Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is once again in the spotlight. He received immense welcome after being reinstated as the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad, Kerala, with the slogans of “Na Darenge, Na Jhukenge” and “NafratHatao, Bharat Jodo” being heard at the AICC headquarters in Delhi. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge distributed sweets among leaders of the Opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A. during a meeting in his chamber, ahead of the commencement of the House proceedings. In a tweet, Kharge said: “The decision to reinstate Shri @RahulGandhi as an MP is a welcome step. It brings relief to the people of India, and especially to Wayanad. Whatever time is left of their tenure, BJP and Modi Govt should utilise that by concentrating on actual governance rather than denigrating Democracy by targeting opposition leaders.” Gandhi, meanwhile, led the charge against PM Modi on Wednesday in the Lok Sabha when he said: “You are putting the entire country in flames. First it was Manipur, now it is Haryana. You want to burn down the whole country.” In the fiercest attack yet on Modi and the central government, Rahul Gandhi charged Modi with “murdering India in Manipur”. He said: “The truth is Manipur has been divided into two parts. Manipur does not exist anymore.” The second leg of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is set to start from Gujarat and extend to the northeastern state of Meghalaya. The party is chalking out a route plan for the yatra and is likely to start on 2nd October at Porbandar.
KAMAL NATH-LED CONGRESS SINGSSOFT HINDUTVA TUNE IN MADHYA PRADESH
In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress has been inclined towards using soft Hindutva to counter the BJP’s advantage and avoid being labeled as an ‘anti-Hindu party’. By doing so, they seek to protect themselves from accusations and maintain a positive image among the Hindu population. Congress MP and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Kamal Nath said that as 82% of people in the nation were Hindus, India was already a Hindu Rashtra. He said this while referring to the self-styled godman DhirendraShastri’s demands for a Hindu Rashtra.Nath added that there should be no debate on the matter as it’s an established fact backed by data. On the other hand, RJD veteran Shivanand Tiwari criticised Congress MP Nakul Kamal Nath for hosting DhirendraShastri in Chhindwara, alleging that the BageshwarDham chief has been openly advocating for turning India into a Hindu Rashtra.”We have been opposing Shastri for his Hindutva agenda. Our country is governed by the Constitution, not any other ideology,” said Tiwari.
FARMERS OF MAHARASHTRA RALLY BEHIND KCR’S KEY POLICIES
Farmers of Maharashtra, who gathered in large numbers at Islampur in Sangli district, offered their support to the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) and its slogan of ‘Ab Ki Baar, Kisan Sarkar’. The speakers emphasised that Telangana under the leadership of CM K Chandrashekhar Rao had received a major turnaround in key sectors such as agriculture, irrigation and power in a short span. Farmers, who were enjoying the favour of the State government with the implementation of RythuBandhu, RythuBima, free power and extension of irrigation facilities to all their land holdings with the construction of major projects such as Kaleshwaram, were a happy lot. While BRS supremo KCR said that if the pink party wins all the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra and the 17 in Telangana, no party could form the next government at the Centre without the support of these 65 MPs.
CM GEHLOT IN FAVOUR OF CASTE CENSUS FOR EFFECTIVE SOCIAL JUSTICE
In a bid to emphasize the politics of social justice before the assembly elections in the state and 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced that his government is in favour of conducting a caste census and will be moving towards raising the OBC quota by 6% from 21% to 27%, a move focused at consolidating the Congress party’s position in the OBC vote bank. The OBC population in Rajasthan is just over 50%. He said that the caste census will provide aid to identify the most backward castes and will perhaps see that they get the benefits of reservation. Earlier, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and senior Congress Rahul Gandhi had demanded that the Union government should seek for a caste census immediately. Kharge has written to PM Narendra Modi on the topic, while Rahul Gandhi has demanded that the government frame the 2011 data on castes public and lift the 50 per cent cap on reservation for the backwards classes. Currently, Rajasthan has a reservation of 64%, with 21% for OBCs, 16% for SCs, 12% for STs, 10% for EWS, and 5% for MBCs.CM Gehlot also announced the “Indira Gandhi Free Smartphone Yojana 2023”, an initiative focused solely with an aim of providing free smartphones to around 40 lakh women, along with free internet and voice call services.
AKHILESH YADAV, MAYAWATI RAISE DEMAND FOR CASTE-BASED CENSUS
In Uttar Pradesh, BJP and Samajwadi Party have commenced preparations for 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In a bid to galvanise the party cadres and to revive the politics of social justice, Samajwadi Party has instructed senior leaders among its ranks, especially the backward cell, to conduct village-level meetings to impart people about the need for caste census for inclusive growth. On the other hand, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Chief Mayawati too, has made the demand for caste-based census. She cornered the Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh and the Union government, saying that even though the demand for caste based census is picking up everywhere, the BJP is busy dodging it. She said that such a census should be conducted at an all-India level, as it is necessary for the development of every section of the society. The issue of caste census, like the implementation of the recommendation of the Mandal Commission, is not only an conducive matter of politics, but also of social justice, said Mayawati.
WITH EYE ON 2024, PRIYANKA’S NEW ROLE AS BRIDGE-BUILDER FOR RAHUL LIKELY
The grapevine is that Congress general secretary in-charge of UP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, is likely to attain a new assignment in the party. Priyanka may need to discontinue her role of UP in charge and focus on other states. She had already paid visit to places such as Jabalpur and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, and received tremendous response. In case Priyanka is relieved of her UP role, the name of the veteran Tariq Anwar is doing the rounds as her possible replacement. While Priyanka will be made general secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh and will play a prominent role in the party’s campaigns in elections later this year, analysts feel that Congress will have to offer Priyanka Gandhi a more prominent role to get into contact with those leaders who are actually not in sync with Rahul Gandhi. (IPA Service)
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