Govt hiding poor people and animals from G20 dignitaries: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Saturday accused the government of covering up or demolishing slums and rounding up stray animals in view of the G20 Summit, with its leader Rahul Gandhi saying "there is no need to hide India's reality from our guests."
The Congress shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, showing some slum areas being covered with green sheets ahead of the two-day summit, which began here on Saturday and was attended by leaders of the largest economies of the world.
"The Government of India is hiding our poor people and animals. There is no need to hide India's reality from our guests," Gandhi, who is currently abroad, said in a post on X.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also attacked the prime minister over the matter.
"G20 is intended to be a productive gathering of the major world economies, aimed at dealing with global problems in a cooperative manner. President Putin may have stayed away, but Prince Potemkin has been in full display with slums being either covered up or demolished, rendering thousands homeless. Stray animals have been cruelly rounded up and mistreated, only to burnish the PM's image," Ramesh said in a statement.
In addition to the video of slums being covered up, the opposition party shared videos of cruelty towards stray dogs and animals ahead of the G20 Summit.
"The government considers us insects. Are we not humans," said a slum resident, whose video the Congress shared.
"Before G20, Modi government has covered their houses with curtains to hide its failure. Because the king hates the poor," the opposition party said on its X handle.
"Watch this video to witness the shocking cruelty inflicted upon innocent street dogs by the Modi government in preparation for the G20 summit.
"Dogs are being dragged by their necks, beaten with sticks and thrown into cages. They are being denied food and water, and they are being subjected to extreme stress and fear," it said.
"It is imperative that we raise our voices against such appalling acts and demand justice for these voiceless victims," the opposition party said.
GOI is hiding our poor people and animals.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 9, 2023
There is no need to hide India’s reality from our guests.
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Several organisations oppose proposal of changing Mount Abu's name
Jaipur, May 6 (PTI): Protests against a proposal to change the name of Mount Abu to 'Aburaj Teerth' and banning non-vegetarian food and alcohol in Rajasthan’s only hill station are mounting with locals saying it will severely impact the town's economy.
A letter from the department of local self government to the nagar parishad commissioner on April 25 had sought a "factual comment" of the commissioner regarding renaming Mount Abu as 'Aburaj Teerth' and prohibiting meat and liquor consumption in the open.
Looking at the religious significance of Mount Abu, a proposal to change the name to 'Aburaj Teerth' was passed in the board meeting of the Nagar Parishad in October last year. The proposal was sent to the state government, where it is pending.
After this, several MLAs of the ruling party wrote letters to Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma to change Mount Abu's name due to its religious significance and ban liquor and meat consumption in the open.
Local businessmen argue that Mount Abu is known worldwide by this name and changing the name will create confusion. Moreover, prohibiting non-veg food and liquor consumption will drastically reduce the number of tourists, they argued.
Twenty-three organisations, including Mount Abu Hotel Association, Laghu Vyapar Sangh, Sindhi Seva Samaj, Valmiki Samaj, Muslim Auquaf Committee, and Nakki Lake Vyapar Sansthan, handed over a memorandum, addressed to the chief minister to Sub Divisional Officer Dr Anshu Priya on Monday.
The SDM said that the proposal is pending at the state government level.
Saurabh Gangadia, secretary of Mount Abu Hotel Association, said that nearly five to six thousand tourists visit Mount Abu daily, and most of them come from neighbouring Gujarat, which is a dry state.
"The entire economy of Mount Abu is run on tourism activities and such a move to declare Mount Abu a 'Teerth' and prohibiting liquor and meat will destroy the economy," he said.
He claimed that nearly 15000 people were directly or indirectly associated with tourism-related activities in Mount Abu and if the number of tourists drops, it will have a negative impact on their livelihood.
"With a sharp decline in tourists, there will be an increase in unemployment and migration and business units will shut down," Dinesh Mali, secretary of Street Vendors Committee, said.
"There is absolutely no need to change the name and take such steps which have the potential of causing great harm to the economy and its people," he added.
The local business stakeholders said that the name 'Mount Abu' is internationally established and it features in global travel books, Google Maps, Wikipedia, tourism portals, travel advisories, foreign tour packages, international directories and academic texts.
According to the tourism department, the history of Mount Abu can be traced back to the Puranas. Known as "Arbudaranya" or "the forest of Arbhuda" in the Puranic Age, Mount Abu is described to have served as a retreat for sage Vashistha.
A popular mythological story associated with Mount Abu mentions a serpent named Arbhuda, who had saved the life of Nandi, Lord Shiva's mount, here.
