Priyanka Gandhi campaigns for Sonia Gandhi

Rai Bareli, April 29: Priyanka Gandhi, the daughter of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, has urged the voters to come out in maximum numbers and cast their votes.

Priyanka was campaigning for her mother in Rae Bareli, where polling will be held on Thursday.

Talking to reporters, Priyanka said that the meeting with her brother Rahul Gandhi in Lucknow was not pre-planned and that there is no political angle to their meeting unlike the speculative angle given by certain reporters.

"I had not met my brother for the last ten days. When I heard that he is coming to Lucknow, then I thought since my programme is over, why not I go and meet him. Then in Lucknow, he asked me to come along and I sat in the helicopter and we reached Barabanki. But there is no political angle to it," she said.

Further, she said that the party's prime ministerial candidate is none other than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"I think the Congress Party has made it clear that Dr. Manmohan Singh will be its prime ministerial candidate, if voted back to power," she added.

READ MORE - Priyanka Gandhi campaigns for Sonia Gandhi

Manmohan Singh promises to tackle recession and terrorism

Jodhpur, April 29: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that only the Congress Party was equipped to tackle recession and terrorism.

"In this time of economic recession, you need a government who has the experience to tackle with such situations. Because of the UPA Government's policies, recession has not affected India as much as to other countries. Only the Congress Government has the ability and experience to deal with economic recession," Singh said in a rally here on Tuesday.

Dr. Singh further added that coordination was required between all states of the country and other countries to combat terrorism.

"Coordination is required between all the states of our country and between all other countries of the world to deal with terrorism. Support of international diplomacy is also required to deal with various issues related with terrorism. I believe only the Congress Government can deal with all these matters efficiently," Singh added.

The Prime Minister also said that it was the Congress Party that stepped up diplomatic pressure to deal with the perpetrators of last year's Mumbai terror attacks.

READ MORE - Manmohan Singh promises to tackle recession and terrorism

Assam Congress leader attacked

Silchar, April 29 : A Congress leader and his brother were hospitalised in a critical condition after being attacked at their residence in Assam’s Cachar district in the wee hours today.

Police suspect the attackers were mostly slum-dwellers living near Congress leader Partha Chakrabarty’s three-storey building in Tarapur here.

Police sources said the slum-dwellers, belonging to the Kaibartya sub-caste of the Hindus, swooped down on Chakrabarty’s house, broke open the gate and the doors to his drawing room and bedroom around 4am.

When Chakrabarty, 46, and his younger brother Sujoy confronted the intruders, the goons pounced on them with daggers, scythes and spears and inflicted wounds on the back of their heads and shoulders.

The gang vandalised the house, damaging TV sets, musical gadgets and sofa sets. Hearing the commotion, Chakrabarty’s neighbours rushed to his rescue.

The gang escaped through the labyrinth of lanes and bylanes near Chakrabarty’s residence while the neighbours rushed the brothers, who were lying in a pool of blood, to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital. Both have been admitted to the intensive care unit.

Doctors at the hospital said the brothers’ condition was “stable”. They will be under observation for at least three days.

The attack on Chakrabarty, who is the general secretary of Cachar district Congress committee, chairman of Silchar Development Authority and a trusted aide of Union minister and Congress heavyweight in Assam Sontosh Mohan Dev, has triggered panic in the district.

Cachar superintendent of police Prashanta Bhuyan said the police had registered a case and launched a full-scale investigation into the cause of the attack.

READ MORE - Assam Congress leader attacked

BJP favours the rich: Rahul

Mehsana The poor and rural people are the future of India, says Gandhi scion

Launching a scathing attack on the BJP on the last day of campaign in the state on Tuesday, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said the saffron party was biased towards the rich and wealthy classes.

Rahul said it was this prejudice that had made the BJP object to his decision to take British Foreign Secretary David Miliband to his parliamentary constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in January.

Addressing an election meeting in support of party candidate Jivabhai Patel at the Dr Ambedkar Sports Ground, Rahul said the British minister had expressed his desire to see India. “So, I decided to take him to Amethi in the interiors of Uttar Pradesh, because the real India lives in villages,” he told the audience, mostly from nearby villages.

He said the BJP’s objection was that he should not have shown the poorer sections of the country to a foreigner, and instead, should have taken him to the streets of Delhi and metro cities. “Their reactions reflected the mentality of BJP leaders and their pro-rich bias,” he said, adding, “The poor and rural people are the future of India; I can’t hide them from the world.”

Taking a dig at the BJP’s 2004 poll campaign slogan of India Shining, he said it had failed because the poor and rural folk could not understand it as “the BJP had done nothing to improve their lot”. He said the BJP had opposed the UPA government’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to provide a minimum of 100 days employment to rural people, and instead its government helped an industrialist with a huge soft loan. “The Congress is not against industry, but it wants a balanced growth in which both the poor and rich benefit and get an opportunity to grow and progress,” he said.

Reacting to L K Advani’s repeated remarks describing Manmohan Singh as a weak Prime Minister, he said it was for the first time in the country’s history of war on terror that Pakistan bowed before India after the Mumbai terror attacks, and peace finally returned to Kashmir. All this, he said, happened under Manmohan Singh.

Addressing another rally at Limbodhi in tribal Dahod, Rahul slammed senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh for “stooping before the militants in Kandahar,” and facilitating the swap of terrorists with hostages.

He vehemently condemned regional chauvinism as preached by certain parties in Maharashtra and preaching hatred against north Indians in Mumbai.

READ MORE - BJP favours the rich: Rahul

Law Minister denies attempt to save Quattrocchi

New Delhi, April 28 : Union Law Minister H R Bhardwaj on Tuesday dismissed BJP leader L K Advani's allegation that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was working at the behest of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government and clarified that no attempt has been made to save Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, the lone surviving suspect in the Bofors payoff case.

Addressing a news conference here, Bhardwaj said the decision to drop Quattrocchi's name from Interpol's list of most wanted persons was taken entirely by foreign agencies and there was no government involvement in the matter.

Clarifying that the Interpol is a foreign police organisation, he said, "I have made it clear that he was arrested without warrant. He was arrested outside and the third country court has decided this. Interpol is not our police and it is their decision. Interpol is a foreign agency. There is no attempt to save him. Law works in accordance to its rules and procedures and not on the directions of an individual or a political party."

Earlier, Advani had attacked the Congress party for being the leading force behind the Central Bureau of Investigation's decision to give a clean chit to Quattrocchi.

He had also held both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi "guilty" for the removal of Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) against the Italian businessman.

Meanwhile, Harsh Bahl, a spokesperson of the CBI, said the CBI has taken its decision on the legal advice of the highest order.

"The case has been under trial in the courts since 1999. CBI has taken action on the basis of the legal advice of the highest order. We will inform the competent court on the next date of hearing that is 30th April 2009," said Bahl.

Quattrocchi is accused of receiving seven million dollars as bribe as a middleman in the 1.2 billion dollar purchase of artillery from Swedish arms maker Bofors AB in 1986 for the Indian Army. He has denied any wrongdoing.

He left India in the early 1990s and lived in Malaysia and Europe. He was sought for questioning by the CBI under a Interpol red-corner arrest notice.

The Bofors arms scandal dented the reputation of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and contributed to the fall of his government in the 1989 general elections.

READ MORE - Law Minister denies attempt to save Quattrocchi

We Indians have a habit of complaining: Priyanka Gandhi

Rae Bareli, April 28 : Indians have a habit of complaining instead of striving for a better future, Priyanka Gandhi, the daughter of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, observed Tuesday.

"Hamari aadat hai shikayat karne ki, meri bhi hai (We have a habit of complaining... it is my habit also)," she said at a public meeting while campaigning for her mother in Rae Bareli constituency.

"But we only prefer to complain and avoid taking the initiative for a better future," she added.

Priyanka also expressed concern over low turn out of voters, specially in the urban areas.

"Those living in the urban areas are considered to be more educated and aware than the rural population. But it is a bitter fact, not only in Amethi or Rae Bareli, but across the country that voting percentage is lowest in urban areas," she said.

Priyanka advised people not to enjoy the polling day as a holiday because if they did not exercise their basic right, they could never bring about change. She appealed to them to go out and vote, not necessarily for her mother or the Congress but for whoever they wanted so long as they voted.

"It is the voter who has the power to bring a change. Neither a party nor a politician has this power," she said, speaking in an urban area of the constituency.

Priyanka also divided politics and politicians into two categories.

"One believes in politics of development and equality. The other depends upon communalism, hatred and divide and rule. You have to decide the path that leads to a better future for you and your children," she said.

Priyanka asserted that Rae Bareli should send a positive signal to the entire nation that the region does not want politics based on religion and caste but has opted for development and equality.

READ MORE - We Indians have a habit of complaining: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress banks on Ghani legacy in Malda South

West Bengal, April 28 : Former Railway Minister and Congress' late stalwart Abu Barkat Ataur Ghani Khan Choudhury, popularly known as 'Barkat Da' still casts a spell on voters even three years after his death for Malda South Lok Sabha seat which goes to polls on April 30.

It is advantage for Congress candidate and Barkat Da's brother, Abu Hasem Khan Coudhury who time and again has reminded the people of his elder brother's love for Malda which was made a separate railway division by the senior Khan Choudhury.

He also helped many locals to get jobs in the railways during his tenure as Railway minister in the early 1980s.

After the death of 'Barkat Da' in 2006, Abu Hasem won parliamentary by-election in Malda Lok Sabha seat, a large part of it remains with the newly-formed Malda South Lok Sabha constituency.

Incidentally, 'Barkat-Da' won Malda seat for eight consecutive times since 1980.

Abu Hasem too is promising to follow his brother's path of development in the local area to etch his name in the memory of voters for long. He has been frequently invoking Barkat Da's name while seeking votes and his main rival, CPI-M's candidate, Abdur Rezzaque finds little space to combat Bengal's most favourite Railway minister.

READ MORE - Congress banks on Ghani legacy in Malda South

Congress needs to have upper hand in last three rounds

NEW DELHI: For Congress, the biggest challenge will be to bag the maximum number of seats in the remaining three phases.

Not only is the party confronted with the spectre of a significant reduction in its seats from Andhra Pradesh, the state which had sent the largest contingent to the Lok Sabha in 2004, it is being projected as being unable to notch up any meaningful gains in Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab and Rajasthan to make up for the losses in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and a few smaller states, such as Jharkhand, Assam and Gujarat.

The big worry for Congress was that, with the exception of the Left-ruled states of West Bengal and Kerala, parties occupying the non-Congress space in the remaining states were shown as faring better than Congress and other UPA partners.

Moreover, the haul of the non-Congress parties in these states was expected to be much better than that of the principal ruling party at the Centre, or that of its alliance partners. In fact, there was not a single state where the Congress was showing as coming up with a more lethal strike-rate.

In the 2004 general election, the Congress’ kitty was made possible because of significant contributions from Andhra Pradesh (29), Maharashtra (13), Gujarat (12), Tamil Nadu (10), Assam, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (nine each).

The trends emerging from Andhra indicate a downslide for Congress. The party faces a washout in the Telangana region, where it has ceded considerable ground to the TDP-TRS-Left grand alliance. Even in the coastal belt, the Praja Rajyam Party and the TDP are said to have fared better.

In neighbouring Tamil Nadu, too, the alliance cobbled together by AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa has emerged as a formidable force. The Sri Lankan crisis is said made things more difficult for the DMK-Congress combine.

The Congress’ poll managers were pinning their hopes on a much improved showing in Kerala, Maharashtra and Orissa. In Kerala, the Left Front was said to be down, but was certainly not out. CPM and its allies were said to be digging their heels in their bastion of northern Kerala.

Despite firming up a pre-poll alliance with NCP in Maharashtra, trends emerging from the first and second phases of polling in the state, covering 38 of the 48 seats, showed that the BJP-Shiv Sena combine was expected to lose a couple of seats in Vidarbha, but was making up for this loss by putting up a spirited show in Marathwada and Mumbai.

READ MORE - Congress needs to have upper hand in last three rounds

Colombo has assured safety of Tamils: Congress

“Suffering of Tamils will end only when fight with LTTE is taken to its logical conclusion”

India had lost its clout in Sri Lanka: Yashwant Sinha

NEW DELHI: The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday reacted differently to the Sri Lankan government’s rejection of a ceasefire with the LTTE.

Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said India had received “concrete assurances” from Sri Lanka on the “safety, security and rehabilitation” of the civilian non-combatant Tamil population directly affected by the fighting in the North and Northeast of the island nation. At the same time, there could be “no question” of interference in the affairs of a sovereign country.

Mr. Singhvi emphasised that the tragedy and suffering of the civilian Tamils, “cruelly used as human shields by the LTTE,” can end only when the fight with the LTTE was taken to its “logical conclusion.”
“Withdraw envoy”

The BJP, on the other hand, demanded an “internationally supervised ceasefire” to enable the civilians to come out of the war zone. The former External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, lamented that the Indian government had “lost its clout” with Sri Lanka and if Colombo continued to ignore the demands made by New Delhi, “we should withdraw our High Commissioner to Colombo.” Mr. Singhvi made the Congress-United Progressive Alliance position clear: “The Congress-UPA has been most concerned and active in relation to the plight of the non-combatant civilian Tamils in Sri Lanka. The Foreign Minister, the Foreign Secretary and other high-ranking officials have made several visits to Colombo. We have received concrete assurances on issues related to the safety, security and rehabilitation of the non-combatant Tamils. But that is very different from a sovereign country like India interfering in the affairs of another sovereign country like Sri Lanka … How would India like another country to interfere on behalf of any group in this country demanding a separate homeland?”

Mr. Sinha had emphasised that India must try to get a ceasefire supervised by the international community.

READ MORE - Colombo has assured safety of Tamils: Congress

Congress to improve tally from Gujarat: PM

Surat/Ahmedabad, April 26  A confident Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday evening said his Congress party expects to improve its tally from Gujarat in the Lok Sabha elections, and took a dig at the Narendra Modi government for claiming credit for the state’s economic progress.
“The BJP’s divisive politics is unlikely to work now. The Congress in Gujarat is expected to win more seats. The UPA (Congress-led United Progressive Alliance) has spent its five best years in office doing excellent work for the country,” Manmohan Singh said at a rally in Surat.


Of 26 Lok Sabha seats from Gujarat, the Congress had won 12 in 2004, giving a shock to the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), which could manage to win only 14, down from its previous tally of 21.


Polling will be held in Gujarat April 30.


Manmohan Singh said the UPA government has taken several measures to keep the Indian economy on track despite global recessionary conditions.


No government in New Delhi had done more than the UPA in keeping the country’s economic health in fairly good shape during economic slowdowns, he said.


He reiterated that the UPA had provided a fair share of funds to Gujarat during its rule and there had been a sizeable chunk of funds which went for various developmental schemes during the last five years.


The Surat rally was held amid unprecedented security and no mobile phones were allowed at the venue.


Earlier in the day, Manmohan Singh’s first election meeting in Gujarat, at Ahmedabad, was briefly disrupted when a young man, identified as Hitesh Chauhan, flung a shoe towards the podium. The footwear fell far too short of the podium but the young man was immediately nabbed and taken by the police for questioning..


In Ahmedabad, the prime minister said: “There is no need for the BJP to keep talking in public forums about Gujarat’s development during its rule as the state was considered developed well before the party came to power in Gujarat.”


The BJP government in the state led by Modi has often claimed credit for the industrial development and continued foreign investments in the state, but the Congress argues that Gujarat had been in the forefront of economic progress well before the BJP came to power in the mid-1990s.


“The state now has an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and other centrally funded educational institutions,” Singh pointed out.

Referring to the India-US nuclear agreement, Manmohan Singh said his government had signed the deal to generate more electricity and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had been opposing it without looking into its merits.

Criticising the main opposition, Singh referred to the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani’s statement promising to raise the income tax limit to Rs.300,000 if the NDA was voted to power. The prime minister said the NDA could not raise the income tax limit to that amount when it was in power.


He said the UPA government had gone for sweeping tax reforms, not only raising the income tax limit for a large category of taxpayers but also for senior citizens.


He also listed the achievements of his government, including the loan waiver worth Rs.71,000 crore for distressed farmers.

READ MORE - Congress to improve tally from Gujarat: PM

Only 10 paise out of Rs 100 reache beneficiaries: Rahul

GANGTOK, April 26 : AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi today said that mismanagement of Central funds continued to be a major bane in the implementation of the Central development and welfare schemes for a long time and claimed ‘only 10 paise out of Rs 100 reaches beneficiaries even now’.

“My father Rajiv Gandhi used to say that only ten paise out of Rs One reached genuine people, but I say that the needy people still get 10 paise out of Rs 100 under the Central development and welfare schemes,” he told a public meeting at Paljor Stadium here.

The country has no shortage of funds, but the same has to be used judiciously so that genuine and needy people benefit from development and welfare projects, Gandhi said. The youth leader added that it was the State Governments that should be blamed for the unsatisfactory implementation of the Central schemes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).

The Centre could only design programmes or schemes for the benefit of the people, but the onus lies with the State Government for implementing them to ensure that the fruits of such schemes reached the needy, he said. Rahul pointed out that a number of States have not sincerely implemented NRGEA, which was meant to provide 100 days employment to poor people.

Discounting the impact of the global meltdown in the past two years on the Indian economy, Rahul said that the country has made rapid strides in terms of economic development in the past five years under the leadership of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The country has registered a growth of nine per cent during the five-year tenure of the UPA Government, he said and claimed that there was no shortage of funds for undertaking development work.

However, the funds should be properly utilised for the implementation of the Central welfare and development schemes, like NREGA and Mid-day meal schemes, the Congress leader said.

Gandhi, a popular youth leader, stressed formulation and implementation of policies and plans for the benefit of youth, who he said, have two major requirement – education and employment.

“There should be a thrust on providing quality education to the youth and giving them jobs in all States,” he said.

The Northeastern States should especially focus on the twin requirements of the youths, Gandhi said and praised the youths of this region for being educated, skilled and hardworking. The MP from Amethi also urged the youth to join the mainstream politics in large numbers to change its present dynamics.

The Congress general secretary also sought to correct media reports that it was his maiden visit to Sikkim and said that in fact, he was visiting the State for the second time, but after a long gap of over 20 years. “I had spent a month in Sikkim to complete the mountaineering course from the Sonam Gyatso Mountaineering Institute (SGMI) at the age of 18,” he informed. “I will visit the State again after the polls,” he said.

READ MORE - Only 10 paise out of Rs 100 reache beneficiaries: Rahul

Rights of Tamil civilians sacrosanct: Rahul on Sri Lanka

KOLKATA: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that while the LTTE was a terrorist outfit and responsible for killing his father, the rights of the Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka are "sacrosanct" and everything should be done to ameliorate their plight."For me the Sri Lanka issue is very, very simple.

There are Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka who are suffering because of the war taking place there. It is our duty to reduce that suffering. The government has tried earlier by applying pressure.

We are concerned about the plight of Tamil civilians and we will do everything to reduce their suffering,"

Rahul Gandhi said at a press conference here.A fierce battle is raging in Sri Lanka's north where the army is closing in on the LTTE, restricting them to less than 10 sq km of area.

Over 100,000 Tamil civilians caught in the war zone have fled to the military-held area, creating a humanitarian crisis of gigantic proportions."LTTE is a branded a terrorist organisation.

Personally they have been responsible for killing my father. I'm personally not a supporter of the LTTE. The rights of the people are sacrosanct.

When it comes to supporting the rights of innocent Tamilians it is of prime importance," Rahul Gandhi said.Rahul Gandhi's father and then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the LTTE during an election rally in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu in May 1991.

READ MORE - Rights of Tamil civilians sacrosanct: Rahul on Sri Lanka

Priyanka takes on Jaswant, rubbishes his 'political talk'

Barara Bujurc (Rae Bareli): Priyanka Gandhi termed as "all political talks" the statement of senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh who claimed that L K Advani had opposed the decision to free terrorists during the Kandahar hijack.

In a stepped-up attack on BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani, Priyanka said "what does it matter. This thing (the release of terrorist) happened when he was the Home Minister. These are all political talks," Priyanka said when asked to comment on Singh's statement.

"Now he (Advani) will not even take the responsibility for it. He is now saying he was not ready to release the terrorist under pressure. What kind of leader he is who does not want to take responsibility," she said in Rae Bareli.

Asked whether Mayawati was ignoring the development of Amethi and Rae Bareli, Priyanka said, "I have not seen development wherever I have gone."

"What is the mistake that the innocent people (residents of Rae Bareli and Amethi) have committed to be deprived of development. Is it their fault that they leave in Rae Bareli and Amethi."

Priyanka addressed election rallies in different villages of the district and campaigned for her mother.

Addressing a rally in village Barsanakuti Chauraha, Priyanka said, "You have seen how much the state Government opposed when the factory was being opened but Soniaji struggled a lot and said she was ready to go to jail."

She added the Rail Coach factory at Rae Bareli will start soon and will give employment to at least 10,000 people.

Earlier, Congress dismissed senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh's claim that L K Advani had opposed the decision to free terrorists during the Kandahar hijack crisis as "suspicious in timing and completely opportunistic."

"Jaswant Singh's statement is suspicious in timing, completely opportunistic and self-serving, intended to cover up Advani's default and promote his prime ministerial ambition," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said.

Noting that the statement has come 10 years too late, he said, "such self-serving statements in the middle of elections fool no one."

READ MORE - Priyanka takes on Jaswant, rubbishes his 'political talk'

I'm not ready to be PM: Rahul Gandhi

Kolkata, Apr 25 : Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday that he would "refuse" to become Prime Minister "now" as he does not have the experience required for the top post.

"Now ... I would refuse," he said at a press conference when asked whether he would accept Prime Ministership in the near future.

"I do not think I have the experience to be the Prime Minister of the country right now," said 39-year-old Gandhi who was flanked by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

He also said that he was working for developing a strong pro-poor Youth Congress, an initiative that has borne fruit in Punjab and Gujarat.

During the nearly hour-long press meet, Gandhi responded to a volley of question ranging from the situation in Sri Lanka to the Left Front government performance in West Bengal.

Question: You have been projected as the future Prime Minister of the country by your party. How prepared you think you are at this point of time if the opportunity to become the Prime Minister of the country arises in the not so distant future?

Gandhi listed two reasons for not accepting the Prime Ministership.

"One is that I am working in the organisation of the Congress party which I think is fundamental for this country. I think it is very important for a strong, progressive, pro-poor youth organisation is developed in this country and that is a very, very big priority of mine.”

"Number two is I don't think I have the experience to be the Prime Minister of the country right now," said Gandhi, who has batted strongly for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh continuing in the post if the UPA returns to power.

Gandhi struck an aggressive note on being quizzed about the Bofors controversy and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and whether he was prepared to apologise for them.

"There is absolutely nothing that I have to apologise about Bofors. It is a complete lie," he said adding that the controversy was a "calumny" spread by the opposition for 20 years.

Asked whether the Congress was keeping its doors open for a post-poll understanding with the Left parties, Gandhi was non-committal.

"I am nobody to say whether the doors are open or closed. That is for the party president and Prime Minister to decide. But as a general principle, I can say that doors of Congress are open for anyone willing to join us," he said.

Gandhi, who attacked the Left Front government in West Bengal over the implementation of the Centre's flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme, said his views on this will not change even if "the Left joins us" after the elections.

He said he was shocked to see that the benefits of the pro-poor scheme were not reaching the people in districts like Purulia.

Gandhi said his perception was that Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were the worst states in the implementation of such programmes but "I was shocked by what I saw in West Bengal."

On the demolition of the Babri Masjid, Gandhi squarely blamed the BJP for the act in 1992. "Babri Masjid was broken by the politics of BJP. It was broken by the politics of division, it was broken by dividing Indians against Indians," he said.

Mukherjee admitted the Congress government, which was in power then, had made a mistake by trusting the solemn assurance given by the BJP and the then UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh that the mosque would not be harmed.

"We regretted placing our confidence in an untrustworthy person," he said about Kalyan Singh's assurance to the National Integration Council that the Babri Masjid would be protected at all costs.

On about Congress and Mamta Banerjee's Trinamool Congress joining hands in West Bengal, Gandhi said "she (Mamta) is a lady of the people" and "a genuine grassroots leader."

Gandhi went on to add that he had "fond memories" of Mamta and described the alliance with her party as "positive." On the situation in Sri Lanka, he said the UPA government was concerned about the rights of innocent Tamil civilians becoming victims of the ethnic conflict.

"It is our duty to reduce their suffering," Gandhi said adding that the government will do everything possible in that direction.

READ MORE - I'm not ready to be PM: Rahul Gandhi

Rahul loses in translation, gains in hope at Purulia

Purulia, Apr 25 : In his maiden election trip to the state on Friday, All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi began his tour from the tribal district of Purulia.

Even though Purulia happens to be a Left stronghold with the Communists retaining the seat for the last three decades, Gandhi’s visit brought in a wave of excitement among the locals. He raised issues like NREGA while trying to connect with the people of the most backward region of the state.

Some could not decipher what he was saying in Hindi while some did not know the issues he was talking about. When Gandhi began speaking about the Indo-US nuclear deal, Tapan Mahato (65) was left dumbstruck and had no idea what the fuss was all about. On being explained by a Congress leader that the deal will bring electricity to the villages, he looked a little satisfied.

“I have come here to see him. We were told that some big political leader is coming to our constituency for the first time,” said Phulmani Murmu (35) who came walking all the way from Ramnagar, about five kms away from the site.

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Gandhi arrived at 11.50 am and left by 12.20 pm. The landing of the helicopters provided a visual treat to the onlookers in the tribal belt. The people did not mind getting smeared with dust as the helicopter descended on the barren dusty ground.

For a couple of hours, around 30,000 people braved the scorching sun and temperature soaring up to 49 degrees Celsius just to catch a glimpse of the young Gandhi scion. Realising the plight of his listeners, Gandhi thanked the people who came out to hear him. With the rousing reception he received, Gandhi shrugged off security concerns to mingle with the people.

He came near the fence and held out his hand to the people in the crowd while his security guards struggled to maintain a distance between him and the people.

While Congress leaders on the dais talked about their long association with the Gandhi family and attending rallies with Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi, a few in the crowd were not sure whether Rahul Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi had come to meet them.

All roads led to Sainik School Purulia in the morning with buses carrying loads of people to the rally site. Most of them trudged all the way to the site. Murmu had come all the way from Barabajara, about 50 km from Purulia town, to see the leader. He says that he has never seen such a crowd and has high hopes that there will be some development as “big people” from Delhi are coming to his land.

In the Maoist belt of Purulia, however, where political activity is not much visible other than wall graffiti and roadside flags and banners, the people are still not sure whether to venture out on the polling day with the rise in Maoist activities.

READ MORE - Rahul loses in translation, gains in hope at Purulia

Congress committed for development: Sonia

Jetpur, Apr 24 : Asserting that the Congress was committed to allround development of the country, the party president Sonia Gandhi today said no previous governments could match the performance of the UPA Government at the Centre, as it had undertaken a slew of development works during its five-year rule.

Ms Gandhi was on a day-long whirlwind tour of the state, where she addressed rallies at Halol and here.

Addressing a rally in support of the Porbandar Lok Sabha candidate Vithal Radadiya, Ms Gandhi said five years ago before the present government took over, the situation in the country was not that good and unemployment was widespread in rural areas.

The UPA Government has taken the country on the road to development, she pointed out.

Describing the achievements of the Congress government since independence, she said whether it is industrialisation or modernisation of the country, nationalisation of banks, empowerment of women through Panchayat Raj institutions or signing the nuclear agreement, it is the Congress which has always taken the lead.

The Congress has always strived for the welfare of the poor and the common man. The people have to consider all these aspects and then choose the party which would provide strong and stable government. The Congress is the only party which would provide stable and strong government, she maintained.

Rebuking the BJP's 'Ladli' scheme, in which the girl child would get Rs one lakh for her education, the Congress president said the party has already launched such schemes in Haryana and Delhi.

Besides this, the party has also announced the 'Dhanlakshmi' scheme, in which the 18-year-old girls would get Rs two lakh.

READ MORE - Congress committed for development: Sonia

Rahul's blitzkrieg in Bengal

“What kind of communist government is this that does not care for the poor?” Rahul asked in Bengal. It is a shame that the Leftists have forgotten the poor. “Sarkar Kaam nehi karti to isko badalia aap,” he said speaking of the Left Front.

In a whistle stop election tour of West Bengal reminiscent of his father Rajiv Gandhi’s 1987 blitzkrieg of the red bastion, Rahul Gandhi today hauled up the Left Front government for misrule where development had taken a back seat.

Rahul Gandhi arrived in Purulia district in Bengal in a helicopter, under a stringent security blanket, given that the district is part of the red corridor of Naxalites. Intelligence agencies were said to be apprehensive of an attack on the chopper given that Maoists have rocket launchers. The route the chopper would take from Ranchi from where Rahul came was kept a secret till the last moment. Special Protection Group personnel formed a three tier security cordon for the Congress general secretary. Special daises were erected at the venues.

Never raising his voice, Rahul seemed to converse with the gathering from the dais. He said he knew that Purulia was a backward region where education was poor. The district was also infested with Maoists. “It is a pity that the Left Front government in Bengal has forgotten that the district is backward and needs to be given a leg up.” The UPA government keeps sending funds for development but the pity is that the money is not totally utilized. Funds meant for the Rojgar Yojna is meant to help the poor but not even 40 per cent of the sanctioned funds had been utilized for the district. When 100 days of work is guaranteed under such schemes, the Bengal panchayat administration “I find has at best provided for 20 days work”.

The young Congress general secretary in spotless white kurta and pajama reached contiguous district Bankura to campaign for Congress leader and former mayor Subrata Mukherjee. The chopper landed at the rally ground bristling with security personnel.

At the rally, Rahul said that the UPA government had kept the promises it made. “We have sanctioned funds for all sectors like education, development of regions, for tribals and peasants. Repeating what he had said in Purulia Rahul added that it was unfortunate that most of the funds sanctioned did not percolate to “to you people”. Giving a specific instance he said that Rs. 90 crore was sanctioned for Bankura district under the Rojgar Yojna but only Rs. 40 crore was spent, which meant that not even half the money “reaches you,” he said amidst cheers. To rub it in the young Congress leader said most of the hungry in the country belonged to Bihar and Bengal.

“What kind of communist government is this that does not care for the poor?” he asked the assembly. It is a shame that the Leftists have forgotten the poor. “Sarkar kaam nehi karti to isko badalia aap,” he said speaking of the Left Front.

There was a pressing need to bring about change in the country, he said and added that even today West Bengal is such a state that it can show the way to the rest of the country. The UPA government has worked for the poor and “there is a place for the poor in the hearts of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh”. Bring them back to power he urged and thanked the people for braving the searing mid-afternoon heat and attend the rally.

Garibi is the biggest ladai in the country, he said and added “ vote for those who are fighting poverty development and upliftment of the downtrodden”, before he whirred off in the chopper to Malda (South) constituency in North Bengal where he lunched on cold soup……………..

In Malda (South) campaigning for Abu Hasen Khan Chowdury after lunch, Rahul launched a broadside against the BJP led NDA. He said the UPA had taken the people of the country along with it where the opposition has only taken a few along with it. He said that the country had progressed in the last five years.

In both Malda and later in Jalpaiguri, the Congress general secretary lambasted the Left Front government on the same subject of non utilization of funds. Malda district had received Rs. 30 crores under the Indira Awas Yojna meant to build houses for the poor. Of the amount Rs. 12 crores were yet to be spent. The district had got Rs. 70 crores under the Rojgar Yojna but only four families got 100 fays of work. Pointing out that the funds had to reach the people he said “your government cannot do it. And this had to change”.

Urging voters to bring about a change in Bengal, Rahul appealed to the youth to come forward. “The Left Front government has been in power for 32 years and its thinking is 50 years behind time,” he said caustically.

Rahul said his understanding was that Communists felt and cared for the poor and the downtrodden. “What kind of Communists are these in Bengal. Is it a new kind of Communism?” he asked amidst applause.

Travelling in the helicopter over Bengal I was forced to tell myself that I thought Uttar Pradesh is in a bad state. But I know see Bengal is worst. Change Bengal usher in a new government was his parting short in North Bengal.

In all four districts Rahul kept his speech and concentrated in attacking the Left front on mostly the development issue. He hardly exhorted the Trinamool Congress to work for Congress candidates and vice versa. Perhaps AICC member in-charge of the Bengal Congress like K Keshava Rao and state Congress honchos travelling with him had forgotten to fill him in about the rancour that exists between the two allies an that there was dire need for unity at the grassroots level and up days before the state goes to polls in the first phase on April 30.

In Jalpaiguri he repeated much of what he had said earlier and elaborated on how the Left withdrawn support from the UPA government over the nuclear deal when the country direly needs electricity. “We dared then to withdraw support and said we will go through with the deal. We have done it.

READ MORE - Rahul's blitzkrieg in Bengal

With hope in their hearts, Purulia people charmed by Rahul

By Soudhriti Bhabani

Seventy-eight-year-old Kalachand Mahato woke up before dawn Friday and walked almost 20 km from his home in Bhuari to see Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi despite his failing health. A tribal of Purulia district, Mahato goes back with a feeling of fulfilment as he not only saw Rajiv Gandhi's son, but touched him too.

'I heard from my neighbours that Rahul Gandhi, son of our late leader Rajiv Gandhi, will come to Purulia to address a political rally today (Friday). So I came ignoring my failing health and advancing age,' Mahato told IANS.

'I jostled with hundreds of other Congress and Trinamool supporters and others to come as close to the barricaded area as possible. I wanted to be in the front row so that I could hear him from close. I now have a fulfilling feeling as I managed to touch his hand,' Mahato said after the rally at the Purulia Sainik School ground, about 10 km from Purulia town.

Gandhi, clad in a spotless white kurta-pyjama, seemed in a cheerful mood throughout his 20-minute visit, and came near the barricade after delivering a brief speech.

He walked close to the barricade, shook hands with a large number of people, both young and old, as the Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel flanking him seemed on the edge.

Earlier, towards the end of his speech, Gandhi thanked the people for having come to the rally despite the scorching sun.

'I welcome you all and am really grateful that you all have come despite the sweltering heat,' Gandhi said.

The mercury has been hovering near the 50-degree Celsius mark in Purulia over the last few days.

'I could never imagine that I will be experiencing such a nice thing. It's an achievement. Now I can happily go home,' Mahato said.

He was not the only one swept off his feet by Gandhi's charm. Many like Mahato had come from far away to see and hear Rahul with hopes in their eyes.

Durga Sardar of Laxmanpur, over 22 km from Purulia town, was full of hope that backward people like her would benefit under Gandhi's leadership.

'During the Left Front regime there has not been any development in Purulia. People are starving. There is no scope for agriculture or any kind of development in the region.

'We have supported this government for long. But they have deceived us. So I have come to see Rahul-ji. Under his leadership, I hope some good things will happens for backward people like us,' Durga said.

Sixty-seven-year-old Baburam Mahato, who came from Baghmandi, around 35 km from here, was equally enthusiastic.

'We have now got our leader for the future,' he said, as he started his long trek back home.

READ MORE - With hope in their hearts, Purulia people charmed by Rahul

Communists living in the past: Rahul Gandhi

Malda (West Bengal), April 24 : Launching a sharp assault on the Communists, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Friday accused them of living in the past and charged West Bengal's Left Front government with having failed to provide basic amenities to the people and implement central welfare schemes.

Pulling up the state government for its 'abject failure' in ensuring jobs for the people under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Gandhi mocked the Communist parties: 'I think communism works for the benefit of the poor.

But your government has failed to reach money for welfare schemes to the people.

'Communism has ended in the rest of the world. Is this a new form of Communism in Bengal?' Gandhi asked at an election rally in support of Congress candidates in Malda district of north Bengal, around 350 km from Kolkata.

Citing statistics, he said though Malda district had 515,000 job cards, only four families have got work for 100 days.

Recalling his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress leader said: 'He used to comment that out of 100 paisa allocated for government schemes, only 10 paise reaches the people. Now the situation is worse.'

Gunning for the LF for lack of development in the state, Gandhi said: 'I used to feel Uttar Pradesh is backward. But after what I saw while coming by helicopter I feel Bengal is at par with Uttar Pradesh.'

Pointing out that the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led government has been in power for over 32 years, Gandhi quipped: 'Their way of thinking also seems to be buried 30 years in the past.'

Rahul Gandhi kicked off his election tour of West Bengal with rallies in the tribal-dominated western districts - first Purulia and then Bankura - both of which are hotspots of Maoist activities. He later flew to the northern districts of Malda and Jalpaiguri for two more meetings. In each of the rallies he gave brief eight-10 minute speeches in hindi.

In Bankura, 210 km from Kolkata, canvassing for state Congress working president Subrata Mukherjee, Rahul Gandhi sent people into raptures by beginning his speech in Bengali: 'Bankurar manusher joi hok (Three cheers for the people of Bankura).'

He said central funds on education, health and employment schemes were not reaching the state's poor.

'This happens every year. We send money, half of it reaches you, the rest doesn't,' he said.

In Purulia, 320 km from Kolkata, he said: 'The education level here is low. There are no signs of health facilities. The Maoists are active. It seems your state government has forgotten you.

'You should put pressure on the government. If the government does not work, change it,' he said emphatically.

Criticising Left parties for withdrawing support to the Congress-led government on the India-US civilian nuclear deal last year, he said: 'We told them we need the deal for the county's future... for fulfilling our huge needs for electricity in future... They said no.'

Gandhi said: 'They (the Left) talk of the past. They don't talk of the future. They are not interested in issues like future energy needs. They are talking of an India 70 years back.'

Gandhi, clad in a white kurta-pyjama, hopped to the four districts in a helicopter and was given a rousing welcome by thousands of supporters of the Congress and its ally Trinamool Congress.

At each rally, he appealed to the people to choose the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) that would fight for the poor. 'We have fulfilled every promise we had made for uplift of the poor, backwards and the tribals.'

He also urged people to make Manmohan Singh the prime minister again.

Criticising the previous National Democratic Alliance government and its India Shining slogan of 2004, Gandhi said: 'The NDA government worked for a chosen few. If you work for a chosen few, the country doesn't develop that fast.'

READ MORE - Communists living in the past: Rahul Gandhi

Tarun Gogoi says Congress will win more seats than last general elections

Guwahati, Apr 24 : Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Thursday said the Congress would win more seats as compared to last time in 2004 due to the development projects undertaken by his government.
‘Never before so much development work had been done in the state as was done by my government. We have been successful in bringing in central funds for development. People will vote for development and we will increase our seats from last time’, Gogoi said after he cast his vote at polling booth number 83 set up in Debi Charan High School in Jorhat.
Union Minister Bijoy Krishna Handique’s wife was the first voter to cast her vote at this booth. Gogoi’s brother and Koliabor constituency sitting MP Dip Gogoi also voted here.
Handique, seeking re-election from Jorhat, is fighting battle against BJP’s Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, a tea community leader, CPI’s sitting MLA Dhrupad Borgohain and five others.
Polling for 11 Lok Sabha seats is being held here since morning amid tight security.
Election for three seats was held in the first phase on April 16

READ MORE - Tarun Gogoi says Congress will win more seats than last general elections

Rahul Gandhi criticises BJP's former 'India Shining' campaign

Allahabad/ Amethi, Apr 22 : Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has ridiculed the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'India Shining' campaign during the last election, saying it shone only in the houses of the rich.

Addressing a public rally in Allahabad on Tuesday, Rahul said that the BJP's English slogan was not even understood by the rural poor.

"In the last elections, BJP had a new slogan called 'India Shining' which was in English. Half of the country did not understand its meaning. It actually meant that the country is shining but you people proved the way it shined. In fact India shined only in BJP houses, in selected houses of New Delhi, and not in villages," he said.

Meanwhile, hinting at Rahul's sister Priyanka entering politics, her husband Robert Vadra said she should do so at the 'right time."

"Definitely Priyanka should enter politics. But it is up to her and an individual choice so when we feel the time is right she will enter politics," Vadra said in Amethi, the constituency from where Rahul is contesting.

READ MORE - Rahul Gandhi criticises BJP's former 'India Shining' campaign

Rahul Gandhi emerges as lead Congress campaigner

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi may have ruled himself out as a contender for the Prime Minister's job, but he has turned into Congress's chief campaigner, taking much of the burden off his mother, party chief Sonia Gandhi.

By the time campaigning came to a close on Tuesday for the second phase of the general election, Rahul Gandhi was on the verge of a personal milestone: he had already addressed 65 poll rallies.

The youthful Congress general secretary is all set to crack a century when the remaining stretch of the electioneering is completed in the middle of May.

It is a big change since last year's assembly elections when he still came across as tentative and at the most evoked curiosity. If there are no last-minute cancellations, Rahul will have addressed 86 election meetings by April 27. Clearly, he is the lead campaigner of his party, taking much of the burden off Sonia Gandhi.

Though Sonia is travelling all over the country, Rahul's mobility is much higher.

"He plans his programme meticulously and is addressing four election meetings everyday on average," an aide said.

Since the campaign took off, Rahul has logged an estimated 50,000 poll km hopping from one part of the country to another.

When he campaigned in some of the states for the assembly elections six months ago, according to an observer, he came across as an "idealistic do-gooder".

Now being projected by his party as part of a troika along with PM Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, he is a more mature campaigner, attacking the opponents and giving short shrift to estranged allies.

Congress insiders ascribe this `coming of age' to his intense work with the youth and students as the party functionary handling the affairs of the Youth Congress and NSUI.

Over the past few months, he has conducted elections for the office-bearers of these two party wings in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Gujarat. His idea was to "reopen the door of the party to those from ordinary homes". In the process, he gained in grassroots experience.

READ MORE - Rahul Gandhi emerges as lead Congress campaigner

'Sonia is a couple of thousand feet taller than Advani'

Patna Calling Congress President Sonia Gandhi much "taller leader" than NDA's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani, Congress nominee and TV star Sekhar Suman, contesting from Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat, has said that RJD chief Lalu Prasad is "non-secular".

"Soniaji is a couple of thousand feet taller than Advaniji. No parallel can be drawn in their statures," Suman, who is locked in a triangular fight with film-star Shatrughan Sinha and RJD'S Vijay Kumar Sahu to make his maiden entry into the Parliament,said in Patna on Monday.

"Sonia Gandhi having majority support could have become Prime Minister way back in 2004. But she sacrificed her candidature and decided to make Manmohan Singh the Prime Minister.

But Advani, despite his age, was harbouring ambitions for becoming Prime Minister and relentlessly canvassing for people's support, Suman said, adding the BJP leader's efforts reflected "selfishness of sorts".

Advani should have left a younger man in the race for the top job, he said

"While Sonia Gandhi has an image of representing people with secular credentials, Advani is leading a party which has a communal background," he said.

Asked why he considered Advani communal, Suman quickly responded saying it was not he but the people of the country who have judged that the saffron leader was heading a party having a communal agenda.

"Sonia Gandhi is a respectable and honest representative of India's secular polity," the film-star turned politician said.

On Sonia's foreign origin issue, he said the issue has been laid to rest. "We are proud that she decided to live in India to serve its interests even after the assassination of her husband Rajiv Gandhi," he said.

In reply to a question, Suman said Rahul Gandhi has started gaining political acumen and "I am sure he will be the leader of India in future".

On Congress projecting Manmohan Singh for a second term, he said "It supplements the points I raised about the Sonia-Rahul family, which is still ready to make sacrifices and is not interested for the top job only."

Criticising RJD chief and Railway minister Lalu Prasad for his outbursts against Congress that it was equally responsible for the demolition of Babri Masjid, Suman said "A person like Lalu Prasad who has never been secular doesn't have a right to speak on the issue".

"I claim that Lalu Prasad is casteist from the core of his heart. He cannot claim to be a leader of a secular platform," he said.

"It is unfortunate for Indian politics that a man who enjoyed power with Congress support in Bihar and at the Centre for a long period is showing marked opportunism," he said.

Suman, though, refused to press for Lalu's resignation from the Union Cabinet, as demanded by the state unit of the Congress.

"It speaks volumes about the latter's opportunist character," Suman said about Lalu's continuance in the Cabinet.

To another question as to why he chose Congress, Suman said "My choice has been influenced by the Congress leadership and the qualities it has shown to serve the people of India".

Asked about the preference of Bollywood stars for Congress or parties other than BJP, Suman said ''First of all I will like tell you we are unnecessarily being taken as Bollywood stars.''

''We belong to a Hindustani film-making industry where all of us are secular and will try our best to bolster the country's secular fabric ... We represent all castes and sections of societies and we want that the secular image of the country is maintained,'' he said.

Asked whether he believed Shatrughan Sinha, pitted against him, was a representative of communal forces, Suman's cryptic comment was ''I will only go by the people's decision about a person being secular or communal.''

Suman said the he was in contest with a potential rival but at the same time he respected Sinha a lot for a long time. ''Losing or winning will be decided by the voters but I am in the fight here to serve the people of my home town as it is the only way to justify one's position in a life-time,'' he said.

READ MORE - 'Sonia is a couple of thousand feet taller than Advani'

Congress hopes to ride on success of NREGA, forest land right

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and granting of forest land right to tribals, two flagship programmes of the UPA govt may help congress electorally in Gujarat where tribal population is around 15 per cent and can influence eight seats.

Tribals, which are spread in North-Eastern and South belt of Gujarat, are the main beneficiaries of these two schemes introduced by the Congress-led UPA government.

In the state, out of 26 Lok Sabha seats, four are tribal reserved seats-Bardoli and Valsad in South Gujarat and Dahod and Chhota Udeipur in Central Gujarat.

However, apart from reserved seats, tribals have considerable presence in Panchmahal, Bharuch, Sabarkantha and Banaskantha parliamentary constituencies.

“Our main campaign centres of NREGA, which has given work to the people in tribal areas and has had a positive impact on rural economy,” said Nasvadi Congress MLA Dhirubhai Bhil.

“We also tell people that ask BJP leaders to make their stand clear regarding the employment guarantee scheme. It is important to know whether the BJP if voted to power, will continue the scheme or scrap it,” he said.

READ MORE - Congress hopes to ride on success of NREGA, forest land right

UPA government has fulfilled all its promises: Rahul Gandhi

While addressing an election rally in Lakhimpur (Assam) Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi said “UPA government has fulfilled all promises made to the people five years ago. The government had promised to work for poor people, Dalits and for the backward classes.”

Congress General Secretary said that the biggest promise made by the UPA government was that of Employment Guarantee Scheme. Through this millions of people have been given employment.

He added “the UPA government carried out loan waiver programme for poor farmers and loans worth Rs 70,000 crores were waived. Mid-day meal programmes for school going children of this country is another big achievement of the UPA government.”

He said that Assam has a sizeable population of tribal people and the government has enacted a law to ensure their rights on the forestland.

Congress General Secretary said “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has a special relationship with Assam and the country is moving at a fast pace under his leadership.” He said “compared to the NDA regime, India’s GDP has registered faster growth during UPA’s rule. And this has happened because Congress Party has focused on poor people.”

He criticized BJP for being anti-poor and said that this is the fundamental difference between the Congress and the BJP. He said “five years ago, NDA had said that India was shining but India was shining only for some people, not for all. That is why people rejected that idea and showed them the door.”

Rahul Gandhi said that India could not move forward without the progress of the poor people. “Till there is single poor person in this country, India cannot shine,” he said.

He criticized BJP for their charge that Manmhohan Singh was a weak Prime Minister. Rahul Gandhi said that during NDA’s rule, terrorist attacked our Parliament and killed people.

He asked opposition leader L K Advani why he did not know anything about Kandhar. He said that either Advani was not telling truth or he did not have the trust of his Prime Minister.

Rahul Gandhi concluded by saying that the UPA government is focusing on road connectivity in North- East India and more funds would be allocated to stop floods in the region.

READ MORE - UPA government has fulfilled all its promises: Rahul Gandhi

Kandahar hijack exposed former PM Vajpayee says Rahul Gandhi

Sangli (Maharashtra), Apr 20 : Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi alleged that former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee did not trust his deputy L.K Advani during the 1999 Kandhar hijack episode.

"How did the Home Minister did not come to know or what kind of a Home Minister was he? And if he doesn't know about it, then it only means that the Prime Minister Vajpayee did not trust the Home Minister. It can also mean that they were weak and had to bow down in front of the terrorists," Rahul said, in an obvious reference to Advani's statements that the incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a "weak" candidate for the top post.

Speaking at an election rally here on Sunday, he said there was a rift in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government during the 1999 Kandahar hijack episode.

Five armed men hijacked the Airbus A-300 carrying 189 passengers and crew between Kathmandu and New Delhi on Christmas Eve in 1999.

The plane touched down in western India, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates before landing in Kandahar in Afghanistan.

The hijackers killed one passenger early in the week-long stand-off, but the remaining passengers and crew walked free after India released three Kashmir separatist militants from jail.

India said the hijackers, who were never caught, were all Pakistani and accused Pakistan's Government of complicity in the hijacking, charges it denied.

Juxtaposing the Kandahar incident to last year's Mumbai attack, he said the steps taken by Dr. Singh forced Islamabad acknowledge that the attack Mumbai was launched and partly planned from Pakistan,

"The Mumbai attacks made Prime Minister Manmohan Singh exert pressure on Pakistan. For the first time, Pakistan accepted that the terrorists had come from their soil," Gandhi said.

READ MORE - Kandahar hijack exposed former PM Vajpayee says Rahul Gandhi

Rahul flays NDA's India Shining claim

Lakhimpur, Apr 20 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday ridiculed NDA's 'India Shining' campaign, saying so long as "there is one poor and one unemployed in the country, India cannot shine".

"If you trust the poor, the country goes ahead faster. The poor in the country have shown that India is not shining contrary to the NDA's claim," Gandhi said at an election
meeting in this Upper Assam town.

"Till there is one poor and one unemployed in the country, India cannot shine. This is our belief and we will go ahead holding everyone's hand," the AICC general secretary
said.

Underlining the need to promote the poor and the adivasi community along the development process, he exhorted voters here to support prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi in ensuring the country's progress.

"Elections are here, support Manmohanji and Soniaji and make them victorious so that they can work for the poor, the adivasis for the country's development," he said.

"When Manmohanji and Soniaji won the last elections they made one promise to the people that if the UPA came to power it would be a government for the poor, common man, dalits and adivasis", Rahul reminded.

"In the last five years, UPA fulfilled that one promise. Rojgar programme was started and crores were given employment. A law was also made that if any Indian wants employment, the government guarantees that", he pointed out.

"Our farmers are helped by our government. Their Rs 7000 crore loan debt has been waived and the money given back to them to make a new future for them", the Congress leader said.

"For children we have given mid-day meal in all government schools to help the very poor parents who can't send their children to school as they have to work at home", Gandhi said.

"In Assam the adivasis have been given land and their right returned to them. Tribal councils have been formed for them. Manmohanji has relations with Assam and he has worked for the poor here. He has taken up flood control projects and gave Rs 140 crore from the centre", Rahul said.

"The UPA has led the country forward and much faster than the NDA had. The opposition makes various slogans as in Maharashtra and elsewhere only to make people fight with one another", he alleged.

READ MORE - Rahul flays NDA's India Shining claim

Congress battles a BJP novice in Bellary

Bellary, April 20:

It's an electoral battle between two unequals. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has dared the Congress by fielding a political novice this time from the prestigious Bellary Lok Sabha constituency - once a Congress stronghold.

With the rich iron ore mining district in north Karnataka, about 300 km from Bangalore, becoming a reserved constituency for Scheduled Tribals (ST), the Congress has fielded NY Hanumanthappa, its sitting MP from adjacent Chitradurga seat, to take on B Shanta, the BJP's only woman candidate in the state.

Making her political debut, the 36-year-old housewife and younger sister of state Health Minister B Sriramulu, hopes to win the seat that was wrested from the Congress by the BJP's G Karunakara Reddy in the 2004 general elections.
Karunakara Reddy, elder of the three powerful Reddy brothers of Bellary who dominate the multi-billion rupee mining business, resigned from the Lok Sabha after winning from the Harpanahalli segment in the May 2008 assembly elections to become revenue minister in the first BJP government in Karnataka.
The middle brother, G Janardhan Reddy is the tourism & infrastructure development minister in the BS Yeddyurappa government, while the third brother G Somashekar Reddy won the Bellary assembly segment in the 2008 elections.
Still a backward district, dusty Bellary shot into national limelight in the 1999 snap polls when Congress president Sonia Gandhi contested for the first time and won, defeating BJP's Sushma Swaraj.
But Gandhi's decision to abandon the Bellary seat to retain the Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, from where also she won with a thumping majority, had been a turning point with the Congress losing ground in its traditional bastion due to her "betrayal".
"The Congress failed to recover since then as evident from the outcome of the 2004 elections when the BJP wrested the Lok Sabha seat from it and went on to win seven of the eight assembly segments in the 2008 assembly elections," said S Shankarappa, a political observer and a resident of Bellary for over four decades.
The BJP further consolidated its hold in the region by winning majorities in the district's local and urban bodies.
Hanumanthappa, 70, who retired as Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court in 2004, exudes confidence of his victory, contending voters are fed up with the "money power and muscle power" brazenly displayed by the BJP and the Reddy brothers, who are funding Shanta's election campaign.
"I don't want to comment on my rival who is younger to me by a generation and is a housewife. She is a proxy candidate of the Reddy brothers whose writ runs large in the district with money and muscle power," Hanumanthappa told IANS, while canvassing on a hot day, with day temperatures hovering around 43 degrees Celsius.
Sriramulu, who heads Shanta's poll campaign, justified her candidature. "The party and we are proud of Shanta for accepting the challenge though a greenhorn in politics. If Congress could field Sonia a decade ago, why not our sister who has been toiling in rural and interior areas to connect with the people as their sister, daughter or next-door woman," he said.
With no Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) candidate in the fray, Bellary is set for a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP though there are seven other candidates, including from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Bellary goes to polls April 23.
Of the 1.32 million voters, about 700,000 are STs and Scheduled Castes (SCs), around 300,000 are Lingayats and 60,000 from minority communities, with the rest from other castes and communities.
Declared as a hyper sensitive constituency, Bellary has reported maximum number of poll violations and malpractices in the state ranging from distribution of liquor and money, misuse of official machinery, including vehicles and charges of intimidating voters.
Even as the BJP mounts a high voltage campaign with filmy songs, folk and tribal dances, fireworks and magic shows to attract voters, the Congress is concentrating on door-to-door canvassing and roadside meetings to win over the electorate back to its party fold.

READ MORE - Congress battles a BJP novice in Bellary

Track Record of the Shiela Dikshit Government in Delhi

By Suvrokamal Dutta

The recent Delhi Assembly election results have proved as to who rules Delhi. Truly after the third successive victory Shiela Dikshit has proved that she is the unchallenged empress of Delhi no matter how serious the challenges are from her political foes. Shiela Dikshit has proved it once again that the coveted throne of Delhi will remain with her again for at least for five years more and she has also made it very clear to her foes that, when challenged, she also knows how to successfully defend the Delhi crown.

The question might arise as to what makes the Chief Minister of Delhi so popular among the common masses. A lot has got to do with her personality and her hard work and no-nonsense style of functioning. In the last ten years of her rule Delhi has achieved milestones in several sectors. Looking at it sector-wise one can realise it well. Her major feat has been in the public transport sector. The Chief Minister herself says that the biggest achievement of her government has been to give clean air for the people of Delhi to breathe. This is factually true. The air today in Delhi is clean and there is greenery all around. Conversion of 65,000 vehicles to the CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) mode has made Delhi home to the maximum number of vehicles running on green fuel in any city in the world. The success of the Delhi Government was recognised the world over. Lately Delhi got the clean city award in America. If one has to compare the pollution level in the air of Delhi ten years back with that of now, it has come down by almost 200 per cent which is a huge achievement for any government. One still remembers when CNG was introduced it was the very BJP under Madan Lal Khurana that had taken to the streets of Delhi protesting the move; today it is the same BJP which sings laurels for CNG. It is this far-sightedness of Shiela Dikshit that makes her stand so tall in Delhi politics.

Another sphere where the Chief Minister has succeeded is in the area of road transport network. Delhi today has around 69 flyovers with several more in the pipeline. The road situation in Delhi will no doubt improve in the coming days. Again, many new bridges have been built over the river Yamuna; the recent one under construction over Wazirabad would be the largest signature bridge in the world. These are no mean achievements of the Shiela Government.

Introduction of BRT as a pilot scheme was no doubt an innovative project but things have gone chaotic for the BRT due to the lack of proper planning and mismanagement. The concept is, of course, a new and good one but proper planning and proper management needs to be there for its success. The new government is planning at least three more new BRTs for Delhi but then it has to move very cautiously on the issue as the present BRT has created a lot of woes for the general public. Its existing loopholes need to be addressed first. Recent surveys by television channels during the Assembly elections in Delhi have shown that the people in Delhi are not against the idea of BRT which they feel is a good concept but want its deficiencies to be tackled. The BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in the recent elections and the main Opposition party tried to use the woes of the BRT to the maximum to garner political mileage out of these but utterly failed in that endeavour. The argument given by the BJP of breaking the BRT if it came to power or of doing a review of it did not go down well with the people of Delhi as it was felt that the BJP was against development; moreover, the money of Rs 120 crores which was used for constructing the BRT was taxpayers’ money after all. It is true that things have gone wrong with the BRT but at least the present Chief Minister has the vision of trying something unique and scientific and this gives her an edge over the BJP, which seems to be visionless when it comes to the question of developmental issues in Delhi.

The metro rail has been a unique achievement of the Shiela Dikshit Government. It’s true, the whole concept of metro rail was started by the BJP Government of Madan Lal Khurana and by the NDA Government of Vajpayee. However, the way it was carried forward by the UPA Government and by the Shiela Dikshit administration once again attests to the CM’s foresight. The fact is that she understood that metro is the need of the hour for Delhi—she not only carried the project forward but also made it a point to extend it further and by 2020 AD the master plan of Delhi is trying to get the whole of the NCR of Delhi connected by metro rail which would definitely make Delhi a world-class city. Construction of the Delhi metro rail has started on a war footing and most of the projects of the different phases are getting completed before time or within the deadline.

Though the Shiela Dikshit Government has made attempts on the electricity and power front, so far success has been limited in this area. The power distribution system has been privatised and the power situation has improved dramatically. However, the consumption (demand) level is more than the supply which makes Delhi reel under power cuts in peak hours in the hot summer months. But compared to eight to 10 hours of power cuts 15 years back the power cuts in Delhi today are generally between two-to-four hours, which is a remarkable improvement. Though power theft has been greatly reduced, there is still scope for improvement. Today there is a three-tier system to deal with power shortages. However, the biggest problem on the power front in Delhi is with the discom and its faulty fast power meters, which the Chief Minister has promised to eradicate as soon as possible. The fact that the Chief Minister has tried her best on the power front also gave her an edge over her opponents in the recent Assembly elections.

Another unique move of the Delhi Government under Sheila Dikshit has been the Bhagidari scheme. With this scheme the government encouraged people’s participation in government projects. This scheme was adopted in the true spirit from the teachings of Gandhiji and Nehruji. Planting trees along the banks of the Yamuna and removal of garbage from the river initially started with government officials under the scheme but soon people belonging to all walks of life from in and around Delhi voluntarily came forward to work and take part in the Bhagidari project. Today the success rate of the project is quite high. Currently Delhi has almost around 15 per cent of its total area brought under the green cover and forests, and Bhagidari has been an outstanding system of achieving this. Hopefully within another couple of years Delhi would have around 20 per cent of its total land holdings under the green belt.



There are three vital areas where the Chief Minister’s team has to work round the clock. One relates to Yamuna cleaning. Of course, the Yamuna Action Plan is under the Urban Development Ministry of the Government of India and the Delhi Government doesn’t have much say there. The Delhi Government has a department for cleaning the Yamuna. And the Shiela Dikshit Government had started Shram Daan (voluntary work) for the removal of garbage from the river; however, little has been done so far. The Chief Minister herself accepts that her biggest regret is that she hasn’t been able to do much for the river. But cleaning of the river should not be a major problem for her as there is a Supreme Court deadline now for cleaning the river and the Congress enjoys power both in Delhi as well as at the Centre.

The second major area of concern is the law and order situation in Delhi. It is true that law and order in Delhi has improved but a lot more needs to done on this front. Maintenance of domestic law and order has perhaps been the biggest challenge of the Shiela Dikshit Government so far and her track record hasn’t been up to the mark as yet. Of course, the national security of Delhi is under the Central Government but then there is no escape route for Shiela Dikshit by throwing the ball in the Centre’s court.

There are several loopholes in the domestic side too which need to be addressed urgently. Providing basic and clean drinking water and uninterrupted supply is a major concern for ordinary folks in Delhi, and this is another area which needs immediate attention.

For making Delhi a truly international city by the Commonwealth Games in 2010 the above three major concerns need to be addressed soon. One is the cleaning of Yamuna; two, law and order; three, basic drinking water. The Shiela Dikshit Government cannot be complacent on these issues. Construction of the Commonwealth Games Village is not enough; the basic necessities must be ensured forthwith.

The people of Delhi have voted Shiela Dikshit back to power because of her towering personality and quality of work, her development oriented and statesmanlike approach, due to her easy availability and access. Before her the 84-year-old veteran of the BJP, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, was no match in the Assembly elections. Yet it needs to be added that she should not take the mandate for granted; after all, in a democracy it is the people who ultimately matter and the politicians must always be vigilant in meeting the people’s needs and requirements through selfless service.

The writer is a renowned economic expert and a political critic.

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BJP solely to blame for Babri demolition: PM

Guwahati, April 19 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday rejected Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad’s charge that the Congress too was to blame for Babri Masjid, saying the BJP was solely responsible for the 1992 mosque demolition.

Addressing a press conference in Amin Gaon in Guwahati, the prime minister also said he would prefer to put an end to the slanging match with Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani.

“We can’t be blamed,” the prime minister said replying to a question on his reaction to Lalu Prasad’s remark on the Babri razing. He said that the then BJP chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh “did what he did” despite his affidavit to the apex court that he will protect the 16th century disputed structure.

“It is known to everybody that then BJP chief minister Kalyan Singh gave a solid assurance to the Supreme Court and after that he did what he did. The Congress party certainly cannot be blamed because it believed that Kalyan Singh would honour the affidavit given to the Supreme Court.

“But he didn’t honour it and that is the only fault you can find with the Congress party with regard to the demolition of the Babri Masjid,” the prime minister said.

Lalu Prasad, the railways minister, had said in Bihar that the Congress was also to blame for the demolition as it did nothing to prevent it, despite being in power at the centre then.

Signalling an end to his slugfest with Advani, who has repeatedly called him a “weak prime minister”, Manmohan Singh, replying to a journalist’s query, said: “I don’t want to prolong the match and the dialogue whatever I had to say I have said already”.

Speaking on terrorism, he said: “Communalism, terrorism, and Naxalism (Maoism), is today a big threat to the country’s unity and integrity, but we are committed to fighting all these evils with a firm hand. To defeat communalism, we all have to vote for the Congress party as we are the only party that stands for secularism.”

On the global financial crisis, the prime minister said the meltdown was a result of “financial mismanagement” by developed countries and it would blow over “partially” by September.

“This crisis has arisen due to mishandling of the financial system by the major developed countries,” he said.

“We expect the crisis to be partially over by September when we can go back to our growth rate of 8 to 9 percent.”

He also said the Congress if voted to power would make a renewed effort to curb militancy and terror.

“I am confident the Congress party and its alliance partners would be able to form the next government at the centre and we shall work for development and fight terrorism with a renewed effort,” the prime minister said.

The prime minister, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Assam, was in Guwahati to address an election meeting at Amin Gaon on the outskirts of Assam’s main city of Guwahati.

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Rahul Gandhi to visit Maoist area Sunday

Bhopal: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will visit Madhya Pradesh's Maoist-affected Balaghat district Sunday despite warnings that the rebels could target VIPs, a party leader said here Saturday.

Congress state general secretary Rajiv Singh said Gandhi would address an election campaign meeting as scheduled.

Singh had Saturday said that Gandhi's trip may not materialise in view of the threat perception and warning by intelligence officials.

Official sources said the home ministry sent an advisory to the state government, saying that Maoists might target important leaders during the election campaign.

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Third and Fourth Fronts formed to grab power: Sonia

Bhadrak (Orissa), Apr 19 : Lashing out at the Third and Fourth Fronts, Congress President Sonia Gandhi said on Saturday that these were formed to "grab power and chair".

"There are several fronts for grabbing power and chair. These fronts have no ideals, principles and also no future," Gandhi told an election meeting in Bhadrak.


These fronts, she said, also have no political agenda for the betterment of the country and welfare of the people except to criticise the UPA government at the Centre headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. 

Hitting out at BJP, she said, "Congress never does politics in the name of religion on communal lines, whereas BJP is a communal party with an agenda to divide society." 

The UPA chairperson also lambasted the Naveen Patnaik government in Orissa accusing it of "throwing all development works and welfare schemes into the sea".


Though the Congress-led UPA government pumped in thousands of crores of rupees into Orissa for development, the BJD failed to utilise the funds, Gandhi said. The state, she said, had been pushed to backwardness due to "misrule" by the Naveen Patnaik government in the last nine years.

Claiming that the country had made giant strides in the field of science and technology and space research during the UPA rule, Gandhi said a number of schemes had been implemented for speedy rural development and welfare of the poor.


The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the National Rural Health Mission and many other programmes were introduced by the UPA, but Orissa failed to get the benefit as it diverted Central funds, she alleged. 

Citing an example, the Congress president said the Centre had released Rs 42 crore for flood management in Bhadrak, but the state had "failed" to initiate work.

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Advani is a 'dishonest PM-in-waiting': Congress

Ahmedabad, Apr 19 : In a scathing attack on L K Advani, Congress alleged on Saturday that the BJP leader was a "dishonest PM-in-waiting" while questioning his statements on the Kandahar hijack episode.


"Irrespective of what happened in Kandahar, the fact is a leader should lead from the front. He should speak nothing but the truth," Congress party's national spokesperson Abhishekh Singhvi told reporters in Ahmedabad.


Referring to the Kandahar incident, he asked, "whether the country can afford to have a dishonest prime minster in waiting, who is deliberately, blatantly taking liberties with the truth."


Singhvi said that Advani in his book and in a TV interview had said that he was not aware or part of the meeting which took the decision to escort terrorists to the Kabul city in 1999 in return for freedom for the passengers of Indian Airlines flight IC 814.

"However, George Fernandes, the then defence minister, in a TV interview last year had categorically said the he (Fernandes) and Advani, the then home and deputy prime minister, were present in the meeting that took the decision on sending the terrorist to Kandahar," Singhvi said.


"Mr Advani has been completely proved to be taking gross liberties with the truth. He deserves to come clean on this issue, as either of the two is lying," the Congress spokesperson said.


Singhvi said that there was no reason why Fernandes who is not a Prime Ministerial candidate, should lie on this issue.


"Advani, should either condemn his minister's version or accept that he spoke falsely," he said.

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