I will be happy to contest from Varanasi if asked by Rahul, says Priyanka Gandhi
Kalpetta (Wayanad), Apr 21: Amid speculations she could be pitted against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Sunday said she will be happy to contest if asked by party President Rahul Gandhi.
"You will find out. If my Congress President tells me to contest, I will be happy to contest," Priyanka Gandhi, sister of Rahul Gandhi, told reporters here.
She was responding to a question whether she will contest the poll from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from where Modi is seeking re-election.
Last month, Priyanka Gandhi had thrown a hint that she is not averse to taking on Modi in Varanasi.
"Shouldn't I fight from Varanasi?" Vadra said when a party worker asked her to contest from Rae Bareli, setting of speculations about her possible candidature.
Earlier, the Congress leader had also said she would contest the election if the party wanted her to do so.
In her media interaction here, Priyanka Gandhi dismissed BJP leader and union minister Uma Bharati's controversial remarks that the country will see her the way it views a "thief's wife".
"From my grandmother, grandfather, father, mother, they have said one thing or the other about all of my family. They will keep on saying such things. But we will keep on doing our job," she responded with a smile.
When asked to comment on the impact Priyanka could have on the poll outcome, Bharati had last week said: "Nothing. Why will she have an impact... Whose husband is facing theft charges. She will be seen the way India sees a thief's wife."
Priyanka Gandhi, Congress general secretary in-charge of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, was in Kerala for the last two days canvassing votes for Rahul Gandhi, who is contesting in Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency besides in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
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Owaisi seeks independent probe into cleric’s death on train, calls it ‘transit-based hate crime’
New Delhi: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has written to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, requesting an independent investigation into the death of Maulana Tousif Raza Mazhari, who allegedly died after being assaulted on a train in Uttar Pradesh on April 26.
In his letter, Owaisi defined the incident as a "transit-based hate crime" and raised concerns about what he called frequent attempts to dismiss such incidents as unintentional.
According to The Observer Post, Mazhari was travelling on Train No. 04314 after attending a religious meeting in Bareilly when the incident occurred.
The Hyderabad MP also demanded financial compensation for the victim’s family and a government job on compassionate grounds for a dependent. He noted that the deceased was the sole breadwinner.
According to the family, Mazhari, an imam and madrasa teacher from Kishanganj, was allegedly assaulted by a group of passengers who accused him of theft. His wife, Tabassum Khatoon, claimed she witnessed part of the incident during a video call, in which he was seen being beaten and dragged despite identifying himself as a teacher.
Police in Bareilly said the case came to light after a body was recovered near railway tracks on April 27. The incident was initially treated as a possible accidental fall. However, following objections raised by the family, officials said further investigation is underway.
The case has drawn reactions from several opposition leaders, including Md Jawaid, Imran Pratapgarhi, and Chandrashekhar Azad. They questioned the initial police version and called for a transparent investigation.
