According to the report, India has this year improved its position by three ranks and currently stands at 136th position….reports Asian Lite News
In a blunt attack on the ruling dispensation over India’s low ranking in the latest World Happiness Index, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday that the country may soon top the ‘Hate’ and ‘Anger’ charts.
“Hunger Rank: 101, Freedom Rank: 119, Happiness Rank: 136. But, we may soon top the Hate and Anger charts!,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted, sharing a picture of the World Happiness Report (2022) issued by the United Nations Sustainable Development SOlutions Network.
The World Happiness Report is a publication of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, powered by the Gallup World Poll data.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the World Happiness Report, which uses global survey data to report how people evaluate their own lives in more than 150 countries around the world.
According to the report, India has this year improved its position by three ranks and currently stands at 136th position.
As per the report, for the fifth year in a row, Finland took the top spot as the happiest country in the world, while Denmark continues to occupy the second place, with Iceland up from fourth place last year to third this year. Switzerland is placed fifth, followed by the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Accusing Gandhi of spreading falsehoods, Rajnath Singh also said that the Karakoram highway through Pakistan occupied Kashmir was built during the tenure of former Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother late Indira Gandhi….reports Asian Lite News
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for blaming the BJP for the “friendship” between China and Pakistan, while adding that the bonhomie between the two neighbouring countries was ongoing during previous Congress regimes.
“He stood in Parliament in response to the presidential address and said that because of the BJP China and Pakistan have become friends. I want to ask you, have China and Pakistan become friends because of us? Or did it happened during their government,” Singh said, while speaking at an election rally in South Goa.
“I want to remind Rahul Gandhi that during the tenure of PM Nehru… I want to say this with utmost respect to Nehru. I don’t want to disrespect him. During that time, Pakistan gave away the Shaksgam valley to China. There was no PM from our party at that time,” Singh also said.
Accusing Gandhi of spreading falsehoods, Rajnath Singh also said that the Karakoram highway through Pakistan occupied Kashmir was built during the tenure of former Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother late Indira Gandhi.
“I want to remind Rahul Gandhi that the Karakoram highway through PoK was built because of the friendship between China and Pakistan and the Prime Minister at that time was Indira Gandhi. China Pakistan Economic Corridor was started during the tenure of Manmohan Singh as the PM of this country. Their friendship has been going on since then. We did not do this,” Singh said.
The Defence Minister also said that the Congress leader’s claim of a lower fatality count among the Chinese armed forces during the Galwan valley clash has been proved wrong by recent disclosures made by an Australian newspaper.
“Rahul Gandhi said that when there was a skirmish between the India and China armies at the Galwan valley that only the two-four Chinese soldiers died. What is Rahul Gandhi trying to do? I want to tell the senior leaders of Congress please make Rahul Gandhi understand. What is he talking? But after he spoke, an Australian paper brought out after investigations that in the Galwan incident 38-50 Chinese soldiers died,” Singh said.
“I haven’t said this. The BJP hasn’t said this. It was an Australian paper that said this. I want Rahul Gandhi to understand we are proud of our armed forces that are defending our borders. You should never question them,” he added.
Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal said, “It is a religious matter of an individual, as many of us do puja at home and don’t allow shoes at home.”…reports Asian Lite News
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s speech in the Parliament on Wednesday has drawn huge flak from the ruling BJP leaders.
The ruling party leaders condemned Rahul Gandhi’s remarks related to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, judiciary, Election Commission, unemployment, pegasus spyware and foreign policy.
Reacting to the remarks made by the former Congress chief while addressing the motion of thanks to the President’s address in Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Pralhad Joshi said, “The Congress which doesn’t have democracy within their party, is talking about our elected Prime Minister in a very very silly manner. I don’t understand his mentality and language. He is talking about China and Pakistan, they have been against us since decades, it’s a known fact.”
“When somebody comes to our home, we always request him to remove shoes outside, it’s our culture. We keep separate slippers for home, Rahul Gandhi doesn’t understand this. I must say he is a brainless person,” Joshi said while reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that a group of politicians from Manipur was “forced to remove their shoes” at Amit Shah’s home.
Similarly, Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal said, “It is a religious matter of an individual, as many of us do puja at home and don’t allow shoes at home.”
Rahul Gandhi, during his speech, “narrated an incident” about Amit Shah alleging that when a delegation from Manipur went to meet Shah, “they were told to remove their shoes, whereas Amit Shah himself was wearing slippers”.
The Congress leader, demanding an apology from Shah, has asserted that the Home Minister has “insulted people of Manipur”.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has sought the Congress leader’s apology for his comments on Constitutional institutions- Judiciary and the Election Commission.
#RahulGandhi 's speech in Parliament | BJP counters Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over the remarks made by him in the Parliament calling the institutions as 'compromised under this Govt.'@DhantaNews shares details.@pkdnambiar , Political Analyst and @Shehzad_Ind , BJP share views. pic.twitter.com/DJwCvourlG
“How can he give reference to a matter (pegasus spyware) which is sub judice, he should know the rules,” BJP MP Nishikant Dubey interrupted Rahul Gandhi during his speech, quoting the rule.
Meanwhile, responding to the former Congress president’s remark that the BJP-led Central government brought “Pakistan and China together”, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that the two Asian countries have been sharing close ties since the last several decades.
Jaishankar also rejected Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that “it is India’s faulty foreign policy under the Narendra Modi-led government which made China and Pakistan join hands together against India, and convert into a front”.
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.
Before Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also addressed the gathering and attacked the policies of the central government and the BJP…reports Asian Lite News.
Addressing a mammoth gathering in Jaipur during the national rally organised to protest against the price rise and inflation, veteran Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday fiercely attacked the central government’s policies and said that he is a Hindu but not Hindutvawadi.
Elaborating the difference between the two, he said, “Two words cannot mean the same thing. Every word has a different meaning. In our country’s politics today, the meaning of Hindu and Hindutva are the same. These are not the same thing, they are two different words and they mean completely different things. I am a Hindu but not a Hindutvawadi. Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu and Nathuram Godse was a Hindutvawadi, he added.
“No matter whatever happens, Hindu seeks and spends his whole life in search of truth whereas Hindutva spends his whole life in search of power and getting empowered. He will kill anyone for the sake of power. The path of Hindu is ‘Satyagraha’ while the path of Hindutva is ‘Sattagraha.’
Attacking the Modi government, Rahul Gandhi said that the entire country has been left in the hands of a few industrialists and the country is being run by “Hum Do, Hamare Do”.
Rahul Gandhi further said that the government of the country says that no farmer has died during the agitation. “I gave them a list of five hundred people from Punjab and Haryana and asked them that the Punjab government has given compensation, you should also give it. But they didn’t.”
He also took a jibe at PM Modi for giving concessions to industrialists.
He said that the country belongs to the poor, farmers, small shopkeepers, only these people can give employment to this country. Adani-Ambani has a place but they cannot create jobs on a large scale. Small business people, farmers can generate large scale employment.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi was unaware of the absence of Punjab CM Charanjit Channi from the rally. He kept calling his name but then Sonia Gandhi and Ashok Gehlot signalled him about Channi’s absence.
Before Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also addressed the gathering and attacked the policies of the central government and the BJP.
She termed the central government as the government of lies, greed and loot.
I know how roads are being built in Goa just for the sake of transportation of coals to benefit one industrialist, she said and termed Modi as Paryatak PM.
“Modiji travelled throughout the world but did not go to farmers who were protesting on the roads,” she said adding that “the state in which I work spends crores of rupees on advertisement but does not spend on fertilisers for farmers.”
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also spoke on the occasion and said that all state governments are facing the challenge of financial crisis as the central government stays mum.
He said that Narendra Modi is one such PM who has not replied to a letter from the CM.
“This government is being run with hubris,” he added.
Tributes were paid to late CDS Bipin Rawat and other soldiers who died in a chopper crash on December 8.
The G-23 sources say that they have time to prepare a strategy and push their agenda in the CWC. However, the group is in a minority in the CWC and it is unlikely that they can push anything without the approval of Sonia Gandhi…reports Saiyed Moziz Imam Zaidi
It’s official that the Congress Working Committee will be meeting on October 16 to deliberate on many issues and after demands from many quarters for elections it may give the nod to organisational polls, sources said.
The Congress has not had a regular president since the resignation of Rahul Gandhi in 2019 and from August that year Sonia Gandhi has been the party’s interim president. Congress G-23 leaders have time and again raised the issue of organizational polls in the party.
The Central Election Authority has already submitted the list of voters and has prepared digital cards for AICC members who can vote in the party’s presidential elections. However, the G-23 has demanded a fresh voters’ list which could see a face-off between loyalists and reformists within the party.
The CWC can remove or appoint a new president but a two-thirds majority is required for making changes. The working committee appointed Sonia Gandhi as President in 1998 when it removed then party chief Sitaram Kesri.
The G-23 sources say that they have time to prepare a strategy and push their agenda in the CWC. However, the group is in a minority in the CWC and it is unlikely that they can push anything without the approval of Sonia Gandhi.
The sources say that if Rahul Gandhi agrees to contest the elections, then it is unlikely there will be a contest but if he pushes any proxy then there will be a contest.
“Ghulam Nabi Azad had written a letter to Sonia Gandhi for a CWC meet but the group is in a minority and it is unlikely that they can push for any resolution of their choice,” a source said. The CWC constitution says, “The Working Committee shall consist of the President of the Congress, the Leader of the Congress Party in Parliament, and 23 other members of whom 12 members will be elected by the AICC, as per rules prescribed by the Working Committee and the rest shall be appointed by the President. The quorum for a meeting of the Working Committee shall be eight.” Meanwhile, all special invitees have been summoned as well.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mukul Wasnik and Anand Sharma, who were signatories to the letter written to Sonia Gandhi last year for visible and effective leadership and reforms in the party, are among the CWC members.
The G-23 leaders have recently raised the pitch in the wake of some high-profile exits from the party, noting that the issues they raised have not been dealt with so far.
Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal had launched an attack on the party leadership, asking who was taking decisions in the party. He said that the demand for organisational elections has not been met even a year after the letter was written.
The FIR also alleges that the vehicle of the BJP MP’s son overturned on the side of the road and this caused injuries to several other people present on the side of the road and thereafter Mishra opened fire, escaped from his car, and hid in the nearby sugarcane field…reports Asian Lite News.
The FIR lodged against Ashish Mishra Monu, the son of Union Minister of State for Home, Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’, in connection with the recent violent incident in Lakhimpur Kheri, in which a total of 8 people were killed, accuses the minister’s son of serious charges.
As per the FIR, four of the victims were mowed down by a vehicle allegedly being driven by Ashish Mishra.
The FIR has been filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 302 for murder, 304-A for causing death due to reckless driving, 120-B for criminal conspiracy, 147 for rioting, 279 for rash driving, 338 for causing grievous injuries to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life, along with other sections at the Tikunia police station.
The FIR states that the whole incident was ‘premeditated’ and that the entire ‘conspiracy was hatched by the BJP minister and his son’, who committed the act in a display of ‘hooliganism’. The FIR also mentions 15-20 unnamed persons as accused.
The FIR further read, “The incident took place at around 3 pm when Mishra, along with 15-20 others, who were armed with weapons, came to the protest site in Banbirpur in 3 speeding four-wheelers. Monu Mishra, who was sitting on the left side of his Mahindra Thar vehicle, opened gunfire, mowed down the crowd and went ahead. The firing led to the death of farmer Gurvinder Singh, son of Sukhwinder, a resident of Matronia in Nanpara.”
The FIR also alleges that the vehicle of the BJP MP’s son overturned on the side of the road and this caused injuries to several other people present on the side of the road and thereafter Mishra opened fire, escaped from his car, and hid in the nearby sugarcane field.
The FIR also states that a video has already gone viral on social media, in which the BJP minister could be allegedly seen warning protesters who were opposing the Centre’s three farm laws. In the video, he allegedly asked the protesters to mend their ways.
On October 3, several farmers were holding protests against the visit of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to Lakhimpur Kheri, when four protesting farmers were killed after they were mowed down by an SUV.
Allegedly, the SUV was part of the convoy of Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni.
According to legal experts, the FIR has been lodged under the stringent sections of the Indian Penal Code, demanding immediate arrest of the accused. The sections levelled against Ashish Mishra are non-bailable.
The Lakhimpur police, however, have claimed that they were ‘busy’ with the cremations of the bodies of the farmers due to which they did not find time for investigation.
Rahul to visit UP along with Punjab & Chhattisgarh CMs
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he will visit Lucknow and Lakhimpur Kheri along with Chief Ministers of Punjab and Chhattisgarh despite being denied permission by the administration.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday here, Rahul Gandhi said, “Section 144 is not imposed for three people and only three persons will go to meet the bereaved families.”
He said Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi will accompany him to Lucknow and then they will proceed to Lakhimpur Kheri.
Rahul said, “When other political parties are being allowed to go to Lakhimpur Kheri, why the Congress delegation will not be allowed.”
On questions about Priyanka’s detention, he said, “We are trained to raise peoples’ issues and we are not going to deter even on being manhandled.”
The Congress leader alleged that the farmers were being attacked by the government.
The Uttar Pradesh government, late on Tuesday night, denied permission to a Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi to visit Lakhimpur Kheri as Section 144 was enforced there after Sunday’s violence.
Earlier, Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal had sought permission for the Rahul-led delegation.
In a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Congress said a five-member delegation led by Rahul Gandhi planned to visit the district.
Party sources said that Rahul would also meet sister Priyanka, who has been kept at the PAC guest house in Sitapur since Monday.
She was formally arrested on Tuesday evening and the guest house has been notified as a temporary jail.
Internet services shut in Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur
Internet services were shut down in Lakhimpur Kheri and Sitapur on Wednesday, following reports that some Congress leaders were on their way to meet party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and also the families of the victims.
Though there was no official communication of the shutdown of services, a senior official said that this had been done as a precautionary measure.
“We will thwart all attempts to create tension in the area. The shutdown may be lifted by evening if no untoward incident takes place,” he said.
It is noteworthy that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to come to Lucknow and then Sitapur to meet Priyanka. However, the state administration has denied him the permission.
Harish Rawat, had said that it’s a good sign that Rahul Gandhi has met the former-cricketer-turned politician, adding that the issue is likely to be resolved around next week…reports Asian Lite News.
Amid escalating infighting in Punjab Congress, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is likely to meet Sonia Gandhi and apprise his side of the story to the interim Congress President.
The proposed meeting comes in the backdrop of the suggestions made by the Congress high command to the Punjab government and changes in the state unit of the party, days after disgruntled Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu met Rahul Gandhi.
After Sidhu met Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi separately last week, there is a speculation that Priyanka Gandhi has suggested Sidhu’s name as the Punjab Congress chief. However, Amarinder Singh and some of the other factions in the party are not accepting this formula.
Sources said that Punjab leaders may accept him as the working president, but not as a full-fledged state unit chief as the Chief Minister is keen on having a non-Sikh face as the state Congress President.
The Punjab in-charge for Congress, Harish Rawat, had said that it’s a good sign that Rahul Gandhi has met the former-cricketer-turned politician, adding that the issue is likely to be resolved around next week.
Meanwhile, Amarinder Singh had called the MLAs supporting him for lunch in Chandigarh the day Sidhu left for Delhi and is believed to have discussed the future strategy.
The move had reportedly upset the party high command, which viewed it as a show of strength, especially after the panel formed by the Congress to look into the Punjab issue said that there is no question of removing the Chief Minister.
In Assam, the Congress has spelled out “five guarantees” which will be fulfilled if the party is voted to power…reports Asian Lite News.
Congress is setting a new approach for the upcoming election . Be it Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra or top Congress leaders, one thing is common — all of them have placed high hopes to make a comeback in Assam in the coming Assembly elections.
Rahul Gandhi (Pallav Paliwal)
Assam, which will go to the polls in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6, is a highly sensitive state which throws up a tough contest between the two main parties in every election.
While the Congress is focusing on Assam, it is not putting in much effort in West Bengal, which will also go to the polls in eight phases from March 27 to April 29. No high profile Congress leader has visited West Bengal so far, though Rahul Gandhi has been on a campaign trail in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala, apart from Assam.
While Rahul Gandhi ended the first leg of his poll campaign in Assam on Saturday, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will hit the campaign trail in the northeastern state from Sunday where she is expected to address six public meetings. While Priyanka Gandhi had already visited the poll-bound state once earlier this month, sources said that Rahul Gandhi may turn up for another leg of campaigning in Assam.
Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has been camping in the state since the past two weeks, personally monitoring the Congress’ affairs in the state.
The Congress is banking on the elections on the basis of five guarantees, including non-implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) to counter the BJP.
Releasing the party’s manifesto for the poll-bound state on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi said that if the Congress is voted to power at the Centre in the next general elections, its government would nullify the CAA.
“Assam was hit by violence 20 years ago, but after the Congress came to power in the state, it ensured peace, harmony and development. ‘BJP ka kaam hai todna, hamara kaam hai jodna’ (BJP’s task is to divide, but our job is to unite the people),” Rahul Gandhi said.
In Assam, the Congress has spelled out “five guarantees” which will be fulfilled if the party is voted to power. These include five lakh government jobs to the youth in five years, up to 200 units of free electricity per household, Rs 365 daily wage to tea garden workers and Rs 2,000 per month to housewives, besides the guarantee of not implementing the CAA in the state.
The Congress, which was in power in Assam for 15 years (2001-2016) until the BJP-led alliance came to power in 2016, has formed a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ or ‘Mahajot’ with three Left parties — CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML) — along with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the Anchalik Gana Morcha, Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and two community-based parties – Jimochayan (Deori) People’s Party and Adivasi National Party.
The 126-member Assam Assembly will go to the polls in three phases on March 27 (47 seats), April 1 (39 seats) and April 6 (40 seats). The results will be declared on May 2.
Rahul Gandhi doing lunch at chubwa tea estate with tea plantation workers and also addressing a rally to tea plantation workers at Dibrugarh Assam. (Photo: Pallav Paliwal)
