Sharad Pawar praises Sonia, Rahul; attacks Modi
Mumbai, Dec 25: NCP chief Sharad Pawar Tuesday lauded Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, her son and party president Rahul Gandhi, saying people should feel "proud of them" as they continue to serve the poor despite assassination of late prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
Pawar also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for accusing the Gandhi family of ruining the country and charged him with doing nothing "when innocents were being killed in Gujarat" during his tenure as chief minister of that state.
The former Union minister did not mention any specific incident in his speech, but he was apparently referring to the 2002 riots in Gujarat.
Launching a broadside at the ruling BJP, Pawar alleged the saffron outfit was pitting communities against each other as it did nothing on the development front as was promised to the people.
The NCP leader was speaking at an event in Satara district, around 300km from Mumbai.
He said some lawyers have raised doubts if the 16 per cent quota granted to Marathas in jobs and education in Maharashtra will stand scrutiny of the law and said the government should ensure the reservation sustains.
Attacking Modi for targeting the Gandhis, the Maratha strongman said the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru spent years in jail during the British rule, while Indira Gandhi protected interests of the poor when in power.
"Such sacrifice by a family. Indira Gandhi was killed. Rajiv Gandhi was killed. We should feel proud if Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi are continuing to serve the poor notwithstanding these two killings.
"But the prime minister only talks about one family ruining (the country)," the former Maharashtra chief minister told the gathering.
"You (Modi) were in power in Gujarat. Innocents were killed there. What you did there? People were burnt but (you) did nothing," added Pawar, who quit the Congress and formed the NCP in June 1999.
He also raised questions over the recent acquittal of 22 accused, most of them policemen, in the alleged fake encounter killings of gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife and an aide in Gujarat in 2005-06.
"What kind of state it is? Is it a state of the law? Is it a state that protects interest of the common people? The power is in the hands of such people," he said.
On the issue of Maratha reservation, Pawar said some lawyers have told him that they had doubts whether the quota law would stand legally.
"I am not a lawyer. I spoke to some lawyers I will definitely speak to experts after going back to Mumbai and try to understand it (the issue)," he added.
On senior Congress leader D Y Patil joining the NCP, Pawar said the former had evinced interest in working with him.
"Patil has been expressing interest in working with me for the past six months. He said he did not want any post and joined (the NCP)," the 78-year-old veteran parliamentarian added.
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Kolkata Port: Decline in number of voters during SIR brings in uncertainty in TMC bastion
Kolkata (PTI): A sharp decline in the number of voters following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has injected an element of uncertainty into the Kolkata Port Assembly constituency, considered a safe seat for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The electorate in the south Kolkata constituency has dropped from 2.36 lakh in the 2021 Assembly polls to around 1.75 lakh, a fall of nearly 26 per cent, prompting political parties to closely assess its potential impact on the April 29 polling.
The TMC re-nominated senior minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, who has held the seat for two consecutive terms, while the BJP fielded Rakesh Singh. The Congress nominated Aquib Gulzar, and the CPI(M) put up Faiyaz Ahmad Khan, making it a four-cornered contest.
Kolkata Port, part of the Kolkata Dakshin parliamentary constituency, comprises dock areas, old business districts and densely populated neighbourhoods. Muslim voters form a significant segment of the electorate, alongside traders, transport workers and working-class Hindu families.
The reduction in voter numbers has prompted party workers across formations to scrutinise the revised rolls booth-wise to identify deletions and assess whether specific localities have been affected.
Singh’s candidature has added a twist to the contest. He had earlier contested against Hakim as a Congress candidate but is now in the fray on a BJP ticket.
Hakim won the seat in 2016 by 26,548 votes, defeating Singh, and increased his margin significantly to 68,554 votes in 2021, polling over one lakh votes.
While the TMC has expressed confidence in retaining the seat, opposition parties have raised concerns over the voter list revision, alleging that names of genuine voters have been removed.
“People here know who has stood by them. Elections are decided by trust,” Hakim told PTI during a campaign event.
Singh claimed several residents had complained about missing names in the rolls, stressing the need for transparency. The CPI(M) nominee also said voters in several areas had raised similar concerns.
The constituency has remained a difficult terrain for the opposition in recent elections.
Civic issues such as sanitation, traffic congestion and declining business activity in traditional markets also feature in the campaign in the constituency, though the revised voter list has emerged as a key talking point.
Polling in the constituency will be held in the second phase on April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.
