At Bihar rally, PM Modi rakes up Godhra train arson to accuse oppn of appeasement
Darbhanga (Bihar), May 4: Raking up the 2002 Godhra train arson, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday charged RJD president Lalu Prasad with having tried to “save” those responsible for burning alive more than 60 kar sevaks “during the rule of Sonia madam”.
Modi, who addressed an election rally at Darbhanga in north Bihar, recalled the incident that took place while he was the chief minister of Gujarat, alleging that the opposition parties always practice politics of "appeasement".
“It is because of this appeasement politics that the father of Bihar's 'shehzada' (allusion to Tejashwi Yadav) had tried to save those who were responsible for the Godhra train burning incident”, said Modi, adding “after all, it was the rule of Sonia madam”, referring to the UPA chairperson who was also the president of the ruling Congress.
“He (Lalu Prasad), who has himself been convicted (in fodder scam cases), was then the Railway minister. He set up an inquiry committee and got a report made which exonerated those guilty of the horrendous crime. But the court threw the report away”, said Modi.
Modi accused the opposition parties of “trying to rob” SCs, STs and tribals of reservations because of the “disillusionment” these deprived sections felt towards the INDIA bloc.
“The INDIA bloc is trying to divert reservations to Muslims. They are going against the views of Babasaheb Ambedkar and first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, neither of whom was in favour of reservations on religious lines”, Modi claimed.
He also slammed Tejashwi Yadav for bringing up the "Hindu Muslim narrative" at rallies while talking about Agnipath scheme” and said “when we talk about the martyrdom of Captain Hameed, do we think of him as a Muslim?”
Without naming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav by name, he said, "There is a shehzada in Delhi and one in Patna, both of whom think of the country as their fiefdom (jaagir)."
“Their mindset was exposed when they raised questions about the surgical strikes and spoke ill of the armed forces”, said Modi.
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Manmohan Singh, LK Advani cast votes from home
New Delhi (PTI): Former vice president Mohammad Hamid Ansari, former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, former deputy prime minister LK Advani and former Union minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi have cast their votes using the home voting facility, the Delhi poll body said.
The office of the chief electoral officer (CEO) of Delhi on Thursday kicked off the home voting facility for elderly voters and persons with disabilities (PwDs) and it will go on till May 24.
According to the data shared by the office, 1409 voters cast their ballots from the comfort of their homes across all seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi on Friday, which was the second day of the facility being started.
The West Delhi constituency reported the highest number of home votes, with 348 voters participating. Among them, 299 were elderly individuals.
With the completion of the second day, a total of 2,956 voters have exercised their right to vote from home, the CEO office said.
"Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and former Union minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi successfully cast their votes on May 17 from their home availing home voting facility in the New Delhi parliamentary constituency," the office said.
Former vice president Mohammad Hamid Ansari cast his vote on Thursday, it added.
Former deputy prime minister LK Advani cast his vote on Saturday, sources said.
On the first day, 1,482 voters exercised their franchise from home.
A total of 5,406 voters across Delhi -- elderly individuals and PwDs -- have filled out Form 12D to avail of the home voting facility in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
This initiative ensures these voters can participate in the electoral process with ease and dignity, eliminating the need to visit polling stations. Delhi will go to polls on May 25.
