Kharge targets PM Modi, BJP for linking 'red book' of Constitution with 'urban Naxalism'
Mumbai (PTI): Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for equating a "red book" of the Constitution with "urban Naxalism" and said the PM gave a similar copy in 2017 to then President Ram Nath Kovind.
Addressing a press conference here after launching the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi 's (MVA) manifesto for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections, Kharge also said his party's demand for a caste census is not to divide people, but to understand how various communities are placed at present so that they can get more benefits.
Notably, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was trying to seek support from “urban Naxals and anarchists” by holding a “red book” in his hand.
Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, has been displaying an abridged version of the Constitution in a red cover during his rallies.
Kharge said the red handbook was only used for reference and it was not the entire Constitution.
''Even Narendra Modi gave a similar copy to then President Ram Nath Kovind on July 26, 2017,'' the Congress leader said displaying a picture of the two leaders.
Kharge also displayed a red book of the Constitution, saying it was not blank as was being projected by Modi and the BJP.
''It is necessary to enroll him in a primary school again,'' Kharge said targeting the prime minister.
The Congress leader described the MVA's manifesto as all inclusive and participatory.
He said it is important for Maharashtra to defeat the ruling Mahayuti in the state and support the MVA for stability and good governance.
BJP के नेता संविधान की लाल रंग की किताब को नक्सलियों की निशानी बता रहे हैं।
— Congress (@INCIndia) November 10, 2024
जबकि नरेंद्र मोदी खुद 26 जुलाई, 2017 को ऐसी ही प्रति पूर्व राष्ट्रपति रामनाथ कोविंद जी को सौंप चुके हैं।
यानी खुद ही लाल रंग का संविधान राष्ट्रपति को देते हैं और हमें अर्बन-नक्सल बोलते हैं।
यह दिखाता… pic.twitter.com/n4eiTpKdLV
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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
