Tag: PRIYANKA

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Rahul, Priyanka, Pilot Detained

Delhi police had denied permission to the Congress for holding a protest in the national capital..reports Asian Lite News

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and part leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was detained amid a massive protest by the party against rising prices, unemployment and GST hike on essential items. The party leaders were stopped by Delhi police when they were protesting outside the Congress headquarters.

Amid the multi-layered security arrangements outside the Congress party headquarters in the national capital on Wednesday, the party workers staged an intense protest that was led by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The police had placed several barricades to stop the Congress workers from taking out any kind of march towards the Prime Minister’s residence.

As per latest reports, the party workers, raising slogans against the Central government, are continuously attempting to cross those barricades.

Priyanka Gandhi, refusing to budge, crossed the 3-feet tall barricade after jumping it. As she tried to move forward, she was stopped by the women police personnel and subsequently the Congress General Secretary sat in the middle of the road in protest.

Till now several party leaders, including Sachin Pilot have been detained by the police. “It is our right to meet the President. This Parliament session was called by the President and if the prime motive of Parliament is not fulfilled then it is our duty to meet her,” party leader Pramod Tiwari said.

Congress leader Rajiv Shukla said their party’s protest march has been stopped by the police, however, they will still try to move forward and if need be even give their arrest.

The Congress launched a pan-India protest – dubbed as “Halla Bol” – in protest against the government. In Delhi, cops had announced ban on large gatherings in the New Delhi district and had clarified that no demonstrations would be allowed. However, with barricades put up all over amid huge police force, standoffs between cops and Congress leaders ensued soon after demonstrations started.

“Our job is to raise the issues of the people…Some Congress MPs were detained, also beaten by police,” Rahul Gandhi said while speaking to reporters. He and his party members were seen wearing black clothes to register the protests. Last week, he was detained with top Congress leaders amid agitations against Sonia Gandhi’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald case.

When asked about the MPs being manhandled, he said, “That is fine. I’m happy to be manhandled. Our job is to resist these forces, our job is to make sure that Indian democracy is protected. Our job is to raise issues of the people like price rise and unemployment and we are doing that.”

Earlier, in a video tweeted by the party, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was seen standing in parliament as her colleagues raised slogans against the government over the GST (Goods and Sales Tax) on food products. Visuals showed Rahul Gandhi leading march to the President’s house.

In another clip tweeted by the Congress’s Manish Tiwari, he was heard saying: “We were headed towards Rashtrapati Bhavan to give a memo. We were detained at Vijay Chowk. Now we are being taken to Kingsway camp. We will continue our protest.”

Ahead of the march, a BJP vs Congress war of words was triggered as Rahul Gandhi said, “India is witnessing death of democracy”. “Is there democracy in the Congress,” the BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad had shot back saying, recalling the Emergency era.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, taking to Twitter, said, “For the past 3 months, ever since the Congress President announced the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, these people have intensified the poisonous politics of vengeance and fear against the Congress party and our leaders. It’s not just a coincidence.”

ALSO READ-Priyanka to take stock of UP defeat

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India News Politics

Priyanka to take stock of UP defeat

The meeting has been called in Delhi which will be attended by the office-bearers and important leaders of the party, reports Asian Lite News

Amid a call for leadership change in the party, Congress General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has called a meeting of party leaders on Tuesday to find out the reasons for the defeat.

The Congress could only get just over 2 per cent votes and two seats in the Uttar Pradesh polls.

The meeting has been called in Delhi which will be attended by the office-bearers and important leaders of the party.

The Congress has faced a massive loss in all the five states though Priyanka tried hard to make the party relevant but could not get support of the people.

The Congress Working Committee on Sunday reposed faith in interim party chief Sonia Gandhi after its marathon meeting to discuss the outcome of the Assembly polls and authorised her to undertake “necessary and comprehensive” organisational changes.

Party General Secretary K.C. Venugopal and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that the CWC endorsed holding of a ‘Chintan Shivir’ (brainstorming session).

“The recent Assembly election results of five states are a cause of serious concern for the Indian National Congress. The party accepts that due to shortcomings in our strategy, we could not effectively expose the misrule of the BJP state governments in four states and overcome the anti-incumbency in the state of Punjab in the short time after effecting a change of leadership,” said the CWC resolution.

It said that the Congress “represents the hopes of millions of Indians against political authoritarianism prevailing in the country today and the party is fully conscious of its immense responsibility.”

The resolution said that “humbly accepting the electoral verdict of the latest round of Assembly elections, the Congress party assures its workers and the people of India that it will continue to remain a vigilant and vibrant opposition. The Congress Party will be fully prepared to face the electoral challenges in the election going states in 2022 and 2023 as well as in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

“The CWC unanimously reaffirms its faith in the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and requests the Congress President to lead from the front, address the organisational weaknesses, effect necessary and comprehensive organisational changes in order to take on the political challenges.”

 DMK slams Congress

The DMK has lashed out at the Congress for the debacle in the recent elections to the five states.

In its editorial on Monday, the party mouthpiece ‘Murasoli’ said that the lethargic attitude of the Congress to unite other opposition parties in its fold was the reason for the drubbing in the polls.

The editorial also said that opposition unity was the need of the hour to oust the BJP from the centre.

The stand of the party mouthpiece is the political stand of the DMK and this is the first time that the party has come out strongly against its ally.

Quoting the statement of Priyanka Gandhi before the elections that the Congress was ready to align with any party but the BJP, the editorial said that the Congress did not do that and hence lost the polls.

Criticising the BJP, Murasoli in its editorial, said that BJP won the elections with its divisive and communal politics and added that in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP could increase its vote share by only 2 per cent while the Samajwadi Party could raise the vote share by 10 per cent. The party mouthpiece said that in Uttar Pradesh had the SP, BSP, and Congress united, the BJP would have been defeated.

In Punjab, the BJP could not do anything except win two seats.

Political analysts feel that the DMK wanted Congress to take the lead in stitching together an anti-BJP front for the 2024 general elections.

Dr R. Padmanabhan, Director, Socio-Economic Development Foundation, a think tank based out of Madurai said: “Given the poor situation that the Congress is in, it is better for the DMK to take the initiative for a front against the BJP and to take the Congress on board. This is workable and Stalin must take the initiative just like his father Late Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi had done in earlier years.”

ALSO READ-Hijab verdict: Karnataka on alert

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Bollywood Lite Blogs

Priyanka calls Ukraine-Russia conflict as ‘terrifying’

The bombing has created widespread panic among the Ukrainians, who have turned subway stations into underground bunkers to stay safe during the ongoing skirmish…reports Asian Lite News

Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who was appointed the UN Goodwill Ambassador in 2016, has strongly reacted to the crisis which is currently unfolding in Ukraine following the military attack launched by Russia.

Terming the situation as “terrifying”, she has urged people on behalf of Unicef to provide aid to Ukraine. The actress shared a video of a news coverage on the situation in Ukraine, which is getting battered with Russian bombing on their military bases.

The bombing has created widespread panic among the Ukrainians, who have turned subway stations into underground bunkers to stay safe during the ongoing skirmish.

Priyanka wrote in the caption, “The situation unfolding in Ukraine is terrifying. Innocent people living in fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, while trying to navigate the uncertainty of the immediate future.”

She further wrote, “It’s difficult to comprehend how in the modern world this could escalate to such a catastrophic point, but this is a consequential moment that will reverberate around the world.”

Urging people to lend a helping hand, she wrote, “There are innocent lives living in this war zone. They are just like you and me. Here is more info at the link in my bio about how to assist the people of Ukraine.”

The ongoing crisis in Ukraine has drawn varied reactions from influential people. Earlier, actor Sonu Sood had urged the Indian Embassy in Ukraine to help find an alternative route for evacuating stranded Indians.

ALSO READ-Unity of democracies essential on war-torn Ukraine’

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Bollywood Lite Blogs

‘Vanity Fair’ finds stylish Priyanka on its cover

‘Vanity Fair’ cover story goes on to say: “She is an outsider who broke down barriers and built a place for herself within the walls of Hollywood. Now she’s on a mission to welcome others in.”…reports Asian Lite News

Priyanka Chopra has achieved what every star anywhere in the world aspires for — to be on the cover of ‘Vanity Fair’. She’s on the cover of the February 2022 edition of the magazine celebrated internationally as much for its in-depth articles as for its cutting-edge photography.

Unveiling the cover, ‘Vanity Fair’ tweeted: “After a journey into ‘The Matrix’, the actor enters 2022 with her cup overflowing –reflecting on her storied Hindi film industry career, marriage, and creating a path for herself in Hollywood.” Looking artfully messy, a sultry Priyanka appears on the cover in an off-shoulder, off-white ruffled dress from Fendi.

The magazine, previously edited by celebrity journalists such as Tina Brown and Graydon Carter (who’s played by Jeff Bridges in the film ‘How to Lose Friends and Alienate People’), is now helmed by Radhika Jones, an Indian American.

Describing her as “a driven woman who has transcended what’s previously been possible for an Indian actor in Hollywood,” the ‘Vanity Fair’ cover story goes on to say: “She is an outsider who broke down barriers and built a place for herself within the walls of Hollywood. Now she’s on a mission to welcome others in.”

Priyanka, notes the article that traces her life’s story from her days at the Army Public School, Bareilly, will finally be playing lead film roles as she had in India” with the rom-com ‘Text for You’ and Amazon’s ambitious spy series ‘Citadel’ later this year.

And about her own story, especially her rise to stardom in Hollywood, Priyanka says: “It’s taken a lot of pavement pounding to be able to get people’s attention, and to be able to get an acceptance of the fact that someone like me can be the lead of a Hollywood feature.”

She adds (and the sentiment will go down well back home): “There’s very few of us from South Asia who get to do that. I hope that the part that I play in it will sort of push the envelope a little bit.”

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India News Politics

Yogi calls Rahul, Priyanka ‘accidental, electoral Hindus’

The chief minister also took a jibe at the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying that he does not even know how to sit in a temple and knows nothing about ‘Hinduism or Hindutva’…reports Asian Lite News.

The BJP in Uttar Pradesh is scaling up its attack on the Congress and is policy of soft-Hindutva. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has termed the Congress leaders as ‘accidental Hindus’ while deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya has termed them as ‘electoral Hindus’.

“It is during the election that these leaders become a Hindu,” he said while addressing a meeting in Amethi on Monday.

The chief minister also took a jibe at the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying that he does not even know how to sit in a temple and knows nothing about ‘Hinduism or Hindutva’.

“During the elections in Gujarat, the former MP of Amethi went to the temple and sat there in namaz position, the priests interrupted him and taught him how to sit in a temple,” the chief minister pointed out.

He also targeted the Gandhis and said that they remember Amethi in the elections only.

“When the people of this district gave them a chance to serve, they did nothing and now as elections have come, they are coming here again,” he stated.

Launching a scathing attack on ‘bhai-behen’, the chief minister stated, “During the Covid-19 period, when we were working to save lives for the common man, the brother and sister gave fake numbers of roadways buses.”

“They were playing with the lives of people while we took action against them because they were creating disturbances in the work of the government,” he added.

During his recent Amethi visit, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had tried to distinguish between ‘Hindu’ and ‘Hindutva’, describing himself a ‘Hindu’ and the BJP leaders as followers of ‘Hindutvawadi’.

Meanwhile, deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya said those who fired bullets at ‘kar sevaks’ and used sticks on ‘kanwarias’ had suddenly started remembering Lord Ram. He asked people to be wary of such “electoral Hindus”.

On Samajwadi Party’s love for Brahmins, Maurya said, “Jo Ram ka na hua woh Parashuram ka kya hoga. (one who couldn’t be faithful to Ram, how would he be loyal to Parshuram)?”

He also accused the Congress as well as the Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders of remembering Hindus and temples only during elections.

ALSO READ-Meet the Scribe Who Scribbles Yogi Story

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India News Politics

Priyanka emerging as a troubleshooter in Congress?

Several Congress leaders are vocal on this issue. One such person is Acharya Pramod Krishnam, who has been saying that Priyanka be made party president…reports Asian Lite News.

After passing away of Ahmed Patel, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has emerged troubleshooter within the party and all complainants are landing at her door with their grievances. Most recently, when Uttarakhand crisis loomed this week with former Chief Minister Harish Rawat targeting the party, Priyanka Gandhi stepped in to defuse the tension and placated the sulking leader.

This is not the first time the Gandhi sibling has managed crisis in the party.

She was instrumental in Punjab and was the main brain behind the removal of Amarinder Singh and installing Navjot Singh Sidhu in the party apparatus. She along with Rahul prevailed upon Ashok Gehlot to accommodate Sachin Pilot loyalists in the government.

After UP polls, analysts feel that the Congress will have to offer Priyanka Gandhi a bigger role to reach out to leaders who are not in sync with Rahul Gandhi. Moreover, to win back the disgruntled leaders and the G-23 group, most of the lot praised her for the fight she took up in UP after the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

While she has been credited with making party visible in UP by raising issues at a short span of time, the current survey shows that Congress may not gain electorally in the state.

The party, however, is seeing her as star campaigner in future elections and her, ‘ladki hun lad sakti hun’ (I’m a girl and can fight) is attracting nationwide attention and the marathons conducted in getting massive registrations and the Congress sees it as a counter to religion and caste based politics.

At the time when the Congress general secretary got into campaign mode, the country’s attention was consumed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet her active intervention in Hathras and Sonbhadra got her noticed. And at the peak of the migrant crisis, her offer of buses to transport the affected people to their homes, earned her kudos.
During the farmers’ agitation, too, she was at the forefront, but then the second wave hit the nation.

With Uttar Pradesh going to polls for the next Assembly early next year along with Uttarakhand and Punjab, the Congress leadership is debating whether Priyanka should be assigned a more prominent, perhaps pan-India role in the party.

Several Congress leaders are vocal on this issue. One such person is Acharya Pramod Krishnam, who has been saying that Priyanka be made party president.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Others, who are not happy with the way Rahul Gandhi’s office functions, suggest that Sonia Gandhi should continue as party president and Priyanka be made vice-president in-charge of north India.

When the leadership crisis hit the Congress, there was a collegium to assist Sonia Gandhi. In September last year, a committee was set up with A.K. Antony, the late Ahmad Patel, Ambika Soni, K.C. Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik and Randeep Singh Surjewala as members. After the death of Patel, however, the committee has been meeting occasionally. The Congress constitution has no provision for a vice-president, but in the past Rahul Gandhi, Arjun Singh and Jitendra Prasada had held this position.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal and A.K. Antony during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting (IANS)

Some Congress leaders believe that Priyanka’s style of functioning is smoother. She’s an attentive listener and has been active in defusing crises in Rajasthan and Punjab.

The Congress is mired in infighting in a number of states — Uttrakhand, Punjab, UP, Goa, Manipur and Gujarat, which are preparing to go to polls in 2022 while MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in 2023, so a bigger role for her means the party could bring more traction.

A section of the Congress leadership points out that Rahul Gandhi can lead the party without holding any post. These leaders say he has been targeting the government on various issues. Even his critics accept his credentials for mounting attacks on the Prime Minister consistently on the pandemic and economic crisis.

The party is facing crises in Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttrakhand, Karnataka, and the supporters of T.S. Singhdeo in Chhattisgarh will press the demand that he be made the chief minister after five state elections. His supporters, though, insist that the party must fulfil its assurance to the leader who was instrumental in winning seats in the tribal belt of the state, which was with the BJP at that time.

Ashok Gehlot

Similarly, Sachin Pilot is pushing for change in Rajasthan and the party cannot afford to lose him after Jyotiraditya Scindia walked out and was rewarded with a berth in the Modi Cabinet.

ALSO READ-Priyanka Gandhi remains under detention in Sitapur

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Bollywood Films Interview

‘I do put pressure on myself to perform better’

The 39-year-old star garnered immense success with her power-packed performance in the ‘Fashion’ in 2008. Since then, there was no looking back for Priyanka…writes Durga Chakravarty

Ever since her acting debut in 2003, Priyanka Chopra Jonas has proved herself in every work that has come her way. The global star says she performs better when under pressure but does not take the stress from other people’s expectations.

The former Miss World, who is currently creating waves internationally with her stellar performances, says she was always told that she wouldn’t be able to do it.

Proving everyone wrong, Priyanka, who is one of India’s highest-paid and most popular entertainers, in a candid chat with IANS said: “I do put pressure on myself. When I put pressure on myself, I perform better, I take decisions and work well under pressure. But I don’t take pressure from other people’s expectations.

“I never have because I would never be able to survive if I was listening to what everybody thought. I have always been told that ‘Yeh thodi na kar payegi’ and ‘you won’t be able to do it’. I have always heard that but I just keep walking forward and keep doing my work.”

The 39-year-old star garnered immense success with her power-packed performance in the ‘Fashion’ in 2008. Since then there was no looking back for Priyanka.

The actress swept the audiences off their feet with her work in films such as ‘Mary Kom’, ‘7 Khoon Maaf’, ‘Barfi!’, ‘Kaminey’, ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’, ‘Bajirao Mastani’, ‘The Sky Is Pink’ and ‘The White Tiger’ to name a few.

That’s not all!

In Hollywood, Priyanka earned global recognition with her work in the thriller series ‘Quantico’ and followed that a string of hits such as ‘Baywatch’, ‘A Kid Like Jake’, ‘Isn’t it Romantic’,’We Can Be Heroes’ and now she awaits the release of the much talked about film ‘The Matrix Resurrections’.

How does she take her own game a notch higher?

“I have said this from the beginning that I think that life is a journey, ambition is a journey. Everything is a ladder; you have to take one step forward and two steps back. So I always try… especially now in Hollywood I started from the beginning like about seven-eight years ago.”

Priyanka had her own share of struggles in Hollywood too.

“I had to, as a new actor, introduce myself working towards being able to get roles like this and playing leading parts.”

Priyanka added: “It’s taken a while because I think it is required to educate this side of the world that South Asian talents can be mainstream but I feel very proud to be able to do that now and I always as an artiste try to better myself in everything I do.”

The Jamshedpur-born actress, who celebrated her third marriage anniversary with her American pop star husband Nick Jonas, also talked about the challenges of shooting a film like ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ starring Keanu Reeves.

Priyanka said: “It is a very difficult task to take on… We almost shot for seven-eight months and also we shot during Covid. So, that was difficult. Also, the scale of the movie. I think there was a lot of pressure on everyone.”

“But we have an amazing team, such an amazing technical team behind the movie that it was bound to be in great hands.”

Warner Bros Pictures is all set to release ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ pan-India on December 22 in Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu.

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Priyanka woos UP voters with more promises

Mounting a scathing attack on the Yogi Adityanath government, she said that the chief minister was working against the principles of Guru Gorakhnath…reports Asian Lite News.

Continuing her series of ‘pratigya’ (promises), Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Sunday, announced that if the Congress came to power in Uttar Pradesh, 20 lakh youths would be given jobs, women would get the facility of free bus travel and fishing would be given the status of farming.

“The Nishad community will have rights over rivers and sand mining. We will also set up a university in the name of Guru Matsyendranath (Guru of Gorakhnath),” she said while speaking at a Pratigya rally in Gorakhpur.

She further announced that if the Congress came to power, the ad hoc and contract workers would be regularised and the purchase price of wheat and paddy would be raised to Rs 2,500 while sugarcane MSP would be Rs 400.

“Women will be given three free gas cylinders in a year and treatment up to Rs 10 lakh would be free for all. Besides, we will ensure full loan waiver for farmers. ASHA workers would be given an honorarium of Rs 10,000 per month,” she added.

Priyanka said that India was a nation that survived on faith. “We have faith in the earth, faith in religion, faith in our labour and faith in our leaders. We have faith in what the leaders say and when huge advertisements tell us that development has arrived, we begin to wonder. Time has come to question our leaders and ask them where is the development,” she said.

Mounting a scathing attack on the Yogi Adityanath government, she said that the chief minister was working against the principles of Guru Gorakhnath.

“Amit Shah said that law and order in UP is perfect. In Lakhimpur, his party leaders mowed down farmers. In Gorakhpur, the police killed businessman Manish Gupta. In Lucknow, an executive Vivek Tiwari was shot dead by policemen and in Unnao one girl was raped and set on fire while another was raped and an attempt was made to kill her in an accident. You do not need a binocular to see the reality but a good pair of spectacles,” she said.

Priyanka berated the Modi government and said that they had promised to enable a person with ‘hawai chappal’ to travel by air. “But travelling by road has become impossible due to rising fuel prices.

The Prime Minister flies to Italy in his Rs 8,000 crore aircraft but in UP farmers die waiting in queues for fertilizer. A farmer’s income is Rs 27 per day but his businessmen friends earn Rs 1,000 crore per day,” she said.

Priyanka said that politics would change drastically if more women came in.

She ended her speech with ‘Jai Guru Matsyendranath’ and ‘Jai Guru Gorakhnath’ — both spiritual gurus of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

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READ MORE-Congress to elect new president by Oct 2022

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Priyanka announces 40% tickets to women in UP polls

Priyanka said the decision was for the woman named Paro, who had held her hand in Prayagraj and had said that she wanted to join politics…reports Asian Lite News.

In a major decision that could prove to be a game-changer for the Congress, in particular and, Indian politics, in general, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Tuesday, announced that her party would give 40 per cent tickets to women in the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

She said that all women who want to bring about a change in the system, are welcome to come forward and contest elections.

“Any woman who wants to contest can give an application till October 15,” she announced at a press conference.

Priyanka said the decision was for the woman named Paro, who had held her hand in Prayagraj and had said that she wanted to join politics.

“This decision is for Vaishnavi in Chandauli and the sisters-in-law of two rape victims of Hathras and Unnao, who are fighting for justice and against the system.

“This is for every woman who wants to be heard — whether it is Laxmi Valmiki of Lucknow who wants to be a doctor, the daughter of journalist Raman Kashyap who was killed in Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

“This is also for two women constables — Madhu and Pooja, who arrested me in Sitapur and were with me till 4.a.m. Power today amounts to trampling over the weaker sections of society, primarily women,” Priyanka said.

She said that women were not only stronger but more compassionate and sensitive and could bring a change in the political system.

Asked whether the same formula of 40 per cent reservation for women would be extended to the Congress-ruled states, including Punjab, Priyanka said, “I am in charge of UP and we have taken this decision here. If they (Punjab), they are welcome to implement the formula.”

She said that women were being divided on the basis of caste which weakened their battle for justice.

“A woman’s struggle is not limited to a gas cylinder or Rs 2,000. It goes beyond that. We have to rise above the shackles of casteism and communalism and come together as a group,” she said.

Priyanka, when asked whether wives and daughters of leaders would not take advantage of this reservation, said, “What is wrong with that if it leads to empowerment. In Amethi, a village pradhan’s wife contested and won elections. After some months, he met me and said that his wife has started making decisions in the house as well. This is empowerment.”

She said the Congress would help women fight elections and next time, they will be stronger. She further said that the candidates would be decided on the basis of merit.

Priyanka, however, parried questions about the chief ministerial candidate of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh and whether she would contest elections.

“These issues will be decided later and we will let you know,” she stated.

Talking about the opposition onslaught on her, Priyanka said, “The other parties should get more creative when they attack me. Political tourist and Twitter leader have become stale,” she said.

ALSO READ-Rahul, Priyanka meet bereaved families in Lakhimpur Kheri

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Rahul, Priyanka meet bereaved families in Lakhimpur Kheri

The entire route from Sitapur to Lakhimpur Kheri was heavily barricaded. The Lakhimpur district administration allowed only seven vehicles in the convoy to enter the district…reports Asian Lite News.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday finally managed to meet the families of the farmers who were killed in Sunday’s violence at Tikunia village in Lakhimpur Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh.

Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other leaders met the family of deceased farmer Lovepreet at the Chaukhada farm in Palia at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

They later met the family of journalist Raman Kashyap, who was also killed in violence.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda accompanied the Gandhi siblings during their meetings with the farmers’ families.

The entire route from Sitapur to Lakhimpur Kheri was heavily barricaded. The Lakhimpur district administration allowed only seven vehicles in the convoy to enter the district.

Former Rajasthan Deputy CM Sachin Pilot and Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam, however, were not so lucky as they were detained in Moradabad while they were on their way to Lakhimpur by car.

Earlier in the day, AAP MP Sanjay Singh also went to Lakhimpur to meet the bereaved families.

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav and BSP General Secretary Satish Chandra Mishra will be visiting Lakhimpur on Thursday.

UP appoints judicial panel

The Uttar Pradesh government has deputed Pradeep Kumar Srivastava, a retired judge of the Allahabad High Court, to probe the October 3 Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which nine persons lost their lives.

The judicial commission will have its office in Lakhimpur Kheri and it is required to submit its report within two months.

On October 4, the state government had announced that it would appoint a retired high court judge to ensure an impartial probe into the violence in which Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son Ashish is an accused.

MVA calls for bandh on Oct 11

In a significant development, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi allies Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress have called for ‘Maharashtra Bandh’ on Monday (October 11) to protest against the killing of eight persons, including four farmers, in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh on October 3.

In another rare gesture, the state Cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, observed two minutes’ silence and passed a unanimous resolution condoling the farmers’ deaths, expressing its anguish over the incident.

The MVA strongly condemned the Lakhimpur Kheri development and accused the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh for the “oppression and misuse of power”, and expressed the state government’s support for the farmers’ agitation.

Senior MVA ministers like Eknath Shinde (SS), Jayant Patil (NCP) and Balasaheb Thorat (Congress) briefed the media on the proposed ‘Maharashtra Bandh’, and said that all essential services will be kept out of its purview.

Earlier, NCP President Sharad Pawar had warned that the BJP would have to pay “a heavy price” for the brutal attack on farmers, and reiterated that the country’s entire opposition is with the peasantry.

“The responsibility for this lies with the BJP governments at the Centre and in UP. A similar situation was created in Jallianwala Bagh, we are witnessing the same scenario in UP now. The people will show them their place,” said Pawar.

Calling for united action by the three allies, Shiv Sena chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that the “Lakhimpur Kheri violence has shaken the nation”.

He said a senior Congress leader has been illegally arrested by the UP government and other opposition leaders are barred from meeting the farmers or their families.

Flaying the BJP for the farmers’ deaths, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole said that the UP and Central governments are “scared” of the Gandhi siblings.

He demanded the dismissal of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in UP for the deaths of eight persons, including four farmers.

Video shows minister’s vehicle mowing down farmers

Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s claim that his vehicle was attacked by miscreants before the driver lost control and mowed down farmers, stands “exposed” after a cleaner, longer clip of the viral video from Lakhimpur Kheri reveals what happened on Sunday before the violent clashes.

The viral video clip shows a black SUV – which belongs to the union minister according to his own admission – ploughing into an unarmed group of protesters at great speed.

There are no signs of any attack on the Mahindra Thar vehicle. It shows no stones or sticks being thrown at the car or that the driver lost control resulting in the death of at least four farmers and injuries to many more.

In this video, the driver seems to holding on to the steering wheel firmly and driving at great speed into a group of farmers marching in front of the SUV, with their backs to it.

According to witnesses, it was after this incident, that an enraged mob attacked the cars, set them on fire and four people in the convoy were beaten to death.

A lower resolution, slowed-down version of the same video was earlier shared by a series of opposition leaders as proof that the blame for the Sunday’s clashes lay on the convoy of minister’s aides and BJP workers.

It may be recalled that farmers had gathered to protest against the visit of union home affairs minister Ajay Mishra and the state’s deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya at a wrestling match.

Farmer groups have been claiming that Mishra’s son had been in a car when the vehicle ran over four protesters, killing them. He has denied this charge.

The new video emerged on a day when the Supreme Court announced it was taking up the case as media reports and a letter from two lawyers to Chief Justice N.V. Ramana cast doubts on the Uttar Pradesh police investigation into the incident.

Four days after a murder case was filed against him, the minister’s son Ashish Mishra is yet to be arrested and government sources have ruled out the minister Ajay Mishra’s resignation, following a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday.

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