No change in Rahul's itinerary during UK, Germany visits: Congress
New Delhi, Aug 17 : The Congress clarified on Friday that there has been no change in the engagements of Congress President Rahul Gandhi during his scheduled visits to Germany and the UK and accused the BJP of trying to undermine the visit because "it is getting popular".
Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said there is "absolutely no change in Gandhi's itinerary".
"He will go as per schedule of the itinerary decided by the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC). He will engage and interact with various sections of people as per the schedule. There is no change in the plans," she said.
"BJP is trying to undermine the entire visit because they know how popular it is getting and how people wish to hear Rahul Gandhi and want to reach out to him," she added.
Chaturvedi said if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was attempting to get any invite withdrawn, it exposes "its pettiness and its shortsightedness" at a time when leaders from across the political spectrum were appreciating the democratic norms followed by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Congress sources said IOC Chairman Sam Pitroda had conveyed that there had been no change in the proposed visit of Gandhi to the UK Parliament.
A media report said on Friday that Indian-origin millionaire Dr Rami Ranger, co-chairman of the Conservative Friends of India, and Tory peer Baroness Verma have rescinded an invitation to Rahul Gandhi during his trip to London saying the event had been cancelled.
It also said Labour MP Keith Vaz has sponsored a room elsewhere in the Parliament and Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) has taken over running the event.
Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Germany and London next week to meet businessmen, politicians, academics and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).
Sam Pitroda said in a tweet on Thursday that Gandhi will be visiting Germany on August 22 and 23 and London on August 24 and 25.
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SGPC writes to Mann, seeks ban on 'Emergency' in Punjab a day before release
Amritsar, Jan 16 (PTI): The SGPC on Thursday wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a ban on the release of Kangana Ranaut's movie 'Emergency' saying it "tarnishes" the image of Sikhs and "misrepresents" history.
Actor and BJP MP Ranaut's 'Emergency' is slated to release in cinemas on January 17.
In the letter to Mann, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong objection to Ranaut's film.
Dhami said that if the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state.
The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had earlier also protested the film.
"It has come to our attention that the movie 'Emergency' produced by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is going to be released on 17th January 2025 in cinemas in different cities of Punjab and the tickets have also started to be booked," its letter to Mann read.
Dhami said the SGPC had also protested the release of the movie in a letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary on November 14 last year.
"But it is sad that the Punjab government has not taken any step till now. If this film is released on January 17, 2025, then it is natural to create outrage and anger in the Sikh world," the current letter read.
Dhami said the SGPC will submit a letter also to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.
The SGPC denounced the "character assassination" of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani militant killed in 1984 in a military operation.
"If this film is released in Punjab, we will be forced to strongly oppose it at the state level," Dhami said.
In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the producers of the 'Emergency' film, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove the objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.
In the notice, the producers of the film, including Kangana Ranaut, were asked to remove the trailer released on August 14 from all public and social media platforms and tender a written apology to the Sikh community.
The SGPC objected to film writing separate letters to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification.
