old party should introspect on their stand when it comes to attacking non-Congress parties across the country, he said. "Steps taken by Congres

People being jailed without investigation: Mehbooba Mufti at 'INDIA' rally

Opposition leaders came together in a show of strength at the capital's Ramlila Maidan on Sunday to protest against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi liquor policy case

Tyranny won't work, can't keep CM behind bars for long: Sunita Kejriwal

Mother India is in pain and this tyranny won't work, said Sunita Kejriwal, reading out her jailed husband Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's message at the INDIA bloc rally here on Sunday. As top opposition leaders gathered at Ramlila Maidan for the 'Loktantra Bachao' rally, Sunita Kejriwal said, "The people of Delhi have faced injustice in last 75 years. We will make Delhi a full state if the INDIA bloc comes to power." NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D Raja, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren were among the first to reach the Ramlila Maidan. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, AAP leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav are also expected to join. Kejriwal's wife Sunita also joined the INDIA bloc leaders on stage. She read out a ...

Cong gets I-T notice of over Rs 1,745 cr, total tax demand at Rs 3,567 cr

In mounting trouble for the Congress, sources in the party said it has received fresh notices from the Income Tax department, raising a tax demand of Rs 1,745 crore for the assessment years 2014-15 to 2016-17. With this latest notice, the Income Tax department has raised a total demand of Rs 3,567 crore from the Congress. According to sources, the fresh tax notices relate to 2014-15 (Rs 663 crore), 2015-16 (around Rs 664 crore) and 2016-17 (around Rs 417 crore). The authorities have ended the tax exemption available to political parties and have taxed the party for the entire collections, they added. The Congress has also been taxed for "third-party entries" made in diaries seized from some of its leaders by probe agencies during raids, the sources said. The main opposition party on Friday said that it has received notices from the I-T department, asking it to pay around Rs 1,823 crore. The tax authorities have already withdrawn Rs 135 crore from the party's accounts for a tax dema

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 .

Oppn to protest against Kejriwal's arrest, security tightened in Delhi

Multiple layers of barricades have been set up and a large number of police personnel deployed on roads leading to the BJP headquarters here in view of opposition INDIA bloc's protest on Friday against the arrest of AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Besides police personnel, those of paramilitary forces have also been stationed at many places in Central Delhi, including on the DDU Marg and around the ITO area. Kejriwal, who is in the Enforcement Directorate's custody, was arrested by the agency on March 21 in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday had said members of the bloc will demonstrate against Kejriwal's arrest as well as on the electoral bonds issue at the BJP headquarters on DDU Marg. The INDIA bloc has been formed by some opposition parties, including the AAP, the TMC, the Congress, the DMK and the SP, to counter the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. The Delhi Police said prohibitory orders under Section

Kerala Oppn urges action to bring back youth forced into Russia-Ukraine war

Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan sent a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday seeking immediate intervention of the central government to ensure the safe return of youths recruited by private agencies to the Russian army. In the letter, the Congress leader demanded measures for the safe return of the three youths from Kerala trapped in the war zone and an investigation against the recruitment agencies that are a part of the human trafficking network. "I urge your good self to make every effort to bring back all of those who are stuck in the combat zone and to initiate a comprehensive investigation against these recruitment agencies that form part of a large illegal trafficking network," he said in the letter. Satheesan termed as shocking the "revelation" that some private recruitment companies in Kerala have been recruiting young people to go to war-battered Ukraine after tempting them with the prospect of lucrative employment in ...

Direct contest between 'INDIA' and NDA in Varanasi: Cong UP chief Ajay Rai

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai, who has once again been named as the party candidate from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said on Sunday there will be a direct contest between the INDIA bloc and the NDA, and the issue of "local versus outsider" will also figure prominently in the Lok Sabha polls on the seat. "This time the Lok Sabha elections will be held directly between the INDIA block and the NDA. Due to this, the equations have changed and the electoral environment has also changed completely. The people are facing unemployment, inflation and corruption, and are fed up with the BJP's false claims of development. They have made up their mind to change (the winner) this time," Rai said while talking to PTI. In the past several elections, along with the BJP and the main opposition party, a third strong candidate also used to be fielded, which would divide the votes, Rai said. But this time, there is a direct contest between the INDIA bloc and the NDA, he

'INDIA' intact, will cross 272, PM's corruption pitch hollow: Jairam Ramesh

The INDIA bloc is intact despite Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's "somersault" and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee deciding to be Mamata Banerjee, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said, rejecting as "hollow" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pitch against the opposition on corruption. In an interaction with PTI editors at the news agency's headquarters here, Ramesh also said the opposition will unitedly cross the halfway mark of 272 in the elections and oust the BJP from power. He spoke on a range of issues including electoral bonds, the arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and JMM leader Hemant Soren, who resigned as Jharkhand CM, and also addressed speculations around Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra potentially contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Amethi and Raebareli, respectively. "Look at the way the electoral bonds scheme has worked. Rs 4,000-crore of bonds are directly linked with Rs 4-lakh crore of contracts. There is a clear correlation between the ...

Here's a look at top Opposition leaders challenging PM Modi in LS polls

Known by its acronym I.N.D.I.A. - or Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance - the coalition of more than 20 parties has been beset by defections to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party

'Shakti' remarks: Opposition alliance only targets Hinduism, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday kept up the attack on the INDIA bloc over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Shakti' remark, saying the opposition alliance displayed its "ill-intention" by declaring to destroy it. The opposition alliance, of which the Congress and the DMK are key constituents, repeatedly insults Hinduism but never targets any other faith, he said, addressing a BJP rally here. "INDI alliance people repeatedly deliberately insult Hindu faith; every statement made by them against it is well thought out," he said. In Hinduism, Shakthi means "Matru shakthi, naari shakti," he said, referring to women power. "INDI alliance which has the Congress and the DMK says they will destroy this." Shakti refers to the divine and manifests in the form of various deities in the state like Mariamman, Madurai Meenakshiamman and Kanchi Kamakshiamma, he said. National poet Subramania Bharathi worshipped mother India as 'Shakti,' he said. "Tamil Nadu will punish those who talk of .

Oppn asks EC to act against PM Modi's Whatsapp message on 'Viksit Bharat'

Raising the issue of people receiving Prime Minister Narendra Modi's letter on WhatsApp seeking support in building a 'Viksit Bharat', opposition leaders on Monday called on the Election Commission to act against what they said was a "blatant violation" of the model code of conduct. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tagged a post of a person raising the issue of privacy over the prime minister's letter being received by persons living abroad. "Will the @ECISVEEP take note of such a blatant misuse of government machinery and government data to serve the partisan political interests of the ruling party?" Tharoor said on X. Another Congress MP Manish Tewari also posted on X the WhatsApp message which had the letter attached, as received by him on his phone. "This unsolicited WhatsApp message came at 12.09 AM today . It seems to be from @GoI_MeitY (Ministry of Electronics & IT). Is this not a blatant violation of the both Model Code of Conduct & Right to Privacy," Tewari said. "Where ...

INDIA bloc's manifesto talks about finishing 'Shakti': PM Modi in Telangana

Alleging that the INDIA bloc's manifesto talks about finishing 'Shakti', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the fight is between those who want to destroy 'Shakti' and those who worship them. Addressing a rally here, Modi said, for him, every mother and every daughter is a form of 'Shakti' and that he worships them. He said the nation dedicated 'Chandrayaan's' success to 'Shiv Shakti' and the opposition parties are talking of destroying 'Shakti'. "On Sunday in Mumbai, there was an INDI alliance rally after the announcement of the schedule for elections. They announced their manifesto in the rally. In Mumbai's Shivaji Park, they said their fight was against 'Shakti'. For me, every mother, every daughter is a form of 'Shakti'. Mothers and sisters, I worship you as 'Shakti'. I am Bharat Maa's 'pujari', he said. "INDI alliance in its manifesto announced to finish/destroy Shakti. I accept their challenge. I will sacrifice my life for the security of mothers and sisters," he ...