BJP's charges against Rahul 'concocted', says Congress
New Delhi, July 14 : The Congress on Friday termed as "concocted and lies" BJP's allegations that party chief Rahul Gandhi had described the Congress as a "Muslim party" and said the biggest black mark in India's history has been the Gujarat riots of 2002 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of the state.
The party also accused the Bharatriya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to create "tension and division" among people belonging to different religions and polarize the nation.
The BJP on Friday said that a newspaper had reported that Gandhi had told Muslim intellectuals during his meeting with them that the Congress is a "Muslim party".
BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman said that Gandhi should come clean on his reported statement and accused him of playing communal politics ahead of the 2019 general elections.
"The news which was reported in a newspaper about Rahul Gandhi's meeting... These are all concocted, these are not true. These were being twisted in media reports. If peace gets disrupted in the country, Home Ministry and the government would be responsible for it, not the opposition," said Congress spokesperson Sushmita Dev.
Taking a dig at Modi, Dev said: "Biggest black mark in the history of India has been the riots of Gujarat and Prime Minister Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at that time. Till today, he has not owned up moral responsibility for that."
"If Sitharamanji is levelling allegations against the Congress party, I want to say that she is trying to create tension and division among people belonging to different religions. Congress leaders have not made any statement that would create tension," she added.
"Congress believes in secularism. Why is she silent on Rafale scam? Why is Prime Minister silent on unemployment and farmers' suicides? They should prepare themselves to reply to these questions during the monsoon session."
Sitharamanji is a responsible Defence Minister and her press statement is clearly in line with PM Modi's agenda of polarising the country before elections, she said.
"There is unemployment among youth, farmers are committing suicide, there is no trace of Nirav Modi. Just to divert attention from these questions, the Defence Minister did the press conference today (Friday) in the name of religion. She should reply to the real issues," Dev added.
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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.
