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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West Asia conflict: More than 700 travellers from MP stranded in UAE
Indore (PTI): More than 700 people from Madhya Pradesh, including two former MLAs, are stranded in the United Arab Emirates due to flight cancellations amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, an office-bearer of a travel agents' outfit said on Sunday.
Several people from the state had travelled to the UAE for tourism and business purposes, and the crisis in the region had left them stranded, Amol Kataria, chairman of the Travel Agents Federation of India's MP unit, told PTI.
Many travellers from the state had cancelled their upcoming trips to Dubai and Sharjah, he added.
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Kataria said that more than 700 people were stuck in the UAE, and among them, former MLA and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sanjay Shukla is in Dubai.
"Due to the current international situation, our return to India today could not take place as Dubai airport was temporarily closed. We are receiving full cooperation from the Dubai administration and the Government of India. We will return to Indore as soon as the situation normalises," Shukla's post on social media stated.
Talking to PTI, the former Indore legislator's son, Sagar, said that his father had gone to Dubai three days ago with former Depalpur MLA Vishal Patel and some industrialist friends, and was scheduled to return to Indore on Sunday.
He said he had spoken to his father over the phone and heard explosions during the conversation, following which his father and his friends moved to a safe location.
He expressed hope that his father and his friends would return home soon with the efforts of the Indian government.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari, in a social media post, claimed that over 100 citizens from the state were stranded at Dubai and Sharjah airports.
Women, children and families had been facing inconvenience for several hours, and anxiety had increased after flight cancellations, he said.
Patwari urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene immediately and ensure the safety of all Indians stranded in the UAE, while making arrangements for their early return home.
The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed early on Sunday.
Hundreds of flights have been disrupted across West Asia and in other countries, including India, due to airspace restrictions following the joint attack and retaliatory action by Iran.
