Nyay Yatra: Rahul Gandhi gives flying kisses to crowd shouting 'Jai Shri Ram', 'Modi, Modi'
Nagaon (Assam), Jan 21: As a group of BJP workers chanted "Jai Shri Ram" and raised "Modi, Modi" slogans in front of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra bus here, the Congress leader waved, gave flying kisses and stepped down to meet them.
"Our 'Mohabbat ki dukaan' (shop of love) is open for everyone. 'Judega Bharat, Jeetega Hindustan'," Gandhi said in a post on X while sharing a video of the incident.
Later addressing a public meeting here, the Congress MP narrated the incident and said the Congress is neither scared of Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The Congress has claimed that its leaders, including Gandhi and Jairam Ramesh, were targeted by BJP supporters during the Assam leg of the Manipur-to-Maharashtra Nyay Yatra.
The BJP, however, claimed that Gandhi was rattled after "Jai Shri Ram" and "Modi, Modi" slogans were raised in his presence.
"If this is how rattled he is, how will he face the people of this country in days ahead, after the anti-Hindu Congress rejected the invite to be part of the 'Pran Pratishtha' (January 22 Ram temple consecration ceremony ) in Ayodhya?" BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said on X tagging the video.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said some people chanted "'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Modi, Modi" during the yatra "so Rahul Gandhi arrogantly charges at them".
"Security personnel stopped him. 'Mohabbat ki dukaan' or 'Ahankaar ki Dukaan' (shop of arrogance)
Shameful and atrocious behaviour by entitled dynast! He even made kissing actions to the crowd!!" he said on X.
At the public meeting, Gandhi said, "Some 2-3 kms before, around 20-25 BJP workers carrying sticks came in front of our bus, and when I came out from the bus, they ran away...they think that the Congress is scared of BJP and RSS workers."
"What kind of dream are they seeing. They can tear as many posters and placards as they want, we don't care, and are not bothered. We are not scared of anybody, we are neither scared of Narendra Modi nor the chief minister here," he said.
During his earlier Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi had made similar gestures to a crowd which chanted "Modi, Modi" slogans when the march was in Rajasthan.
The Congress has alleged that the "attacks" on its yatra have the backing of Chief Minister Sarma.
In his speech at Nagaon public meeting, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge targeted Sarma, saying, "This is something like 'Meri billi mujh se meow'."
"The cat which once belonged to the Congress is now doing 'meow' to us," Kharge said. Sarma had quit the Congress to join the BJP in 2015.
AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said his vehicle was attacked by some BJP protesters but he kept his composure and moved on.
"My vehicle was attacked a few minutes ago at Jumugurihat, Sunitpur, by an unruly BJP crowd who also tore off the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra stickers from the windshield. They threw water and shouted anti-BJNY (Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra) slogans," he said.
"But we kept our composure, waved to the hooligans and sped away. This is undoubtedly the Assam CM's doing. We are not intimidated and will soldier on," Ramesh said.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said, "Complete lawlessness at display in Assam. All along the yatra route, the CM has stationed his goons to attack the yatra and disrupt our peaceful march for justice."
"He's completely mistaken to think this will deter us. If anything, this has given us more strength to ensure his and Narendra Modi's defeat, " he said.
The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will pass through 100 Lok Sabha constituencies in 15 states, traversing 6,713 km, mostly in buses but also on foot, and culminate in Mumbai on March 20 or 21. It began from Thoubal in Manipur on January 14.
सबके लिए खुली है मोहब्बत की दुकान,
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 21, 2024
जुड़ेगा भारत, जीतेगा हिंदुस्तान।🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/Bqae0HCB8f
Rahul Gandhi lost his cool after Jai Shri Ram and Modi Modi slogans were raised in his presence. If this is how rattled he is, how will he face the people of this country in days ahead, after the anti-Hindu Congress rejected the invite to be part of the Pran Pratistha in Ayodhya? pic.twitter.com/XsBX4elSBG
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 21, 2024
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
