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Tag: rahul gandhi

  • Rahul Gandhi Pays Surprise Visit to Cobbler’s Family, Says, ‘Need To….’ |

    New Delhi: Leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi stopped his car midway to meet a family of cobblers on Friday. The Congress leader was travelling to appear before the MP-MLA court in Sultanpur for a defamation case hearing, midway he stopped for at least 30 minutes to listen to cobbler’s family problems and talk to them about the challenges they are facing. 

    The cobbler’s shop is located near the MLA Nagar intersection of the Kurebhar police station area of Sultanpur districts in Uttar Pradesh. The cobbler, identified as Ram Chait, informed the Rae Bareli MP of his financially condition.

    Congress shared a post on microblogging site X and said, “Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi stopped the car on the way and met a family of cobbler. We are continuously fighting for the rights of these hardworking people, raising their voice from the streets to the Parliament. Our aim is to make their present safe and their future prosperous.”

    pic.twitter.com/jIPN1E4SWC
    — Congress (@INCIndia) July 26, 2024

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to appear before the MP-MLA court in Sultanpur on Friday for a defamation case hearing. Congress district president Abhishek Singh Rana announced that Rahul Gandhi will arrive at Lucknow airport at 9 am on Friday and will then head to Sultanpur.

    A local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Vijay Mishra, filed a defamation lawsuit against Congress leader on August 4, 2018, alleging that he made derogatory remarks about the then BJP president and current Home Minister Amit Shah. Gandhi granted a bail in this matter on February 20. and Special Magistrate Shubham Verma has called upon Gandhi to present his statement on July 26.

  • Monsoon Session Begins: PM Appeals For Cooperation, Rahul Slams Govt Over NEET |

    Parliament Monsoon Session 2024: The Budget session of the parliament started on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to all parliamentarians to rise above party politics and come together to work for the future of the country. Ahead of the Budget session, PM Modi urged opposition parties engaged in “negative politics” to “get rid of past bitterness and come together.” Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi slammed the ruling government and said minister Dharmendra Pradhan has blamed everybody except himself.

    “I would like to request all parliamentarians to participate in all discussions in the House, no matter how ideologically opposed they are. Opposite ideologies are not bad, but negative ideologies are. That is when the limit of thoughts comes to an end. The country does not need negativity,” PM Modi said in Parliament. 

    Following the NEED UG scam, a Congress MP hits out the BJP government and said, “It is obvious to the whole country that there is a very serious problem in our examination system, not just in NEET but in all the major examinations. The minister (Dharmendra Pradhan) has blamed everybody except himself. I don’t even think he understands the fundamentals of what is going on here…”

    12:50 PM On the NEET UG issue, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Minister Dharmendra Pradhan spoke about the Supreme Court and PM Modi but he is not able to say what is he doing on this. Gandhi further highlighted that NEET is a very important issue for the youth. 

     

  • Lok Sabha Live Updates: NDA Vs Opposition On Speaker Post, Om Birla Vs K Suresh| Updates |

    Lok Sabha Speaker Election: Kota MP Om Birla, who previously served as Lok Sabha Speaker of the previous House, submitted his nomination as an NDA candidate on Tuesday. Birla’s name was unanimously agreed upon by all NDA parties, and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh also sought the opposition’s support. The INDIA bloc fielded Congress leader K Suresh as its candidate for the Speaker’s position against Om Birla, accusing the ruling NDA of failing to follow convention in handing over the Dy speaker position to the opposition.

    Congress leader K C Venugopal and DMK’s T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s office, refusing to endorse NDA candidate Birla unless they were offered the position of Deputy Speaker. Venugopal stated that the BJP refused to commit to offering the Deputy Speaker position to the opposition.

    Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Lalan Singh accused the Congress of imposing conditions, adding that the ruling alliance was willing to discuss their demand when the election for Deputy Speaker took place.

    According to sources, over ten sets of nominations were filed in support of Birla’s candidature, including those from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Shah, Singh, and Nadda, as well as BJP allies such as the TDP, JD(U), JD(S), and LJP(R).

    Three nominations were submitted in support of Suresh, a Dalit leader and eight-term MP.

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had clarified on Tuesday that the INDIA bloc will only support the government’s nomination if the opposition is given the deputy speaker’s position. He also said that Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh had yet to respond to the opposition’s request for the post of deputy speaker. Gandhi also accused the BJP of insulting Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. 

    While speaking to reporters outside the Parliament house, Gandhi said, “Today it is written in the newspaper that PM Modi has said that the Opposition should cooperate with the Govt constructively. Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and he asked him to extend support to the Speaker. The entire Opposition said that we would support the Speaker but the convention is that the Deputy Speaker post should be given to the opposition.”

    #WATCH | Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says “Today it is written in the newspaper that PM Modi has said that the Opposition should cooperate with the Govt constructively. Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and he asked him to extend support to the Speaker. The entire… pic.twitter.com/yR5CzlagEx


    — ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2024

    “Rajnath Singh said that he would call back Mallikarjun Kharge but he has not done that yet…PM Modi is asking for cooperation from Opposition but our leader is getting insulted…,” he said.

    Here are the live updates on Lok Sabha speaker’s election: 

    12:30 pm: Congress leader K C Venugopal and DMK’s T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s office, refusing to endorse NDA candidate Birla unless they were offered the position of Deputy Speaker.

    Venugopal stated that the BJP refused to commit to offering the Deputy Speaker position to the opposition.

    12:00 pm: Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Lalan Singh accused the Congress of imposing conditions, saying the ruling alliance was willing to discuss their demand when the election for Deputy Speaker was held.

  • Wayanad Lok Sabha Election 2024 LIve Results |

    Wayanad Lok Sabha Election Results 2024 Live: The scenic and densely forested Wayanad constituency, one of Kerala’s 20 seats, went to the polls along with the rest of the state on April 26. Established as a separate constituency in 1980, Wayanad was carved out from Kozhikode and Kannur districts. Comprising three municipal towns—Kalpetta, Mananthavady, and Sultan Bathery—and three assembly constituencies, Wayanad is witnessing a keenly contested election.

    Wayanad Election Results 2024 Live Updates

    1: 04 PM: Rahul Gandhi is poised for a historic win in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, having secured a commanding lead of over 200,000 votes against his opponents.

    12: 04 PM: Leading with a significant margin of 143,081 votes is Rahul Gandhi from the Indian National Congress. Trailing behind with a deficit of 143,081 votes is Annie Raja from the Communist Party of India.

    11: 23 AM: Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India trails with 74,232 votes. Following her is K Surendran of the Bharatiya Janata Party, with 43,436 votes, trailing by 130,836 votes. 

    10: 58 AM: Rahul Gandhi from the Indian National Congress is presently in the lead in the election, securing 174,272 votes, with a substantial margin of 100,040 votes ahead of the runner-up.

    9: 41 AM: Recent reports from Wayanad depict a tough situation for Annie Raja, who currently holds the second position. The INC contender, Rahul Gandhi, is in the lead with a margin of 34,249 votes over Annie Raja as the counting continues.

    9:28 AM: During the 2014 elections, MI Shanavas of the Congress secured victory with 377,035 votes, whereas Sathyan Mokeri representing the CPM garnered 356,165 votes.

    8: 57 AM: Wayanad Election Result 2024 Live: 2019 General Elections Recap, Rahul Gandhi (Congress) won with 706,367 votes.

    8: 19 AM: Rahul Gandhi is leading the count as soon as the count began….

    7: 59 AM: Rahul Gandhi, a leader of the Congress party, is running for Parliament from two constituencies: Wayanad and Raebareli. After losing the traditional stronghold of Amethi in 2019 and securing a seat in Lok Sabha from Wayanad, Gandhi is striving to uphold the party’s remaining stronghold in the state. His opponents in Wayanad include Dinesh Pratap Singh and K. Surendran from the BJP, along with Annie Raja from the CPI-M.

    7: 21 AM: Shashi Tharoor, a three-time Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram representing the Congress party, is in a challenging electoral battle against Rajeev Chandrasekhar of the BJP and Panniyan Ravindran of the CPI-M. Exit polls suggest a closely contested race ahead.

    7: 12 AM:  Wayanad is one of the 20 parliamentary constituencies in Kerala. The counting of votes for the Wayanad, Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seats begins shortly.

    6.48 AM: Counting of votes to start from 8 am. Postal ballots are to be counted first and EVMs to be opened around 8.30 am or 8.45 am.

    Background Details Of The Seat

    Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Wayanad for the second time, facing competition from BJP state president K Surendran and the ruling Left’s Annie Raja. In the 2019 elections, after losing Amethi to Union minister Smriti Irani, Rahul Gandhi chose to contest from Wayanad, winning by over 7 lakh votes and securing a vote share of 64.7%.

    Reflecting on previous elections, Congress leader M.I. Shanavas clinched victory in Wayanad in 2009 and 2014. In 2009, Shanavas won by a margin of 4.10 lakh votes and a vote share of 49.8%, repeating the feat in 2014 with over 3.77 lakh votes and a vote share of 41.2%. In 2014, the CPM’s Sathyan Mokeri secured only 356,165 votes.

    According to the exit poll for the Wayanad Lok Sabha 2024 election, Congress is poised to win favourably in this state, but BJP has also made an impression. As per the Axis My India-India Today exit poll, INC-UDF is expected to secure 18 seats, while BJP is projected to win 2-3 seats. Rahul Gandhi is anticipated to retain the Wayanad seat.

  • Mamata Banerjee Not To Attend INDIA Bloc meet On June 1, Cites Polling, Post-Cyclone Relief Work |

    New Delhi/ Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she will not attend the meeting of the INDIA bloc on June 1 due to the last phase of Lok Sabha polls and ongoing relief work after cyclone ‘Remal’ hit the state’s coastal regions.

    According to sources, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has convened a meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders in the afternoon of June 1, coinciding with the last round of polling.

    Addressing an election rally in Kolkata, Banerjee mentioned her inability to attend the INDIA bloc meeting due to the scheduled elections in the state on that day.

    “The INDIA bloc meeting has been fixed on June 1. But I have already said I can’t go on June 1 as there is an election in our state on that day. So far I know there are elections in Punjab, UP and Bihar. Voting will continue till 6 pm, and at times it extends beyond that (6 pm),” she said.

    Banerjee highlighted the dual challenges of post-cyclone relief work and ongoing elections, emphasising her priority towards relief efforts.

    “How can I leave everything behind and go? My priority is relief work. Even if I am holding a meeting here, my heart goes out to those people (affected by the cyclone),” she said at the Kolkata rally.

    Cyclone Remal, with wind speed reaching 135 kmph, claimed four lives in West Bengal and caused extensive damage to infrastructure and property in the state’s coastal areas as it tore through West Bengal and Bangladesh, officials reported on Monday.

    The TMC had withdrawn from the INDIA bloc in West Bengal in January but affirmed its commitment to remain part of the opposition alliance at the national level.

    During the election campaigns in the last two months, Banerjee had expressed confidence that the INDIA bloc would win the Lok Sabha elections and affirmed her involvement in the anti-BJP alliance at the national level.

    Sources in the TMC revealed that voting will be conducted on nine seats, including two seats in Kolkata, in West Bengal on June 1, which are crucial for the party.

    Apart from the Kolkata Dakshin and Kolkata Uttar, other constituencies in the state that will go to polls on that day include Jadavpur, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jayanagar, Mathurapur and Diamond Harbour.

    TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and other top leaders will exercise their franchise on the day, and, therefore, they will be unable to attend the meeting, a source said, adding that the party has attended all meetings of the opposition bloc so far.

    The source added that the TMC has conveyed this to the organisers.

    The first meeting of the opposition bloc Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was held in Patna on June 23 last year, followed by meetings in Bengaluru on July 17-18, 2023, and in Mumbai between August 31 and September 1, where the opposition parties adopted resolutions to contest the Lok Sabha elections unitedly.

    The fourth meeting of the opposition bloc was held in Delhi on December 19.

    The next gathering of opposition leaders took place in Delhi on March 31, where top leaders shared the stage at the “Save Democracy” rally held against the arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. A similar ‘Ulgulan’ rally was held in Ranchi on April 21.

    The TMC has been part of all these meetings and rallies.

    At the March 31 rally in Delhi, TMC’s parliamentary party leader in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien, announced that the party would remain part of the INDIA bloc.

    The TMC, which is in power in West Bengal, does not have any seat-sharing deal with the Congress or any other INDIA bloc partner in its home state. But its candidate Laliteshpati Tripathi in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi has been supported by ally Samajwadi Party.

    Twenty-eight opposition parties came together to form the INDIA bloc. However, some parties such as Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) later switched over to the NDA.

  • Will Modi Return As Prime Minister For Third Time? US Political Scientist Makes Shocking Poll Prediction |

    The Lok Sabha elections are just two weeks away from culmination and the anticipations are already high with both the BJP and the Congress claiming to have gained majority in the first five phases. While the BJP claimed to have crossed 300 seats so far, the Congress claimed that the BJP may not win more than 150 seats and the INDIA bloc will form a government when the results are announced early next month. Amid these claims by both alliances, a US-based political research analyst has made a shocking claim about the Indian Parliamentary poll results, which will be out on June 4.

    Global political risk consultant Ian Bremmer claimed that the BJP may win 305 (+/-10) seats. Bremmer, founder of the Eurasia Group, told NDTV that his firm’s research shows that the BJP may win 295-315 seats. Talking about the general elections, Bremmer made a big remark saying that only the Indian parliamentary polls currently look consistent and stable given the global uncertainties including the US and the UK elections.

    The BJP led by Narendra Modi had won 282 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls while it increased its seat tally to 303 in the 2019 polls. Narendra Modi has set a target of 370 seats for the BJP and over 400 for the NDA bloc. On the other hand, Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi predicted less than 200 seats for the NDA.

    The Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases and so far, 428 seats out of the 543 have gone to the polls. Voting for the 115 seats will be held in the next two phases while the counting of votes will be held on June 4. Besides the Parliamentary polls, assembly elections for two states – Odisha and Andhra Pradesh – were also held and their results will be announced along with the Lok Sabha polls.

  • ‘Modi Ji’s Retirement Necessary For Youth To Get Employment’: Rahul Gandhi |

    New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi retirement from politics is necessary as it will prove beneficial for the youth to get more employment opportunities in the future.

    In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “Whatever I want Narendra Modi to say, I can get it said. There is just one more word left to come out of their mouths: unemployment. Modi ji’s retirement is necessary for the youth to get employment.”

    Earlier in March, Rahul Gandhi claimed that India’s unemployment rate is double compared to Pakistan’s and said the situation has been the outcome of the poor financial politics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    “The country is facing injustice on many fronts. There is economic and social injustice. Farmers are facing injustice. Our country is facing the worst unemployment rate in the last 40 years. India’s unemployment rate is double that of Pakistan. 23 per cent of youth were unemployed in India and 12 per cent in Pakistan. Our unemployment rate is higher than in Bhutan and Bangladesh as well,” he said.

    According to a 2022 World Bank report, India’s youth unemployment rate stood at 23.22 per cent, surpassing that of its neighbouring countries Pakistan (11.3 per cent) and Bangladesh (12.9 per cent).

    Rahul Gandhi on Friday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi again over public debate and claimed that he is ready but the PM will disagree, adding that PM Modi is incapable of answering questions about his “links” with a few favoured businessmen and how he “misused” electoral bonds.

    “He (PM Narendra Modi) gave 30-35 interviews to the same 5-10 journalists. 2-3 intellectuals and journalists wrote to me and made public announcements. They also wrote to Narendra Modi and said that there should be a debate in democracy, it is essential; that he should have debate with Rahul Gandhi…I am ready, Narendra Modi can have a debate with me wherever he wants. What do you think, will he come to have a debate with me? No, he can’t…Narendra Modi can’t have a debate,” Rahul Gandhi said addressing a rally in Delhi.

    Referring to PM Modi’s recent claim that Congress gets money Adani-Ambani in tempos, Rahul said, “PM Modi talks about Congress getting tempo-loads of money from Adani-Ambani, but he doesn’t dare to get it probed.”

    He further said that PM Modi did nothing for small businessmen but gave Rs 16 lakh crore to industrialists like Adani-Ambani.”Tell me whatever you want Narendra Modi to say, I will make him say that in his speeches. I told him, “Narendra Modi, you don’t mention the names of Adani-Ambani. You should mention their names.” 2-3 days later, Narendra Modi said “Adani-Ambani, Adani-Ambani,” he said.

    Reacting to several opposition leaders joining BJP “fearing CBI-ED action”, Rahul said, “We don’t want ‘darpok’ leaders to stay with us, only want ‘Babbar Sher’.”
    Rahul Gandhi further said that one woman from each of these families will be selected and Rs 1 lakh per annum will be deposited in the account of that woman by the INDIA bloc. 

  • ‘Rahul Gandhi Can Become Prime Minister But Of Pakistan’: Himanta Biswa Sarma |

    Assam Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma has been campaigning for the party candidates across states and has been quite vocal about why the NDA is vying for over 400 seats in this Lok Sabha Elections. Addressing a public meeting in Bihar’s Siwan, Sarma said that if the NDA gets 400 seats, it would not only fulfil the promise of the Uniform Civil Code but will also end ‘the business of marrying four times’. Indirectly referring to Madrasas, Sarma said that the NDA government will also ‘shut down shops that produce mullas’. He said that the ‘new India’ led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not need madrassas but modern institutions that produce doctors and engineers.

    The Assam CM also added that there won’t be any reservations based on religion and the NDA government would end Muslim reservations. Sarma also said that grand temples would be built in Varanasi and Mathura if the NDA returns to power by winning over 400 Lok Sabha seats.

    He was indirectly referring to Gyanvapi row in Varanasi and Shahi Idgah row in Mathura. The Assam CM said the NDA, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will ensure that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which is an integral part of India, returns to the country.

    मैं लालू यादव जी से कहना चाहता हूँ कि अब हिंदू जग गया है। आप दलितों, आदिवासियों और पिछड़े वर्गों का आरक्षण छीन कर मुसलमानों को नहीं दे पायेंगे। अगर आपको देना है तो पाकिस्तान में जाके दीजिए#BiharCampaign2024 pic.twitter.com/h9Vu1mduS2
    — Himanta Biswa Sarma (Modi Ka Parivar) (@himantabiswa) May 18, 2024

    Invoking the Ram Temple to slam Congress and RJD, Sarma said, “Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Prasad did not attend the consecration of Ram Mandir. They want to send Ram Lalla back to the tent. We must not let this happen.” 

    Slamming the INDIA bloc over reservations based on religion, Sarma said, “Religion-based reservations should be given to Muslims in Pakistan, not India. Lalu Prasad should go to Pakistan to give reservations to Muslims. The NDA will not allow this at any cost.”

    Hitting out at Rahul Gandhi’s PM ambition, Sarma said that the Congress leader can contest elections in Pakistan and become PM there. Sarma also alleged that besides putting up its own candidates, Congress and RJD are also backing Independent candidates in certain seats against BJP nominees.

  • Lok Sabha Elections 2024 LIVE | PM Modi Takes A Dig At SP, Congress, Says ‘They Will Bulldoze The Ram Temple’ |

    Lok Sabha Elections 2024 News Updates: Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and other INDIA bloc partners will take part in a large rally in Amethi at 1 pm. Rahul and Akhilesh will attend a joint rally in Raebareli later in the day at 3 pm.

  • ‘Are You PM Candidate?…’: Smriti Irani Taunts Rahul Gandhi Amid Modi Debate Bid

    In response to Rahul’s request for a debate, Irani stated that anyone who lacks the bravery to run against a typical BJP leader in Amethi, should not brag.