Ram Madhav withdraws charge that 'instruction from Pak' after Omar Abdullah’s dare
New Delhi, Nov 22: NC leader Omar Abdullah's dare to BJP general secretary Ram Madhav Thursday to prove his charge that the alliance to form government in Jammu and Kashmir was at Pakistan's behest has prompted the saffron party leader to withdraw his words.
The BJP and National Conference (NC) leaders exchanged sharp words on Twitter, a day after the state's governor dissolved the assembly, with Madhav asking Abdullah to fight the next polls together with the PDP if "genuine love" between the two parties promoted a "failed government" formation attempt.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti had Wednesday written to Governor Satya Pal Malik that she will stake claim to form government with the support of the Congress and the NC.
It was followed by another bid from the two-member People's Conference which claimed the support of the BJP and 18 legislators from other parties.
As Malik dissolved the assembly, Madhav, who is his party's points man for the state, alleged that "fresh instructions" were given to the two regional parties from across the border to come together and form a government.
The NC and PDP, he alleged, had boycotted local body polls in the state earlier because of instructions from Pakistan. Both regional parties have been arch political rivals in the state.
Abdullah took to Twitter to hit out at the BJP leader.
"You have RAW, NIA & IB at your command (CBI too is your parrot) so have the guts to place evidence in the public domain. Either prove this or be man enough to apologise. Don't practice shoot & scoot politics," the former chief minister said.
Ram Madhav responded, "Just take it in your stride Omar Abdullah. Not questioning your patriotism at all. But the sudden love between NC and PDP and the hurry to form government leads to many suspicions and political comments. Not to offend you." In the tweet, he added an emoji with a toothy smile.
Abdullah did not seem amused.
"No, misplaced attempts at humour won't work. You HAVE claimed my party has been acting at the behest of Pakistan. I dare you to prove it! Place the evidence of your allegation of NC boycott of ULB polls at Pak behest in public domain," he tweeted.
Ram Madhav then responded with a tweet which appeared to be aimed at defusing the tensions.
"Now that you deny any external pressure I take back my comment, but now that you proved it was genuine love between NC and PDP that prompted a failed government formation attempt, you should fight next elections together. Mind you it's political comment and not personal," he said, adding a laughing emoji.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, the NC leader repeated his demand for an apology from Madhav.
"You cannot undermine the sacrifices made by National Conference workers in protecting the sovereignty of this country. He must apologise," he said.
I dare you @rammadhavbjp ji to prove your allegation. You have RAW, NIA & IB at your command (CBI too is your parrot) so have the guts to place evidence in the public domain. Either prove this or be man enough to apologise. Don’t practice shoot & scoot politics. https://t.co/KEbOo0z6O2
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) November 22, 2018
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Focus on Vijay's poll promises; TVK assured 8 gm gold for women
Chennai (PTI): As the new-entrant TVK appears likely to emerge as the single largest party and form the government, the focus has now turned into actor-politician Vijay's poll promises, including 8 gm gold for marriage, which is worth about Rs 14,000 per gram (22 carat).
Vijay's assurances in the party manifesto include Rs 2,500 monthly assistance for women below 60 years, 8 gm gold for marriage and six free cooking gas cylinders a year, per family.
By 3 PM, as per EC data, Vijay's party is leading in 105 constituencies and it falls short of a simple majority (118) in the Assembly.
The actor-turned-politician also assured a quality silk saree in addition to gold for indigent brides and interest-free loans up to Rs 5 lakh for women-run SHGs. He assured corruption-free good governance if voted to power in his maiden electoral fight.
The manifesto also laid importance on education. To prevent school dropouts, mothers or guardians of children studying in government and state-aided schools will receive Rs 15,000 annually.
Vijay promised 100 special residential schools named after iconic leader K Kamaraj, credited with revolutionising education in the state, and higher education loans of up to Rs 20 lakh. The TVK founder also assured AI Ministry, AI University and AI City.
The manifesto placed a strong emphasis on agrarian welfare, too.
The party promised a full waiver of agricultural cooperative crop loans for farmers owning less than five acres of land, while those holding more than five acres will receive a 50 per cent waiver. Additionally, the party promised a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 3,500 per quintal for paddy and Rs 4,500 per tonne for sugarcane.
Addressing youth unemployment, Vijay pledged to create five lakh new government jobs and offer as many stipendiary internships. Unemployed graduates will be provided a monthly aid of up to Rs 4,000. For government employees, the party assured consideration of the Old Pension Scheme and the regularisation of contract workers, including nurses.
On the health front, he promised a drug-free Tamil Nadu. Vijay also committed to modernising hospitals, providing free annual health checkups, and introducing a Rs 25 lakh family health insurance scheme.
The manifesto also included a Rs 3,000 monthly pension for the elderly and the differently-abled, 200 units of free power, patta (land deed) regularisation, and 100 per cent piped drinking water supply for all households.
Some of the policy intereventions promised by TVK include a legal guarantee to provide essential government services like community certificates, and land pattas, within a strictly specified timeframe.
Vijay also promised doorstep delivery of governance by implementing a system to deliver services, such as ration supplies, directly to the people. He also assured that ease of doing business will be paramount to his government and promised a strict guarantee that business licences will be issued within 21 days.
Elections to 234 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu were held on April 23.
