Shatrughan likely to join Congress on April 6
Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha is likely to join the Congress on April 6.
Mr. Sinha has met Gandhi at his residence and Congress’s Bihar in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil, Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Madan Mohan Jha, working president Akhilesh Singh and the Congress’s legislature party leader in Bihar Sadanand Singh were among those present during the meeting.
On joining the Congress and fighting the polls against the BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad, Mr. Sinha has said whatever be the situation, he will fight the polls from Patna Sahib.
He has said the announcement would be made on the auspicious occasion of ‘Navratra’
According to sources, Mr. Sinha is expected to join the Congress on April 6.
Mr. Sinha also wants that at the time of his joining, Congress and RJD leaders are present as a show of unity for the grand alliance, the sources say.
The Patna Sahib seat is currently held by Mr. Sinha, who has often openly criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.
PM's address to nation: ECI examining DD, AIR response to query
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is examining the responses of Doordarshan and All India Radio to its query over the source of the feed of the Prime Minister's address on March 27. A committee set up to examine the issue has met twice so far.
The Prime Minister's Office had not informed the ECl about the address, poll panel officials say during a briefing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation on March 27, 2019.
From the briefing:
The total number of nominations in the first phase of polls is 616 , including 493 male and 45 female candidates.
Over 1 crore voters have been added to the electoral rolls in the last four to five weeks .
The ECI has received more than 23,000 complaints of model code of conduct (MCC) violations through cVIGIL mobile application, with 60% of them found to be correct during verification, and action is being taken.
5.90 lakh downloads of cVIGIL so far ; 13,000 persons with disabilities have registered with another ECI application.
Complaint against DMK MLA
Police have registered a case against a DMK MLA and seven others for distributing money to women performing aarti , a video clip of which was circulated in the social media, says the poll panel.
Tweet on indelible ink taken down
On ECI's complaint, the Delhi Police have registered an FIR to identify those who had tweeted fake information alleging that animal fat had been mixed with the indelible ink being used in the polls. The tweets were removed by the Twitter on the ECI's directive.
Cong. blinded by anti-Modi sentiment, stopped thinking in nation’s interest: Modi
The Congress is blinded by its “anti-Modi approach” and has stopped thinking in the nation’s interest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, raising issues of national security and terrorism and questioning the party’s statements following the Balakot air strike. Addressing a rally in Akhnoor on the outskirts of Jammu, his first in the State after the general election was announced, Mr. Modi claims the speeches of Congress leaders receive applause in Pakistan.
He says he is surprised at the Congress’ reaction to his government’s endeavour to teach a lesson to the enemies of the country. “What has happened to the Congress party....the anti-Modi approached adopted by them has blinded them to the extent that they have stopped thinking in the interest of the nation,” he observes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a rally in J&K’s Akhnoor on March 28, 2019. Photo: Twitter/BJP4India
The Prime Minister, who is campaigning for Jugal Kishore, BJP candidate from Jammu-Poonch, questions the Congress’s silence on the National Conference’s Baramulla candidate Akbar Lone’s reported remarks purportedly in favour of Pakistan.
“I am surprised that they are alligning with such people who are against the interests of the nation,” he says.
The Jammu-Poonch seat goes to the polls on April 11.
Congress will give three-year blanket pass to new ventures; abolish 'angel tax': Rahul
Congress president Rahul Gandhi says new ventures will not require any regulatory permissions for three years and will get easy access to bank credit if his party is voted to power.
In an interview to PTI , he promises to remove the existing ‘angel tax’ imposed on start-ups. Angel tax is levied on investment in start-ups. Currently, angel tax is charged at a maximum rate of 30%.
Mr. Gandhi says promoting domestic industry will be a key priority of the Congress and it will ensure that all new businesses are freed from the clutches of red tape to give a boost to the economy.
“For the first three years of setting up a new business, we are going to free you up from red tape. You will not need to ask for permission for anything,” Mr. Gandhi says.
These proposals, Mr. Gandhi says, will be included in the Congress manifesto that will be released early next month.
Rumble in the RJD
RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav, elder son of party president Lalu Prasad, has resigned as the ‘sanrakshak’ (mentor) of the party’s students wing.
“I am resigning from the post of Chhatra Rashtriya Janata Dal Sanrakshak. Those who think I am ignorant are ignorant themselves. I am well aware of who is worth what,” he has tweeted.
The sudden development comes as a major embarrassment to the party, which has been beset by speculations of fierce rivalry between Tej Pratap Yadav and his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.
Only Modi can protect country’s borders: Amit Shah
BJP president Amit Shah says only Prime Minister Narendra Modi can protect the borders of the country and not the Congress party or its chief Rahul Gandhi.
He criticises the Congress for asking proof of the casualty figures in the air strike on Balakot in Pakistan and claims that India under Mr. Modi has become the third country in the world after the U.S. and Israel to take revenge for its soldiers’ blood.
“Should we not take revenge for our soldiers’ blood? The Congress cannot protect the country’s border. Only Narendra Modi and the BJP can do that,” Mr. Shah says at an election rally in Assam's Kaliabor.
BJP president Amit Shah speaks at an election rally at Kaliabor in Assam’s Nagaon district on March 28, 2019.
India under the leadership of Mr. Modi took revenge for the blood of its soldiers after the Uri and Pulwama attacks by Pakistan-based terror elements, the BJP president says.
“In 10 years of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh government, our soldiers’ heads were chopped off. But there was no reply from India side,” he alleges while campaigning for BJPs ally AGP’s Monimadhab Mahanta who is contesting from the Kaliabor Lok Sabha seat.
Mr. Shah also slams the erstwhile Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government in the State for allegedly settling illegal immigrants inside the Kaziranga National Park.
“It was Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma’s BJP government which dared to evict all the immigrants from Kaziranga. Make Narendra Modi the PM again and I assure you that we will detect and deport every single illegal immigrant out of Assam,” he adds.
CPI(M) promises right to free healthcare
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) releases its election manifesto at its headquarters in New Delhi.
The manifesto, released by party general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Polit Bureau members Brinda Karat, Prakash Karat, Nilotpal Basu, Hannan Mollah and Subhashini Ali, promises right to free healthcare, 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and Assemblies, universal PDS and right to work, among others.
CPI(M) releases its manifesto for Lok Sabha elections at the party's headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday.
The manifesto says the electoral tactics adopted by the party for the elections will be based on three objectives: defeat the BJP alliance, strengthen the CPI(M) and the Left, and ensure a secular government.
AAP MP Harinder Singh Khalsa joins BJP
Punjab MP Harinder Singh Khalsa, who has been suspended from the AAP, joins the BJP in the presence of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
The AAP had suspended Mr. Khalsa in 2015 for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities. Prior to joining the AAP, he was associated with the SAD.
Govt showed courage to carry out surgical strikes on land, air and space: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches the BJP’s poll campaign in Uttar Pradesh with a blistering attack on the Opposition, even as he focusses on a strong government, saying his administration had shown the courage to conduct surgical strikes in all spheres -- land, sky and space.
The contest is between a “a decisive government and an indecisive past”, he says at a rally in Meerut a day after announcing that India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability by shooting down a live satellite.
Calling himself the nation’s ‘chowkidar’, Mr. Modi says, “It was this chowkidar’s government that had the courage to conduct surgical strikes on land, sky and space. India should develop, India should be secure from enemies.”
The country is, for the first time, witnessing a government that knows how to deliver, he says.
War of words between Congress and BJP
Accusations and counter accusations flew thick and fast as BJP candidate of the Tezpur parliamentary seat and Minister Pallab Lochan Das refers to Congress nominee and former additional chief secretary MGVK Bhanu as “salani maas” (imported fish), drawing sharp criticism from the retired bureaucrat.
“The candidate who represents Assam in Parliament must stand for the ethos, sentiments and aspirations of the people of the State. He [Bhanu] is an outsider, a ‘salani maas’ from Andhra Pradesh,” asserts Mr. Das, who holds Labour and Tea Tribes portfolios in Assam.
Hitting back, Mr. Bhanu says he has been serving the State since 1985. “The minister [Mr. Das] is a young man. I guess he was not born when I became an IAS officer and came to serve the State in various capacities. I forgive him for his comments as he is not aware of my work and contributions,” he observes.
Mr. Das counters, saying Mr. Bhanu served under him. "Till his retirement as the additional chief secretary, Bhanu served under me. During his tenure, he addressed me as ‘sir’.”
All is not well in ' mahagathbandhan'?
The '' mahagathbandhan'' (grand alliance) in Bihar has hit a roadblock over allocation of constituencies among alliance partners.
Even before the allocation of constituencies is finalised, the RJD decides to field senior party leader and sitting MLA Abdul Bari Siddiqui from Darbhanga.
The Congress had staked strong claim for Darbhanga for Kirti Jha Azad, who recently joined it. Mr. Azad is BJP MP from Darbhanga but was suspended from the party for his “anti-party activities.”
Expressing annoyance over the RJD’s move, State Congress leaders have reached Delhi to meet party president Rahul Gandhi to apprise him about “the RJD’s bullying tactics.”
BJD fields 4 RS members for LS, Assembly polls
Former Police Commissioner of Mumbai Arup Pattnaik with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has assured Bhubaneswar MP Prasanna Patsani a Rajya Sabha seat, while fielding four members of the Upper House in the coming elections to the Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly.
Rajya Sabha member Prasanna Acharya has been fielded from the Bargarh Lok Sabha seat while Achyut Samanta is the party candidate for the Kandhamal Parliamentary constituency.
The BJD has also made filmstar-turned-Rajya Sabha member Anubhav Mohanty the candidate of the Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat. He will face four-time MP Baijayant Panda of the BJP.
Yet another Rajya Sabha member Pratap Keshari Deb has been made the BJD candidate for the Aul assembly seat.
Manoj Tiwari's 'Twitter Chaupal'
Manoj Tiwari
Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari is scheduled to hold Delhi’s “first-ever Twitter Chaupal” on Thursday. The event will see the North East Delhi MP communicate directly with the people of the Capital via Twitter.
The programme will see Mr. Tiwari answer queries from people via his Twitter handle, says the party’s media co-in charge Neelkanth Bakshi.
“The Twitter Chaupal will be live from official Twitter handle of Mr. Tiwari. Users can ask questions by using hashtag #TwitterChaupal... people can also use #ManojTiwarikiChaupal to communicate with him,” Mr. Bakshi says.
Digital media has provided common citizens the means to interact with both the authorities and government officials, says Mr. Bakshi, adding: “The Twitter Chaupal has given a new dimension to social media platforms and I feel it is a unique and useful way to interact directly with the people.”
Priyanka delights Cong. worker with video chat
It was all dust and scorching heat for a Congress worker before party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra obliged him with an unexpected gesture —— she joins him and his friend in a video chat on his mobile phone.
Priyanka had arrived on Wednesday morning at Lucknow’s Chaudhry Charan Singh airport to kick-start her campaign, covering Amethi, Rae Bareli and Faizabad, when her cavalcade stopped on a busy road.
Sensing an opportunity, a young party worker, who was on video call with his friend, came close to her car requesting that she speak to his friend. And the Congress leader readily obliged.
Nomination of Noida AAP candidate rejected
AAP leader Shweta Sharma's nomination from Gautam Buddh Nagar has been 0rejected by poll officials for failing to have her nomination proposed by 10 supporters, a legal must for candidates of political outfits not recognised as a national or state party.
Ms. Sharma has said she was exploring remedial options and discussing the matter with party leaders.
AAP’s Noida unit spokesperson Sanjeev Nigam alleges the poll officials were under “some pressure” and the ruling BJP had got scared of Ms. Sharma’s nomination, whose candidature was announced on Sunday.
“We reached there with the requisite number of proposers. We were told to come back at 1.30 pm but at 1.30 pm, we were told that they cannot accept her nomination,'' he says.
