"Thought he may go to Karachi or Lahore...", Rajnath Singh's dig at Rahul's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'
Nandagad (KTK), Mar 2: Accusing the Congress of raising questions over the valour of armed forces, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said, its 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' was aimed at "launching" their leader Rahul Gandhi, and he thought that the latter may go to Karachi or Lahore as part of the march.
Kick-starting the second part of BJP's 'Vijay Sankapla Yatre' here, he appealed to the people to support the party in the Assembly elections, due by May, to form a government with two-third majority.
The yatre from four different directions across the poll-bound State, in specially designed vehicles or "Rathas", are being launched by the party's central leaders in parts. The first part was launched by BJP National President J P Nadda in Chamarajanagara district on Wednesday.
"Do you know about the young Congress leader, he is being launched now, and for that they had the Bharat Jodo Yatra. India got divided during partition in 1947, so I thought Rahul Gandhi who was on Bharat Jodo Yatra may go to Karachi or Lahore, but he did not go there," Singh said.
Addressing a public meeting here, he asked as to who did Gandhi try to jodo (unite), when the whole of India is united and together.
"One cannot do politics for long by fooling people, only those who do politics with confidence and maintaining eye contact with the people can be successful, and only those in the BJP can do it," he said, as he hit out at the Congress accusing them of using slogans, 'Modi theri kabr khudegi' (Modi your grave will be dug).
"They are not digging Modi's grave, but are digging their own with such slogans. The amount of mud slinging that our Congress friends engage in against BJP and PM Modi, our Lotus will boom that much," Singh said.
Charging the Congress with raising questions on the courage and valour of our defence forces, he asked, "what happened to them?....As the Defence Minister I want to say, we are proud of our Military forces, the kind of brave deeds they have done, if I say it openly, you will be even more proud."
Earlier in the day, Singh visited Sangolli Rayanna's memorial here and paid respects, following which he launched the Yatre.
Sangolli Rayanna (1798-1831) was the army chief of the erstwhile Kittur Kingdom ruled by Rani Chennamma and fought against the British who hanged him to death from a Banyan tree near Nandagad in Belagavi district in 1831.
Singh said, this day and this public meeting is good for the BJP as election results for three north eastern states are being declared today, and among them in Tripura and Nagaland the party is forming the government once again, while in Meghalaya it has increased the number of seats.
The Defence Minister called on the people to take a resolve to form a BJP government in the state once again, and this time with two-third majority, to build a "New Karnataka".
Pointing out that after the 2018 Assembly polls as there was no clear majority to any party, BJP could not serve the state for the entire five years term, Singh said, "it is the wish of the party and its leadership that this time we should get two-third majority in Karnataka and form the government."
The party veteran from the state B S Yediyurappa has also said that he will put his entire strength and work for BJP getting two-third majority, he said, "if BJP is given a mandate for full five years, no one can stop Karnataka from becoming the number one state in south of India."
Noting that Yediyurappa, citing his age and health reasons, decided to quit as CM (in July 2021), Singh said, with his consent Basavaraj Bommai was made the CM.
"When the son of this soil, Yediyurappa resigned voluntarily after serving the state for long, it had to be respected. When Yediyurappa, who has high stature in the party decided to quit as CM, PM Modi and the entire Parliamentary Board decided to make him the member of the Parliamentary Board, which is the highest decision making body," he said, adding that Yediyurappa's service can never be forgotten.
Highlighting various initiatives of the Modi-led government in the state for the development and progress of Karnataka, the Defence Minister spoke about HAL manufacturing helicopters in Tumakuru, opening of new Airports, and industrial corridors.
Claiming that BJP always walks the talk and fulfills the commitment made to the people, he pointed to abrogation of Article 370, and abolition of 'teen talaq", among others, as he also listed boost to UPI transaction and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) among the achievements of Modi government.
He also highlighted India's growing stature globally and it emerging as an economic power, under the current BJP dispensation at the Centre.
Averring that the BJP government under Modi will not tolerate terrorism and those supporting it, he said, as part of this PFI was banned.
The Defence Minister also said that India now produces bombs, tanks, missiles among various other ammunitions required for national security within the country and no longer imports them to the extent earlier. "We are now into Make in India and Make for the World"
While Singh flagged off second yatre today from Nandagad, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is slated to launch the third and fourth yatre from Basavakalyana in Bidar district and Avathy in Devanahalli near Bengaluru, on March 3, in the morning and afternoon, respectively.
According to party leaders, more than 50 state and national leaders will take part in this campaign, which will cover all 31 districts and 224 constituencies of the State.
The tours will cover 8,000 km, along which the party has planned over 80 rallies, 74 public meetings and about 150 road shows, they said, adding that it is expected to "touch" about four crore people.
The 20-day long yatre will culminate with a mega rally in the district headquarters town of Davangere on March 25 which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The yatre that will begin from four different places will consist of 10-12 leaders in each of them.
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Rajnath Singh chairs IGoM meet, urges constant vigil over West Asia crisis
New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday emphasised the need for round-the-clock monitoring of the West Asia conflict and called for a calibrated response to deal with any eventuality to ensure that national interests remain protected.
Singh made the comments while chairing a high-level meeting of the Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM) set-up to monitor the situation in West Asia.
The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Power Minister Manohar Lal, Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister J P Nadda, Consumer Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi and Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw.
In view of the "uncertain situation", the defence minister underlined the importance of round-the-clock monitoring of the situation and the need to respond in a calibrated manner to deal with any eventuality, an official readout said.
He stressed on the need to leave no stone unturned to ensure that the people of the country face the minimum effect of the conflict, it said.
It was the second meeting of the IGoM after it was set up last month.
The IGoM was apprised of the measures being taken by the government in the wake of the ongoing West Asia conflict, Singh said on social media.
"We also deliberated upon the next steps to be taken by the government to mitigate any adverse impact arising due to the ongoing conflict," he said.
The defence ministry said in the readout said, "In the meeting, the seven empowered groups of secretaries briefed the IGoM on the steps being taken to tackle the situation."
"The IGoM was apprised about measures undertaken by the Ministry of Finance to address concerns arising due to global trade disruptions and provide relief and support to the industry, especially manufacturing, and bolster investor confidence," it said.
It listed measures including notification issued on Wednesday on full customs duty exemption on 40 critical petrochemical products till June 30.
The ministry also mentioned announcement of a special one-time relief measure for eligible units in SEZs to sell manufactured goods in Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) at concessional customs duty rates to be effective from April 1 to March 31.
It also noted another notification issued by the Department of Revenue clarifying that the provisions of GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rules) will not be invoked in respect of investments made prior to April 1, 2017.
"These measures will reduce cost pressures on downstream sectors including textiles, packaging and pharmaceuticals, facilitate supply stability in the country and provide requisite clarity for investors contemplating investments in India," the readout said.
Defence Minister Singh appreciated the government's decision to impose a 25 per cent cap on the monthly increase in aviation turbine fuel prices for domestic operations, with effect from April 1.
This step will help protect the people from sudden increase in fares, he said.
The government has accorded highest priority to domestic LPG supply, with refinery production enhanced to fully meet consumption requirements, according to the readout.
"The IGoM was informed that there have been no reports of dry-out at LPG distributorships, and delivery of domestic LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders continues as per the normal schedule. The temporary supply concerns arose due to instances of hoarding and black marketing, which triggered panic buying in certain areas," it said.
The ministers were informed that strict enforcement action is being undertaken, with raids being carried out across multiple states and Union territories to curb hoarding and black marketing of LPG, the ministry said in the readout.
Action has also been taken against some LPG distributors who engaged in malpractices, it said.
"To support migrant labour and low-consumption households, the government is ensuring adequate availability of 5 kg free trade LPG cylinders, and since March 23, over 4.3 lakh such cylinders have been sold. Special focus is being given to states where demand is higher," it said.
The IGoM was apprised that industrial requirements dependent on commercial LPG are being met, with over 80 per cent of pre-crisis supply levels being maintained to ensure continuity of operations.
"Special meetings have been held with ministries and stakeholders of different industries to understand their demand and meet their needs. Oil PSUs are ensuring continued supply of Auto LPG across the country," the readout noted.
"However, some supply constraints are being faced by private operators due to their procurement challenges, which is why lines are being observed at PSU auto LPG pumps. Wherever the autos are dual feed and can use petrol, they are being encouraged to use petrol," it said.
