PM's “Mujra” Attack On INDIA Bloc, Priyanka Gandhi's “Decorum” Reply

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 25, 2024 | top-stories

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit back at PM Narendra Modi’s remarks at a rally in Bihar

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “mujra” remark at a rally in Bihar today drew a sharp response from Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who said the Prime Minister must maintain the decorum of his post. The remark, made when the Prime Minister was accusing the Opposition of vote bank politics, was panned by other INDIA leaders too.

Mujra is a dance performance widely associated with courtesans.

Addressing a rally in Bihar, the Prime Minister doubled down on his charge that the INDIA bloc plans to rob backward classes of their rights and favour Muslims — an allegation denied by the Congress and its allies.

“Bihar is the land which has given a new direction to the fight for social justice. I wish to declare on its soil that I will foil the plans of the INDIA bloc to rob SCs, STs and OBCs of their rights and divert these to Muslims. They may remain enslaved and perform ‘mujra’ to please their vote bank,” the Prime Minister said.

He also said the people of Bihar have been hurt by remarks against migrants allegedly made by leaders of the Congress in Punjab and Telangana, DMK in Tamil Nadu and Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. In another “mujra jab” targeting the Tejashwi Yadav-led RJD, he said, “These RJD people who keep doing ‘mujra’ with their lantern (poll symbol) do not have the courage to speak a word in protest.”

The Prime Minister went on to say that the Opposition parties will change the Constitution if they are voted to power — a charge earlier levelled by the Congress on the ruling BJP. “If they are voted to power, the first thing they would do is to change the Constitution so that even the court is unable to overrule their attempts to divert reservations to Muslims. I have been challenging them to refute me in writing, but they have been reluctant because they have a guilty conscience,” he said.

Stressing that the INDIA bloc is headed for a defeat in the ongoing general election, the Prime Minister said, “When the results are out, RJD and Congress workers will be seen tearing off each other’s clothes. The royal family of the Congress will put the entire blame of defeat on Mallikarjun Kharge and leave for holiday abroad,” he said.

Hitting back, Ms Gandhi Vadra said no Prime Minister would have used such language. “What is Modiji saying? Is it not his responsibility to maintain the decorum of his post? We respect the Prime Minister post. His reality can now be seen. Do not show so much reality to the country. He has forgotten that he represents the country. What will the future generations say,” the Congress leader said at a rally with ally and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur.

Targeting the Prime Minister over his allegation that the Congress is planning a wealth redistribution scheme under which women’s mangalsutras will be snatched, Ms Gandhi Vadra said, “On some days, Modiji talks about buffaloes and on other days, he talks about mangalsutra. The problem of stray animals began in their term.”

She also said it is the BJP’s candidates who are going around claiming that the party will change the Constitution if it returns to power.

Criticising the “mujra” remark, Tejashwi Yadav said that with each phase of the election, the Prime Minister’s language is worsening. “He is speaking a language that even his supporters do not like.”

“He had refused permission, but our 17-month government conducted a caste-based survey and provided 75 per cent reservation. I ask Modiji: which BJP-ruled state has 75 per cent reservation?”

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Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 6: Delhi, Haryana Vote Today In Penultimate Phase: 10 Points

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 24, 2024 | top-stories

Lok Sabha Election 2024: Election will be completed in 486 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats today.

New Delhi:
Voting will take place in 58 seats across seven states and one Union Territory in the sixth and penultimate phase of the Lok Sabha election today. Delhi and Haryana are voting in a single phase. For the seventh and last phase, 57 seats will be left.

Here are the Top 10 points in this big story:

Voting will take place today in eight seats each in Bihar and Bengal, seven in Delhi, 10 in Haryana, four in Jharkhand, 14 in Uttar Pradesh, and the final seat in Jammu & Kashmir — Anantnag-Rajouri, where poling was moved from the third to the sixth phase.
Odisha will pick representatives for 42 assembly constituencies and six Lok Sabha seats.
By the end of today, election will be completed in 486 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats. Polling will also be completed in Haryana, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.
The most riveting contest will be for national capital Delhi, where the BJP swept all seven seats in 2019. This time, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party is out to prise a few with its “Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se” campaign. AAP is contesting four seats in the national capital, its ally Congress three.
The phase will be crucial for NDA, which has to keep its score intact to meet its “400-plus” target. In 2019, the BJP alone won 40 of the 58 constituencies going to polls today in the Hindi heartland and the east. Its NDA allies won five more seats.
The parties of the Opposition INDIA bloc — Trinamool Congress, National Conference and Samajwadi Party – had won five seats, the Congress none.
Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party — which contested the election in alliance with Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party in 2019 and is now unaligned — and Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal also won a few.
The key candidates for this phase are the BJP’s Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan from Sambalpur, Manohar Lal Khattar from Karnal, Sambit Patra from Puri, Maneka Gandhi from Sultanpur, late Union minister Sushma Swaraj’s daughter Bansuri Swaraj from the New Delhi constituency, Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi and industrialist Naveen Jindal from Kurukshetra.
On the Opposition bloc are former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti from Anantnag, actor-turned politician Raj Babbar from Gurgaon, Deepender Singh Hooda from Rohtak, JNU students’ union’s former president Kanhaiya Kumar from North East Delhi.
The counting of votes will be held on June 4 after the last phase of the election ends on June 1.

CSK CEO's New Twist To MS Dhoni Retirement Saga, Says “We Do Expect…” | Cricket News

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 24, 2024 | top-stories

Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan said he is ‘very, very hopeful’ of former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni participating in IPL 2025 as a player. Dhoni, who led CSK to a record five Indian Premier League titles, stepped down as the skipper before the start of the ongoing season, handing the responsibilities to Ruturaj Gaikwad, who led the team to a fifth place finish. Speculations have been rife that this could be Dhoni’s final season in the tournament but Viswanathan asserted that it was completely up to the former India captain to take a final call on his future.

“I do not know. It is a question which only MS can answer. The question for us, we have always respected the decisions taken by MS. We have left it to him,” he said to a question on CSK’s YouTube channel.

“As all of you know, he has always taken his decisions and announced them at the appropriate time. We do expect that we will get a decision as and when he decides.

“But we are very, very hopeful that he will be available for CSK the next year. That is the view and expectations of the fans and mine.”

Dhoni, who had undergone surgery to treat a knee injury issue last year, scored 161 runs in 73 balls at a strike rate of 220.55 this season. He was also good behind the stumps.

A mega IPL auction has been scheduled later in the year and if Dhoni continues, CSK will undoubtedly be retaining him.

However, the number of players allowed to be retained still needs clarity.

Viswanathan said that discussions are yet to take place on the same with the BCCI.

“It is too early because we have still not heard from BCCI on the kind of retentions which are going to be part of the next cycle of auction.

“So we are expecting that the BCCI would discuss with all franchise owners before they take a decision on retention.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Topics mentioned in this article

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Pune Teen's Porsche Dash Puts Spotlight On Supari Case Against Grandfather

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 23, 2024 | top-stories

Two 24-year-old IT engineers were killed after the speeding Porsche hit their bike

Pune:

The teen driver, whose drunken drive in a Porsche Taycan left two 24-year-old software engineers dead in Pune, was out on bail within 15 hours of the crash. The bail order says he was being released on the assurance of his grandfather that he will keep the teen away from “bad company”. It has now emerged that the grandfather, who is learnt to have started the family’s real estate business, has links with gangster Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, widely known as Chhota Rajan.

The matter dates back to a 2009 attack on a Shiv Sena corporarator Ajay Bhosale. According to the CBI chargesheet filed in the case, the boy’s grandfather was locked in a property dispute with his brother and had allegedly contacted Chhota Rajan to mediate. The gangster got in touch with Shiv Sena corporator Ajay Bhosale, who knew the brother. But Mr Bhosale was busy with the Assembly polls that year and refused to intervene. The boy’s grandfather suspected that the Shiv Sena leader was backing his brother and allegedly asked Chhota Rajan to bump him off, the CBI chargesheet said. The Shiv Sena leader’s car was fired at near Pune’s Koregaon Park, but bullet missed him and hit his driver instead, injuring him.

Mr Bhosale, who is now with the Eknath Shinde-led Sena, told NDTV that his ‘supari’ was given by the builder, who is not being named because the accused in the Porsche case is a minor. The grandfather was also listed as an accused in the chargesheet, but not arrested. The attempt to murder case is now part of a bunch of cases against Chhota Rajan pending before a Mumbai CBI court.

In fact, back then too, Pune Police had faced questions regarding its probe into the attempt to murder case. Significantly, despite an underworld connection, the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act was not invoked in the case and only IPC sections were invoked. In the FIR registered at Bund Garden police station, the builder grandfather was not named. It was only after the CBI took over the investigation that he came under the radar and was named an accused. But while most other accused were arrested, he secured an anticipatory bail.

Amid growing outrage over the software engineers’ deaths and allegations of preferential treatment, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was questioned about the family’s mafia links. The BJP leader, who is also in charge of the Home portfolio, assured a thorough probe. “Whatever be the links, these will be thoroughly investigated and action will be taken in the matter.”

Amid growing outrage, the juvenile justice board has modified its order and the teen has been remanded in an observation home. The board is also examining a police request for permission to try the accused as an adult. His father has also been arrested under sections of Juvenile Justice Act. The boy’s grandfather was questioned today by officers of Pune Police crime branch, which is probing the Porsche case.

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“He Killed My Son”: Mother Of Man Hit By Porsche Driven By Pune Teen

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 22, 2024 | top-stories

Savitha Awadhiya, mother of Aneesh Awadhiya who died in the Pune Porsche accident.

She kept her composure for the first few questions. Then gave in at the fourth minute and burst into tears. The woman was answering questions about her son, who was killed in the horrific Porsche crash in Pune in the early hours of Sunday.

“Usne mere bachhe ki jaan le li. Mera bachha mujhse door ho gaya. Ab kabhi nahi mil paaungi main usse (He killed my son. Now, I will never be able to meet my son),” said a crying Savitha Awadhiya, mother of Aneesh Awadhiya who died in the accident.

Three days after bail was granted to the Pune teenager upon the condition that he write an essay on accidents, the Juvenile Justice Board on Wednesday modified its order and sent him to a remand home till June 5.

“Ladke ki galti hai, hatya bhi keh sakte hai usko. Kyunki agar usne itni badi galti nahi ki hoti toh aaj kisi ki jaan na jaati. Agar thoda bhi uske ghar waalo ne mana kiya hota ki aisa nahi karte hain toh aaj mere bete ki jaan bachi hoti. Ye seedhe seedhe hatya kehlati hai (“It is the boy’s mistake, you can even call it murder, because if he had not made such a big mistake, no one would have died. If only his family members had paid attention, then today my son would have been alive. This is straight up murder,” said Ms Awadhiya.

The 17-year-old Pune boy, celebrating his Class 12 results, was drinking with his friends hours before the accident, showed a video. CCTV footage from Cosie bar showed happy scenes all around with the table crowded with alcohol bottles.

“Kadi se kadi saja milni chahiye. Bahut bachane ki koshish kar rahe hai woh apne bachhe ko. Paise waale hain isiliye sochte hain ki hum apne bachhe ko kahin se bhi bacha ke nikal sakte hain. Lekin mera bachha toh gaya hai na (He should face strictest punishment. They are trying very hard to save him. They are people with money and think can save their son. But my son died),” she said, appealing the Maharashtra government to help her get justice.

The Pune police commissioner said it is clear that the boy, son of a prominent realtor, was driving under the influence of alcohol. Several witnesses have said the teenager and his friends were heavily drunk.

The police are trying to build a watertight case, the top cop said on Tuesday.

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On Camera, Andhra MLA Flings VVPAT To Ground In Polling Booth

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 21, 2024 | top-stories

The incident took place on May 13, the date of polling in Andhra Pradesh.

Hyderabad:

In an unprecedented development, CCTV footage has emerged showing an MLA from the ruling YSR Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh picking up a voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machine and hurling it to the ground at a polling station. The Election Commission said the MLA vandalised electronic voting machines (EVMs) in seven polling centres and the state police chief has been asked to take strict action.

The police said the MLA has been named as an accused while the opposition Telugu Desam Party has claimed that the legislator and the YSRCP are indulging in such vandalism because they are fearing defeat.

The incident took place on May 13, when all 25 of Andhra Pradesh’s Lok Sabha constituencies and all 175 Assembly seats went to the polls. Violence was reported on the day of the election in many areas and sporadic incidents have taken place after that as well.

In the footage, YSRCP leader Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy, who is the sitting MLA from the Macherla constituency and has won from there at least three times, can be seen walking into the Palwai Gate polling centre, where an election official gets up to greet him. Without saying a word, the MLA walks into the enclosed area where the EVM is kept, picks up the VVPAT and throws it with a lot of force on the ground.

A component comes off the machine and even as someone in the polling booth charges one of his aides and slaps him hard before heading to Mr Reddy and being held back, the MLA nonchalantly kicks what appears to be the control unit. He then seems to be warning the attacker before walking out.

An election official is then seen recording the VVPAT lying on the ground.

Macherla comes under the Palnadu district, which has been the worst hit by violence on the day of the polling and after that.

Taking to X, TDP leader and party chief Chandrababu Naidu’s son, Nara Lokesh, wrote in Telugu, “YSRCP MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy vandalised the EVM at the Palwai Gate polling centre of Macharla Constituency. I demand that the Election Commission take strict action against Mr Reddy, who has vandalised EVMs and attacked them because of a fear of defeat. People are going to give the real verdict on YSRCP’s factional politics on June 4.”

The TDP is fighting the election in an alliance with Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party and the BJP.

In a statement, the Election Commission (EC) said Mr Reddy was recorded on camera vandalising EVMs in seven polling centres, “along with PS number 202”, in the Macherla Assembly constituency.

“Palnadu district election officials have handed over video footage of all such polling stations to the police to assist in the investigation of the case related to the vandalism incident. The EC is taking this matter very seriously and has directed Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena to inform the director general of police to take strict action against all those involved in these incidents,” the statement said.

Stating that the police have named the MLA as an accused, it said, “The EC hopes that no one will dare to commit such misdeeds in the future.”

Misbehaviour Too?

On the same day, a YSRCP MLA had slapped a voter, reportedly for objecting to the legislator jumping the queue at a polling booth.

On Tuesday, the Election Commission also directed the Union Home Ministry to retain 25 companies of central forces in Andhra Pradesh even after counting of votes on June 4 because of the election and post-poll violence in the state.

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