POLL-SNIPPETS: NDIA bloc alliance of dynastic parties; half its leaders in jail, half out on bail: JP Nadda
The opposition INDIA bloc is an alliance of dynastic parties, half of whose leaders are in jail and half out on bail, BJP National President JP Nadda said on Wednesday.
The opposition INDIA bloc is an alliance of dynastic parties, half of whose leaders are in jail and half out on bail, BJP National President JP Nadda said on Wednesday.
Nadda made the remarks while addressing an election rally in Rajasthan's Jhalawar. The BJP has renominated Dushyant Singh from the Jhalawar-Baran Lok Sabha constituency.
"The INDI Alliance is a 'Bhrastachar Bachao Alliance (save corruption alliance)'. It has parties in which the president is from the family, the general secretary is from the family and ministers are also from the family. These are parties of the family," Nadda said, alleging that the Congress committed scams everywhere.
"Is Rahul Gandhi out on bail or not? Are Sonia Gandhi, Chidambaram, (AAP Rajya Sabha MP) Sanjay Singh out on bail or not? Are Arvind Kejriwal, and Manish Sisodia in jail or not, he posed, adding, "Half the leaders of the INDI Alliance are in jail and half (out) on bail."
The BJP chief said the INDIA bloc parties have nothing to do with the country. They are busy saving their families, trying to save their parties. There is nothing more than this. On the other hand, Nadda the BJP is working to take the country forward under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added.
The BJP leader also claimed the situation in villages has changed under Modi's leadership. There were 18,000 villages with no electricity, which became electrified after Modi became prime minister in 2014.
Highlighting the development works done by the BJP-led Centre, Nadda said 3.5 lakh villages have been connected by paved roads. Eighty crore people are being given free ration, resulting in lifting 25 crore people above the poverty line.
####
PDP, NC to fight each other in Kashmir; Mehbooba, Omar trade blame
The PDP and the National Conference -- the two INDIA bloc partners in Jammu and Kashmir -- will be taking on each other on the three Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir valley.
Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP accused National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah of leaving them "no option".
Abdullah, on his part, hit back saying the PDP was going back on the understanding reached between the constituents of the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) for the District Development Council (DDC) elections in 2020.
Mufti told reporters that the NC has left her party with no other option other than to contest the election on the three Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir. "They (NC) have left no option for us other than to field candidates and contest the elections," Mufti said.
The party's parliamentary board would take a final call on the candidates, she added.
During its talks with the Congress on seat-sharing in J-K, the NC had made it clear that they will be contesting the three valley seats as they had won these in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The NC left two seats in Jammu for the Congress as part of the INDIA bloc's seat-sharing agreement.
####
'Modi ki guarantee' unsuccessful, does not reach people: Kharge
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge launched his party's "Ghar Ghar Guarantee" initiative under which it aims to reach out to eight crore households across the country.
He took the opportunity to slam Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he talks about "Modi Ki guarantee" but it is "unsuccessful" and does not reach people.
Kharge launched the initiative from Usmanpur in the North East Delhi parliamentary constituency and distributed pamphlets on the Congress's "Paanch Nyay Pachees Guarantee".
Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it is important to note that the "Ghar Ghar Guarantee" initiative is being launched from a place from where, in 1978, the Congress used the "hand" symbol for the first time. Interestingly, this time the Congress's campaign tagline is also centred around its poll symbol -- "Haath Badlega Halaat".
Kharge hit out at Modi, saying, "We give a guarantee that our government has always worked for people and will always do so. The prime minister talks about Modi ki guarantee, but his guarantee is unsuccessful and does not reach people."
The Congress's poll pitch is centred around "Paanch Nyay" or five pillars of justice -- "Yuva Nyay", "Naari Nyay", "Kisaan Nyay", "Shramik Nyay" and "Hissedari Nyay" -- as well as the guarantees it has given to people under these heads.
The opposition party will release its Lok Sabha poll manifesto in Delhi on April 5, with its top leaders addressing mega rallies in Jaipur and Hyderabad the next day.
####
SP, Cong didn't want Ram temple in Ayodhya: Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Samajwadi Party and the Congress were not in favour of the Ram temple being constructed in Ayodhya.
Addressing a public meeting in Muzaffarnagar to seek votes for BJP candidate Sanjeev Baliyan ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Shah said it was the Narendra Modi government that honoured people's sentiment and built the temple.
He also said that the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has stopped the migration of people from western Uttar Pradesh by improving the law and order situation and it is the criminals who are now leaving the state.
"Akhilesh Yadav ji's party (SP) and the Congress never wanted the Ram temple to be built in Ayodhya. The Congress kept the issue of Ram Janmabhoomi stuck for 70 years but Modi ji won the case, performed bhoomi pujan and also the consecration of Ramlalla," Shah said.
Criticising the INDIA bloc, he said, all those who were part of the opposition alliance were involved in scams.
The Union Home Minister claimed that in 2014, when he was in charge of the Uttar Pradesh BJP, there was migration of people from Kairana, Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur. "But after the formation of the BJP government in 2017, the terror of goons has been ended here and migration has been stopped. Now, instead of innocent citizens, goons have started migrating from Uttar Pradesh," he said.
He also said that the people of the country appreciated the Modi government for the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir.
Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Chaudhary, who accompanied Shah at the rally, hailed the government for conferring the Bharat Ratna to his grandfather Chaudhary Charan Singh. Jayant Chaudhary also said none of the INDIA bloc leaders has said a word about Chaudhary Charan Singh getting the Bharat Ratna.
####
Modi to trailblaze NDA's LS poll campaign in Bihar on Thursday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will trailblaze the NDA's Lok Sabha poll campaign in Bihar on Thursday when he is set to address a rally, his first in the state since the announcement of the elections.
Modi, who is running for a third consecutive term in office, is scheduled to address a rally at Jamui around noon.
BJP ally Chirag Paswan, who has handed over the mantle to brother-in-law Arun Bharti after having represented Jamui, a reserved seat, two times on the trot, has been effusive in his praise for the prime minister for the gesture.
"It is a matter of pride for Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and the people of Jamui that the prime minister has agreed to launch his campaign in Bihar from the constituency. We are committed to helping him achieve the target of 400 plus seats for NDA, including all the 40 in Bihar," said Paswan.
Predictably, the opposition wants the prime minister, the NDA's main crowd puller, to be held accountable for the alleged failures of his government, especially with respect to Bihar.
Former deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said, "Be it the prime minister or any other leader, they will be on the campaign trail during polls. But the people of Bihar want to know what have they got in return for the enormous support they gave to NDA five years ago."
"In the last Lok Sabha polls, 39 out of the 40 seats in Bihar went to the NDA. But now the people feel they have been taken for a ride," alleged Yadav.
