ABVP to attract first-time voters to BJP
New Delhi, Aug 29 : The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), student wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), on Wednesday said it had formulated a comprehensive startegy to use "nationalism" plank to attract young and first-time voters towards the BJP ahead of the 2019 elections.
As part of its strategy, the ABVP will hold awareness programmes in universities and colleges across the country on the issues of urban Maoist sympathisers, negative politics and national security, ABVP Joint Organising Secretary Srinivas told reporters here.
"Urban Maoism is a threat to the nation. NOTA is also a part of negative politics. We want to end this negativity and produce natural leaders," he said while justifying the Tuesday raids and arrest of five rights activists.
"They are a threat to national security," he alleged, adding that such activists are spread everywhere including on university and college campuses.
He said the the organisation will use social media platforms to awaken the young minds.
Srinivas said that National Register for Citizenship (NRC) will also be taken up during the interactions with the students.
"We are working to increase girls' participation in politics. Around 10,000 girls will participate in such programme in Delhi in October," he said.
Srinivas said that the ABVP will not hesitate to protest against the Modi government if it takes any decision against the interest of the students.
"We are holding countrywide rallies on Thursday to demand timely disbursal of scholarship funds in central universities and also for three-fold hike in pre- and post-matric scholarships for students," he said.
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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses EC of ‘bias’, defends state guarantee schemes ahead of bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the EC of "double standards" and "bias" after it sought details on the state’s guarantee schemes in Davanagere and Bagalkot districts, where bypolls are scheduled for Thursday.
In a post on 'X' on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the Election Commission of India had asked the Karnataka government for information on fund releases under five ongoing guarantee schemes in the constituencies going to polls.
The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively.
The schemes are Gruha Jyothi, which provides 200 units of free electricity to every household; Gruha Lakshmi, offering Rs 2,000 to women heading families; and Anna Bhagya, supplying 10 kg of rice per month to each member of BPL families.
In addition, Yuva Nidhi grants Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders aged 18–25 for two years, while Shakti enables women to travel free of charge within Karnataka on government non-luxury buses.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the ECI had remained silent when similar cash transfer schemes were announced in Maharashtra and Bihar ahead of elections, calling the scrutiny of Karnataka’s schemes a "clear case of bias".
"In states like Maharashtra and Bihar, cash transfer schemes were announced or fast-tracked just before elections, directly benefiting voters. Yet the ECI remained silent. This is not neutrality—it is complicity," he said.
The CM accused the BJP and NDA governments of "a double standard", noting that when they act, the ECI "looks the other way", but when Karnataka fulfils its promises, it faces "intense scrutiny".
He added that targeting the state’s guarantee schemes is "not just political but anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-Karnataka."
Siddaramaiah clarified that these schemes were not launched in connection with the bypolls but are ongoing programmes implemented as part of the Congress government’s commitments from the 2023 Assembly elections.
Funds are transferred regularly to beneficiaries in a transparent and structured manner, he added.
"The guarantees are part of governance—a direct investment in human dignity, household stability, and economic participation, not inducement," he said.
He also accused the BJP of "hypocrisy", saying that while it criticises Karnataka’s schemes as "freebies", it rolls out similar programmes in states it governs.
"The Karnataka model has set a benchmark for the country. What is deeply concerning, however, is the ECI’s selective approach," Siddaramaiah added.
