Khattar targets Sonia Gandhi over her return as Cong chief, says 'Khoda Pahad Nikli Chuhiya'
Sonipat (Haryana): Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has again targeted Sonia Gandhi, this time over her return as the Congress chief after a three-month search by the party to choose a president, using the Hindi proverb "Khoda Pahad Nikli Chuhiya".
Addressing a poll rally in Kharkhoda here on Sunday, Khattar launched a fierce attack on the Congress and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), asking the voters to show the door to these "family-based parties".
The Congress was quick to hit back, saying the remark by the chief minister showed the "anti-woman" character of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and demanded an immediate apology.
"The chief minister's remarks are inappropriate, he stooped to the lowest level and it also shows the anti-women character of the BJP. We strongly condemn his remark and demand that he must immediately tender an apology," the Congress party tweeted.
At the rally, Khattar said the Congress took three months to look for a national president outside the Gandhi family, but in the end, chose the family again and Sonia Gandhi became the interim chief.
"These family-based parties are there in the state and in the Centre too, what kind of 'tamasha' these 'Parivarvad' based parties are doing, you know it. Now, within the family too fights are taking place. On one side is Pappu and on the other side Mummy..," Khattar said.
"It was Pappu Chaudhary, he said he will not remain party chief after the Congress lost the Lok Sabha polls and Rahul Baba resigned as party chief. He then ask his party to look for new party chief the outside Gandhi family. We thought it was a good thing that they were moving away from "parivarvad" (dynastic rule). After all, we should appreciate good thing of opponents too," said Khattar.
"They started searching for national president throughout the country for three months and after that you know who became the chief--Sonia Gandhi. Again the same Gandhi family. 'Khoda Pahad, Nikli Chuhiya (much ado over nothing), woh bhi mari hui', this is their condition," the chief minister said.
A week ago, Khattar at another poll rally in the state, had accused the Congress of sympathising with terrorists and said its party president Sonia Gandhi "sheds tears for militants".
In the Kharkhoda rally here on Sunday, Khattar also took potshots at the Congress, and said its former state unit chief Ashok Tanwar quit the party after levelling allegations that "tickets are being sold in the Congress".
He also took a dig at Congress over its manifesto.
"They have promised freebies for which Rs 1.25 lakh crore will be needed, which can never be fulfilled. They are making promises as if state's coffers are their 'Baap Ka Maal' (as if it is their father's property)," he said.
The JJP, which came into existence after a vertical split in the INLD, was also targeted by the chief minister. "This party, Jhootee Jagda Party, will become the Jamanat Jabad Party as its candidates will lose badly," he said. Targeting JJP leader Dushyant Chautala, he referred to him as "Gappu", saying he was only indulging in big talk and spreading lies.
Seeking votes for BJP candidate Meena Narwal, Khattar said the ruling outfit "gave clean and transparent administration and gave jobs on merit. We undertook equitable development without any regional bias.
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CM Siddaramaiah accuses BJP of ‘communalising’ Karnataka order on religious attire in schools
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday slammed BJP leaders for "communalising" the Karnataka government’s order allowing students to wear religious attire in schools and colleges, including the hijab.
The Karnataka government, on May 13, issued an order allowing students to wear hijab, sacred threads, Shivadhara, and rudraksha (faith-based symbols) in schools.
The order scrapped the BJP government’s 2022 ban on the hijab in government schools amid the hijab versus saffron shawl controversy.
In a statement, Siddaramaiah said BJP leaders commenting on the matter should introspect on why they are discussing the state government order instead of the cancellation of the NEET examination, which relates to the future of 22 lakh students.
The CM said the revised dress code has now been implemented in schools and colleges across the state, in keeping with the constitutional principle of equal respect for all religions.
It is only natural that those who seek to divide society based on caste and religion are upset by this order, he said, adding that they should look within and introspect.
"What is being discussed across the country is the cancellation of the NEET examination due to a question paper leak. Yet neither PM Narendra Modi, who conducts ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ (discussion on exams) and claims to care for students, nor BJP leaders in the state have said a word about this serious crime that has shattered the futures of innocent students," the statement said.
Despite serious allegations that BJP leaders themselves are involved in the issue, they are busy defending the PM and the education minister, Siddaramaiah alleged.
"Is this not a betrayal of the 22 lakh students across the country who have become victims of NEET examination irregularities?" he asked.
Siddaramaiah claimed that when lapses were found in one or two centres during the CET examination conducted by his government, state BJP leaders created a huge uproar and staged protests, but now, when more than one lakh students from Karnataka have faced injustice, the BJP leaders are silent.
He wondered whether BJP leaders have even the minimum concern for students in Karnataka.
"When the sacred thread (janivara) was removed in one or two places, and when Muslim girl students wore the hijab in one or two schools in Udupi, these BJP leaders tried to set the whole of Karnataka on fire with communal hatred. Can they not see the tears of students suffering due to the cancellation of the NEET examination?” the CM said.
He claimed that the dress code implemented in the state’s educational institutions is in line with the dress code followed in Kendriya Vidyalayas under the union government.
"Those who oppose the dress code issued by the state government should also oppose the dress code of Kendriya Vidyalayas. Why this hypocrisy?" Siddaramaiah said.
He also asked whether allowing the hijab amounts to appeasement of Muslims, and whether allowing sacred threads, turbans, or traditional headgear amounts to appeasement of the respective religions.
Calling the CET examinations introduced by the previous Congress government in Karnataka a revolutionary step that enabled thousands of poor students to become engineers and doctors, Siddaramaiah alleged that the BJP government at the Centre systematically weakened the system.
“When the NEET examination system was implemented in 2024, our government opposed it. NEET has caused injustice to poor and rural students in the state. Through this system, the union government has taken away the state’s rightful authority over education,” the CM charged.
For decades, our governments have conducted CET examinations safely and efficiently, he said, adding that the BJP government at the Centre does not even have the ability to conduct a single NEET examination properly.
“This is proof of the union government’s administrative failure. I directly hold Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible for this lapse. I demand that he apologise to the students of the country and immediately remove the incompetent Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan from the Union Cabinet,” he said.
Underlining that educational institutions must promote rationality, scientific temper, equality, fraternity, dignity, mutual respect, and a secular outlook, Siddaramaiah said his government has decided to allow students to wear limited traditional or faith-based symbols, provided they are supplementary to and compatible with the prescribed uniform.
“We are committed to restoring discipline, equality, and dignity in the education system without affecting public order, safety, the classroom environment, or the secular character of educational institutions,” the CM said.
