Rahul Gandhi will contest from Amethi in 2024 LS Polls: Congress UP chief Ajay Rai
Lucknow, Aug 18: Rahul Gandhi will contest the coming Lok Sabha election from Amethi, newly appointed Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai said on Friday.
"Rahul Gandhi will definitely contest the Lok Sabha election from Amethi, the people of Amethi are here," Rai, who was made the president of the state unit of the party in the latest reshuffle, told reporters in Varanasi.
Amethi was a long held bastion of the Gandhi family till Rahul Gandhi, who had been an MP from the seat since 2004, was ousted in 2019 general election by BJP's Smriti Irani.
Surrounded by party workers and leaders, who gathered at the airport as he arrived from Delhi, Rai said that if party national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi desires, she can contest from Varanasi or any other place.
"If Priyanka Gandhi has the desire to fight from Varanasi, every single worker will work wholeheartedly for her," he said.
Rai, an upper caste Bhumihar who had unsuccessfully contested against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, was made the UP Congress chief, replacing Dalit leader Brijlal Khabri.
Asked if his appointment was a reward for contesting against Narendra Modi twice, he said, "this is the result of my continued struggle, someone who went to jail, who has been continuously exposing the wrong, Ajay Rai is the 'sipahi' of Rahul Gandhi. This struggle will be fought all over the state."
When asked about Union minister Smriti Irani, who defeated Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in the last election, Rai said she appears frustrated.
"Smriti Irani seems frustrated. She said she will get sugar at Rs 13 per kg, did she manage it? People from Amethi are here, ask them," Rai said.
Rahul Gandhi is at present MP from Wayanad in Kerala.
Rai said unemployment, inflation, and "fear created through ED and CBI" would be the main issues in the coming general elections.
He said the party will take the message of "love" given by Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikajurn Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi to every village and every house.
He also claimed that Congress will defeat BJP in every village.
Rai was an MLA for about 20 years between 1996-2017 and had been in the BJP and the Samajwadi Party before joining the Congress in 2012.
Sonia Gandhi, an MP from Rae Bareli, is the only Congress parliamentarian from UP at present.
The strength of the grand old party went down to mere two in the 403-member UP house after the last year state polls.
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HC says Bhojshala complex is Goddess Saraswati temple, scraps ASI order on namaz on premises
Indore (PTI): In a big win for the Hindu side, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday declared that the disputed Bhojshala complex in Dhar district is a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, and the Centre and ASI can decide on its administration and management.
The HC's Indore bench, which was hearing the case, also said the Muslim community, which called the 11th century monument Kamal Maula Mosque, may approach the state government for allotment of separate land in the district for construction of a mosque.
In its much-awaited verdict in the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex dispute, the court observed that there were indications of a Sanskrit teaching centre and a temple of Goddess Saraswati existing in Bhojshala.
The religious character of the disputed complex of Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque indicates it is a temple of Goddess Saraswati, noted the HC.
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"If the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society applies for land allotment for building a mosque in Dhar district, the state government can consider it," maintained the division bench.
The HC scrapped the 2003 Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) order which allowed Muslims to offer Friday prayers on Bhojshala premises.
Nearly 1,200 police personnel were deployed in and around the complex ahead of the HC ruling.
Dhar Collector Rajeev Ranjan Meena warned of strict action against anyone spreading objectionable content on social media, as the administration erected barricades at the site where Friday prayers coincided with the court verdict.
The long-running dispute pertains to the religious nature of the ASI-protected monument in Dhar district.
The Hindu community considers Bhojshala to be a temple dedicated to Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), while the Muslim side calls the monument Kamal Maula Mosque. A petitioner from the Jain community claims the disputed complex is a medieval Jain temple and gurukul.
After the controversy over the Bhojshala complex erupted, the ASI issued an order on April 7, 2003, permitting Hindus to worship at the complex every Tuesday and Muslims to offer namaz there every Friday. The Hindu side challenged the order in the HC, seeking exclusive rights to worship at the complex.
A division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi of the HC's Indore bench began regular hearings on five petitions and one writ appeal related to the case on April 6 this year.
After hearing all the parties against the backdrop of differing religious beliefs, historical claims, complex legal provisions, and thousands of documents related to the disputed monument, the bench had reserved its decision on May 12.
During the hearing, petitioners from the Hindu, Muslim, and Jain communities presented detailed arguments and sought exclusive worship rights for their communities at the monument.
The ASI, after conducting a scientific survey of the monument, indicated in its over 2,000-page report that a massive structure dating back to the reign of the Parmar kings of Dhar predated the mosque, and that the current disputed structure was built using repurposed temple components.
The Hindu side claimed that coins, sculptures, and inscriptions found by the ASI during its scientific survey prove the complex was originally a temple.
However, the Muslim side argued in court that the ASI's survey report was "biased" and prepared to support the claims of the Hindu petitioners.
Refuting this, the ASI told the court the scientific survey process was carried out with the help of experts, including three from the Muslim community.
The HC had ordered the ASI to conduct a scientific survey of the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex on March 11, 2024. The ASI began the survey on March 22 that year and, after a detailed 98-day survey, submitted its report to the High Court on July 15.
