Rahul Gandhi will be at Sankardeva's birthplace on Jan 22: Jairam Ramesh
North Lakhimpur, Jan 20: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be paying obeisance at the birthplace of Vaishnavite scholar Srimanta Sankardeva in Assam's Nagoan district on the day the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya will take place, party leader Jairam Ramesh said here on Saturday.
Ramesh is accompanying Gandhi in the party's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' from Manipur to Mumbai, which is on its third day in Assam.
"Everyone has been asking where will Rahul ji and the Yatra be on January 22. I want to tell everyone that on the morning of January 22, Rahul ji will be in Batadrawa Than, the birthplace of Sri Sri Sankardeva", Ramesh said at a press conference at Gobindapur in Lakhimpur district.
"Sankardeva had lived centuries ago but his life still touches crores of people. His ideals are more relevant today," he added.
On January 10, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had "respectfully declined" the invitation to attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony on January 22 and accused the BJP and the RSS of making it into a "political project" for electoral gain.
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Ind vs Aus 1st test day 2: IND 172/0 at stumps, lead by 218 runs in Perth
Perth, Nov 23: Yashasvi Jaiswal combined game awareness with perfect shot selection while KL Rahul remained technically unflappable in an unbroken opening stand of 172 as India looked set to bat Australia out of the match with an overall lead of 218 runs on the second day of the opening Test here.
After skipper Jasprit Bumrah's game-changing 11th five-wicket haul decimated Australia for 104, young Jaiswal (90 batting, 193 balls) and seasoned Rahul (62 batting, 154 balls) decided to grind it out with some old fashioned Test match batting by waiting for the loose deliveries and respecting good fast bowling.
The Indians showed their compact defense by scoring 88 runs in 31 overs during the post-tea session as Jaiswal inched towards a coveted ton on his maiden outing on Australian soil.
With enough time at their disposal and signs of cracks appearing on the surface, this is going to be India's Test match to lose.
The way Rahul wore down the Australian attack was a sight to behold. There was no chatter from the slip cordon and at one point, the stitches of the Kookaburra came out.
The live grass died by the second afternoon and the seam movement also went out of equation making batting easier.
But no one can take away any credit from the two who were hardly troubled except for a mix-up that could have led to Rahul's run-out.
Jaiswal also showed that he had learnt his lessons from the first innings and curbed his urge to drive on the up initially, which was the best part about his batting. Each of his seven fours and two sixes were well-executed shots.
Once he had defended enough deliveries, the Australian pacers didn't have any option but to try either short or full length which he utilised well.
The whip over mid-wicket to hit Starc for one-bounce four and then induce a grin from the pacer by telling him "you are slow", spoke volumes about how fearless the current generation of Indian cricketers is.
In the final session, he flicked him for good measure for a maximum.
Rahul's back-drive off Pat Cummins can easily be called the shot of the match but it was heartening to see Jaiswal put in a big stride forward while driving Mitchell Starc through covers apart from getting under the bounce and playing the ramp shot.
In case of Rahul, he kept a very loose bottom-hand and that helped with the deliveries, even the ones that took the thickish edge only to fall way in front of the slip cordon.
There was a spell of play in the post-tea session when Indians were kept quiet by Nathan Lyon but neither Jaiswal nor Rahul ran out of patience. Jaiswal's half-century came off 123 balls, his slowest in 15 Tests and spoke volumes about his adaptability.
For Rahul, it was about forgetting the unfortunate dismissal on Friday and concentrate, which he did splendidly.
Any target above 300 would be very difficult to chase on this track and Washington Sundar can come into play if those cracks open up, not to forget the three quicks who can use the variable bounce to good effect.
In the morning, India captain Bumrah deservedly got his 11th five-wicket haul while debutant Harshit Rana bowled a fiery opening spell to dismiss the hosts for 104 at the stroke of lunch despite a stiff last-wicket resistance from Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
Starc (26 off 113 balls) shielded Hazlewood (7 not out off 31 balls) admirably during their 25-run last-wicket stand that lasted 18 overs.
The day began with Bumrah (5/30 in 18 overs) getting one to rear up from back of the length and Carey's edge carried at a good height to Rishabh Pant behind stumps.
The skipper's celebration was understated as he purposefully strode back to his bowling mark even before Nathan Lyon had arrived. At the other end, the burly Harshit Rana (3/48 in 15.2 overs) carried on from where he had left off on the opening day.
The rookie speedster used more short balls, and one such well-directed delivery accounted for Lyon, who was pouched at gully by KL Rahul.
