Launched Bharat Jodo yatras to highlight issues troubling common man: Rahul Gandhi at INDIA rally
Mumbai, Mar 17: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said he was compelled to launch his Bharat Jodo yatras to highlight rising unemployment, inflation and hatred in society.
Addressing the opposition INDIA bloc rally at Mumbai's Shivaji Park after the conclusion of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi won't be able to win the Lok Sabha elections without "EVMs, ED, CBI and Income Tax".
"Modi is a mask' who works for a shakti' (power). He is a shallow man who doesn't have a 56-inch chest," Gandhi said.
The former Congress president alleged that PM Modi had a "monopoly over corruption".
"Do you think the Shiv Sena and NCP people split and joined the ruling alliance just like that," he asked.
While Eknath Shinde led a split in the Shiv Sena in 2022 and aligned with the BJP to become the Maharashtra chief minister, Ajit Pawar triggered a similar upheaval in the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) last year.
Gandhi also claimed that a leader from Maharashtra cried in front of his mother Sonia Gandhi, saying he felt ashamed that he could not "fight this power any more and didn't want to go to jail".
He claimed Modi can't win elections "without EVMs (electronic voting machines)".
"We asked the Election Commission of India to count the VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) also. But our demand hasn't been accepted," he said.
In a show of strength, leaders of several constituents of the opposition INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) grouping assembled here for the mega rally ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, which will be held in seven phases starting April 19.
LIVE: Bharat Jodo Nyay Manzil - INDIA Rally | Shivaji Park | Mumbai, Maharashtra | #INDIAjeetega https://t.co/XRT8kwc7lR
— Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (@bharatjodo) March 17, 2024
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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.
