Poor deprived of their right to dream: Rahul Gandhi flags rising costs of houses
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday flagged concerns over the rising costs of houses, especially in big cities, and said the next time "someone tells you the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, show them the truth about your domestic budget".
Gandhi shared on his WhatsApp channel a media report which claimed that even for the top 5 per cent of urban families by income in Maharashtra, buying a house in Mumbai would take more than 100 years of savings.
"Yes, you read it right - and if you don't believe it, let me repeat it: 'To buy a house in Mumbai, even the richest five per cent of India's people will have to save 30 per cent of their income for 109 years!'" Gandhi said.
"This is the condition of most big cities, where you work hard in search of opportunities and success. And, where will so much savings come from?" he said in his post in Hindi on his WhatsApp channel.
The inheritance of the poor and the middle class is not wealth, but responsibilities - expensive education of children, worry about expensive treatment, responsibility of parents or a small car for the family, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
"Still, there is a dream in the hearts - 'one day' we will have a house of our own! But when that 'one day' is 109 years away even for the rich, then understand that the poor have been deprived of their right to dreams," Gandhi said.
"Every family needs a comfortable four-walls and a roof over its head - but unfortunately, it costs more than your entire life's hard work and savings," he said.
"The next time someone tells you the Gross Domestic Product figures, show them the truth about your domestic budget - and ask, who is this economy for?" Gandhi said.
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Karnataka MLA Vinay Kulkarni disqualified after conviction in Goudar murder case
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Saturday issued an official notification regarding the disqualification of Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni following his conviction in the murder case of BJP leader Yogeshgouda Goudar.
The former minister is currently in prison, serving life imprisonment in the case.
“Consequent upon the conviction of Vinay Kulkarni, Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly representing the Dharwad constituency, by the LXXXI Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge, Bengaluru City (CCH-82), in Spl CC No. 565/2021, he stands disqualified from the membership of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from the date of conviction, i.e, April 15, 2026,” the notification read.
“He stands disqualified in terms of the provisions of Article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution of India, read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and such disqualification shall continue for a further period of six years after his release, unless the conviction is stayed by a competent court,” it added.
Hence, one seat in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly has fallen vacant, the notification said.
Bypolls were held on April 9 to fill two other seats in the 224-member Assembly that fell vacant due to the death of sitting MLAs. The results will be declared on May 4.
On April 15, Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat convicted Kulkarni and others under various IPC sections, including criminal conspiracy and murder. Subsequently, on April 17, the court sentenced Kulkarni and 15 others convicted in the case to life imprisonment.
The case pertains to the killing of Goudar, a BJP Zilla Panchayat member, in Dharwad on June 15, 2016. Kulkarni was a minister at that time. Hired assailants attacked and hacked Goudar to death in his gym at Saptapur in Dharwad.
Following demands from Goudar’s family and others, the then-BJP government transferred the case to the CBI in 2019.
The CBI filed a supplementary chargesheet in 2020, naming Vinay Kulkarni as the “main conspirator.” It alleged that he perceived Yogeshgouda Goudar as a growing political rival in Dharwad and hired contract killers to eliminate him.
Kulkarni was arrested by the CBI in 2020. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in August 2021 under certain conditions, including a ban on entering Dharwad district. However, in June 2025, the apex court cancelled his bail following allegations of witness tampering and attempts to influence prosecution witnesses.
Kulkarni again sought bail in January 2026, but the High Court rejected it, citing judicial propriety.
However, the Supreme Court granted him bail on February 27 after noting that all witnesses had been examined.
