Constitutional institutions not personal property of PM Modi, says Rahul Gandhi
Wayanad (PTI): In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that the Constitutional institutions of the country are not his personal property but belong to every single Indian citizen.
Accusing the ruling BJP at the Centre of attempting to capture all the Constitutional institutions of the country, he said the upcoming Lok Sabha polls is a fight between those who want to protect the Constitution and those who want to destroy it.
He was addressing party workers and voters after taking out a roadshow in Vellimunda in this high range constituency.
He said the Constitution is the document that protects the rights of all Indians regardless of the language they speak, the community they are from, the religion they practice and the state they belong to. Everybody is the same in the eyes of the Constitution, he said.
"You understand very well that the BJP is attempting to capture all the (Constitutional) institutions of our country, one by one," he alleged.
Whether it is the judiciary, Election Commission, CBI, ED, Income Tax department or the high bureaucracy, the RSS is infiltrating these systems by putting their men, he further charged. And on the other side, there is the INDIA bloc which believes that these institutions belong to India and not to any one organisation, he said.
"These institutions are not the personal property of the Prime Minister. They are the property of every single Indian citizen," Gandhi asserted.
He said that every now and then, some BJP MP says that they would change the Constitution.
"Let me make it very clear, the Congress party will not let the RSS change the Constitution of India," he said.
Gandhi further said that it is the duty of the Congress party to protect every single Indian regardless of their community, religion and state. This is the sacred duty of the Congress party, he added.
The Congress leader came here today to launch the second phase of his election campaign. He had kicked off the poll campaign in Wayanad early this month by filing his nomination papers and holding a massive road show. Gandhi won from Wayanad with a record margin of 4,31,770 votes during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Polling in Kerala's 20 Lok Sabha seats will be held on April 26.
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'Engineered narratives': West Bengal guv on alleged molestation charges against him
Kolkata, May 2: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday said he will not be cowed down by “engineered narratives” and the "truth shall triumph” after TMC leaders claimed that a woman working at Raj Bhavan levelled allegations of molestation against him.
In a statement, the Governor said, “Truth shall triumph. I refuse to be cowed down by engineered narratives. If anybody wants some election benefits by maligning me, God bless them. But they cannot stop my fight against corruption and violence in Bengal,”
To the Raj Bhavan staff "who expressed solidarity with him following some derogatory narratives that were circulated by two disgruntled employees as agents of political parties," a communication by Raj Bhawan said.
The Governor’s statement came after senior TMC leaders claimed this evening in a series of social media posts that the woman, who had levelled the allegations, has been taken to a police station to complain against Bose.
Though police sources said they received a verbal complaint, there was no official word on whether a formal complaint had been registered.
“BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose was accused of molesting a woman. How utterly appalling and Horrifying. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj Bhavan today. The complainant has been taken to the Hare Street police station for filing a complaint. The woman has accused the Governor of molesting her. Shocking and disgraceful,” TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said in a post on X.
Fellow TMC MP Saket Gokhale also posted on his X account regarding the issue.
West Bengal Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja said it is “shameful” that the Governor has maligned his post and has used it to “torture a woman”.
“It is appalling and shocking to see such an incident. This is the same Governor who had reached out to Sandeshkhali to talk about women’s rights and Nari Shakti. This is shameful that the Governor sought undue advantages in the pretext of giving her a permanent job. We want Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be addressing rallies in Bengal tomorrow to react on this issue,” she said.
According to sources in the Governor's House, the "woman employee with the help of her alleged boyfriend who is also an employee of the Raj Bhavan was blocking complaints (from people) being sent to the Election Commission of India.
"When she was reprimanded for that, she went outside and alleged molestation. She is in the habit of throwing tantrums against her colleagues because of some disease," a Raj Bhavan official said.
The West Bengal Governor and the TMC government have shared an acrimonious relationship since he assumed office in November 2022 and had several run-ins on various issues.
The BJP said it has to be seen whether this a “conspiracy by the TMC” or has an “iota of truth in it”.
“We all know that the TMC is politically cornered on the issue of SSC scam and is looking for a breathing space. So this needs to be seen whether this is a conspiracy by the TMC or it has any iota of truth in it,” BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said.
BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose accused of molesting a woman. How utterly APPALLING and HORRIFYING. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj…
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) May 2, 2024
Shameful that a constitutional office holder should try to prejudice an impartial investigation by attacking the motive of the complainant. We have seen this happen in that infamous Saturday Hearing of the Supreme Court. Respect women! https://t.co/E6eJLQvFXO
— sanjoy ghose (@advsanjoy) May 2, 2024
