NEW DELHI, (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah has expressed confidence of the BJP-led NDA returning to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asserted that PM Modi will continue to lead the BJP even after the next general elections.

In an interview with ANI, Amit Shah took potshots at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had claimed after being released on interim bail that if BJP-led NDA wins the general election, there would go be a change of leadership in September. Kejriwal had claimed that PM Modi will step down and Amit Shah will become the Prime Minister.

“I want to make it clear again, Modiji will remain till 2029. And Kejriwalji, there is no good news for you. Even after 2029, Modiji is our leader. We will contest elections under his leadership,” Amit Shah told ANI. Amit Shah also took a dig at Arvind Kejriwal’s recent announcement of ten guarantees to the people and said AAP leader’s comments need not be taken seriously as the party is contesting only 22 Lok Sabha seats.

“Don’t take him so seriously, he (AAP) is only fighting 22 seats. And he is giving a guarantee for the entire country. I will waive off the electricity bill of people etc. You are only contesting on 22 seats, where will your government come from?” the Home Minister asked. Answering a query, Shah said Kejriwal’s comments in election rallies to a vote for the “broom” (Aam Aadmi Party symbol) would ensure that he does not return is “contempt” of the Supreme Court.

“I believe that this is a clear contempt of the Supreme Court. So what he wants to say is that if he wins, even if he is guilty, the Supreme Court will not send him to jail. Now that judges who pronounced the judgement have to see if their judgement is used or misused,” Shah said. He also said that many people feel the Supreme Court’s decision granting interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case is akin to him getting special treatment. Amit Shah said that the judgement in the case was not a routine judicial order.

“Supreme Court has the right to interpret the law, I believe this is not a routine judgement. A lot of people in this country believe that special treatment has been given,” Shah told ANI. Responding to a query about Kejriwal campaigning for the AAP and the Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Home Minister took a dig at the Delhi Chief Minister.

“Right now he (Arvind Kejriwal) is stuck in another issue (alleged assault on Swati Maliwal by CM’s aide), let him get free from that then let’s see what happens,” Shah said. Dismissing Arvind Kejriwal’s claims that the central government installed cameras in Tihar jail to keep a watch on him, the Union Home Minister said that the Tihar jail administration is with the Delhi government.

“Tihar is with them (Delhi government), not with us. They are lying continuously. Jail administration is with the Delhi government, it’s with Kejriwal. Not with the Home Ministry,” Shah said. The Supreme Court on May 10 granted interim bail to the Aam Aadmi Party supremo in the alleged money laundering case linked to Delhi’s excise policy. The Delhi CM spent over 50 days in Tihar Jail after he was arrested on March 21 this year by the Enforcement Directorate.

As per court order, the bail is applicable till June 1 and Kejriwal has to surrender to the jail authorities on June 2. The Delhi CM can participate in poll campaigning but cannot attend office as Chief Minister. Four phases of Lok Sabha polls have been held and the voting will conclude on June 1 with results on June 4. Voting for Delhi’s seven seats is scheduled to be held on May 25. Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress are fighting the elections in alliance in the national capital with the AAP contesting four and the Congress three seats. (ANI)

LUCKNOW, (ANI): In a blistering attack on the opposition parties on Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the entire “INDI alliance” are anti-Hindu and anti-Ram. Addressing the media at his official residence before departing for the election campaign, Yogi Adityanath also criticized the statements made by Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Yadav.

“These are the people who open fire at Ram devotees, question the existence of Lord Ram and challenge his divine power. Expecting from them that they would honor India’s faith, national heroes, and show reverence for the esteemed freedom fighters who played pivotal roles in our independence struggle is futile,” CM Yogi remarked. CM Yogi further mentioned that whether it is Congress, the Samajwadi Party, DMK, RJD, or the National Conference, all have opposed the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

“They are against Hindus and the Sanatan faith. They are the ones that nurture the policy of appeasement. These supporters of terrorism behave contrary to the ideals of Lord Ram,” he stated. “People associated with the Congress and the I.N.D.I. alliance have tried from the beginning to stall the verdict from the Honorable Court in the case of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. These people used to act as barriers and create obstacles. When the case went to the Supreme Court, these people ensured that nothing happened for 7-8 years. However, when the NDA government was formed under the leadership of PM Modi at the centre, and then in Uttar Pradesh, the case was expedited,” Yogi added.

He said that under the guidance and leadership of PM Modi, a grand temple was built in Ayodhya. “Millions of devotees from across the nation and around the globe are flocking to express their faith and witness the rejuvenated Ayodhya. The members of the Congress-SP and I.N.D.I. alliance, however, have consistently aligned themselves with those who oppose Lord Ram”, he remarked. In response to the remarks made by Ram Gopal Yadav, CM Yogi criticized them, stating that they exemplify the true nature of the “INDI alliance”.

“These individuals not only manipulate India’s faith for political gain but also challenge the divine authority of Lord Ram. History attests that those who have dared to challenge divine authority have met with adversity,” he said. He further mentioned that the opposition’s statement amounts to disrespecting the Sanatan faith and insulting crores of Ram devotees. “It is an insult to those who have dedicated their entire lives to the Ram temple. Indian society cannot accept this at all. Their statement is provocative, aimed at appeasing a section of society and use them as a vote bank”, he pointed out.

“PM Modi is also saying that the parties associated with the INDI alliance will attempt to make a dent in the reservation of backward, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Their manifesto mentions this. When the Congress-led UPA government was in power, the RJD and SP were its constituent parties. At that time, these people formed the Ranganath Mishra and Sachar committees,” Yogi added. He further highlighted that the Ranganath Mishra Committee suggested giving six per cent reservations to Muslims out of 27 per cent meant for the OBCs. At that time, BJP had strongly opposed this stating that reservation cannot be done on the basis of religion. Then, the Sachar Committee was formed to attempt to intervene in the reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

He mentioned that the opposition parties also tried to include some castes of Muslims in the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, which was opposed by the BJP, as Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar was also against reservations based on religion. Yogi expressed concern that despite efforts to safeguard the rights of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Castes, parties like Congress, SP, and RJD may attempt to diminish their reservation privileges and redistribute them to minorities whenever they have the chance. He warned against the potential division of India, urging voters to vehemently reject such actions. (ANI)

HOOGHLY, (PTI): Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday accused the BJP of ”murdering” democracy ahead of the ”festival of democracy”, and predicted that the saffron camp would face complete decimation in the state in the Lok Sabha polls.

Banerjee’s remark drew sharp reactions from the BJP, which claimed that the TMC was tense as it felt that ground was slipping from under its feet.

”The BJP is wary about the outcome of the Lok Sabha results in Bengal and India. That is why they are desperate to murder democracy, and that too during the biggest festival of democracy – the Lok Sabha polls,” Banerjee told reporters here.

He alleged that there is a collusion between the BJP and central agencies, such as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), to harass the opposition parties.

”The BJP knows it can’t win on its own after 10 years of anti-incumbency and misrule. So they have engaged their trusted allies, the ED, CBI, and NIA, I-T (income tax department), to harass and arrest leaders of the opposition camp. We have no problem if these agencies take action against the real culprits, but we are against witch-hunting,” he said.

A team of the NIA was allegedly attacked by a mob on April 6 when it went to arrest two main suspects in the 2022 blast in Purba Medinipur district, sparking a political slugfest with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accusing the investigators of assaulting villagers there.

Reacting to Abhishek’s remarks, BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya dubbed the allegations as baseless.

”The BJP is confident of its victory and achieving the target of 35 seats. It is the TMC that has sensed defeat and its political ground is slipping beneath its feet. That is why they are making such baseless allegations,” he said.

In 2019, the TMC had won 22 Lok Sabha seats, whereas the BJP had put up its best performance by bagging 18, while the Congress won just two. (PTI)

BANKURA, (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise to take action against corruption after June 4, stating that the BJP’s ”Modi ki Guarantee” implies imprisoning opposition leaders post-elections.

Addressing a rally in Bankura, the TMC chief accused the ”BJP of turning the entire country into jail and urged wives of TMC leaders to hit the streets if their men are arrested ahead of the polls”.

Results of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections from April 19 to June 1 will be announced on June 4.

Continuing her tirade against the central agency, Banerjee alleged that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had gone to Bhupatinagar in Purba Medinipur district without informing the local police.

”The Prime Minister is coming to West Bengal to address election rallies. I have no issues with that. But the way he is saying that stern action will be taken against the opposition over corruption after the Lok Sabha poll results is unacceptable,” she said.

Modi, while addressing an election rally in Jalpaiguri on Sunday, had claimed that while he says ”remove corruption”, the opposition says ”save the corrupt”, promising more stringent action against the corrupt after June 4.

”Is this how a Prime Minister should speak? What if I say I will put BJP leaders in jail after the election? But I will not say this as this is unacceptable in a democracy,” she said.

”This is actually ‘Modi ki guarantee’, putting all opposition leaders in jail after June 4,” Banerjee alleged.

The TMC boss said the BJP has ”in reality turned the country and democracy into a jail.” Banerjee claimed that ”in one pocket you have the ED and CBI while in the other you have the NIA and Income Tax. They are your allies, who are used to threatening us. But the BJP cannot scare us.” Hitting out at the BJP for raiding the houses of TMC leaders at night, the chief minister said, ”Henceforth if TMC leaders are arrested by the agencies, then their wives will hit the streets. We are not scared of these agencies.” A team of the NIA was allegedly attacked by a mob on Saturday when it went to arrest two main suspects in a 2022 blast case in Purba Medinipur district, sparking a political slugfest with Banerjee accusing the investigators of assaulting the villagers.

”Sending agencies to harass women in the area at midnight and later claiming that these women attacked the NIA personnel is unacceptable. Law and order fall under the jurisdiction of the state. It is not appropriate to avoid informing the local police and to attack women at 3 am, only to inform the local police at 5 am. Such actions are not acceptable,” she said.

Banerjee slammed the centre over the arrest of tribal leader and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal and said, ”Why did you arrest a tribal leader and Chief Minister Hemant Soren? I spoke with his wife yesterday.” Soren was arrested by ED in January in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

”Why was Arvind Kejriwal arrested? He is working from jail. His arrest won’t make any difference as he will win the election next time with a bigger margin,” she said.

Taking a swipe at PM Modi for not announcing relief for the people affected in Jalpaiguri following a storm, Banerjee said, ”The BJP government at the Centre is neither announcing it nor allowing us to do it by claiming that it would be a violation of MCC (model code of conduct).” ”The Prime Minister held a meeting in Jalpaiguri yesterday. But he didn’t utter a single word about providing any relief to the people of Jalpaiguri who lost their family members or whose houses were damaged in the massive storm,” she said. (PTI)

ALAPPUZHA, (ANI): Congress leader KC Venugopal on Thursday filed his nomination from Alappuzha constituency in Kerala for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to be held in seven phases across the country beginning April 19.

The Alappuzha parliamentary seat is set to witness a ‘three-cornered fight’ with candidates of the BJP, Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the fray for the upcoming polls. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) won one seat in Alappuzha in the 2019 elections.

This time, the Congress general secretary is pitted against BJP’s Shobha Surendran and CPI (Marxist) AM Ariff who is the incumbent MP from the constituency. Surendran filed her nomination from the Alappuzha constituency on Wednesday.

Venugopal had won the constituency in 2014 and the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. In 2004, the Communist Party of India candidate K S Manoj had won the seat. Congress’s V M Sudheeran had won three consecutive elections- 1996, 1998 and 1999. In the year 1991 CPI’s T J Anjalose won the seat. In the 1984 and in 1989 Congress candidate Vakkom Purushothaman had won. This parliamentary constituency consists of seven Assembly segments- Aroor, Cherthala, Alappuzha, Ambalappuzha, Haripad, Kayamkulam, and Karunagappalli.

The CPI and the Congress, partners in the opposition INDIA bloc are however, fierce contenders in Kerala, with both parties pitting their strongest candidates against each other. Kerala, one of the few states where the Congress still has a strong presence, sends 20 parliamentarians to the Lok Sabha.

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won 19 out of 20 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. While the Congress won 15 seats, its allies Indian Union Muslim League won two seats, the Revolutionary Socialist Party won one and the Kerala Congress (M) won one seat. Voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the South Indian state across all 20 seats is scheduled for April 26, while the counting of votes will take place on June 4. (ANI)

MUMBAI, (PTI): The Maha Vikas Aghadi will win all the five constituencies going to polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra next month, state unit president Nana Patole said on Sunday. Addressing a press conference here, Patole claimed the people are fed up with the ”dictatorial” BJP government at the Centre which will be thrown out of power in elections.

The opposition MVA comprises Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray, Congress, and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).

Voting will be held for Nagpur, Gadchiroli-Chimur (ST), Bhandara-Gondiya, Chandrapur, and Ramtek (SC) seats which fall in the east Vidarbha region in the first phase on April 19.

In four out of these five seats, the BJP and Congress are locked in a straight fight.

Interestingly, Chandrapur was the only constituency won by Congress in Maharashtra in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Patole also claimed the situation is very good for Congress in all five constituencies. 97 candidates are in the fray for the first phase of elections in east Vidarbha region. Patole took potshots at BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis who had said that he would book an entire theatre for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to watch the recently-released movie ”Swatantra Veer Savarkar”.

”Films made on (Narendra) Modi, Nitin Gadkari, and Godse flopped like the recent movie on Veer Savarkar. Fadnavis should watch ‘Munnabhai MBBS’ based on Gandhian ideals. I will book a theatre for him,” Patole added.

He further said Rahul Gandhi’s foot march across the length and breadth of the nation has been successful.

”Rahul has created a place in the minds of people. Instead of mocking Rahul, Fadnsvis (who holds the Home portfolio in the Maharashtra government) should pay attention to the deteriorating law and order situation in the state,” the Congress leader added.

Meanwhile, in a setback for the ruling Mahayuti alliance, former Shiv Sena MLA from Solapur South assembly segment, Dilip Mane, and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader from Latur, Jagdish Mali, joined the Congress in the presence of Patole.

Notably, former Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s MLA daughter Praniti Shinde is contesting the Lok Sabha election Congress nominee from Solapur. ”Mane is a former Congressman who has returned home,” Sushilkumar Shinde said.

He reiterated that the BJP had tried to make Praniti switch to the saffron party but didn’t succeed. (PTI)

BENGALURU, (PTI): The BJP on Friday filed a complaint with the Election Commission, alleging that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra Siddaramaiah violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by using ”abusive words” to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

The state unit of the BJP levelled the charge against the former MLA in a letter to the poll body and said it violated the MCC as per the guidelines issued by the EC.

”This is a personal attack on our leaders. Yathindra Siddaramaiah made a totally reprehensible statement and it is a personal attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah,” the letter stated.

Addressing a party meeting in Hanur town of Chamarajanagara district, Yathindra allegedly said on Thursday: ”Home Minister Amit Shah is a goonda, rowdy; there was a murder charge on him in Gujarat and he was exiled, and Modi did politics keeping such people next to him….” State BJP President B Y Vijayendra condemned the alleged remarks and said it is not right on his part as a former legislator and son of the chief minister to make such statements, and demanded that he apologise. (PTI)