Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Saturday said those criticising party leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on V D Savarkar, should first explain why the Hindutva ideologue was getting Rs 60 pension from the British.
Gandhi has kicked up a row with his remarks on Savarkar made earlier this week during the Maharashtra leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra. He has claimed that Savarkar had helped the British and wrote a mercy petition to him out of fear. “Those who criticised Rahul Gandhi for his comments on Savarkar should first reply why the latter was getting a pension of Rs 60 from the British,” Patole said in response to a query about criticism of Gandhi for his remarks against Savarkar and Shiv Sena’s stand that such comments will hamper MVA alliance. He said the Bharat Jodo Yatra received an overwhelming response in Maharashtra and the Congress was united and energised. Patole said his party wants an ideological debate and it wants to unite people. The Congress believed in non-violence, he said.
Congress general secretary in-charge of the party’s communication and publicity wing, Jairam Ramesh, said the the grand old party was celebrating November 19 as ‘Kisan Vijay Diwas’ as it was on this day last year that the three farm laws were withdrawn by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after protests. ”November 19 is a historic day and we are celebrating it as Kisan Vijay diwas. The only long-term solution for welfare of farmers is upgrading irrigation facilities in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, where farmers are committing suicide,” he said. Women elected representatives and members of self-help groups (SHGs) joined the yatra with Rahul Gandhi to mark the birth anniversary of late prime minister Indira Gandhi, he added.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Sonia Gandhi paid floral tributes at Indira Gandhi’s memorial Shakti Sthal in the morning. A number of leaders also visited her memorial and paid tributes. “Paid floral tributes to the Iron Lady of India, former Prime Minister Smt Indira Gandhi Ji on her birth anniversary at Shakti Sthal. She will always be remembered for her indomitable spirit, courage and commitment towards a strong and united India,” Kharge said on Twitter. In another tweet in Hindi, he said, “Salutes to the ‘iron lady’ of India Mrs Indira Gandhi on her birth anniversary, an example of lifelong struggle, courage and efficient leadership.” He also said that she sacrificed her life to preserve the unity and integrity of India and dedicated her life to the nation and Indians will remember her for her political determination.
Paid floral tributes to the Iron Lady of India, former Prime Minister Smt Indira Gandhi Ji on her birth anniversary at Shakti Sthal.
She will always be remembered for her indomitable spirit, courage and commitment towards a strong and united India. pic.twitter.com/rKA2zinhmX
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi also paid tributes to Indira Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra. He also shared a video of her life on Twitter.
“She grew up in the freedom struggle, learnt from the great leaders of India, and was her father’s darling. She was Durga for the country, and Kali for her enemies – fearless, bright, Priyadarshini…,” Rahul said in a tweet in Hindi. BJP MP Varun Gandhi also shared a picture of him with his grandmother. “Not just leadership, but generosity, not just power, but motherhood, tributes to the country’s mother and my dear grandmother on her birth anniversary,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.
आज़ादी के संग्राम में पली, भारत के महान नेताओं से सीखी पढ़ी, पिता की लाडली थी वो।
The Congress also shared a video of Indira Gandhi’s life and said, “Today, we remember the Iron Lady of India Late Indira Ji. Her role in the 1971 war was exemplary. She embodied service, patience, restraint and a decisive leadership.” The party also organised an event “Spirit of Unity” to observe the day which was attended by party president Kharge and Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The special event is themed around ’75 years of independence’ and is being held at Indira Gandhi’s memorial here.
A day after he warned of a split in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Veer Savarkar, Shiv Sena- Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Sanjay Raut Raut on Saturday said that this country is Jawaharlal Nehru’s land.
While talking to the media, Raut said the whole country respects the freedom leaders.
“Veer Savarkar, Subhash Chandra Bose, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Mahatma Gandhi, all those who sacrificed their happiness in the freedom struggle for this country, the whole country has respect and faith for them,” Raut said.
He further said that former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had done a lot for the country and it is his land.
“Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru made a lot of contributions towards the development of the country. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken much time for the country to become like Pakistan. The country is Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s land,” Raut added.
On Friday, Raut had warned Congress of a rift in the MVA, which comprises the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), apart from the Uddhav-Sena.
“We consider Veer Savarkar as a reverential figure,” Raut said.
Earlier, addressing a press conference in Maharashtra on the sidelines of his ongoing ‘Bhaat Jodo Yatra’, on Thursday, Rahul Gandhi reading from a letter purportedly written by Savarkar to the British, claimed the saffron ideologue betrayed leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhhai Patel by signing on a letter of apology to the British before independence.
“Veer Savarkar wrote to the British saying, ‘Sir, I beg to remain your most obedient servant’, and signed on it. Savarkar helped the British. He betrayed leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel by signing this letter out of fear.”
Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi on Friday, Raut said, “The country is heading towards dictatorship and there’s inflation, unemployment and atrocities on women. The ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ is meant to highlight all these issues. The maximum support for the Yatra has been received from Maharashtra. So, there was no need to raise the topic of Veer Savarkar. Even Congress leaders in Maharashtra don’t appreciate it (Rahul’s remarks on Savarkar).”
The remark had drawn outrage from the BJP, with the party’s national spokesperson Sambit Patra claiming that the statement was consistent with the Congress’ habitual insult of national icons such as Subhas Chandra Bose and Sardar Patel.
Labelling Rahul Gandhi’s statement as ‘deplorable’, the BJP leader demanded that he tender an unconditional apology.
Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Thursday drew a huge backlash, with a complaint being registered against Rahul at Thane Nagar police station.
The complaint stated that the sentiments of the local citizens had been hurt by Gandhi’s remarks.
A case of Non-Cognizable Offense was registered against the Congress MP under IPC sections 500 and 501.
The China funded Gwadar port in Pakistan promised an economic revolution but it has turned out to be a segregated harbour settlement, whose economic benefits are not enjoyed by the local population, The China Project, a New-York based news website reported. While Gwadar Port has been in development with Chinese funding for more than seven years, residents of the area don’t see any benefits to their own lives or improvements in basic infrastructure outside of the fenced-off port.
A social activist in Gwadar Nasir Rahim Suhrabi said, “This generation of youth in Gwadar grew up over the past 20 years with a dream that Chinese money would transform Gwadar into a new Dubai or Singapore, but what they see today is enough to shatter their hope.” Suhrabi further added that the whole city is in a security zone where the locals are facing restrictions and security checks to move across the port city.
The mini fish harbour has become a part of Gwadar Port, where local fishermen no longer enjoy free access to the harbour since they have to pass through security protocols. Koh-i-Batil, a hilly area just south of Gwadar Port, used to draw crowds for its sea views.
“It used to be a place for entertainment for local visitors before construction began. Now they cannot enter the area without passing through various security checkpoints,” he said.
Political activists also claim that the way that the port city is being developed puts locals at a disadvantage, according to The China Project. Another social activist in Gwadar, Kalsoom Baloch said that the problems had worsened with the development of the port. She further said that the locals are “anxious.” While building the port, the initial plan was to relocate the locals but the chairman of Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) until September of this year said that they are not shifting them.
Talking about locals’ fears about “becoming a minority”, Naseer Khan Kashani said that these are “merely apprehension” due to an influx of foreigners. “This is not true,” The China Project quoted Kashani as saying. “If we just look at the arrival of non-locals and Chinese in Gwadar over the past five years, it nominally increased the Gwadar population, which is estimated at 150,000. Locals are still a majority.” He also said that they are working to give a better infrastructure to the area. However, local analysts weren’t convinced that their reservations about China-funded development are unfounded. “Why were the people of Gwadar not consulted when Pakistani authorities planned the development of the port? This shows that decision makers in Islamabad have no interest in addressing the legitimate concerns of local people,” Jan Muhammed Baloch, a political analyst, told The China Project. The Chinese government hyped the project as being “inspired by…Chinese city Shenzhen,” but the reality seems to be far from what is being echoed in the country.
Meanwhile, the development of the port has also ignited anger from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a local separatist group labelled as a terrorist organization by Pakistani authorities, which resents China’s growing economic footprint in the region, The China Project reported. An increasing number of attacks on Chinese nationals — including a failed suicide bombing in May — have driven Islamabad to ramp up security in the region, frustrating local residents.
The Gwadar residents with whom The China Project spoke about the port development are not militants. But if their concerns continue to be ignored in Beijing and in Islamabad, Gwadar is unlikely to have a peaceful or prosperous future.
India’s bid for a permanent seat in a reformed United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has received strong support from Veto members.
After the United Kingdom, France reiterated its support to India, Germany, Japan and Brazil for the creation of new permanent seats.
Addressing the UNSC’s annual debate on Security Council reform on Friday, France’s Deputy Representative to the UN, Nathalie Broadhurst Estival said, “France endorses the candidacy of Germany, Brazil, India and Japan as permanent members for permanent seats.”
“We also want greater representation from African countries including as permanent members of the council as many seats should be distributed to ensure geographical representation,” she added.
In the UNSC, Ambassador Estival stated that the issue of the veto is highly sensitive. She stressed that it is up to the States requesting a permanent seat to decide on the matter.
She further explained that the objective must remain twofold: to consolidate the Council’s legitimacy and to strengthen its capacity to fully assume its responsibilities in the maintenance of international peace and security.
It is in this spirit that France proposed that the five permanent Council members voluntarily and collectively suspend the use of the veto in cases of mass atrocities.
With regard to the Council’s working methods, she reaffirmed the organ’s competence to define them and to emphasize the commitment of the Council’s members to greater transparency, openness and efficiency.
Earlier, the UK also extended its support to India for permanent membership of the UNSC. UK Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward said, “We support the creation of new permanent seats for India, Germany, Japan and Brazil, as well as permanent African representation on the Council.”
Woodward stated that the UK also supports an expansion of the non-permanent category of membership, taking the Security Council’s total membership to somewhere in mid-20s.
The General Assembly opened its annual debate with speakers renewing their appeals for enlarging the 15-member organ and updating its working methods to make it more transparent, inclusive, representative, accountable and effective in a world gripped by a cascade of interlocking crises.
A youth hatched a conspiracy and killed his father for an insurance claim of Rs 10 lakh in the Sendhwa police station area in Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani district, an official said.
The police arrested the accused son, Anil Pawar (27), a resident of Ambedkar Colony, Sendhwa along with three others involved in the murder conspiracy on Friday. The three other conspirators have been identified as Pintu, Golu and Karan.
Barwani Superintendent of Police (SP) Deepak Kumar Shukla said that Sendhwa police received information on November 10 that a 52-year-old man, Chhagan Pawar died in a road accident.
After that, the police registered a case under section 304 A of the IPC and started an investigation into the matter.
When the police team check the CCTV footage and cyber reports, they grew suspicious and interrogated the people concerned then it came to light that Anil along with three others hatched a conspiracy to kill his father.
Besides this, the father-son duo had a dispute regarding family issues and money, he added.
The police added section 302 of the IPC into the matter and arrested all four accused.
Further proceedings into the matter were on, SP Shukla added.
As the elections for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) are around the corner, the poll panel on Friday finalized a list of 42 counting centres and strong rooms in consultation with respective District Election Officers and Returning Officers.
According to the Delhi State Election Commission, the identified centres will also be used to impart training on the use of electronic voting machines (EVM), roles and responsibilities of various electoral functionaries such as sector officers, polling officials etc.
The Commission has already deployed Master Trainers for this purpose.
As per past practice, these selected counting centres are located in various government educational institutions such as ITIs, schools etc. The strong rooms shall be used for the safe and secure storage of EVMs, said the Commission.
The Commission this time is stressing more on ensuring the maximum use of postal ballots by service personnel who are deployed on election-related duties. In this regard, the Commission appointed a Nodal Officer to facilitate the processing of postal ballots.
Since a significant fraction of election functionaries consist of police personnel, special care will be taken to ensure that all such police personnel on election duty are facilitated to enable them to cast their vote with ease and convenience.
Delhi Police after consultation with the Commission has appointed a DCP level officer as Nodal officer to coordinate and facilitate casting of votes through postal ballots.
Further, the Commission intensified its drive to ensure free and fair elections by strictly enforcing the Model Code of Conduct.
In this regard, a total no of 1,18,123 posters, banners, hoardings and small boards were removed across Delhi on November 18 taking the cumulative figure to 9,54,580.
The elections for the 250-ward Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will be held on December 4 while the counting of votes will be done on December 7.
Meanwhile, the Delhi State Election Commission informed that 1,169 nominations were cancelled after scrutiny for the upcoming Municipal Corporation elections.
The scrutiny of the nomination papers was carried out on Wednesday. In 65 cases, the final decision on the nomination was taken after supporting documents.
“As many as 65 cases, which required further adjudication under rule 22 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Election of Councilors) Rules, 2012 to adduce more supportive evidences to the claims of the contesting candidates in the proceedings that are of quasi-judicial in nature, have also been finally disposed of on Thursday,” stated MCD.
The State Election Commission received total 2,585 nominations, out of which 1416 nominations were found valid–674 male and 742 female.
The Commission received nomination papers from 2021 candidates. There are 250 valid candidates each from Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party. As per information, three nominations of Congress were cancelled in MCD elections, Congress will contest only on 247 seats.
The candidates were rejected eight grounds–incomplete nomination forms, proposers incomplete/ proposer of another ward, missing affidavits, multiple nominations, covering candidates, non-submission of valid caste certificate, invalid/incomplete form, and no security deposit. “A total of Rs. 75,07,500 has been realized by the Commission on account of the nomination fee deposited by the candidates,” said the Commission.
The last date for withdrawal of nominations is November 19. The polls to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on December 4 is shaping up to be a two-way contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which currently holds the civic reins in the national capital, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is in power in the state.
Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson and writer Tushar Gandhi backed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claim on Veer Savarkar and said that Savarkar had apologised to the British to move out of prison and there is evidence for the same in the history.
Tushar Gandhi who joined Congress Bharat Jodo Yatra on Friday, said, “It is true that Veer Savarkar was friend with the British, he apologised to the British just to move out of prison and it is not like we have taken it from WhatsApp University, there is evidence in history.”
Rahul Gandhi earlier said that Hindutva ideologue, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar used to take a pension from British and worked against Congress.
“In Andaman jail, Savarkar wrote a letter and told the British to forgive him and release him from jail. Veer Savarkar took a pension from the British, he worked against Congress. After coming out of jail he accepted the British proposal and joined their force,” he said leading to a political row.
Talking about the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra, Tushar Gandhi said, “Yatras are part of a tradition, have given birth to several revolutions over the years. Today when the country is moving against the construct that our forefathers set, it becomes important for people to realise that we have not given up.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday raked up Veer Savarkar again and alleged that he betrayed leaders like M.K Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel by signing a letter of apology to the British before independence.
Addressing the media here during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi said, “Veer Savarkar, in a letter written to the British, said “Sir, I beg to remain your most obedient servant” and signed on it. Savarkar helped the British. He betrayed leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel by signing the letter out of fear.”
Before entering Maharashtra, the Yatra has already covered parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. Rahul Gandhi will travel through 15 Assembly and 6 Parliamentary Constituencies in five districts of Maharashtra and would cover a distance of 382 Kms.
Bharat Jodo Yatra, which began on September 7 from Kanyakumari, will cover a further distance of 2,355 km in its 3,570-km march. It will end in Kashmir next year. It is the longest march on foot by any Indian politician in the history of India, the Congress claimed earlier in a statement.
Bharat Jodo Yatra is getting support from various political parties and social organizations across the country.
Notably, all the party MPs, leaders and workers, along with Rahul Gandhi, are in containers. Sleeping beds, toilets and ACs are also installed in some of the containers.
The arrangements have been made keeping in view the intense heat and humidity with the change of places.
The Congress suffered a debacle in the assembly polls held earlier this year and the Yatra is seen as an attempt to encourage the party rank and file for the upcoming electoral battles.
Warning Congress MP Rahul Gandhi of a split in the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena – Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP MP Sanjay Raut on Friday said coming to Maharashtra and defaming Veer Savarkar was unacceptable.
Responding to Rahul’s remark against Veer Savarkar on Thursday, claiming that the saffron ideologue took pension from the British rulers in lieu of working against the country and had pleaded with the Raj to be pardoned, Raut said the statement might result in a rift in the MVA, which comprises the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), apart from the Uddhav-Sena.
“We consider Veer Savarkar as a reverential figure,” Raut said.
Addressing a press conference in Maharashtra on the sidelines on his ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, on Thursday, Rahul, reading from a letter purportedly written by Savarkar to the British, claimed the saffron ideologue betrayed leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhhai Patel by signing on a letter of apology to the British before independence.
“Veer Savarkar wrote to the British saying, ‘Sir, I beg to remain your most obedient servant’, and signed on it. Savarkar helped the British. He betrayed leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel by signing this letter out of fear.”
The remark had drawn outrage from the BJP, with the party’s national spokesperson Sambit Patra claiming that the statement was consistent with the Congress’ habitual insult of national icons such as Subhas Chandra Bose and Sardar Patel.
Labelling Rahul’s statement as ‘deplorable’, the BJP leader demanded that he tender an unconditional apology.
Hitting back at Rahul on Friday, Raut said, “The country is heading towards dictatorship and there’s inflation, unemployment and atrocities on women. The ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ is meant to highlight all these issues. The maximum support to the Yatra has been received from Maharashtra. So, there was no need to raise the topic of Veer Savarkar. Even Congress leaders in Maharashtra don’t appreciate it (Rahul’s remarks on Savarkar).”
Rahul’s remarks on Thursday drew a huge backlash, with a complaint being registered against Rahul at Thane Nagar police station. The complaint stated that the sentiments of the local citizens had been hurt by Gandhi’s remarks.
A case of Non-Cognizable Offense was registered against the Congress MP under IPC sections 500 and 501.
