'Have courage to listen too': Congress to PM Modi over Kharge's 'Ravan' jibe
New Delhi, Dec 1: The Congress on Thursday hit back at the BJP for attacking party chief Mallikarjun Kharge over his 'Ravan' remark and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "have the courage to listen too" as it cited several instances in the past when PM Modi had "insulted" Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.
The Congress reaction came a day after the BJP and its ministers released videos of the opposition party "insulting" the prime minister ahead of Gujarat Assembly polls.
"What about the numerous times he has insulted Smt Sonia Gandhi in the most awful language and the atrocious manner he mocked Dr Manmohan Singh in Parliament," said AICC general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh.
"Should I remind Mr Modi what he said on Feb 8, 2017 in Rajya Sabha about Dr Manmohan Singh that he knew the art of bathing with a raincoat on'. Can there be a cheaper & crasser comment by any PM on his predecessor, and that too in the very temple of democracy?" Ramesh said on Twitter.
AICC media in-charge Pawan Khera also tweeted, "If you keep talking about our leaders and elders, then have the courage to listen too."
The BJP intensified its attack on the Congress over its president Mallikarjun Kharge's 'Ravan' jibe at Prime Minister Modi and said people will give a befitting reply to the opposition party.
The BJP also said that the people of Gujarat will reply to the Congress through their vote for use of "abusive" words against the PM.
Prime Minister Modi on Thursday said there is a competition among Congress leaders as to who will use the most abusive words against him, referring to the opposition party president Mallikarjun Kharge's 'Ravan' jibe at him.
Before Kharge, another Congress leader had said the party will show Modi his 'aukat' (place), the PM said, apparently referring to Madhusudan Mistry's remark last month.
Addressing a poll rally at Kalol town in Panchmahal district of Gujarat, Modi said such abusive words used for him were an insult of Gujarat and its people because he was raised by the people of this land.
He asked people to teach the Congress leaders a lesson by voting for the 'lotus' (BJP's symbol) in the state elections.
Kharge on Monday night addressed a rally in Behrampura area of Ahmedabad city where he said the prime minister asks people to vote "looking at his face" in all elections. "Are you 100-headed like Ravan," he had said.
On Thursday too, Kharge took a swipe at PM Modi, saying that he hurls "four quintals of gaalis (abuses)" at the grand old party everyday and targets its leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. He was addressing a rally at Waghodia town in Vadodara district of Gujarat in support of Congress candidate Satyajitsinh Gaekwad.
On Thursday, Modi said, "I respect Khargeji but he has to follow orders of the party high command. He was compelled to say that Modi has 100 heads like (demon king) Ravan."
"But, the Congress did not realise that Gujarat is the land of Ram Bhakts. Those who never believed in the existence of Lord Ram, have now brought in Ravan from Ramayana just to abuse me," the PM said.
"And, I am surprised they never expressed repentance, forget about tendering an apology, after using such cuss words for me. Congress leaders think it is their right to use abusive language for Modi and insult the country's prime minister," he said.
In an apparent jibe at the Gandhi family, Modi said Congress leaders are abusing him because their allegiance is towards a family, not India's democracy.
"For them, that family is everything. They will do anything to make the family happy. There is a competition among Congress leaders as to who will use the most abusive and most toxic slurs for Modi," he said.
Should I remind Mr. Modi what he said on Feb 8, 2017 in Rajya Sabha about Dr.Manmohan Singh—that he knew the ‘art of bathing with a raincoat on’. Can there be a cheaper & crasser comment by any PM on his predecessor, and that too in the very temple of democracy?! https://t.co/3VuulkesV0
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 1, 2022
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Nine dead as massive fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): A fire ripped through a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, leaving nine people from two families dead, including a toddler, officials said.
The incident was reported at 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
The blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting frantic rescue efforts.
With the terrace door locked, the building occupants found it difficult to escape the leaping flames.
Twelve fire tenders were pressed into service, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in evacuation and rescue efforts.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
According to the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), nine charred bodies were recovered from different parts of the building. "One body was recovered from the first floor, five from the second floor and three from the staircase which was found locked," a DFS officer said.
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Those killed on the second floor were identified as Arvind Jain (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), their son Nishant Jain (35), daughter-in-law Anchal Jain (33) and grandchild Akash Jain.
On the third floor, three members of another family -- Nitin Jain (50), his wife Shailey Jain (48) and their son Samyak Jain (25) -- were found dead.
On the first floor, a woman identified as Shikha Jain (45) was found dead, while her husband Naveen Jain (48) sustained injuries.
A senior police officer said around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the building during the operation. Two persons with minor injuries were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.
Flames had engulfed large portions of the structure, with thick plumes of smoke spreading across the locality and reducing visibility.
Fire fighters said screams could be heard from those trapped inside the building as they battled for hours to bring the blaze under control.
A firefighter involved in the operation said the intensity of the blaze was significantly higher in the rear portion of the building.
"The fire intensity was higher in the four flats at the rear as compared to the front portion. So far, we have recovered nine bodies and handed them over to Delhi Police. It is difficult to provide details at this stage. The cause of the fire is still under investigation," he said.
He said access constraints worsened the situation.
"Three bodies were found near the terrace level. The access to the roof was locked, and because of this, they could not save their lives. If it had not been locked, they might have survived," he said.
"There is a central staircase which serves as both entry and exit. The rear side gate was covered with a grille, due to which we had to cut it using tools to carry out rescue operations. We deployed five ladders from different sides and also used a turntable ladder vehicle to rescue around 15 people," the firefighter added.
Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta condoled the loss of lives in the fire tragedy, and said immediate medical assistance and relief are being provided to the affected people.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva along with Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra, local MLA Sanjay Goel, Councillor Pankaj Luthra and BJP Shahdara district president Deepak Gaba, met the bereaved families around 10 am and extended condolences to them on behalf of the ruling party.
The BJP leader said Goel reached the spot within minutes of receiving the information and helped save 18 to 20 people while monitoring the rescue operations.
While talking to reporters, Malhotra described the incident as extremely tragic.
Lauding the prompt response of the fire brigade and police personnel, Malhotra said due to their timely action, around 20 people were rescued.
