PM's effigy burnt during Cong protest at Wayanad against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification
Wayanad (Kerala) (PTI): Wayanad on Saturday witnessed strong protests, including the burning of an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Congress workers and its youth and student wings, over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as an MP who represented the constituency.
Congress leaders, including MLA T Siddique, who were part of the protest march to the office of BSNL in Kalpetta in Wayanad, were by force removed from the site and carried away by the police to their bus.
Besides them, several Youth Congress (YC) and KSU leaders were also arrested and removed from the protest site.
The leaders and workers of the party and its youth and student wings, after marching to the BSNL office had sat down on the road in front of it, which led to the blocking of traffic movement, according to visuals aired on TV channels.
Some YC workers were also seen climbing over police barricades into the BSNL office compound.
As the Congress, YC and KSU leaders and workers were being hauled away, they kept shouting slogans like 'INC zindabad'.
Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly and senior Congress leader V D Satheesan told reporters in Kochi that the party and the UDF would be holding protests across the state against the disqualification of Gandhi.
The party would also hold a protest march to the Kerala Raj Bhavan on March 27, he said.
Gandhi was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court on Wednesday in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.
A day later, the Lok Sabha Secretariat in a notification said that his disqualification was effective from March 23 -- the day of his conviction.
#WATCH | Kerala: Congress holds protest in Wayanad over disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Parliament.
— ANI (@ANI) March 25, 2023
Rahul Gandhi was a former MP from Wayanad. pic.twitter.com/rCHV592mEk
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BRS takes swipe at Kavitha's TRS, says 'Original is always original'
Hyderabad (PTI): Taking a swipe at K Kavitha over naming her new political party as TRS, the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led BRS on Saturday asserted that "original is always original".
BRS shared photos of a toothpaste, a water bottle brand and their fakes on X to highlight the difference between them.
However, the post did not directly name Kavitha or her party.
Kavitha, daughter of Chandrasekhar Rao, on Saturday launched a political outfit, named Telangana Rashtra Sena (TRS).
In her address, Kavitha strongly attacked the ruling Congress, BJP and BRS, describing her father as a "changed man" who has become "soulless".
The Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) was originally named Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). However, it was renamed as BRS in 2022 following KCR's ambitious plan to expand the party nationwide.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy took exception to Kavitha's comments dubbing CM Revanth Reddy as "Hitler and heartless".
He pointed out that funds are sanctioned under CM Relief Fund on a large scale to take care of health needs of citizens, among other measures, while Integrated Residential Schools are being built across the state by the Revanth Reddy government to provide free and quality education.
In response to Kavitha's comments that she would like to emerge as a mother-like figure (for 3.50 crore population of Telangana), he questioned her alleged silence during the "misrule" of BRS.
He also referred to Kavitha's criticism against the previous BRS regime.
"But, you remained silent (when BRS was in power) for 10 years. Why you did not raise your voice then? Did you not remember people and people's issues then?" Kiran Kumar Reddy asked.
Telangana BJP's chief spokesperson N V Subhash also raised concerns over the "sudden resurrection" of a similarly named party, questioning its intent and credibility.
The original Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), founded to capitalise on regional sentiment during the statehood movement, was later rebranded as Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) when KCR sought to expand his political footprint nationally, he said in a statement.
Kavitha’s expulsion from the party and her subsequent political moves could be perceived as part of a pre-scripted narrative, Subhash alleged.
“Projecting a split and then attempting to reclaim the legacy of TRS under a different banner is both illogical and misleading. It is an attempt to confuse the electorate rather than offer a genuine alternative,” Subhash said.
