PM Modi trying to do match-fixing in polls, BJP will change Constitution if it wins: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi, Mar 31: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to do "match-fixing" in the Lok Sabha polls and asserted that if the BJP wins the election through this endeavour and changes the Constitution, then the whole country would be "finished".
Addressing the INDIA bloc's 'Save Democracy' rally at the Ramlila Maidan here, the former Congress chief said this is not an ordinary election but one to save the country's democracy and Constitution.
"When pressure is put on umpires and captain, players are bought off and the match is won, in cricket, it is called match-fixing. We have Lok Sabha polls before us. Who selected the umpires? Before the match started, two players were arrested... Narendra Modi is trying to do match-fixing in these polls," Gandhi said.
The BJP is raising the slogan of getting 400 seats, but without EVMs, "match-fixing", pressuring media and buying them, they will not be able to reach even 180 seats, he claimed.
Gandhi said the Congress is the biggest opposition party and all its accounts have been frozen at a time the party has to run a campaign and send leaders in states amidst the Lok Sabha polls.
"What kind of elections are these...governments are made to fall by using money power, leaders are threatened and arrested, Soren ji and Kejriwal ji are arrested," Gandhi alleged, adding that "match-fixing is being done by PM Modi along with three-four billionaires".
This is being done to "snatch" the Constitution from the poor, he said.
The Constitution is the voice of the people and the day "it is finished, this country will be finished", he asserted, adding if the Constitution goes, the rights of the poor and reservation will also go.
The country cannot be run by threats and police, and the Constitution is its heartbeat, he said.
If the Constitution is finished this country will be torn apart into different states, he said, adding that this is the BJP's objective.
"They think the country can be run with the threats and intimidation of police, CBI and ED... You can buy media and suppress them but you cannot suppress the voice of India. No force in this world can suppress voice of people," the former Congress chief said.
"A BJP MP said 'we will change the Constitution when we get over 400 seats'. It was not said just like that, it was to test the idea," Gandhi said, referring to Anantkumar Hegde's remark about amending the Constitution.
Gandhi said this fight is to save the Constitution.
"If the Constitution goes, the rights of the poor will go and reservation will also go...the wealth of the poor, farmers and labourers will go into the hands of five-six people," Gandhi alleged.
"Tell me who benefitted from the GST. There is the highest unemployment today in the last 40 years. One per cent people have the entire wealth of the country. There are 22 people who have the same wealth as 70 crore people," he said.
The BJP wants to change the Constitution to take away the wealth of the people, he alleged.
"I have talked about caste census, employment to youth, MSP to farmers...these are the biggest issues before the country. But, if you do not vote with full force, their match-fixing will succeed. The day match-fixing succeeds, our Constitution will be finished.
"The day our Constitution is finished, it will be a big blow to the heart of India. This election is not an ordinary election. This election is a fight to save the Constitution, the country and saving the rights of the poor, backwards and tribals," Gandhi said.
He said the entire country is watching this "match-fixing" in the election.
It was Prime Minister Modi who appointed the Election Commission, put two chief ministers behind bars merely one or two months ahead of elections and "froze our bank accounts", Gandhi said.
"They want to make the opposition unable to fight elections. That is why they froze bank accounts, appointed their own people in the election commission, are putting pressure on the judiciary because they want to fix the match," he alleged.
The Congress leader claimed that if the BJP wins the election through "match-fixing" and changes the Constitution, then the country would be "set ablaze" and it would not survive.
In a show of opposition unity ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, INDIA bloc leaders came together at a 'Loktantra Bachao' rally at the Ramlila ground here on Sunday against the backdrop of Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal's arrest.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D Raja, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, and Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren, among others, attended the rally.
नरेंद्र मोदी ‘मैच फिक्सिंग’ से चुनाव जीत कर संविधान बदलना चाहते हैं।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 31, 2024
प्लेयर खरीद कर, कैप्टन को डरा कर, अंपायर पर दबाव डाल कर और EVM के दम पर 400 पार का नारा लगा रहे हैं।
जबकि हकीकत में सब मिला कर भी वह 180 पार करने की हालत में नहीं हैं।
यह चुनाव सिर्फ सरकार बनाने का चुनाव नहीं…
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
