POLL-SNIPPETS: Conspiracy being hatched to impose President's rule in Delhi: Atishi
Atishi claimed that in recent times, many events have taken place that indicate the possibility of the imposition of President's rule in the national capital. In the last few months, no senior IAS officer has been posted in Delhi, she said.
Senior Delhi minister Atishi on Friday alleged that a big political conspiracy is being hatched by the BJP-led central government to impose President's rule in the national capital.
"Arvind Kejriwal's arrest is a political conspiracy to topple his government. We have learnt from reliable sources that in the coming days, President's rule will be imposed in Delhi. But imposing President's rule in Delhi will be illegal and against the mandate of people," she said at a press conference in Delhi.
Atishi claimed that in recent times, many events have taken place that indicate the possibility of the imposition of President's rule in the national capital. In the last few months, no senior IAS officer has been posted in Delhi, she said.
"Posts are lying vacant in departments but no postings have taken place. Bureaucrats have stopped attending meetings called by ministers, citing the Model Code of Conduct. The lieutenant governor has been writing letters to the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) over the functioning of the Delhi government," she said.
Atishi's cabinet colleague Saurabh Bharadwaj too spoke in the same refrain. "The BJP and the lieutenant governor are talking about a constitutional crisis in Delhi. This shows that there is a conspiracy to impose President's rule in Delhi. The BJP has been defeated twice in Delhi in 2015 and 2020 and it knows it cannot form the government in Delhi. Even if elections are held today, Arvind Kejriwal will win," he said.
Meanwhile, reacting to the AAP leader's charge, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva hit out at the AAP, saying it was surprising that the fear of President's rule is haunting the AAP, which has 62 MLAs in the 70-member Delhi Assembly.
BJP spreading canards against West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee
Hitting out at the BJP for alleging that West Bengal has become a safe haven for terrorists, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said the accused in the Bengaluru blast case were arrested because of the state police's prompt action.
The arrest of two accused in Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe blast case from West Bengal on Friday triggered a political slugfest in the state with the opposition BJP claiming that the TMC regime had turned the state into a safe haven for terrorists.
"Heard one BJP leader saying that Bengal is not safe. The accused were arrested within two hours following a prompt response by police. What about the states where you are in power?" she said at a rally in Cooch Behar. "What about Uttar Pradesh Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Gujarat and Bihar? " she asked.
Banerjee blamed the BJP for spreading canards against the state and accused the saffron party of misusing central agencies and not allowing a "level-playing field for all political parties" in the elections.
Ahead of INDIA bloc rally in Tamil Nadu, BJP targets DMK, Cong on 'corruption'
The BJP on Friday attacked INDIA bloc parties over their alleged corruption and attempts to sow division on regional and religious lines, asserting that the ruling alliance led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands for curbing graft.
Ahead of an INDIA bloc rally in Tamil Nadu, in which DMK leader and Chief Minister M K Stalin and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi are expected to attend, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia claimed that the "glue of corruption" binds opposition parties.
Bhatia said the Gandhis are the "most corrupt" family and raised the 2G spectrum case involving the then telecom minister and DMK leader A Raja, as he targeted both opposition parties.
With the opposition referring to the acquittal of all accused, including Raja, in the 2G case to refute the corruption charge, Bhatia noted that the Supreme Court had cancelled all the 122 licenses allotted due to malpractices and expressed confidence that the Delhi High Court will consider the CBI's appeal and convict the guilty.
He alleged that the DMK stands for "deceit, malpractice and kelptomania", adding that the Dravidian party is a habitual "robber" of public money and noted that DMK leader V Senthilbalaji continued to be a minister in the Tamil Nadu government for months after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a corruption case.
Bhatia also referred to DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's and Raja's alleged insult of Sanatan Dharma and the silence maintained by the Congress over it, and accused the opposition of "sowing religious discord and division".
When will Assembly polls be held in J&K, Cong asks PM
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a rally in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur, the Congress accused the BJP-led Centre on Friday of suspending democracy in the Union Territory and asked it when would the Assembly polls be held there.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said while the prime minister was in Udhampur, in its attempt to retain power in the erstwhile state, the BJP-led government has suspended almost all tiers of democracy and refuses to hold fresh elections.
"PM Modi must answer for his suspension of democracy," Ramesh said while posing several questions to the prime minister. He said the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has been under the Centre's direct rule ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew support to the Mehbooba Mufti-led government in 2018, citing a "deteriorating security situation".
"The people of Jammu and Kashmir have been left without an elected government since then. Four seats in the Rajya Sabha also remain vacant because of the delay in holding assembly polls. The Centre has often blamed the Election Commission of India for the delay in holding elections but now the Chief Election Commissioner has turned around and blamed the Centre for the delay after 2022's delimitation exercise," the former Union minister said on the microblogging platform.
Addressing a poll rally in Udhampur, Modi said after decades, the Lok Sabha election is taking place in Jammu and Kashmir without the fear of terrorism and threat of cross-border firing. He urged people to repose their trust in him, saying he will get rid of all the problems plaguing Jammu and Kashmir for the last 60 years. Modi also challenged any political party, especially the Congress, to bring back Article 370 and said they cannot do it.
Bihar getting a lot of support from Centre: Nitish at poll rally
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said the state was getting "a lot of support" from the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, and urged people to vote for the BJP-led NDA.
Kumar, who heads the JD(U), also referred to his flip-flops in the past one decade and asserted that his return to the NDA, in January this year, was for good. "I have been with the BJP for long. We formed government in Bihar, in 2005, together. I may have gone hither and thither a couple of times. But now I am back, for ever", Kumar told a rally in Nawada, where he was canvassing for BJP candidate Vivek Thakur.
He said "What was there in Bihar before we took over? Infrastructure was in a mess. Things began to look up once we took over. Now, we are getting a lot of support from the Centre (Kendra Sarkar ka sahyog bahut zyada hai)". "I therefore urge you all to vote for the NDA", said Kumar, who, incidentally, was one of the key architects of the anti-BJP INDIA bloc.
Kumar, who has always been careful to project himself as a "secular" leader, also said "so much of Hindu-Muslim clashes Bihar used to witness until we came to power and set things in order. So much was done for the minority community during my tenure. I hope all that will not be forgotten just because I am back with BJP".
The JD(U) president, who has forged short-lived alliances with arch-rival Lalu Prasad's RJD, first in 2015 and then again in 2022, also launched a stinging attack on his ally-turned-adversary. "He first ruled the state himself and when his own continuance in power became untenable he handed over the reins to his wife", said Kumar, without mentioning Prasad or Rabri Devi by name.
Cong stands with anti-national forces, INDIA bloc trying to weaken country: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the Congress of standing with anti-national forces while claiming that the opposition INDIA bloc was trying to weaken the country.
Addressing an election rally in Barmer, Modi said the Congress' thinking was anti-development and the country's border districts were deliberately deprived of development by former Congress governments. "Congress stands with every anti-national force. It ruled for decades but there is not a single major problem of the country for which it gave a complete solution," Modi said.
"Congress' thinking is anti-development. The country's border districts were deliberately deprived of development by former Congress governments," he said. While Modi is busy making India a powerful nation, people of the INDI alliance are trying to make India weak, he said.
LS polls: Mayawati to kickstart campaign in western UP from Apr 14
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati is set to launch her Lok Sabha election campaign in western Uttar Pradesh with a rally here on April 14, after a gap of seven years to shore up electoral support for the party.
Mayawati would be holding rallies from April 14 to April 23 to seek votes for BSP candidates in Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Rampur, Moradabad, Bijnor, Nagina, Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Amroha, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Meerut and Hapur constituencies.
Western UP's Bijnor, Nagina, Saharanpur, and Amroha constituencies are among the 10 seats on which the BSP candidates had emerged victorious in 2019. The seats going to polls in the first phase of elections this year have a sizable chunk of Dalit and minority community voters.
"Behenji would be holding a rally in Muzaffarnagar for the first time since 2017. All party workers are enthusiastic about it going full swing for preparations. It is going to be a historic rally," a BSP leader said.
In 2019, BSP tied up with SP for Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh. The BSP won 10 seats and the SP five. However, in 2024, the BSP is going solo.
