100 years to AICC Belagavi session: ‘You can kill Gandhi, not his ideas’, says Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru: CM Siddaramaiah said that Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, was the conscience of India and no one could kill his thoughts. Godse was a leader for the BJP people and the party's conspiracy to create an India based on his ideas must be defeated, he said. He was speaking at 'Gandhi Bharat', a program to commemorate hundred years to All India Congress Committee (AICC) session at Belagavi under the chairmanship of Mahatma, at Bharat Jodo Bhavan in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
"The Belagavi session of Congress, held under Gandhi's chairmanship, was a historic event. Gandhi was one of the rarest saints the world saw. He makes Indians proud. BJP is engaged in a very low level politics against the Mahatma. It is trying to build a Godse's India. We must spoil this plot", he said.
Calling Gandhi the soul and consciousness of India, Siddaramaiah said that 'Godses' mustn't be allowed to thrive here. “We must not allow anyone to shatter our society in the name of religion or caste. The communal forces must be defeated. These divisive forces are a threat to the development of the state and the nation. Whenever BJP was in power, they were always busy dividing the society in the name of religion and caste; they never formulated any people-centric or development-centric programs. Nor was such a thing ever implemented. A pro-people development has no place in BJP", he said.
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Alleging that the opposition humiliated the beneficiaries of the state's guarantee schemes meant to help people of all sections of the society, Siddaramaiah said that BJP-JDS floated wrong information about the programs. "Gandhi had stressed on Hindu-Muslim unity, gram swarajya and the idea of sarvodaya in the Belagavi session. This is the ideology and the program of Congress", he added.
Siddaramaiah said that Gandhi was India's soul, consciousness and its way of thinking. “So he may be killed physically. However, his principles and ideas can never be eliminated. It’s a part of this soil", he said.
Requesting all to participate in the year-long centenary celebrations of the 1924 Belagavi session, the CM said that we must remember how National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Anna Bhagya scheme had saved millions from hunger during the COVID pandemic. “Former PM Manmohan Singh must be remembered for the employment guarantee and the food security acts he implemented”, Siddaramaiah added.
Alleging a conspiracy against the law planned by BJP across the nation, Siddaramaiah said that the party was trying to bring about a nationwide political instability by defeating the legal system. "As Mahatma Gandhi said, 'The court of conscience is greater than all courts'. Let us obey it", he added.
KPCC President D K Shivakumar, Former CM Veerappa Moily, Minister for Law H K Patil and others were present.
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Guv invites Hemant Soren to form govt in Jharkhand, oath on Nov 28
Ranchi, Nov 24: JMM leader Hemant Soren on Sunday met Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar and staked claim to form the government, soon after leaders of the INDIA bloc in the state unanimously elected him as the legislature party leader.
He resigned as the chief minister, before staking claim to form the government. He will officiate as the acting chief minister till oath is administered to him on November 28.
"I met the governor. We staked claim to form the government, and handed over support letter of alliance partners to him. He invited us to form the government. The swearing in ceremony will be held on November 28," Soren told reporters after meeting Gangwar.
Soren, who drove to the Raj Bhavan in his car, said the governor asked him to officiate as the acting chief minister in the interim.
Soren will be sworn in as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand, which was carved out of Bihar on November 15, 2000. He will be sworn in as the chief minister for the fourth term.
Earlier, leaders and MLAs of the alliance, during a meeting at Hemant Soren's residence here, unanimously elected him as the coalition's leader.
Congress's Jharkhand in-charge and party general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir and senior party leader Rajesh Thakur also attended the meeting, besides legislators of the coalition parties.
In a stunning comeback, Hemant Soren's JMM-led alliance on Saturday stormed to power in Jharkhand for a second consecutive term, winning 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, despite an all-out blitz by the BJP-led NDA which managed only 24 seats.
The majority mark in the state assembly is 41 seats.
Soren retained the Barhait seat by defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes.
Soren had to resign as the CM in January before being arrested by the ED in a money laundering case.
He is out on bail after he was released from jail on June 28 after nearly five months, as the high court granted him bail in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.
He had resigned as the CM shortly before his arrest on January 31 by the ED.
Hemant Soren, the son of JMM supremo Shibu Soren, began his political career in 2009 as a Rajya Sabha member, but his tenure in the upper House of Parliament was short-lived.
He resigned in 2010 to become the deputy chief minister in the BJP-led Arjun Munda government. However, the alliance collapsed in 2012, leading to President's Rule in the state. Despite this setback, Soren's resolve to lead Jharkhand never faltered.
In 2013, Soren became the state's youngest chief minister at the age of 38, forming the government with the support of Congress and RJD.
However, his first term was short-lived, as the BJP took power in 2014, and Soren became leader of the opposition.
A pivotal moment in his career came in 2016 when the BJP-led government attempted to amend laws protecting tribal land, such as the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act.
Soren led a massive movement to protect tribal rights, which not only earned him widespread support but also set the stage for his return to power.
In 2019, Soren, with the backing of his allies Congress and RJD, reclaimed the chief minister's office. His JMM party won 30 seats.
This time, the party won 34 seats, its highest ever tally in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, signaling the growing popularity of his leadership.
