Congress's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' set to enter Maharashtra
Rahul Gandhi to address rallies on Nov 10 and 18
Mumbai (PTI): The Congress's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' will enter Maharashtra on Monday night and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi will address two rallies in the state on November 10 and 18, a senior party leader said.
The yatra, a mass outreach initiative which began on September 7 from Kanyakumari, is scheduled to enter its 61st day on Monday and reach Deglur in Maharashtra's Nanded district from neighbouring Telangana.
Rahul Gandhi will address two rallies during the yatra in Maharashtra. The first rally will be held on November 10 in Nanded district, while the second one will be held on November 18 at Shegaon in Buldhana district, as per the schedule shared by the Congress.
The yatra will traverse through 15 Assembly and 6 parliamentary constituencies in the state during its 14-day sojourn.
It will cover a distance of 382 kms across five districts before entering Madhya Pradesh on November 20.
The party's state unit has planned to hold a welcome ceremony for the yatra participants at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at Kalamandir in Deglur, it said.
After the welcome ceremony, the yatra will resume on Monday night in which the participants will carry 'Ekta Mashals' (Unity Torches).
The yatra will proceed through Nanded district for four days and enter Hingoli district on November 11, Washim on November 15, Akola on November 16 and Buldhana on November 18, party sources said.
Senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, who recently visited Nanded to oversee the preparations for the yatra, said elaborate arrangements have been made in the state for it.
Addressing a press conference in Nanded on Sunday, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said the yatra's aim was to protect the Constitution and democratic values.
"In the last eight years, the country has seen corruption, fear and hunger," he alleged, and demanded a face-to-face debate between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi on the issues plaguing the country.
"Ours is not a political yatra. It is aimed at highlighting the issues plaguing the country. Many prominent personalities we contacted said they support the yatra, but would not come in the open," he said.
More than 100 prominent personalities from different walks of life will participate in the yatra, another Congress leader earlier said.
The Congress has invited Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to take part in the foot-march.
Pawar had earlier said he would join the yatra.
The state Congress leadership plans to highlight the participation of the NCP and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction in the yatra as a show of solidarity of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
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Those questioning EVMs should demonstrate 'discrepancies' to EC: TMC's Abhishek Banerjee
New Delhi, Dec 16: Those raising questions on Electronic Voting Machines should give a demonstration of any "discrepancies" to the Election Commission, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee said on Monday.
Banerjee's remarks come after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, another leader of the INDIA bloc, dismissed the Congress' strong objections to EVMs, saying the party raises questions about their reliability only when it loses.
Asked about leaders from different INDIA bloc parties supporting Mamata Banerjee on the leadership issue, the TMC national general secretary told reporters that the alliance members will sit and discuss it.
"This is my personal opinion that those who are raising questions on the EVMs should show a demo of its discrepancies to the EC. They should show any video (as evidence) to the EC," Banerjee said to questions on the EVM issue.
The TMC leader said once there is proper monitoring during various stages of the polling process by booth workers and others, there is "nothing substantial" in these allegations.
"I have been conducting elections on-ground for a long time. If someone works well during EVM randomisation and the booth workers check EVMs during mock polls or review the form 17C, which is used to check ballot units or control units, during the counting of votes, I don't think there is anything substantial in these allegations [of EVM manipulation]," Banerjee said.
"Even after that, if someone feels that the EVMs can be manipulated, their delegation should visit the EC and show a demo or evidence proving that there is some malware or technology to hack EVMs," he said.
"If they are unable to do that, a movement or Andolan should be organised over the issue. Only making 2-3 statements regarding a matter does not mean anything," he said.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, in an exclusive interview to PTI, dismissed the objections to EVMs, saying it cannot be that the Congress celebrates its win in polls held through the machines while questioning their reliability when it loses.
Asked about several leaders from the opposition's INDIA bloc supporting Mamata Banerjee on the issue of leading the alliance, Abbhishek Banerjee said, "INDIA alliance will sit and discuss this. She is the senior-most leader. This is her third term as the chief minister and she has also been a Union Minister before as well. So there should be a detailed discussion regarding this."
The TMC said no party should be treated small, and regional parties should not be undermined.
"No party should be treated small. The TMC is the only party in the Indian alliance that has defeated the BJP as well as the Congress. This shows its strength," he said.
"Undermining regional parties is incorrect - this is a mistake which both the Congress and the BJP make. We have come here after being voted by the people. Though the number is 29, one should never undermine people," he said.
"The TMC reduced BJP MPs in Bengal. We have a good strike rate against them. The TMC is the only party where BJP leaders have joined unlike other scenarios where BJP poached leaders. We have seen how the BJP breaks parties, poaches leaders," Banerjee added.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had recently said she could manage the dual responsibility of running the opposition front while continuing her role as the chief minister of West Bengal.
Her statement came amid disquiet in the INDIA bloc after the recent electoral setbacks for the Congress in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Maharashtra. She found support from senior leaders like NCP (SP)'s Sharad Pawar, and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, among others.
