Akhilesh Yadav congratulates Rahul Gandhi for his 'strong determination', calls him 'rare person'
Lucknow, Mar 17: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday congratulated former Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his "strong determination" on the occasion of the conclusion of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, and described him as a "rare person".
Rahul Gandhi concluded his 63-day-old Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai by paying tributes to Dr B R Ambedkar at his memorial Chaityabhoomi in central Mumbai and reading the Preamble of the Constitution.
On Sunday, Akhilesh Yadav along with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav was scheduled to take part in the event. However, the SP chief did not attend the event.
In a letter dated March 17, written to Gandhi by Yadav, the SP chief said, "Today your Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is concluding in Mumbai. Rare are those people, who can take out such 'yatra'. Heartiest congratulations to you for your strong determination.
"You started this yatra from Manipur, which is burning due to the failure of the BJP government. You have given a strong message against the dictator government from the north-east. During the course of the entire yatra, you met (people from) all the sections of the society, including farmers, youngsters, women, elderly and you got acquainted with their problems very closely," Yadav said.
The SP chief went on to say, "The Election Commission yesterday announced the elections. Nominations will begin in UP from March 20, and owing to its preparations, I will not be able to attend the closing programme of the yatra.
"Not only hopeful, but fully confident that the public will uproot and throw out the BJP, which is against the farmers, youngsters, backwards, Dalits and women. The real success of the yatra will be that the BJP gets defeated in these elections," Yadav said.
The former Congress president was accompanied by his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday.
The yatra, which commenced from strife-torn Manipur on January 14, entered Mumbai from neighbouring Thane on the 63rd day on Saturday.
On February 21, INDIA bloc partners SP and Congress announced a tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the UP's main opposition party leaving 17 out of the 80 seats in the state for the ally.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party will contest on a single seat, Khajuraho, and support the Congress in the remaining constituencies in the state.
Among the 17 seats on which the Congress will contest in UP include Rae Bareli and Amethi, once considered pocket boroughs of the party, and Varanasi which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency.
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NIA registers case to probe recovery of 79 crude bombs in poll-bound West Bengal
New Delhi (PTI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday registered a case to probe recovery of 79 crude bombs in poll-bound West Bengal, officials said.
The move came following a directive by the Union Home Ministry in this regard, they said.
In pursuance to the home ministry's order, the anti-terror agency on Sunday registered a case, which was originally filed at Uttar Kashi police station, Bhangar division, Kolkata on Saturday, and took up the investigation, an NIA spokesperson said in a late night statement.
"The case pertains to recovery of 79 crude bombs and other incriminating materials by Kolkata police, which were being stored at a spot, thereby endangering human life and property," the spokesperson said.
Earlier in the day, the Election Commission had directed the West Bengal Police to launch a special drive to arrest those involved in illegal manufacturing of crude bombs in the poll-bound state, an official said.
It asserted that all cases related to the making of any such explosive would be probed by the National Investigation Agency, the official said.
The directive came after the police recovered a large number of crude bombs from the house of a person, allegedly a TMC worker, at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district, days ahead of the second and final phase of the assembly polls in the state.
The explosives were recovered during a search at the residence of Rafikul Islam following specific inputs, the official said.
The poll panel also issued a warning to senior police officers across the state over any lapse in maintaining law and order before the April 29 polling.
The first phase of the assembly elections in West Bengal was held on April 23, while the second phase will take place on April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.
A record 93.19 per cent turnout has been recorded in the first round of polling. Bhangar will vote in the second phase.
