Rahul terms EVM as 'Modi Voting Machine';says NDA has no chance in Bihar
Madhepura/Araria (Bihar): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Wednesday described Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) as "Modi Voting Machine" (MVM), and asserted the youth of Bihar is "angry" this time and will vote out the NDA government "whether its EVM or MVM".
Wrapping up his campaign for the ongoing election in Bihar, he addressed two rallies during the day, and slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the migrant issue, handling of the coronavirus crisis, unemployment, and the new agricultural laws.
In his first rally at Madhepuras Bihariganj, from where veteran socialist leader Sharad Yadav's daughter Subhashini Yadav is contesting the poll on a Congress seat, Gandhi said the chief minister had promised he would provide jobs to the youth and "change" Bihar, but he "could not deliver".
"When youths today ask Kumar during his public meetings about the jobs he had promised, he threatens them, chases them away and gets them thrashed," Gandhi alleged.
"He (Nitish) tells them he doesn't need their votes.
Fine then. The youth of Bihar will not vote for you," he said.
Raking up the EVM issue for the first time in this election, he said, "The name is not EVM (Electronic Voting Machine. The name is MVM i.e Modi Voting Machine. E is written just like that.
"But there is anger among the youth of Bihar this time around. So whether it's EVM or MVM, the mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) is going to win," he said.
He said he was not scared "whether its MVM or Modiji ka Media (Modi ji's media)".
"Truth is truth, justice is justice. I am fighting a war of ideology against this man. We are fighting against their thoughts. We will defeat their thoughts," he said.
"I won't budge an inch until I defeat Narendra Modi," he said.
He also raised the issue of Minimum Support Price for maize and paddy and said the money that the farmers should be getting is actually going to the middleman.
He alleged that the PM, through the three recently passed agricultural laws, has "cleared the way for new middlemen. Not the smaller ones but the bigger ones -- Ambani and Adani".
"You would never have seen the Prime Minister holding the hand of a poor farmer, but must have seen him embracing Ambani and Adani," he alleged.
He also alleged that Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Kumar did not help poor labourers and workers during the coronavirus lockdown, rather they got them "lathi-charged", and are asking for their votes now.
He said the prices of vegetable and other edible items are shooting up because of these new agricultural laws.
"Three laws have been brought by Modi ji which have destroyed the Mandi system, the MSP regime and the procurement system. Therefore, the prices of vegetables are increasing rapidly," he said.
"Modi Ji says, we have liberated the farmer. Now the farmer can sell his paddy and maize anywhere. But Modi Ji should tell me one thing, how will he sell? He needs a road (to travel to sell the produce), but where is the road in Bihar?" he asked.
He alleged, "The whole country is watching that you have given the freedom to the biggest billionaires of India and enslaved the farmers and labourers."
Attacking the chief minister, he asked the crowd, "You gave him a vote. What did he give you? Unemployment."
"Modi Ji & Nitish Ji run the government only for a few businessmen, not for the poor or labourers. I am here to tell you that when the Mahagathbandan government comes to power, it will be a government for every farmer, labourer, caste, religion and class," he said.
At his Madhepura rally, he praised Sharad Yadav, saying the veteran leader taught him a lot and was in a way a "guru" to him.
The two districts are going to the polls in the last phase on November 7.
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Rupee rises 6 paise to 89.92 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee witnessed range-bound trade in the morning session on Friday, appreciating by 6 paise to 89.92 against the US dollar as thin liquidity conditions accentuated everyday demand-supply imbalances, keeping the rupee tilted toward weakness.
Forex traders said the USD/INR pair is expected to trade in a narrow range as the 90 level is being protected by the Reserve Bank of India.
Moreover, the support from positive domestic equities was offset by sustained foreign fund outflows.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 89.95 against the US dollar, then gained some ground and touched 89.92, rising by six paise from its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee depreciated 10 paise to close at 89.98 against the US dollar.
"Unless RBI comes and sells dollars heavily, the movement is going to be in small ranges as seen in the last three sessions. The pair is seen in a holding pattern between 89.80 and 90, considering the narrow range," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
Bhansali further noted that corporate demand, FPI demand, and government demand have been the salient features of the rupee over the past year, during which it fell by more than 5 per cent and became the worst-performing Asian currency, though partly protected by the RBI.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally down by 0.15 per cent at 98.17.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.38 per cent higher at USD 61.08 per barrel in futures trade.
"With early-year liquidity still thin and domestic fundamentals offering a mixed but stable backdrop, the rupee appears set to remain range-bound in the near term. As long as USD/INR stays below the 90 handle, the balance of risks tilts mildly in favour of the rupee," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said, adding that against this backdrop, USD/INR is expected to trade in a 89.30–90.20 range.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex climbed 158.19 points to 85,346.79 in early trade, while the Nifty was up 55.8 points to 26,202.35.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,268.60 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
On the domestic macroeconomic front, gross GST collections rose 6.1 per cent to over Rs 1.74 lakh crore in December 2025, on slow growth in revenues from domestic sales following the sweeping tax cuts, according to government data released on Thursday.
Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue in December 2024 was over Rs 1.64 lakh crore.
