CMs of Congress-ruled states counter BJP's charge of non-fulfilment of poll promises
Mumbai (PTI): The chief ministers of Congress-ruled Telangana and Himachal Pradesh and the deputy CM of Karnataka on Saturday vehemently countered the BJP's allegation that the grand old party was not fulfilling the promises it made before the polls in these states.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, his Himachal Pradesh counterpart Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar addressed a press conference in Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra where assembly elections will be held on November 20.
Incidentally, speaking at Akola in Maharashtra soon later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted the Congress saying wherever the party forms a government, that state becomes an ATM of the party's 'shahi parivar' (royal family), and named Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka as examples of this.
These Congress leaders listed out the implementation of their party's guarantees in their respective states.
When asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Ek hain to safe hain' message, Sukhu said the country's culture binds it together. Whoever speaks like this cannot keep the nation together.
"Our culture is to keep the nation united," he said.
Shivakumar said, "Mahayuti leaders should visit my state to see how Congress' welfare guarantees are benefiting people."
Whenever the Congress comes to power, it implements one or the other scheme for each section of the society.
"None of the schemes (which have been in operation) since the days of (former PM) Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh, have been withdrawn. We are not looking at votes but development of the state," Shivakumar said.
Reddy accused the prime minister of lying about the scheme pertaining to his state.
"We are systematically implementing the guarantees," he said.
He said his government waived the farm loans after coming to power.
"Farm loans of 22,22,067 farmers were waived, which cost the government Rs 17,869 crore," he added.
In 10 months, his government provided 50,000 government jobs to the youth, while 50 lakh families have benefited from the 200 units free electricity scheme, Reddy said.
The BJP does not have any success story to boast of in Maharashtra, he said.
He alleged that big ticket investment projects were being transferred from Maharashtra to Gujarat, and urged people to defeat the BJP.
Sukhu said his government's decision to implement the old pension scheme has benefited people immensely.
Earlier any person who was getting Rs 5,000 per month under the New Pension Scheme is getting Rs 50,000 under the Old Pension Scheme, he said.
"People of Maharashtra have to decide whether toppling the government with the use of money is democracy," he said, apparently referring to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led dispensation in June 2022.
Sukhu added that his government successfully countered 'Operation Lotus' of the BJP.
Earlier this week, the INDIA bloc announced poll sops which included farm waiver, doubling the Rs 1,500 monthly amount under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana to Rs 3,000.
When asked how the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will ensure fiscal discipline since it claimed that the sops will lead to burdening the exchequer, Reddy said his party is well aware about how to use people's money for their welfare.
"We have run the government for 70 years. We have vast experience in this. We know where to plug in excess expenditure," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
UP Police use tear gas to disperse crowd throwing stones during Sambhal mosque survey
Sambhal (UP) (PTI): Police used tear gas and "minor force" in the face of stone pelting by locals here on Sunday as tension escalated during a second survey of the Mughal-era mosque, claimed to be originally the site of an ancient Hindu temple.
Tension has been seething in Sambhal over the past few days after the Jama Masjid was surveyed last Tuesday on the orders of a local court following a petition that claimed that a Harihar temple stood at the site.
According to the local administration, a second survey by an "Advocate Commissioner" as part of a court-ordered examination into the disputed site began around 7 am and a crowd began gathering at the spot.
"Some miscreants came out of the crowd gathered near the site and pelted stones at the police team. The police used minor force and tear gas to bring the situation under control," Superintendent of Police Krishna Kumar Vishnoi said.
He said those who engaged in stone pelting and those who incited them will be identified and action taken against them.
District Magistrate Rajendra Pesia said, "Some miscreants resorted to stone pelting but the situation is peaceful now and the survey is underway."
Videos of youths throwing stones at police, purportedly near the site of the survey in Sambhal have surfaced on the Internet.
Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, who is also the petitioner in the case, had said the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) ordered the constitution of an "Advocate Commission" to survey the mosque.
The court has said that a report should be filed after conducting a videography and photography survey through the commission, he had said.
The Central and Uttar Pradesh governments, the mosque committee and the district magistrate of Sambhal have been made parties in the petition concerning the mosque, Jain said last Tuesday.
Vishnu Shankar Jain and his father Hari Shankar Jain have represented the Hindu side in many cases related to places of worship, including the Gyanvapi Mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute.
Gopal Sharma, a local lawyer for the Hindu side, told PTI on Friday that in his petition filed in the court, he mentioned that "Baburnama" and the "Ain-e-Akbari" has confirmed that a Harihar temple was at the site where the Jama Masjid now stands.
He also claimed that the temple was demolished by Mughal Emperor Babur in 1529.
Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq had objected to the developments.
"The Jama Masjid of Sambhal is historical and very old. The Supreme Court had given the order in 1991 that whatever religious places are there in whatever condition since 1947, they will remain at their places," he had said.
The next date for hearing in this case is January 29.
VIDEO | Uttar Pradesh: Stones and slippers pelted in Sambhal when a survey team reached Shahi Jama Masjid to conduct a survey of the mosque.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 24, 2024
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7)#SambhalJamaMasjid pic.twitter.com/K4QGGpzlMK
