Category: Politics

Rahul Gandhi emphasised his focus on justice rather than caste, declaring it his life’s mission to rectify the injustices suffered by 90 percent of the population….reports Asian Lite News

Those who call themselves ‘deshbhakt’ are scared of the ‘X-ray’ of caste census but “no force” can stop it, said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a blistering critique against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking at the ‘Samajik Nyay Sammelan’, Gandhi emphasised his focus on justice rather than caste, declaring it his life’s mission to rectify the injustices suffered by 90 percent of the population.

He pledged that upon forming a government, the Congress would prioritise conducting a caste census, highlighting the disparities exacerbated by Modi’s policies. Gandhi criticized the disproportionate distribution of wealth, alleging Modi’s favoritism towards select business elites, juxtaposing it with the Congress’s commitment to redistributing resources to benefit the majority.

Gandhi derided the media’s portrayal of him as a frivolous politician in contrast to his involvement in substantive issues such as the MGNREGA scheme, Land Acquisition Bill, and various social movements. He lamented the lack of representation of marginalized communities in both the media and the judiciary, citing the underrepresentation of OBCs, Dalits, and tribals in influential positions.

Meanwhile, Gandhi said that the INDIA bloc will ‘fight any power’ that threatens to change or tamper with the Constitution.

Addressing an election rally in Solapur, Rahul Gandhi said that for the first time in the country’s history, a ruling party — the BJP — led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS were attacking the Constitution and working to destroy it.

“The BJP leaders are publicly saying that the Constitution will be changed after that party returns to power… they are trying to destroy and do away with the Constitution itself. However, no power can tamper with the Constitution and the INDIA bloc will fight to protect it,” the Wayanad MP said.

He said the Constitution of B.R. Ambedkar “is not merely a book, but a document of the rights” of the poor people, the tribals, the Dalits and the common citizens, it is a ‘weapon’ in the hands of the ordinary masses to safeguard themselves.

“We shall not tolerate it… we will strongly oppose and fight any attempts to weaken or destroy the Constitution. This election is to save the country’s Constitution and Democracy,” the Congress leader said. Accusing PM Modi of diverting the people’s attention whenever the Opposition parties raised major issues of national concerns, Rahul Gandhi said that the youth of the country are frustrated and directionless without employment opportunities.

“The BJP had promised to give two crore jobs to the youth but that did not happen. Now, the country is facing the highest rate of unemployment in the past 45 years. The youth roam around with nothing to do but the INDIA bloc will change matters after coming to power,” he said.

For this, he said that the new INDIA bloc government will create a new law ensuring a ‘job guarantee’ and provide training and stipend to all educated youth and make them ready for any jobs of their choice.

He said the next government would identify all the jobless graduates or diploma holders and train them for one year at government, public and private sector offices, plus also give them Rs 1 lakh stipend per year to prepare them for any kind of employment opportunities.

Declaring that there is no dearth of resources in the country, Rahul Gandhi said it needs to be shared equitably among the poor, and flayed how a handful of rich persons control the largest chunk of India’s wealth under the BJP rule.

Here, he mentioned the Congress election manifesto’s promises to make crores of people as millionaires compared with the two-dozen helped by the BJP, deposit Rs 8,500 per month or Rs 1 lakh per year directly to the bank accounts of millions of women from poor families under the Mahalakshmi Scheme.

“PM Modi is a leader of the rich, billionaires and industrialists, he is not a leader of the poor masses in the country and that is why he is scared of losing the elections, and out of that fear and anxiety, he starts misleading the country with false claims,” Rahul Gandhi alleged.

Accusing PM Modi-led regime of being ‘anti Dalits and tribals’ and insulting them, Rahul Gandhi said:

“The INDIA bloc will change all this. It will conduct a caste census to determine the socio-economic status of all sections of the people like Dalits, Tribals, OBCs and minorities to ensure that they get the fruits of development and ‘nyay’ (justice) that they have been denied.”

The Congress leader was campaigning for the INDIA-Maha Vikas Aghadi-Congress nominee Praniti Sushilkumar Shinde, who is contesting the Solapur (SC) LS constituency, in the presence of top leaders like Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat, Sushilkumar Shinde and other state and central leaders, plus representatives of the INDIA bloc leaders in Maharashtra.

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the people of the country are eager to make Modi ji the Prime Minister again…reports Asian Lite News

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde hit back at Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray for his alleged ‘neech’ remarks, saying “they can’t digest if a common labourer becomes the CM”.

“Yesterday he (Uddhav Thackeray) said that Eknath Shinde is “neech”. You abuse me by calling me “neech”. If a farmer’s son, a common labourer becomes the chief minister then you don’t like it, you are unable to digest it,” CM Eknath Shinde at an election rally in Buldhana.

“If you look at it, this is not an insult to me, it is an insult to all the farmers’ sons, it is an insult to the mothers and sisters of the poor and it is an insult to the society from which I come,” he added.

“I have faith that the people will respond to it through the ballot box on April 26,” he asserted while appealing to people to vote for his party in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

On April 21, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, addressing the Vijay Sankalp Sabha in Nanded, Maharashtra, said that the people of the country are eager to make Modi ji the Prime Minister again.

“Vote for one candidate means vote for Modi ji. The people of the country are eager to make Modi ji the Prime Minister. PM Modi’s leadership is shining in the nation as the sun shines upon this earth. This is a matter of great pride for us. Modi ji has tried to bring not only Ram Temple but Ram Rajya in this country. INDIA bloc is asking the country that we have Rahul, Sonia, Stalin, Kejriwal, what do you have? On this, the people of the country reply that we have a “Modi guarantee”. The synonym of trust is ‘Modi Guarantee’,” he said.

Taking a dig at the Congress party, Shinde said that while PM Modi is working for the betterment of the country, Congress, on the other hand, is busy solving its internal issues.

The polls for the five parliamentary seats in Maharashtra were held in the first phase of polling on April 19.

The state, with its 48 Lok Sabha seats, is the second-largest contributor to the lower house of Parliament after Uttar Pradesh.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 23 out of 25 contested seats, while the undivided Shiv Sena secured 18 out of 23 seats.

The undivided NCP, part of the opposition alliance, contested 19 seats and won four in 2019 Lok Sabha election. Following the split in the Shiva Sena 2022, the Eknath Shinde faction aligned with the BJP. (ANI)

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In Yavatmal-Washim constituency, it is also a fight between Kunbi and Deshmukh communities, which both play a crucial role in local politics….reports Asian Lite News

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faces an acid test in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal-Washim Lok Sabha constituency, especially after the party dropped sitting MP Bhavana Gawali and fielded Rajashri Patil — the wife of Hemant Godse, the sitting MP from adjacent Hingoli, who also was denied a ticket.

The undivided Shiv Sena held the constituency for the last 15 years. However, after its split, it is a fight between the two factions as the Shiv Sena-UBT has nominated former minister Sanjay Deshmukh, who started his campaign almost six months ago when the Shinde faction was brainstorming over whether to renominate Gawali, who had won five successive elections since 1999, or not.

Gawali was denied the ticket, citing adverse poll survey reports and reservations from within the party and also from the BJP about her poll prospects.

It is also a fight between Kunbi and Deshmukh communities, which both play a crucial role in local politics. There are about five lakh votes of the Kunbi community. Patil belongs to the Kunbi community while Deshmukh is from the top layer of Marathas.

The Banjara community also has a sizable presence in the constituency.

The two leaders will also have to go the extra mile to win over voters from Teli, Mali, Dhangar, and Banjara communities apart from those belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes.

Patil is a successful businesswoman and runs a multi-state Godavari Urban Credit Co-op Society while Deshmukh is a two-term legislator from the Digras Assembly constituency.

The Shiv Sena is still striving to counter the opposition’s charge of “importing” the candidate as Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has made it a contest between “a local and an outsider”. However, the Shinde-led party argues that Yavatmal is Patil’s mother’s home.

Gawali, who was upset after she was denied the ticket, has now swung into action and is campaigning for Patil. However, she faces the tough task of convincing her supporters to work with the same vigour and dedication for Patil.

Overall, there are 17 candidates in the fray.

The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s nomination was rejected while Banjara community leader Haribhau Rathod is contesting on the BSP ticket and may eat into Deshmukh’s votes.

The ‘Deshmukh-Maratha-Kunbi’ and Banjara votes in the region helped the undivided Shiv Sena-BJP alliance win the seat in the past.

Patil is approaching the voters projecting a slew of development works including the Rs 593 crore makeover of the Poharadevi temple, which is the biggest pilgrimage centre of the Banjara community, and also Chief Minister Shinde’s announcement to implement several measures to curb farmers’ suicides from Yavatmal district, in particular.

On his part, Deshmukh is cashing in on the “unease” in the Shiv Sena and its “tussle” with the BJP. In addition, he is seeking votes to put on a fast track a number of projects from the agriculture, engineering, and services sectors.

The Yavatmal-Washim constituency is marked by the absence of a Cotton Special Economic Zone despite being a major cotton-growing area. Besides, there is no big agri-processing unit leading to a lack of sufficient jobs for the youth and women. There has been a shortage of staff in the super speciality hospital and on top of it, the delay in the completion of the Wardha-Yavatmal-Nanded railway corridor.

The BJP has dominance in the Yavatmal-Washim constituency as the party represents Washim Karanja, Ralegaon and Yavatmal assembly segments while the Shinde faction has its legislator in Digras and Ajit Pawar faction in Pusad. BJP’s proactive role is quite crucial in deciding Rajshri Patil’s fate.

During the 2019 elections, Gawli won the seat by securing 5,42,098 votes against Congress nominee Manikrao Thakre who got 4,24,159 votes.

In the 2014 elections during the Narendra Modi wave, Gawli got 4,77,905 votes against Congress candidate Shivajirao Moghe who secured 3,84,089 votes.

In all, 19,35,660 voters are eligible to exercise their votes on April 26 in the constituency.

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Till date 18 cases were lodged against eight speeches, 28 cases for inducements and 15 cases for misuse of religious places….reports Asian Lite News

The State Election Commission has slapped 189 cases against political parties and candidates in Karnataka for major violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) till date, stated Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Meena, on Wednesday.

Meena told reporters that till date 18 cases were lodged against eight speeches, 28 cases for inducements and 15 cases for misuse of religious places.

He said 18 cases were registered under Section 127A for printing pamphlets without permission of the district officer and 12 cases were booked against the BJP and its candidates in connection with hate speeches.

Nine cases were registered against the Congress and two cases were lodged against the JD(S) in this regard.

Eight cases of inducement have been registered against BJP for offering incentives to voters, nine against the Congress, three against JD(S) and eight cases against Independents and candidates of other parties, Meena stated.

He added that regarding misuse of the Religious Places Act, eight cases have been registered against the BJP, six against the Congress and one against an Independent candidate.

Seven cases each were slapped against the BJP and the Congress over the use of children for campaigning and one case was against an Independent candidate.

1,832 special polling booths

 The Election Commission (EC) in Karnataka has decided to establish 1,832 special polling booths to encourage different sections such as tribals, women, and persons with disabilities to participate and vote in the Lok Sabha elections.

The Department of Scheduled Tribes in coordination with the EC is setting up 40 special polling booths based on the tribal culture theme. These tribal theme-based polling booths will be located in Chamarajanagar (9), Mysuru (9), Dakshina Kannada (5), Shivamogga (3), Udupi (1), Hassan (1), Uttara Kannada (5), Kodagu (5) and Chikkamagaluru (2).

Special booths to encourage youth, women, and persons with disabilities are also being established across the state.

Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Meena has said the elections will be celebrated like a festival. Special booths are being established to increase voter turnout under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme.

To encourage women voters, 1,120 Sakhi polling booths will be established all over the state and they will be managed completely by women.

For every Assembly constituency, a minimum of five Sakhi polling booths will be created.

Similarly, one polling booth in each Assembly constituency across the state will be set up to ensure the participation of specially-abled persons. These 224 booths will be operated by the specially-abled officers and staff.

Likewise, one polling booth in every Assembly constituency will be managed completely by young officers and staff. At least one polling booth in every constituency reflecting the culture and speciality of the region will be set up across the state, the CEO said.

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On India’s ties with sectors, transcending sectors and spheres, the EAM pointed out India didn’t have an embassy in Israel till 1992 and no Prime Minister visited the country before Narendra Modi….reports Asian Lite News

Stressing that the security of Indians based or settled overseas, especially in conflict zones, was paramount for the government, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said ‘Modi’s guarantee’ doesn’t stop at the country’s borders.

Addressing a forum for nationalist thinkers in Hyderabad on Tuesday, the External Affairs Minister said, “Modi’s guarantee doesn’t stop at the borders of India. Modi’s guarantee is global.”

Invoking the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing conflicts that necessitated diplomatic intervention in securing the lives of distressed natives, Jaishankar said, “We have seen it in Covid. We have seen it in conflicts in Ukraine. We saw it in Sudan. We saw it in Israel recently. So we have to prepare for those challenges as well.”

Addressing the session on ‘Foreign Policy The India Way: From Diffidence To Confidence’ in Hyderabad, the External Affairs Minister underscored the importance of a ‘good system’, highlighting that “just strong belief doesn’t matter, it must translate into reforms in the government”.

“We have to prepare for a world where things can go wrong. It will go wrong statistically. And we have to have a continuous ability to respond and react at very, very short notice. And you know, to create, to change government, some of us have worked in it. People work in their own departments, you know, Foreign Ministry does Foreign Ministry, Defense does defence, army does army, Home Ministry does Home.” Jaishankar said.

“You know, that within a matter of hours, when Sudan fighting happened, within 24 hours, our Navy and Air Force with it,” he said.

“There are other examples I can give you of confidence. One is how to defend your borders more strongly because we have challenges on our borders. And the key to defending our borders is not to just posture in public. It requires a lot of homework. It requires building the infrastructure. It requires supporting the military. It requires creating systems that will respond whenever the border is under threat,” Jaishankar said.

On India’s ties with sectors, transcending sectors and spheres, the EAM pointed out India didn’t have an embassy in Israel till 1992 and no Prime Minister visited the country before Narendra Modi.

Claiming that ‘vote bank’ influenced India’s foreign policy in the previous years, Jaishankar said, “Just think of a country like Israel. People say everybody is the same, we should not bring faith in any discussion. Israel became independent in 1948. From 1948 to 1992, we chose not to have an ambassador and an embassy in Israel. Why? From 1992, we had an embassy. From 1992 till 2017, when Narendra Modi went to Israel, no prime minister of India ever visited Israel. Think about it and then tell me that faith has no influence on our policy. Is this not vote bank?”

Emphasising the importance of abrogation of Article 370 from the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, Jaishankar said the leadership at the time created a “vote bank lobby” that kept the special provisions intact in the erstwhile state. He also emphasised that it was a ‘temporary’ provision and had to be ended.

“Please understand the importance of what we did with the abrogation of Article 370. We have corrected an enormous mistake, we made in 1947. We created a lobby, we created a vote bank lobby, we created a Kashmiri lobby, there were people who were arbitraging,” he said.

“I would show to everybody in the Western press one page of the Constitution called temporary provision. You know the meaning of the word temporary, it comes to an end. There is nobody as blind as someone who doesn’t want to see,” Jaishankar added. (ANI)

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The voter turnout for the first phase of the general elections settled at 65.5%, marking a decline from the previous election’s 69.9% in the same constituencies….reports Asian Lite News

As the nation braces for another round of elections, the scorching heatwave sweeping through several states poses an additional challenge to both political parties and voters alike. With the BJP eyeing a third consecutive term and the INDIA bloc striving to impede its victory, the rising political fervour coincides with soaring temperatures, potentially impacting voter turnout.

The voter turnout for the first phase of the general elections settled at 65.5%, marking a decline from the previous election’s 69.9% in the same constituencies. Concerns are particularly heightened for the second phase, as 13 states and Union Territories prepare to cast their votes amidst heatwave warnings issued for parts of West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.

Data from constituencies in Bihar exemplifies the correlation between high temperatures and voter turnout. In Nawada and Gaya, where temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius, the voter turnout dropped significantly compared to cooler days during previous elections. With the India Meteorological Department predicting an intensification of heatwaves, the Election Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, convened a high-level meeting to assess the situation.

Preparations are underway to mitigate the impact of the heatwave on voting. Measures include ensuring adequate facilities such as awnings, drinking water, and fans at all polling stations. Chief Electoral Officers of the states are coordinating efforts to provide relief from the scorching heat, especially in regions susceptible to low voter turnout like Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Voters are advised to take precautions to safeguard their health in the sweltering heat. Recommendations from the National Disaster Management Authority include wearing light-coloured, loose-fitting clothes, covering the head with a cap or cloth, and staying hydrated by carrying plenty of fluids. It’s also advised to stay updated with the daily forecast and advisories from the India Meteorological Department.

In the face of both political tension and environmental challenges, the resilience of democracy hinges on the participation of voters, who must navigate the heatwave to exercise their fundamental right to vote. As the nation embarks on another electoral journey, ensuring the safety and well-being of voters remains paramount amidst the rising temperatures and political fervour.

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