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)

NEW DELHI, (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sambit Patra accused the Congress on Saturday of not complying with income tax rules, leading to the freezing of their bank accounts. Reacting to the Congress’ allegation over the ‘freezing’ of its bank accounts ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, BJP leader Sambit Patra said, “All political parties get an exemption in tax. Any party cannot be discriminated against in this. But why were Congress’ accounts ‘frozen’? The Congress party skipped the tax return deadline and extended deadline in 2017-18.”

He further stated that the Congress not only missed the extended deadline for filing tax returns but also exceeded the limit for cash donations. “In 2017-18, the Congress broke two rules. It missed the extended deadline and exceeded the limit of cash donations. Under Rule 13A, it is clearly mentioned that if these rules are not complied with, the provision for exemptions will be withdrawn. So, in the nomenclature of income tax, the Congress party is defined as an ‘association of persons,’ and it would be subjected to normal tax liability,” Patra said at a press conference on Saturday.

The BJP leader noted that all parties receive some exemption in taxes under the provisions of the Constitution. “All political parties, under the rules of Section 13A of the Income Tax Act, are granted an exemption in tax. This is a constitutional provision in India. No parties are discriminated against. The Congress, BJP, and TMC are treated the same,” he explained.

Explaining why the Congress’ accounts were frozen, Patra pointed out that the Congress had missed the extended deadline for paying their tax returns for 2017-18 by December 2018 and paid their taxes only in February 2019. “Why were Congress’ accounts frozen? The assessment for FY 2017-18 was evaluated in 2018-19. The tax had to be collected on the Congress party’s business, donations of 2017-18, which had to be paid within the tax return deadline. There is also an extended deadline, and if we do not pay taxes within that date, we have to pay a penalty,” the senior BJP leader explained.

“The Congress party had an extended deadline of December 31, 2018, to pay their tax return. But the Congress party did not comply with this. They paid their tax return in February 2019,” Patra further clarified. Patra also highlighted that the Congress party exceeded the stipulated limit of cash donations and received donations worth Rs 14 lakhs in cash.

“Secondly, any political party cannot accept cash donations of more than Rs 20,000. But when the Congress party’s accounts for 2017-18 were assessed in 2018-19, it was found that they had not complied with this rule. Astonishingly, despite knowing the rules, the Congress had accepted a cash donation of Rs 14 lakhs,” Patra said. The Congress alleged on Thursday that the BJP froze its bank accounts ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, making it difficult for them to prepare for the elections.

Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi alleged on Thursday that there is a “systematic effort” underway by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “cripple” the Indian National Congress financially, calling it “unprecedented and undemocratic.” (ANI)

NEW DELHI, (PTI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday in an indication that the BJP is looking to ally with him for the Lok Sabha polls to boost its alliance in the western state.

Senior MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said in Mumbai that the talks on Lok Sabha polls between the two leaders were ”positive”, and details will be shared in a day or two.

The meeting drew sharp reactions from the Maha Vikas Aghadi camp, with the Congress accusing the BJP of ”betraying” north Indians. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray accused the BJP of trying to ”steal a Thackeray” to win elections, underlining that the brand Thackeray is indispensable in the state. Senior NCP leader and state minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who belongs to the Ajit Pawar camp, said if MNS joins the BJP-led ‘Mahayuti’, it will increase the strength of the ruling alliance.

Raj Thackeray, who arrived in Delhi on Monday, was joined by BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde when he met Shah earlier in the day.

If the alliance is sealed, the MNS may be given one seat to contest from Mumbai where his cousin Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction enjoys considerable influence.

Raj Thackeray had parted ways with Shiv Sena, when it was undivided and led by his cousin, and founded MNS in 2006. However, the MNS could not make much impact even though Raj is seen as a powerful orator and enjoys a certain following.

His controversial comments against north Indians in the past had drawn sharp criticism from leaders of various political parties, including the BJP.

Riding high on the Marathi manoos plank, the MNS contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Though it drew a blank, the party damaged the prospects of many Shiv Sena and BJP candidates in some constituencies, especially in Mumbai.

In the assembly elections held in the same year, the MNS put up an impressive performance and won 13 seats. However, the party subsequently lost its appeal among voters and its stock dwindled, pushing it to the margins of state politics. Barring 2009, the MNS has not been able to come anywhere close to the 13 seats it had won. In the 2019 elections, the party won just one seat in the 288-member House.

Attacking the BJP over the attempt to ally with his estranged cousin, Uddhav Thackeray alleged that his former ally was trying to ”steal” a ”Thackeray” to win elections.

”BJP knows very well that they don’t get votes in the name of PM Narendra Modi in Maharashtra. People vote here in the name of (Bal) Thackeray. This realisation prompted the BJP to try to steal leaders from outside (BJP fold),” he said at a rally in Nanded.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged the BJP and the MNS are trying to forge an alliance as they are afraid of Maha Vikas Aghadi’s success.

The NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) said Raj Thackeray’s meeting with Amit Shah has not surprised them as there were indications of the MNS chief’s closeness to the BJP.

NCP (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto claimed the MNS leader has been under the scanner of Central agencies and has been trying to save his party.

The fortunes of Thackeray’s MNS have been dwindling and the meeting could salvage him and protect his party, he claimed.

The Congress said by trying to ally with MNS, the BJP has not only betrayed north Indians but has also rubbed salt in their wounds, referring to the protests held by the Raj Thackeray-led party in the past. (PTI)

LUCKNOW, (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday mocked the BJP’s ”Modi ki guarantee” slogan and said it was nothing but a ”ghanti” (bell) which the people were asked to ring during Covid.

Yadav accused the ruling BJP of capturing the constitutional institutions of the country and said he has ”faith” in the Election Commission but not in the ruling party. On leaders of various parties joining the BJP, he alleged that the BJP put pressure for their joining.

Describing the BJP’s ”Modi’s guarantee” as a ”ghanti”, he said the candidates who are agitating for jobs in the state should take a pledge to ring the ”ghanti” of these guarantees by voting against the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to reporters here at the party office, the SP chief, while replying to a question on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ”guarantee”, said, ”The BJP, which did not give guarantee of anything, is not giving the same in election time.” Rhyming ‘ghanti’ with ”guarantee”, he said, ”In reality, it is the same ghanti which was given to the people during the Covid period.” He was apparently referring to the prime minister’s address to the nation in March 2020 lauding the hard work of medical professionals, sanitation staff, airline crews, delivery persons and media personnel among others, and asking the people to express gratitude to them by giving them a five-minute standing ovation by clapping hands, beating plates or ringing bells.

”Neither ”jumle” (rhetoric) were fulfilled nor the guarantees will be,” Yadav said.

He accused the Election Commission of not taking any action on the SP’s complaints of wrongly ”deleting” the names of the SP supporters from the voters’ lists.

He alleged that 18,000 names of SP supporters were deleted from the voters’ list and added that a list regarding the same was handed over to the EC but nothing was done.

Replying to a question about the EC, he said, ”I have faith in the commission, but not in the BJP which weakens the institutions and uses them. It is doing injustice with their help.

”It is the responsibility of any government to ensure that constitutional institutions do not get weak. The stronger the institutions, the more empowered our democracy will be,” he said.

He alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government has continuously failed to fill the vacancies in the government. Recruitment has failed to take place due to paper leaks, he said.

”The future of 60 lakh youth of the state is in darkness and if they and their families turn against the BJP, it will be wiped out from the state and also the country,” he said.

The SP president said if two members of the families of these 60 lakh children are also included as voters, then there would be 1.8 crore votes. If this number is divided by 80 (the number of Lok Sabha seats), then the BJP’s votes will be reduced by 2.25 lakh in every parliamentary constituency,” he said, giving his calculations.

He said the candidates who were agitating for jobs in UP should now go home and take a pledge to vote against the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

On electoral bonds, he said, ”No one in the history of the world would have made such a ‘vasuli’ (extortion) as the BJP government and its leaders have done. The ED, the CBI and the Income Tax Department have been misused to extort donations. Such recovery might not have happened in any other democratic country in the world.” The SP chief said he considers electoral bonds as ”extortion through intimidation”.

“How will the BJP respond to this? These (BJP) people used to humiliate others by conducting ED, CBI and Income Tax raids on them. Today a list has come to the fore showing how much has been extorted from whom. Rules have been donations but not for extortion,” he said.

On a question whether the SP would demand a CBI probe into the electoral bond case, Yadav said, ”Whatever will be done now, only the people will do. Only the people can save democracy.” (PTI)