Rahul Gandhi Archives - Page 7 of 21 - Lokmarg

LDF, Cong Showing Fake Unity: Antony

By LokMarg 27th June 2023

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Anil K Antony on Tuesday said that the Left Democratic Front and the Congress party are fooling the people in the country by trying to create a fake unity.

Speaking on the arrest of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran in a cheating case in Kerala, the BJP leader said, “Fight between Congress and CPIM in Kerala is clearly visible now after the arrest of Sudhakaran. On one hand, they speak of opposition unity and on the other hand, there is an open fight going on in states.
Anil Antony told ANI that all the events in the last few days in Kerala and events across India in many states are an example that the opposition unity is just on paper.

“It is just fragments of fantasy by a few parties which has nothing in common, in vision or ideology or direction. The only thing all these parties are trying to create in the name of unity is their common opposition towards Prime Minister Modi Ji”, BJP’s Anil Antony said.

He further said that it also shows the opposition’s contempt towards the mandate of the people of the country.

“It shows their contempt towards the mandate of the people of India. What these parties fail to realise and what they fail to remember at this point is that in 2014 and 2019, there is a central government that has been elected by the people of India through one of the largest mandates in history and here are these people without anything in common except for their hatred towards the PM. In another way they are also disrespecting the mandate of the public”, Antony added.

Antony asserted, “Now in Kerala these two parties, the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) which are among the 15 opposition parties who attended the meeting in Patna, whose leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sitaram Yechury are together saying that they have to fight BJP. But in Kerala what we are witnessing is the actual reality of these two parties. There the Congress is saying that the CPIM government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is one of the most corrupt administrations in entire India.”

The BJP leader escalated his attack on the two parties and said that the CPIM-led government in Kerala is charging cases against the leader of the opposition and KPCC chief while their leaders in the Capital are claiming they are on the same page in the fight against BJP.

“The CPIM government in Kerala is charging cases and having an investigation against the Leader of the Opposition and the KPCC president in the state. The KPCC chief was arrested 2 days back and the LoP is facing vigilance charges against him. Then ironically the same people are coming here and in one stage they are sitting with Rahul Gandhi and then they are saying we are united in the fight against BJP”, Anil Antony said.

He further alleged that every one of the 15 members of the coalition is doing the same with each other like the events in Kerala and making a fool of the public.

“Rahul Gandhi himself is blaming the CPIM leadership by saying that they will not tolerate any kind of intimidation by the CPIM government in Kerala. So all this is just cacophony. Every one of the 15 members of the coalition across India are doing this to each other and then they think that they can fool the public”, he added.

He further said, “They can fool the people of this country by trying to create some fake unity against PM Modi. The public will stand with the Prime Minister in 2024 and we are absolutely sure that this is to happen especially when we see all this kind of hypocrisy that two of the main parties of the 15 doing right now.”

Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s tweet on the KPCC chief’s arrest in Kerala, Anil Antony said, “This is exactly my point. This is BJP’s point, Rahul Gandhi himself is saying that we don’t fear political vendetta. Vendetta of whom is he talking about? The CPIM. The same CPIM whose general secretary Sitaram Yechury with whom he actually shared a stage in Patna in the fight against the BJP?”

Further responding to Sitaram Yechury’s remark that the case against the KPCC chief is not politically motivated and the rest all are misinterpretations of facts, Antony said, “In Kerala, BJP is fighting very hard on the ground to bring out the facts. Now that the CPIM and Congress have come to an under-the-table understanding at the central leadership. We want to ensure that whatever is the truth comes out and justice prevails.” (ANI)

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If We Win Bihar, We Can Win Across Country: Kharge

By LokMarg 23rd June 2023

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday addressed the party workers at Bihar State Congress office Sadakat Ashram and said that if the party wins in Bihar they can win across the country.

Senior party leader Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader KC Venugopal were also present at the party office ahead of the Opposition leaders’ meeting.
“If we win Bihar, then we can win across the country,” Kharge said while addressing the party workers in Patna.

He also appealed to the people to unite and work in favour of the country and its democracy.

“I appeal to you to come together despite differences and work in favour of the country and its democracy. We must take forward what Rahul Gandhi has started,” he said.

The party office is covered with posters and banners of Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and other leaders.

The Congress leaders reached Patna to attend the Opposition leaders’ meeting hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, with an aim to arrive at a consensus to forge a united Opposition front to take on the BJP.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar welcomed Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge on their arrival.

Leaders of Opposition parties from across the country are set to meet in Patna to chalk out a strategy to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Opposition picked Patna as a venue for its meeting as it represents the 1974 call of total revolution by Jayaprakash Narayan that toppled Indira Gandhi’s majority government.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti were among the leaders who reached Patna ahead of the meeting. (ANI)

‘Rahul Rajneeti Chod Do’: BJP Puts Posters With Rahul As ‘Devdas’

By LokMarg 23rd June 2023

Ahead of the Opposition meeting in Bihar’s Patna, posters mocking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as ‘real-life Devdas’ was put up outside Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office here.

“Mamata Didi ne kaha Bengal Chod Do, Kejriwal ne kaha Dilli aur Punjab chod do, Lalu-Nitish ne kaha Bihar chod do, Akhilesh ne kaha Uttar Pradesh chod do, Stalin ne kaha Tamil Nadu chod do, woh din dur nahi jab sab mil kahenge, Congressi (Rahul) rajneeti chod do. (Mamata didi asked to leave Bengal, Kejriwal asked to leave Delhi and Punjab. Lalu and Nitish asked to leave Bihar. Akhilesh said to leave Uttar Pradesh. Stalin said to leave Tamil Nadu….that day is not far when everyone will ask Congress (Rahul) to leave politics),” the poster stated which had Shah Rukh Khan, the reel Devdas, and Rahul Gandhi, the ‘real Devdas’.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday arrived in Bihar’s Patna to attend the Opposition leaders’ meeting hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, with an aim to arrive at a consensus to forge a united Opposition front to take on the BJP.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Kharge said that the opposition parties’ agenda is to remove the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre and they all would fight together.

“We all want to fight together against BJP and our agenda is to remove the BJP government,” Kharge said while talking to the media as he left for the opposition meeting in Bihar’s Patna.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad asked who would be the Prime Ministerial candidate from the Opposition for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.”Nitish Kumar 2024 ke liye baaraat saja rahe hai Patna mai, baaraat me to dulha bhi hota hai, pr is baaraat ka dulha kon hai? (Nitish Kumar is preparing the wedding procession for the 2024 elections in Patna, but who is the groom (PM contender). Everyone is calling themselves a PM contender,” he said.

The opposition unity meeting will be hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with the aim to arrive at a consensus to forge a united Opposition front to take on the BJP.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Kharge said that the opposition parties’ agenda is to remove the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre and they all would fight together

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge would attend the opposition unity meeting in Patna on Friday along with party leader Rahul Gandhi.

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Patna: Opposition Leaders’ Meet Begins For 2024 LS Polls

By LokMarg 23rd June 2023

The highly-anticipated Opposition meeting begins in Bihar’s Patna hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with an aim to arrive at a consensus to forge a united Opposition front to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Opposition picked Patna as a venue for its meeting as it represents the 1974 call of total revolution by Jayaprakash Narayan that toppled Indira Gandhi’s majority government.
Ahead of the meeting, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “There is a war of ideology going on in India. On one side is Congress party’s ‘Bharat Jodo’ ideology and on the other RSS and BJP’s ‘Bharat Todo’ ideology …Congress party’s DNA is in Bihar.”

He said that the opposition parties have come together to defeat the BJP.

“BJP is working to spread hate, violence and break the country. We are working to spread love and unite. Opposition parties have come here today and together we will defeat BJP,” he added.

As leaders of several opposition parties arrived in Patna on Thursday, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary decided to skip the conclave due to a “pre-decided family programme”. Chaudhary, however, hoped the meeting will be an “important milestone in the path of opposition unity”.

This came after the Janata Dal (United), which is hosting the meet, said Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has not been invited to the event.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati took a dig at the meeting with sarcastic remark, “Dil mile ya na mile, haath milate rahiye”.

She also used another Hindi proverb “Muh me Ram, bagal me chhuri” and said the opposition parties should have cleared their intentions before the meeting.

The meeting has been called by Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar and will be attended by leaders of parties opposed to the BJP.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, MP Sanjay Raut, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah arrived on Friday. (ANI)

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World Praises Modi Except Congress: Nadda

By LokMarg 22nd June 2023

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) JP Nadda on Thursday slammed Congress party and said the whole world praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi while the Congress called him a snake, illiterate, chaiwala.

“The whole world praises PM Modi but Congress calls him a snake, illiterate, chaiwala. Today there is an economic slowdown in America, Europe, and Australia but India’s economy is standing strong,” BJP national president said in Jharkhand.
Earlier in May, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had compared PM Modi to a “poisonous snake”.

“PM Modi is like a ‘poisonous snake’. You might to check if it’s poison or not. But if you lick it, you’re dead,” Kharge had said at an election rally.

However, he later issued a clarification on his remark, saying his statement wasn’t intended at hurting anyone.

PM Modi is currently on a State visit to the US. Prior to the visit to the White House, PM Modi met Gary E Dickerson, the President and CEO of Applied Materials, Sanjay Mehrotra, President-CEO of Micron Technology and H Lawrence Culp Jr, Chairman and CEO, of General Electic and CEO of General Electic Aerospace.

PM Modi, who arrived in Washington DC on Wednesday, started his day by attending the ‘Skilling for Future’ event where he said that India and the United States partnership will serve as the driving engine behind sustainable and inclusive global growth. (ANI)

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Could Never Imagine, Disqualification From Parliament: Rahul

By LokMarg 1st June 2023

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that he was the first person to be given a “maximum sentence for defamation” and had never imagined something like him being disqualified from the Lok Sabha, could ever happen when he joined politics two decades ago..

Referring to his disqualification from Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament (MP), Rahul Gandhi who is on a 10-day tour to the US made the remarks at Stanford University in California on Wednesday.
“I don’t think when I joined politics in 2004, I ever imagined what I see going on in our country. It was way outside what I had ever imagined,” Gandhi said.

“I was the first person to be given a criminal sentence for defamation and the maximum sentence to be disqualified from the parliament. I didn’t imagine something like this was possible. But I think it has given me a huge opportunity, probably much bigger than the opportunity I would have gotten sitting in the parliament, that’s just the way politics works,” said Rahul Gandhi.

His remarks come a day after he while addressing the Indian diaspora in San Francisco lashed out at the PM Modi.

Rahul Gandhi in March was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha after a Surat court sentenced him to two years imprisonment in a defamation case filed against him over his ‘Modi surname’ remark.

The decision came pertaining to his remark made in April 2019, where he had said “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname” at a Lok Sabha election rally at Kolar in Karnataka. The court approved Gandhi’s bail on a surety and stayed the sentence for 30 days to allow him to approach the higher courts.

In his Stanford address, Gandhi said that opposition in India is struggling and the drama started months ago.

“The drama started six months ago. We were struggling….The opposition is struggling in India. A huge financial dominance, institutional capture, struggling to fight the Democratic fight in our country. None of the systems were working,” said Rahul Gandhi.

“Democracy isn’t just about an opposition party. It’s about several institutions that support the opposition. Those institutions were either captured or were not playing the role they were supposed to play,” he added.

On Tuesday, addressing NRI’s in California, Rahul Gandhi took Taking a jibe at PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi said that some groups in India have the “disease” of being under the impression that they know everything.

“In India, we grew up with people of different languages, different religions. And that is what is being attacked. The tradition in India, of people like Gandhi Ji and Guru Nanak Ji, has been that you should not be under the impression of knowing everything. It is a ‘disease’ that some groups of India think that they know everything. Even if they have a conversation with God, they might explain to him,” he said.

Further adding to his remark, the Congress leader said, “And of course, Prime Minister is one of them. If you make him sit with God, he would start explaining to him (God) how the universe works…and God would get confused about what I had created.”

The remarks triggered a backlash from BJP who criticised the Congress leader of using foreign soil to tarnish the image of India.

Rahul Gandhi is on a 10-day visit to the country. He will cover three cities– San Francisco, Washington DC, and New York. (ANI)

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What’s Happening To Muslims, Happened To Dalits In 1980s: Rahul

By LokMarg 31st May 2023

Targeting the BJP-led government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said, “what is happening to Muslims in India today, happened to Dalits in the 1980s” and it has “to be fought with affection”.

Speaking at the ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukaan’ event in San Francisco in the United States, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the impact of some actions of the BJP-led government was being felt by minorities and people from the Dalit and tribal community.
“It is being felt by the Muslims most directly because it is done most directly to them. But in fact, it is done to all communities. The way you (Muslims) are feeling attacked, I can guarantee Sikhs, Christians, Dalits, and tribals are feeling the same. You can’t cut hatred with hatred., but only with love and affection,” Gandhi said.

“Also, this is a periodical thing. What is happening to Muslims in India today happened to Dalits in the 1980s. If you went to UP in the 1980s, this was happening with Dalits…We have to challenge it, fight it and do it with love and affection and not with hatred and we will do that,” he added.

The Congress leader was responding to a question concerning Muslims in India from ‘Bay Area Muslim community’ and the steps Congress will take to tackle the issues faced by them.

Rahul Gandhi is on a six-day visit to the United States to interact with the Indian diaspora and express the Congress party’s “commitment to democratic values in India and across the world”.

During the event, Rahul Gandhi also spoke about “economic inequality” and said that while some people were finding it difficult to make ends meet, about “five people have lakhs of crores” rupees.

The Congress leader talked about the caste census conducted during the Congress-led UPA government, MNREGA and the NYAY (Nyuntam Aay Yojana) proposed by the Congress.

“When we were in power, we had carried out the caste census. The idea was to take an X-Ray of society. Because without understanding the exact demographic and who is who, it is very difficult to distribute power effectively. We have been asking the BJP to release the numbers of the caste census and they are of course not doing it. When we will come to power we will do that,” he said.

“We are committed to making India a fair place. We understand deeply that India today in terms of its treatment of Dalits, tribals, the poor and minorities is not a fair place. And there are many things that can be done. The NYAY scheme that we proposed, MNREGA, increases education and healthcare spending, all these things can be done”.

Attacking the Narendra Modi government, he alleged that it does not want to discuss issues of price rise, unemployment, and inequality and was trying to cause distractions.

“I would have to look at exactly how they are planning to do it (delimitation exercise to increase the number of MPs). What criteria they are using? I would be interested to know how have they come up with the number 800. These things should not be done flippantly. India is a conversation, a negotiation between its languages, its people, their history and its culture. And the negotiation has to be fair.

“All sections of the country should feel that there is fairness in the process of negotiation. But, these are all distractions. The real issue is price rise, unemployment, and inequality. BJP can’t really discuss them, so they have to do the old sceptre thin. Lying down and doing all that. Aren’t you happy that I am not lying down?” he asked.

Answering another query, he said as per Constitution, the definition of India is ‘Union of States’.

“The idea is that the history, culture, and language of each and every state has to be protected under the union. BJP-RSS is attacking that idea as well as the Constitution of India. I know that Tamil is more than just a language for the people of Tamil Nadu. And I would never allow the Tamil language to be threatened. Because for me, an attack on Tamil, Bengali, Hindi, Kannada or Punjabi is an attack on India,” he said.

Answering a query, he said allies of Congress had objections to Women’s Reservation Bill and the party will work for its passage when it comes to power. (ANI)

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Modi Would Start Explaining To God How Universe Works: Rahul

By LokMarg 31st May 2023

Launching a scathing attack at the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in the Centre, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that he had to launch ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ because all instruments of doing politics (connecting with people) were “being controlled” and the “whole India” walked with him during the mega foot march.

The Congress leader, who is on a 10-day tour to the US, was addressing the Indian diaspora at an event titled ‘Mohabbat ki Dukaan’ in San Francisco on Wednesday.
Addressing a gathering there, Rahul Gandhi said, “Some months ago, we started a walk from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. While walking we realised that normal instruments for doing politics (connecting with people) were not working anymore. They were controlled by the BJP and RSS. People are threatened and agencies are used against them. In some way, it had become quite difficult to act politically. That is why we decided to walk from the southernmost tip of India to Srinagar.”

Taking a jibe at PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi said that some groups in India have the “disease” of being under the impression that they know everything.

“They (BJP) can speak to scientists and explain science to them. They can explain history to historians, warfare to the army and flying to the air force. But at the heart of it, they don’t know anything,” he lamented.

Rahul Gandhi went on accusing the BJP-led government in the Centre of “trying everything to stop” his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, but nothing was working against the “effect” of the foot march.

“When we started the Yatra, we thought, let’s see what happens. In 5-6 days, we realised walking thousands of kilometres is not an easy job. I had an old knee injury that started to act up. Then quite a surprising thing happened. After walking 25 km every day, I felt that I am not feeling tired at all. Everybody around me said that they were not feeling tired. It was not us that was walking, the whole of India was walking with us,” the Congress leader said.

He further said that it was during the Yatra when the idea of ‘Nafrat Ke Bazaar Mein Mohabbat Ki Dukaan’ came up to his mind.

“Not just in India, ‘Bharat Jodo’ is an idea which is about respecting each other and being affectionate to each other. It is about not being violent towards each other, not being arrogant. And I did nothing compared to Guru Nanak Ji. I read that he walked to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. He was doing Bharat Jodo much before. In Karnataka, Basavana ji. In Kerala, Narayan Guruji, every state has had these giants,” he said.

The Congress leader said that one cannot know anything without listening to people.

“That’s the tradition of our country. We have the ability to absorb any idea that comes. India has never rejected any idea. Everybody has been received with open arms. And their idea has been absorbed. India that respects everyone, India that is humble, India that is affectionate. And that’s the India that you represent. You were not here if you had not believed in this. If you had believed in anger, hatred, arrogance, you would have gone to BJP, and I would have started ‘Mann ki Baat’,” Rahul Gandhi added. (ANI)

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Will Win 150 Seats In MP: Rahul

By LokMarg 29th May 2023

Weeks after Congress party’s landslide victory in Karnataka, former MP Rahul Gandhi exuded confidence for the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and said that the party will win 150 seats there.

He made the remarks after a meeting of party national president Mallikarjun Kharge with other party leaders.
Speaking to the reporters, Rahul Gandhi said, “We had a very detailed meeting right now. Our internal assessment says that since we got 136 seats in Karnataka, we are now going to get 150 seats in Madhya Pradesh. What we did in Karnataka, we will repeat in MP”.

However, the former MP from Wayanad refused to comment on the Chief Ministerial face of the party in the state.

Mallikarjun Kharge held a meeting with the party leaders from Madhya Pradesh on Monday. Along with him, Rahul Gandhi, party General Secretary KC Venugopal, MP state chief Digvijay Singh and former CM Kamal Nath were also present in the meeting.

In the 2018 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Congress emerged as the single largest party with 114 seats and BJP got 109 seats.

However, in 2020, the Congress government lost the majority followed by the resignations of some MLAs. After this, BJP formed the government in the state and Shivraj Singh Chouhan was reinstated as the Chief Minister. (ANI)

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Opposition Unity: Nitish Kumar Meets Rahul Gandhi, Kharge

By LokMarg 22nd May 2023

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is in the national capital as part of efforts to forge a united front against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday.

The meeting was held at Kharge’s residence. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who has accompanied Nitish Kumar in such meetings, was not present at Kharge’s residence due to “health reasons,” sources said.

The meeting comes in the backdrop of suggestions for a big opposition meeting in Patna.

Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav had met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the national capital on Sunday and had extended support to the AAP leader against the Centre bringing an ordinance which is seen to have nullified Supreme Court judgement handing over reins of “services” to the Delhi government with some exceptions.

The ordinance creates National Capital Civil Service Authority.

Nitish Kumar slammed the Centre and asked, “how can powers given to an elected government be taken away?”

“It’s against the Constitution. We stand with Arvind Kejriwal,” he said.

The Bihar Chief Minister said they will hold meetings in the future. “We are trying to bring together all opposition parties in the country.”

Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav had met Kharge and Rahul Gandhi last month also. (ANI)

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