RSS taught Modi that country develops through lectures, false promises: Rahul Gandhi
Shivamogga: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the RSS has taught Modi that he should stress more on giving lectures. The RSS has taught him to stand, hold stick, wear knickers and speak lies. I think the prime minister is now realising that the nation cannot be run with hatred, lathi, speeches and false promises.
The Congress president was speaking at an election rally, during his fifth visit to Karnataka ahead of the state Assembly Elections on May 12.
Refferring to Shah’s gaffe at a press coference in Davangere, Rahul said, "First time the BJP spoke truth. Whatever they had in their mind they spoke it. Amit Shah said (at Davangere) that Yeddyurappa government was the most corrupt government. I am happy that he spoke truth for the first time in his life," he said.
Jay Sah
A combative Rahul further called out BJP National President Amit Shah for corruption. “Jay Shah, Amit Shah's son turned Rs 50,000 into Rs 80 crore in 3 months and Modi has not said a word. He has also taken the Rafale contract away from Karnataka's HAL and given it to his friend. He has given three times the money UPA government was giving. He has given friends 40,000 crores and Modi has still not spoken about this," he said.
He also attacked Modi on the CBSE question papers leak and on the "leak" of assembly election date for Karnataka, saying Modi was silent on these issues too.
Question paper leak
Lacing his remarks with sarcasm, Gandhi said the prime minister wrote a book (Exam Warriors) telling children how to face the exam and also gave a lecture for two hours on how to prepare for exams.
He said children took the advice seriously and prepared for the exam with the help of their parents but when they went to appear for the exam, they were told that the exams were cancelled as the question paper was leaked.
"Modi may have failed in plugging the question paper leak but he may again lecture children how to prepare for exams and will tell them about the dos and don'ts during exam," said Gandhi.
On one side, question papers are leaked, while on the other election dates are also leaked, Gandhi quipped.
Dalit atrocities
Rahul also questioned Prime Minister Modi for his silence on the alleged 'dilution' of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
"Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis has increased in the country. Modi has not uttered a word on the dilution of SC/ST Act. The amount of money Modi government gives Dalits and Adivasis in the country, the Congress party gives half of that money in one state alone in Karnataka," he said speaking at an election rally in Shivamogga.
His words came in the backdrop of violence in northern parts of the country during Monday's protests against the Supreme Court’s order on ‘misuse’ of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Rahul was accompanied by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara at the rally which followed a road show that commenced from Ashoka circle and passed through through Nehru Road and Amir Ahmed Circle before culminating at Gopi Circle.
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Air quality a nationwide crisis, govt response exceedingly ineffective:Cong
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Sunday cited a report to claim that air quality is a nation-wide, structural crisis for which the government response is "exceedingly ineffective and inadequate", as it demanded a thorough reform of the National Clear Air Programme.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the NCAP propagated as the National Clear Air Programme is actually another type of NCAP - "Notional Clear Air Programme".
The former environment minister said a new analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has now confirmed what was always India's "worst-kept secret that the air quality is a nation-wide, structural crisis for which the government response is exceedingly ineffective and inadequate".
Using satellite data, the study found that nearly 44 per cent of Indian cities that is 1,787 out of 4,041 statutory towns assessed have chronic air pollution, with annual PM2.5 levels consistently exceeding the national standard over five years (2019-2024, excluding 2020), Ramesh said in a statement.
Pointing out that the report also highlighted the ineffectiveness of the NCAP, the Congress leader said that despite the scale of the problem (1,787 towns), only 130 cities are covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
Of these 130 cities, 28 still lack continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS), he claimed.
Among the 102 cities with monitoring infrastructure, 100 reported PM10 levels of 80 per cent or higher, Ramesh said, adding that in totality, NCAP currently addresses only 4 per cent of India's chronically polluted cities
NCAP, propagated as the National Clear Air Programme, is actually another type of NCAP--Notional Clear Air Programme, he said and asserted that it now needs a thorough overhaul and reform.
"The first step must be to acknowledge the public health crisis linked to air pollution across wide swathes of India. Consequently, given this crisis, we must revisit and totally revamp both the Air Pollution (Control and Prevention) Act of 1981 and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) put into effect in November 2009," Ramesh said.
As per the NAAQS the permissible concentration of fine particulate matter is 60 ug/m3 for a 24-hour period, and 40 ug/m3 annually versus the guidelines of less than 15 ug/m3 for a 24-hour period and 5 ug/m3 annually set by the WHO, he pointed out.
Ramesh urged the government to drastically increase the funds made available under the NCAP.
"The current budget, inclusive of NCAP funding and the 15th Finance Commission's grants, is about Rs. 10,500 crore, spread across 131 cities! Our cities need at least 10-20 times more funding. NCAP must be made a Rs 25,000 crore programme and spread across the 1,000 most polluted towns in the country," he said.
The NCAP must adopt measurement of PM 2.5 levels as the yardstick for performance NCAP must reorient its focus to key sources of emissions -- burning of solid fuels, vehicular emissions, and industrial emissions, the former environment minister said.
"The NCAP must be given legal backing, an enforcement mechanism, and serious data monitoring capacity for every Indian city, beyond the current focus only on 'non- attainment' cities," he argued.
Ramesh asserted that air pollution norms for coal power plants must be enforced immediately.
All power plants must install a Fluoride Gas Desulfurizer (FGD) by the end of 2026, he said.
"The National Green Tribunal's independence must be restored, and the anti-people environmental law amendments of the last 10 years must be rolled back," Ramesh said.
"Twice so far in Parliament -- first on 29th July 2024 and then on 9th December 2025 -- the Modi Government has tried to downplay the health impact of air pollution. The Modi Government is not blind to the truth, it is only attempting to cover up the scale of its incompetence and negligence," the Congress leader alleged.
