Bikaner (Rajasthan)

Congress misleading people in name of garibi hatao: Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday accused the Congress of misleading people of the country in the name of garibi hatao or eliminating poverty.

He said it was former prime minister Indira Gandhi who gave the slogan and then it was repeatedly promised by former PMs Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. Now Congress president Rahul Gandhi is doing the same, Mr. Gadkari said.

“This makes clear that Congress leaders have only worked to mislead people,” the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways said at an election rally in Bikaner.

He said if Pakistan does not stop supporting terrorism and terrorists, the Indian government will have to consider stopping river water flowing into the neighbouring nation.

Pulwama (JY&K)

PM harping on Pulwama, Balakot to hide failures on economic front: Omar

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was harping on the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent air strikes in Pakistan’s Balakot to hide his failures on economic front, job creation and alleviating agrarian distress.

The former chief minister said while Kashmir was no more an election issue in Pakistan, it was Prime Minister Modi who focussed his election campaign on the situation in the valley.

“There was a time when Jammu and Kashmir used to dominate elections in Pakistan but now it is PM Modi who is going to town with J&K in the election campaign.

“The prime minister is raking up Balakot and Pulwama terror attack to hide his government’s failures on economic front, employment generation and the agrarian distress in the country,” Mr. Abdullah told reporters after addressing an election rally in this militancy-infested town in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency.

Pulwama and Shopian districts are going to polls on May 6 in the third leg of polling in the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency where the National Conference has fielded former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi.

New Delhi

Amit Shah targets Rahul Gandhi over UPA-era defence deal

BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday cited a media report to attack Congress chief Rahul Gandhi over a defence deal under the UPA government in which an alleged business partner of Gandhi had got an offset contract.

According to Business Today magazine, a co-promoter of a UK-based firm in which Mr. Gandhi owned a majority stake received defence contract as an offset partner of a French company when the Congress-led UPA was in power.

“With Rahul Gandhi’s midas touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn’t matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga,” Mr. Shah tweeted, tagging the report. - PTI

With Rahul Gandhi’s Midas Touch, no deal is too much!



When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn’t matter if India suffers on the way!#StealLikeRagahttps://t.co/rb9H6QOVwx — Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 4, 2019

New Delhi

Rahul Gandhi accuses govt of compromising in dealing with terrorism

Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government on May 4, 2019 of compromising in dealing with the challenge of terrorism and cited the release Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar during the NDA rule.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, he said, if voted to power, his party will adopt a more stern approach in combating terrorism than what the Narendra Modi government’s approach has been.

“Masood Azhar is a terrorist, he must be punished. But who sent him to Pakistan?” the Congress chief asked, adding that his party had never sent a terrorist back to Pakistan.

Haryana

Triangular fight in seat dominated by Jats

At the Gangesar village in Haryana's Sonipat Lok Sabha constituency, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers introduce Ramesh Kaushik as a future cabinet minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet.

The outgoing BJP MP, who is seeking a re-election from Sonipat, is pitted against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupender Singh Hooda, the seniormost Jat leader of the Congress.

Digvijay Singh Chautala, great grandson of Devi Lal, who, along with his brother, Dushyant, floated the Jananayak Janata Party (JJP) — has made it a triangular contest in Sonipat, where Jats make up 34% of the electorate. Of the about 15 lakh voters in the Sonipat Lok Sabha constituency, spread across nine Assembly segments, more than 5 lakh voters are from the Jat community.

Uttar Pradesh

BJP striving to please Rajputs and Brahmins

It took seconds for Sant Kabir Nagar MP Sharad Tripathi to rain blows with his shoes on Mehdawal MLA Rakesh Singh Baghel, in full public glare in an incident in March, but it blew the lid off a festering issue that the BJP will have to address after the current Lok Sabha polls are done.

Mr. Tripathi may have earned universal opprobrium for what was extremely unseemly behaviour in March, but the reaction among Uttar Pradesh’s Brahmins, especially in eastern U.P., was one of righteous satisfaction. Mr. Tripathi, who was summoned to Lucknow by party president Mahendranath Pandey on March 7, following the incident, was joined en route by several prominent leaders of the Brahmin community, making it a show of strength. The MP was compared to Parashurama who waged war on Kshatriyas, just as Mr. Tripathi bested Mr. Baghel, who is a Rajput. For the BJP, which has secured the support of upper caste votes, the issue of how to douse this conflict was important. Brahmins with 12% vote and Rajputs with 8% vote share are both significant for the BJP to prevail in the State.