Rahul Gandhi rides auto to campaign venue at Nemom
Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 4: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took an autorickshaw ride at two places in Kerala, on the last day of campaign for the April 6 Assembly polls, to highlight the rising fuel prices under the BJP-NDA rule.
Gandhi, who addressed a campaign meeting at Nemom, here in the evening, took an autorickshaw to the venue, catching everyone by surprise.
K Muraleedharan, MP, is the Congress-led UDF candidate at Nemom, the lone seat won by the BJP in the 2016 assembly polls.
The constituency is witnessing a fierce triangular fight between the LDF, UDF and the BJP.
Addressing party workers at Nemom, Gandhi, who also took out a roadshow, said he came in an autorickshaw.
The driver of the vehicle said he was not able to make a livelihood as all his earnings go to pay for fuel.
"The BJP keeps raising the petrol and diesel prices and giving their money to their friends. How dare they come here and ask you for votes?", an angry Gandhi asked.
The Gandhi scion also took an auto ride on his way to the helipad at Kalpetta in his constituency Wayanad earlier in the day.
Shri @RahulGandhi in a candid conversation with auto-driver Shareef V V during his ride in Kalpetta, Kerala.
— Congress (@INCIndia) April 4, 2021
Congress-UDF & Rahul ji stand strong with our hard-working citizens against the State & Central govts' onslaught.#UDFWillTransformKerala pic.twitter.com/fUEXzN5saU
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
