Happy New Year Rahul: But where are you?
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is not in India now. He left for Vietnam by VietJet airlines flight no VJ896, according to reports. BJP and Congress leaders sparred over social media after news about Rahul’s holiday sojourn appeared. Even senior Congress leaders were not aware neither about his itinerary, nor about his present location.
BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya tweeted: “At a time when there is national mourning over the demise of former PM Dr Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, who was pretending to be very distraught four days ago, has gone to Vietnam to celebrate the New Year.” Congress MP Manickam Tagore replied, “If Rahul Gandhi travels privately, why does it bother you? Get well in New Year…When will Sanghis stop this ‘take diversion’ politics?”
It is no secret that Rahul Gandhi often vanishes from public view. During New Year, he often goes to a foreign destination for rest and recreation. Nobody should have any objection to this. It is his personal right. He is free to go anywhere, any time for holidays, but his personal visits often become political issues.
There are two reasons behind this. One, he keeps his visits and destinations secret. This can be the norm for popular movie stars, but when political leaders keep their foreign visits secret, it gives ammunition to their political rivals. Two, Rahul Gandhi never bothers what is happening in the country when he goes abroad. Had former PM Dr Manmohan Singh not passed away last week, Rahul’s New Year celebration would not have become a big issue. Earlier, he gave a break to his Bharat Jodo Yatra for this reason. Rahul also left his campaign in the midst of assembly elections, when he went on a foreign visit.
Had any top BJP leader done this and gone on a secret foreign visit, Rahul Gandhi would have raised a big hue and cry. He would have gone to the extent of describing it as an insult to the Constitution. But now, he is the Leader of Opposition and it is a statutory position. It would have been better, had he disclosed his itinerary to the public.
Kissa Kursi Ka : Note For Vote
On Christmas, Aam Aadmi Party shared an AI-generated video on social media showing its convenor Arvind Kejriwal dressed as Santa Claus ‘distributing’ welfare gifts. The caption read: “Delhi’s own Santa delivering gifts year-round”. The video showed a a government school in delhi and the AAP chief gifting a box to a woman with Rs 2,100 written on it. But Kejriwal had to face a bizarre twist. Delhi government’s Department of Women and Child Development and Health Department issued public notices in nespapers cautioning people against the “registration drives” current underway by AAP for two schemes – Mahila Samman promising Rs 2,100 monthly allowances for women, and Sanjeevani scheme promising free health care for senior citizens aged above 60 years. The government notices said, these schemes were “non-existent” and urged residents not to share personal data. The notices clearly said no such schemes have been notified by Delhi government.
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had announced both these schemes and promised to implement them if the party returns to power in 2025 Assembly polls. BJP leaders described this as “economic offence and fraud” and demanded a probe into how personal and financial data from voters are being collected. Arvind Kejriwal, clearly on the backfoot, said there was nothing wrong if people come forward to register their names if they trust AAP to deliver on its poll promises.
Chief Minister Atishi herself have been moving around with Kejriwal in Delhi and getting the forms filled up, and on the other hand, her own government was issuing public notices cautioning people that the schemes were non-existent. Atishi alleged that this was part of “BJP’s conspiracy” and threatened to take action against Delhi government officers who issued these ads.
Congress, the third force in Delhi, waded into this debate and alleged that there was no difference between BJP and Kejriwal, as both the parties “were cheating the people of Delhi”. Congress issued a White Paper on AAP government’s promises and failures. Congress leader Ajay Maken described Arvind Kejriwal as “a big liar who has no ideology and who can do anything to grab power”.
The public notices issued by Delhi government are quite interesting. Delhi government’s bureaucracy works under the Lt. Governor. Since Kejriwal announced both schemes bypassing all, the L-G threw a googly, by inserting ads in newspapers describing the schemes as “non-existent”. On the other hand, Kejriwal is confident that both these schemes would ensuring a repeat win for his party, just like the Laadli Behan Yojana that swept the BJP-ShivSena-NCP government back in power in Maharashtra, and Modi’s Ayushman Yojana that gave benefits to BJP.
Kejriwal had played this card earlier in Gujarat assembly elections. He had promised Rs 2,000 monthly allowance to women, and organized camps for women voters to fill up forms. In the elections, AAP got 14 per cent votes. Similarly, in Delhi, Kejriwal had started “registration” of women and senior voters two days ago. AAP claimed that by Wednesday evening, 22 lakh women registered their names under Mahila Samman Yojana, while two lakh senior citizens registered their names under Sanjeevani Yojana.
Naturally, this caused tension in Delhi BJP camp, and it was evident on Wednesday, when Delhi BJP leader Parvesh Verma started distributing Rs 1,100 cash to each woman voter in his residence. Verma is going to contest against Kejriwal in New Delhi constituency. So, he adopted the ‘Kejriwal formula’ to defeat the AAP chief. At the government bungalow in 20, Windsor Place, there was a big crowd of women who were being given Rs 1,100 in envelopes. They had gone to Verma’s home carrying their voter identity cards.
India TV reporter met several women who came out carrying folders in which Rs 1100 cash was inserted in envelopes. The folders carried photographs of BJP leaders. Chief Minister Atishi demanded that ED or CBI should raid Verma’s residence and arrest him, as she suspected there were crores of rupees worth cash lying in his home. Parvesh Verma clarified that his father former CM Sahib Singh Verma had set up an NGO which helped poor and destitute women and this cash was being distributed for this purpose. He said, this was not black money and every rupee was accountable.
Kejriwal, by evening, issued an appeal to voters not to hesitate in taking cash, but refrain from giving votes to BJP. The AAP chief, who was caught in his own net on the Mahila Samman and Sanjeevani schemes issue because of Delhi govt ads, now got an escape route after it was found that Parvesh Verma was distributing cash to women voters. Both tried to offer inducements to women voters, either in cash or getting names registered. Parvesh Verma’s style was more blatant. Kejriwal is an old player in this game. He did not distribute money, but promised to give if elected. Verma straightaway gave envelopes filled with cash. Most of the politicians secretly distribute cash and other goodies during elections, but in Hindi, there is a proverb: “Chor Wohi Hota Hai, Jo Pakda Jaye” (The thief is the one who gets caught). Parvesh Verma was caught and his defence seems to be weak.
Parliament’s fight should not have gone to Police
The scuffle between Congress and BJP MPs outside the Makar Dwar gate of Parliament on Thursday was unprecedented and unfortunate. Two BJP MPs, Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput were hospitalized with head injuries and trauma. Both parties filed complaints against each other in Parliament Street police station and the Speaker declared a ban on staging protests outside the gates of Parliament.
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on Friday as uproar continued with both sides blaming each other. BJP MPs filed a police complaint against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, alleging that he shoved Mukesh Rajput, who was standing next to him, and Rajput fell on Sarangi.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused Rahul Gandhi of “behaving like a goon by pushing and shoving our MPs”. He said, security personnel had asked Rahul to enter Parliament from another gate, but he insisted on entering through the gate where BJP MPs were staging protest. “Their arrogance is on full display and today, I am upset and my mind is filled with pain”, Chouhan said.
Rahul Gandhi, with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge sitting next to him, told a press conference that the “drama was pre-planned and it was a plan to cause distraction from the real issues about Adani and B.R.Ambedkar.” He denied that he pushed or shoved anybody. Congress alleged that Mallikarjun Kharge was pushed to the ground by BJP MPs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to both injured BJP MPs Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput on phone, while several Union Ministers visited the two in RML Hospital.
What happened outside the Parliament gate was unfortunate and shocking. Some facts stand out clearly. Rahul Gandhi insisted on entering from the gate where BJP MPs were protesting. Two MPs fell when he pushed some of the MPs. Both MPs are in hospital, with one of them having stitches in his forehead.
The first question is: Was it necessary for Rahul Gandhi to enter from that particular gate? Security personnel say, they suggested an alternative route for him, but Rahul chose his path through the BJP MPs. Rahul alleges that he was pushed and shoved, while Congress is saying that Kharge was also pushed to the ground. The question arises: Why is there no video on what Rahul did or what happened to him and Kharge outside the gate?
Media personnel say, media cameras are not permitted to go up to the gate. Then the question arises: Were the MPs injured only because of the scuffle? Rahul is alleging that Modi is trying to shield Adani and this was part of a plot to scuttle the debate on Gautam Adani. Kharge is alleging that this was a conspiracy to avoid a debate on Babasaheb Ambedkar. They are free to make their arguments, but the fact is that two MPs were injured in the melee, and blood oozing from the forehead of one MP is visible in videos. How did this happen? Who did this? Congress has no reply to these questions.
It would have been better if Rahul Gandhi had visited the hospital and met the injured MP Pratap Sarangi, who had a cut on his forehead. He could have tendered apology to him in hospital. This would have raised his prestige. Nobody would have got a chance to raise a dispute, but in today’s politics, ego reigns supreme. Nobody is willing to admit mistakes. Both sides insisted on filing FIRs. Both sides want to show their own videos.
An issue that could have been solved by tendering apology will now be examined by police. This is not a good precedent for our parliamentary democracy.
Amit Shah on Ambedkar : Congress, Edited Video and Fake Narrative
There was high-octane politics over a fake narrative created on the basis of a 11-second video from Home Minister Amit Shah’s speech in Rajya Sabha. Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party alleged that Shah had “insulted” Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar during his speech. Responding, Amit Shah challenged Congress to prove its allegation and urged media to show the complete video of his speech. At a press conference, Amit Shah recounted the times when Congress “insulted” Ambedkar during its rule. He named Congress leaders who hurled insults at Ambedkar in the past.
On the other hand, Congress workers staged protests in different cities and party president Mallikarjun Kharge demanded that Shah be dismissed from Cabinet. Kharge went to the extent of warning that “the country will be on fire” if Shah did not resign. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi joined the fray and lashed out at Amit Shah.
The Home Minister said, a 11-second portion from his 85-minute speech was edited and made viral on social media to mislead the people. He reminded how Narendra Modi accorded full honours to Ambedkar, while the Congress deliberately insulted the maker of the Constitution.
Both Houses of Parliament could not transact any business due to uproar. BJP chief J P Nadda said, Congress leaders became worried when Amit Shah exposed the “sins” of their party in Rajya Sabha, and they were trying to “hide their sins by taking recourse to lies”. Outside Parliament, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, along with Kharge and other Congress MPs staged protests, while party workers staged protests in several cities.
Since the matter was sensitive and related to Dr Ambedkar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacted in a series of six tweets on X. Modi wrote, “if the Congress and its rotten eco-system think their malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr. Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken. The people India have seen time and again how one party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in every possible dirty trick to obligerate the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar and humiliate the SC/ST communities.”
Modi further tweeted: “The list of the Congress’ sins towards Dr. Ambedkar includes: Getting him defeated in elections not once, but twice, Pandit Nehru campaigning against him and making his loss a prestige issue, Denying him a Bharat Ratna, Denying his portrait a place of pride in Parliament’s Central Hall…. In Parliament, HM @AmitShah Ji exposed the Congress’ dark history of insulting Dr. Ambedkar and ignoring the SC/ST communities. They are clearly stung and stunned by the facts he presented, which is why they are now indulging in theatrics! Sadly, for them, people know the truth.”
In Delhi, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal with his supporters, carrying banners, posters against Amit Shah, went to BJP headquarters to stage protest, while in Mumbai, Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aditya Thackeray went to Deeksha Bhoomi to pay respects to Dr. Ambedkar.
From Kolkata, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee tweeted on X: “The mask has fallen!…..Amit Shah chose to tarnish this occasion with derogatory remarks against Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, that too, in the temple of democracy. This is a display of BJP’s casteist and anti-Dalit mindset. If this is how they behave after being reduced to 240 seats, imagine the damage they would have inflicted if their dream of 400 seats had been realised. They would have rewritten history to entirely erase Dr. Ambedkar’s contributions. Amit Shah’s remarks are an insult to the millions who look up to Babasaheb for guidance and inspiration…”
Watching Amit Shah’s Rajya Sabha speech in full, it is amply clear how a fake narrative can be set by posting an edited video. Congress party tried to do this by posting this 11-second video to project that Amit Shah insulted Ambedkar. If one watches his full speech, it will be clear how he repeatedly tried to prove how Congress insulted Amedkar over the years. It is not a secret that Ambedkar had policy differences with Pandit Nehru and it has been recorded in history.
The question today is not about facts, but about perception that can be created through fake narrative. Amit Shah had to call a press conference to explain his views. Amit Shah understands the power of social media, where a half-truth can be made viral within minutes. Social media has the power to project a rope as a snake, and vice-versa. BJP could have ignored this, but in Hindi, there is a proverb “Doodh Ka Jalaa Chaach Ko Phoonk Phoonk Kar Peeta Hai” (Once bitten, twice shy).
In this year’s Lok Sabha elections, Congress created a big narrative about reservations, Constitution and Dr. Ambedkar. Congress leaders tried to strike fear in the minds of voters by saying that BJP wanted to win more than 400 Lok Sabha seats, because it wants to end caste reservation policy propounded by Ambedkar in the Constitution. BJP delayed in countering it and had to face electoral losses. This time, BJP is alert and it did not waste time. Amit Shah played from the front foot and exposed the fake narrative. To counter the 11-second video, he placed nearly a hundred facts about “sins” of Congress. Now, it may be difficult for Congress to reply to these allegations.
Had Amit Shah remained silent, it could have caused damage. The reverse will now happen, because BJP is on the offensive. BJP is going to spread facts about differences between Ambedkar and Nehru and “insults” meted out to Ambedkar by the Congress party.
Amit Shah is a clever player in politics. The issue about Constitution which could have died down after the Parliament session, will now take a long, winding course in Indian politics. This incident also proves, while social media can create a fake narrative based on short videos, the mainstream media can be trusted to project the truth by giving the full picture.
How Amit Shah showed the mirror to Congress
Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday showed the mirror to Congress while winding up the debate in Rajya Sabha on “75 glorious years of Indian Constitution”. He alleged that the Congress was anti-Constitution, anti-reservation and anti-poor. Shah also alleged that the Congress misused power to help only Nehru-Gandhi family and tinkered with the Constitution to help the family. He contrasted this with Narendra Modi, who amended Constitution only for the benefit of Dalits, backwards, tribals and economically weaker sections.
Amit Shah said, those who are openly displaying the copy of the Constitution do not understand its real spirit. On Rahul Gandhi’s assertion that the Congress would work towards removing the maximum 50 per cent cap on reservation, Shah warned that the Congress wants to give reservation to Muslims. “As long as BJP has even one MP in Parliament, we will not allow any reservation on the basis of religion”, Shah said. “They want to give reservation to Muslims by increasing the cap of 50 per cent, but we will not allow that, at any cost”, he added.
Shah challenged the Congress to clarify if it supported Muslim Personal Law in a secular country like India. “If so”, he said, “why don’t you bring Shariah law which provides for chopping off hands of thieves and stoning people to death?”.
Amit Shah said, BJP would bring uniform civil code in every state, on the lines of Uttarakhand, and this model law will be enacted in all states through democratic process. He blamed the nation’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for bringing Muslim Personal Law instead of Uniform Civil Code, which was favoured by the maker of the Constitution Dr B R Ambedkar. “This”, he said, “marked the beginning of appeasement politics in India and was followed by Rajiv Gandhi who rejected the Supreme Court’s Shah Bano case judgement to amend Muslim Personal Law.”
On the contrary, Narendra Modi, Amit Shah said, amended the Constitution to give 33 per cent seats to women in Parliament and state legislatures, gave 10 per cent reservation to economically weaker sections among upper castes, and granted statutory status to Backward Classes Commission.
The Home Minister specifically targeted the Congress in his speech. In a lighter mood, he gave Congress the formula to win elections. Shah said, Congress can win only if casts off dynastic politics, appeasement of minorities and corruption in governance. This was Amit Shah’s sharpest attack on the Congress. BJP had all along been projecting itself as different from Congress on these three points.
In another striking comparison, Amit Shah explained the difference between why Congress amended the Constitution and how Modi amended it. Congress, he said, always amended the Constitution to save its “kursi” (throne), while Modi amended it for the betterment of the poor and backward classes.
One must try to understand the examples cited by Amit Shah. He said, Congress amended the Constitution to put curbs on freedom of speech and expression and to trample the fundamental rights of citizens. Shah is corrected. The black days of Emergency were witness to such amendments. Shah replied to three main allegations that have been levelled against the BJP in recent weeks.
On Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that BJP wants to change the Constitution and end reservations, Shah cited examples of how Modi government amended Constitution to give more rights to the poor and backward sections.
On the second allegation that BJP indulges in vote bank politics and harasses Muslims, Amit Shah mentioned the Shah Bano case judgement rejected by Rajiv Gandhi’s government and the Triple Talaq Abolition law enacted by Modi. He said, it was the Congress which robbed Muslim women of their post-divorce maintenance rights, whereas Modi gave Muslim women protection by abolishing Triple Talaq.
The third allegation levelled by opposition was BJP wins elections by tampering with electronic voting machines. Shah replied that assembly poll results of Maharashtra and Jharkhand came on the same day. In Maharashtra, the BJP-led coalition swept the elections, while JMM-led coalition won the Jharkhand polls. “How can EVMs be good in one state and bad in another state?”, Shah asked. Opposition leaders are not going to leave the EVM issue, because on Tuesday itself, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray described Devendra Fadnavis’ government as “EVM sarkar”.
Why BJP fired Soros missile at Sonia, Rahul Gandhi ?
In its first sharpest attack on Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, coincidentally on her birthday (December 9), BJP President J P Nadda alleged in Rajya Sabha that a top Congress leader had close links with institutions funded by American billionaire investor George Soros. Nadda alleged that Soros wanted to destablize India, that he does not accept Kashmir as part of India and that he was working on anti-Indian agenda in collusion with Congress.
Without naming Sonia Gandhi, Nadda alleged, “the link between Forum of Democratic Leaders in Asia-Pacific (FDL-AP) and George Soros is a matter of concern. The co-president of this forum is a member of this House”. He alleged that FDL-AP sees Jammu & Kashmir as a separate entity and it gets financial support from Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
Nadda alleged that “this outfit has been maligning India’s image and it raises concern about our national security. People are worried over the manner in which Congress is playing with national security”. BJP demanded that a Joint Parliamentary Committee be set up to probe the links of George Soros-funded institution with Congress and that there should be a discussion on this issue in Parliament.
In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge strongly opposed the allegations made by Nadda. Kharge alleged that the Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar was being partial towards the ruling party. Congress leaders threatened to bring a no-confidence motion against the RS Chairman.
Outside the House, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi named Sonia Gandhi and alleged that as co-president of FDL-AP, she had close links with George Soros. Trivedi pointed out that Soros had, in the past, claimed that he was ready to give funds to the tune of one billion dollars to destabilize Modi’s government.
George Soros-funded Forum For Democratic Leaders is active in more than 100 countries and it has four co-presidents, one of whom is Sonia Gandhi, as chairperson of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Trivedi alleged that persons linked to Soros-funded outfits had joined Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. He demanded that the Congress must clarify its links with George Soros.
Forum For Democratic Leaders was set up in 1994 in Seoul at the initiative of then South Korean President Kim Dae Jung. Sonia Gandhi was not in active politics at that time, but as chairperson of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation she was appointed one of the four co-presidents of FDL. George Soros had also given funds to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Soros had been openly advocating holding of referendum on J&K and he considers Narendra Modi an authoritarian leader.
George Soros is an Hungarian-born American billionaire, but he considers himself a stateless person. For the last several years, he had been working on an agenda to destabilize the Indian government led by Narendra Modi.
During elections in India, institutions connected with Soros deliberately explode information bombs, meant to cause damage to Modi’s party. On the eve of Parliament sessions too, Soros’ eco-system had been releasing news reports meant to create an atmosphere against Modi government.
The question now is, what is Sonia Gandhi’s connection with George Soros? It is a fact that she is one of the co-presidents of Forum of Democratic Leaders for Asia-Pacific. This is an anti-Indian forum which advocates separation of Jammu & Kashmir from India. Questions are being asked about Sonia’s connections with this forum, but, till now, the Congress had not come forward with any response.
Secondly, BJP has alleged that Rahul Gandhi, in collusion with George Soros, has been part of anti-India conspiracies. Rahul had been making vitriolic attacks on Modi inside and outside Parliament, after getting advance news from Soros-funded institutions.
Two things are clear: One, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi have connections with Soros-funded institutions, and Two, Soros is anti-Modi and he wants to destabilize the government. The question now arises about how Gautam Adani comes into the picture?
For the last several days, Congress MPs have been staging protests outside Parliament chanting slogans against Modi and Adani. Rahul Gandhi’s latest allegation is that George Soros and his outfits have exposed Gautam Adani, and that Modi was shielding Adani.
George Soros’ role in this matter is very interesting. He has connections with Financial Times, London. Four years ago, in 2020, Financial Times had commented that if Modi was to be weakened, Gautam Adani should be targeted.
Rahul Gandhi is going ahead on these lines. There are several examples. On the eve of G20 summit in India last year, Rahul had attacked Modi on Adani issue on Hindenburg report. He had also raised the issue of US FBI probe against Adani group. Soros manufactures news, and Rahul uses that news to target Modi.
It has also been alleged that whenever Rahul visits UK or US, the entire planning is done by the eco-system funded by Soros. Rahul Gandhi never replied to such allegations. He has been repeatedly alleging that Modi was trying to shield Adani, but he never replies to this argument that if Adani is corrupt, why are Congress governments giving big ticket projects to Adani group? As chief ministers Revanth Reddy and Ashok Gehlot shook hands with Gautam Adani and gave big projects to his group.
Rahul Gandhi’s double standards on Adani and his connections with George Soros are known to other INDIA bloc leaders like Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav. These leaders and their parties have kept themselves away from Rahul Gandhi on Adani issue.
Who left Currency Notes in Parliament: To name or not to name?
A wad of Rs 500 currency notes was found on the seat of Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi in Rajya Sabha. This sparked a row after the Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar announced that the currency notes were found on seat number 222 allotted to Singhvi, on Thursday evening after the House proceedings were over. The guards were conducting their regular security check inside the Rajya Sabha.
While BJP and its allies demanded a probe, Singhvi said, this was “bizarre” because he always carried one Rs 500 currency note whenever he goes to the House.
Singhvi said, he went inside the House at 12.57 pm on Thursday and the House was adjourned at 1 pm. He said, he then sat in the canteen till 1.30 pm and left Parliament. “There should be an inquiry as to how people can come and put anything anwhere, on any seat. Each seat should be locked so that the member can carry the key home. If anybody puts something on my seat and then levels allegations, it is not only tragic and serious, but comic”, Singhvi said.
Dhankar said he has ordered a probe since no member has come forward to claim the wad of currency notes. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallkarjun Kharge said, the chair should not have named the MP as an inquiry was already underway. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, the chairman has done the right thing in mentioning the seat number and there was nothing wrong in it. Leader of the House J P Nadda described it as an “extraordinary and serious” incident.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal raised an interesting point. He said, if Congress had objection to revealing the name of the MP even while the probe was on, then why were Opposition MPs staging daily protest about reports (relating to Adani) published in foreign newspapers? Goyal said, the Adani issue was still under investigation, but Congress MPs were raising the issue again and again.
Later, Singhvi met the Chairman and said the wad of currency notes does not belong to him.
The question raised by Congress is justified. Congress leaders are saying, how can anybody be named even when the inquiry is in progress. Singhvi has been claiming that the wad of notes does not belong to him, then why was his name mentioned? Why nobody waited till the inquiry was over?
BJP took the cue and countered saying why was Rahul Gandhi raising Adani’s name almost daily even while the probe was on. Adani says, all the allegations against him are baseless and false, then why can’t Congress wait for the probe to be over?
Congress has been caught in its own net. When Piyush Goyal suggested that all parties must reach a consensus not to name anybody in the House unless the probe was over, Congress leaders remained silent.
The question now is; Should there be separate rules for Congress? Should Congress be given a free licence to name anybody without completion of any probe? Congress leaders are finding it difficult to reply to this argument.
Who is pressuring Uddhav to break off ties with Congress?
The after-effects of Maha Vikas Aghadi’s disastrous electoral defeat in Maharashtra assembly elections are showing. Senior leaders of Shiv Sena (UBT) have advised their party chief Uddhav Thackeray to come out of the Aghadi (alliance).
Reports say, when Uddhav was in a meeting with all MLAs and defeated candidates on Wednesday, several of them told him that it would not be wise to contest elections relying on alliance partners. They said, the party should now go alone in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections and in polls to 14 other city corporations and local bodies.
These leaders told Uddhav Thackeray to cut off ties with Sharad Pawar’s NCP and Congress. They told him that had the party contested the assembly polls alone, it would have won more seats. The most vocal among these leaders was Ambadas Danve. He said, the alliance with the two other parties has proved costly and the alliance lost because of “too much overconfidence” after the Lok Sabha elections.
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut tried to control the damage caused by Danve’s remarks, and said the defeat was due to EVM tampering. He said, the three parties would remain united in the local body polls too.
For Uddhav Thackeray’s party leaders seeking to cut off ties with Congress is natural. The DNAs of Shiv Sena and Congress are quite different. Late Balasaheb Thackeray had forged his party, Shiv Sena, as a big Hindutva force, and it was because of this that Shiv Sena was the natural ally of BJP for several decades. In his quest to become the Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray changed direction and this has hurt the party badly.
On the other hand, Eknath Shinde gauged the feelings of Shiv Sainiks correctly and did not change his ideological line. He spoke of Balasaheb’s Hindutva ideology openly during the recent assembly polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at Uddhav Thackeray during his campaign and challenged him to make Rahul Gandhi described Balasaheb Thackeray as “Hindu Hriday Samrat”.
Uddhav Thackeray could not explain to Shiv Sainiks why Shiv Sena joined hands with Congress, a party that questions Veer Savarkar’s patriotism. Uddhav’s colleagues are now trying to persuade him to go back to the Hindutva line. They are bluntly telling Uddhav that if Shiv Sena has to continue its existence in Maharashtra politics, it has to carry on with Balasaheb’s ideology. The first condition for this is to break off its relationship with the Congress.
“Right if we win, Wrong if we lose!”
Maha Vikas Aghadi parties are not ready to accept the recent electoral mandate in Maharashtra. MVA leaders are now planning anti-EVM protests to demand replacing Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with ballots. NCP founder Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray met all defeated candidates on Wednesday and instructed them to file election petitions for matching EVM results with those of VVPATs. Plans are afoot to set up legal teams in the state and in Delhi.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has already demanded that all EVMs should be replaced with ballots, with BJP leaders accusing that the Congress is now desperate and should rather replace Rahul Gandhi as its leader. Congress leaders argue that in June this year, MVA had won 30 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, but five months later, MVA won only 48 out of 288 assembly seats. How can this be possible, they ask.
Probably Congress leaders forgot that in June, 2019, BJP had won all 7 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, but eight months later, BJP could win only eight out of a total 70 assembly seats in Delhi. If we go backwards, in 2014, BJP had won all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi by a huge margin, but a few months later, when assembly elections were held, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party registered a historic landslide win (67 out of 70 seats).
How voters can change their minds after such a short time gap can be illustrated from this year’s Lok Sabha results. BJP’s tally was 240 in this year’s Lok Sabha election. At that time, for the Congress, EVM was a boon. Nobody questioned about EVM battery, nor demanded matching with VVPAT results. Had BJP crossed the 300-mark, Congress would then have blamed its defeat on EVMs. Rahul Gandhi would, by now, have started his ‘Bring Ballots’ Padyatra.
Questions began to be raised after BJP’s victory in this year’s Haryana assembly election. Questions were raised about EVM batteries that were displaying 99 per cent charging. The Election Commission responded with a 1,500-page long reply. When questions were raised about VVPATs, EC replied that nearly 4 crore votes were matched with VVPAT results, and not a single result was found incorrect.
One interesting point to note is that, when the first complaints were raised about EVMs, Election Commission organized a Hackathon challenging anybody to come forward and hack an EVM. None came forward.
The issue was raised several times in the Supreme Court and every time, the apex court dismissed every petition. Anybody having any concrete proof or genuine grounds, can file petitions. Those who went to courts without any solid proof and put forth arguments based on surmises, had to return empty-handed.
To argue that EVMs worked correctly in Jharkhand and were fudged in Maharashtra is not a good thing for democracy. Seeding baseless doubts in the minds of people about the electoral process can create a situation as is being witnessed in neighbouring Pakistan.
Yogi to Kharge : Why silence on killer Razakars?
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday, at his Akola, Maharashtra, rally, launched a direct attack on Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. He mentioned about how Razakars owing allegiance to the then Nizam of Hyderabad had burnt his ancestral village, Warwatti, in 1946, killing his mother and sister.
Yogi said, “Kharge Ji is unnecessarily getting angry with me. I respect his age. He should express his anger with the Nizam of Hyderabad, whose Razakars burnt his village, mercilessly killed Hindus and took the lives of his mother, sister, and family members. He should bring this truth before the nation and the world. Only then people will know the meaning of my slogan, ‘Bantogey Toh Katogey’. He is refraining from placing this truth before the nation due to vote bank compulsions. He is deceiving the nation. I am only a Yogi. I have learnt only one thing. Do whatever is good for your country. For me, there can be nothing greater than my country and Sanatan Dharma.”
Yogi was only quoting from history. Kharge, while addressing a Congress workers’ convention at Delhi’s Talkatora stadium on August 17 last year, had said, “It is my misfortune that I could not see my mom, my brother, sister and uncle, because our home was burnt during the riots that led to Hyderabad liberation. Only my father and I were alive. It was in 1946, as riots went on from 1946 till 1948. My father and I fled the village and we later settled in Gulbarga.”
Yogi was responding to Kharge’s criticism that he made at his Maharashtra and Jharkhand rallies. Kharge had said, “A true yogi cannot use language like ‘Bantogey Toh Katogey’. Such language is used by terrorists. Yogi is the head of a mutt, wears saffron robes, but believes in ‘Munh me ram, Bagal Mein Chhuri’ (a wolf in lamb’s clothing).”
One must understand why Yogi raised the Hyderabad Razakar’s atrocities while replying to Kharge’s charge. The Congress President has often disclosed how he and his father fled their village during the 1946 riots and their family members died at the hands of Razakars. But Kharge never mentioned the Razakars or Nizam in his speeches.
It was Yogi who grabbed this point and put a poser to Kharge. Yogi alleged that Kharge was avoiding mention of Nizam and Razakars because his Congress party was concerned about keeping its Muslim votes intact. One BJP leader remarked, how can you call it secularism, when Kharge lost his family to jihadi Razakars and yet he speaks about Hindus as terrorists.
Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot hit back saying, “BJP leaders are intimidating the public. They brought the “Ek Rahengey, Safe Rahengey” slogan later, to control the damage, but their original slogan was ‘Bantogey Toh Katogey’. This is a dangerous slogan. Is this not at attempt to intimidate people? This is a clear indication of the way they want to do politics in the name of religion during elections.”
Hindu sadhus have openly lent support to Yogi. Jagadguru Rambhadracharya said, “despite many sects, Hindus must remain united. Only then nobody can harm us. United we remain strong. Saffron is the colour of Bhagwan. It was this saffron flag which Shivaji used to unite Maharashtra. Bhagwadharis should remain in politics, not those who are suited-booted.” It was Mallikarjun Kharge who had questioned Yogi’s saffron robes.
Maharashtra Elections: First Families At War
There was a flurry of nominations by close kin of top political leaders of Maharashtra, as filing of nominations for assembly polls closed on Tuesday. Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi and BJP-led Mahayuti were still locked in consultations to iron out differences over the remaining seats.
On Monday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, former CM Prithviraj Chavan, former CM Ashok Chavan’s daughter Srijaya Chavan, MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s son Amit Thackeray, Nawab Malik’s daughter Sana Malik, Late Baba Siddiqui’s son Zeeshan Siddiqui, Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi and several others filed nominations. NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar himself accompanied his grandson Yugendra Pawar in Baramati, who is contesting against his grand uncle Ajit Pawar. There were reports of local rebellion in several parties.
As of now, Congress expects to field more than 105 candidates, though it has announced names of 102 candidates, while Shiv Sena (UBT) has announced 84 and NCP(Sharad Pawar) 82 candidates. 18 seats are still left undecided in MVA.
The most spectacular contest will be in Baramati, where Ajit ‘Dada’ Pawar will be facing Sharad Pawar’s grandson Yugendra Pawar. Ajit Pawar has been consistently winning this seat since 1991, and he has been an MLA for 33 years. Ajit Pawar admitted that he made a mistake by fielding his wife Sunetra to contest against Supriya Sule during the Lok Sabha elections, but this time people will ‘punish’ Sharad Pawar for committing the same mistake.
Yugendra Pawar is contesting elections for the first time in his life. After filing nomination, Yugendra described his grandpa Sharad Pawar as his ‘guru’ and ‘markdarshak’. Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule said, the fight in Baramati is between ideologies and not between members of a family.
But the real fact is: the fight is in the family and it could be a tough and close contest. It was Ajit Pawar who trained the NCP cadre in Baramati for 33 years, and this time, he has the support of BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. That is why Ajit Pawar looks confident, but he also understands that his uncle Sharad Pawar has been doing politics in Baramati since 59 years and he has proved his mettle during the Lok Sabha elections.
The Baramati result will prove to be a gamechanger for Ajit Pawar’s political career, and as far as Sharad Pawar is concerned, the result from Baramati will decide to which camp the real NCP belongs.
The second most interesting battle will be in Kopri Pachpakhri seat of Thane, where Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be facing Kedar Dighe, the nephew of his political guru Anand Dighe. Kedar Dighe has been fielded by Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena. Deputy CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, who accompanied Eknath Shinde on his roadshow on Monday, said, “mere blood relation does not make anybody a successor. A successor emerges only by dint of his work and thoughts and Eknath Shinde is the real successor of Anand Dighe”.
Eknath Shinde has been consistently winning this seat since 2009 and in the last election, he got more than 65 per cent votes. Thane is considered the citadel of Eknath Shinde, and his party candidate Naresh Mhaske had won this year’s Lok Sabha elections.
The third interesting battle is in Mahim, Mumbai, where Raj Thackeray’s son Amit will be testing the electoral waters for the first time. He is facing Mahesh Sawant of Shiv Sena (UBT). Uddhav’s son Aaditya Thackeray is contesting from Worli, where MNS has fielded a candidate in a tit-for-tat action.
Overall, people will be witnessing interesting intra-dynasty battles this time. It was Ajit Pawar who was fielded by his uncle Sharad Pawar from Baramati 33 years ago, and now the tide has turned. Sharad Pawar has fielded his grandson to defeat his nephew Ajit this time. Sharad Pawar wants to tell the people of Maharashtra, who is the real ‘Dada’ of Pawar dynasty.
Similarly, Anand Dighe had anointed Eknath Shinde as his successor in Shiv Sena, but now Anand Dighe’s nephew will be challenging Eknath Shinde. Raj Thackeray used to consider himself the real successor of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, but now he has fielded his son to defeat his cousin Udhav Thackeray’s candidate. So, one would be watching a battle between brothers in Mahim.
Baba Siddiqui’s son Zeeshan is going to get the sympathy vote after the murder of his father, and he is going to claim his father’s legacy. For Sana Malik, his father Nawab Malik’s cases can pose problems. On the other hand, Anil Deshmukh is seeking votes for his son by telling voters about the cases filed against him. In Maharashtra politics, sons, daughters, nephews, nieces, grand sons and grand daughters are all in the fray. It is a situation where nobody will be raising the issue of dynastic politics this time.
Vintage Modi is back: Exposes Congress on caste
A day after the spectacular Haryana victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sharpened his attack on Congress saying, the results of Haryana reflect the nation’s mood. He said, Congress was trying to spread its ‘hateful and poisonous agenda’ by dividing Hindus among caste lines for partisan ends. Modi said, “Congress never raises the issue of caste divisions within the Muslim community. Its formula is simple: keep Muslims as a vote bank by spreading fear, and divide Hindu society on caste lines to score electoral advantage…The same Congress leaders who raise caste division issue among Hindus remain mum about caste divisions among Indian Muslims”.
The Prime Minister’s tone and tenor of speech reminds one of Vintage Modi, whose self-confidence now seems to be on a high. Modi replied to all questions that were being raised after BJP’s seat tally was reduced in the Lok Sabha elections. He made it clear that neither has his popularity waned, nor has the nation’s mood changed for the Congress to stop his BJP juggernaut. Modi’s speech was meant to convey to the people that the Congress was trying to divide only Hindus, and not Muslims. This was in reference to the vote divisions that were noticed among Hindu castes during the Lok Sabha elections.
There is a Hindi proverb, ‘Kaath Ki Haandi Baar Baar Nahin Chadhti’ (you can deceive once, but not always). BJP got voters from all sections of society this time in Haryana and the party has regained its mojo.
On the other hand, the anti-Modi bloc appears to be demoralized and already knives are out among the allies against the ‘arrogant’ attitude of Congress party. The immediate consequences are being seen in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, UP and Delhi.
In UP, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav snubbed the Congress and unilaterally declared the names of six candidates out of 10 seats going for byelections, without consulting his ally. Akhilesh had already realized that the gains made in LS elections by Congress in UP was at the cost of Samajwadi Party, while in Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, Congress refused to share a single seat with his party. The Congress was demanding five out of the 10 seats in UP assembly byelections. Akhilesh was waiting for the right moment, and he struck the day after the Haryana results were out.
In Maharashtra, Congress, which had been asking for more seats in Maha Vikas Aghadi, has now lost its bargaining power, and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray is pressing for the MVA to declare him as the chief ministerial candidate. The allies are now telling Congress that it derives its strength from INDIA bloc, and the party has no clout in the absence of an alliance.
In Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party has declared that there would be no alliance with Congress for assembly polls. Arvind Kejriwal wanted a toehold in Haryana, but the Congress leaders, feeling the ‘wind’ blowing in favour of the party, kept the seat-sharing issue hanging and rejected AAP’s request at the last moment. A furious Kejriwal fielded his candidates in all the 90 seats in Haryana. Though his party drew a blank, it halted Congress from returning to power.