Will be forced to call Modi by his various popular nicknames: Congress
New Delhi, July 14 : Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his calling Congress President Rahul Gandhi as "naamdar" in a public speech in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress on Saturday said it too would be forced to call him by various nicknames if he did not mend his ways.
"If we start calling you (Modi) by your various nicknames popular among the public as well as on social media, you will not feel good. So please think before you call senior leaders of other parties names. We will have to forget the dignity of your post the way you have done," said Congress spokesman Pramod Tiwari.
"We would have to rake up all the names by which the common people call a person who does not fulfil his promises, who is all words and little action," he added.
The Congress leader said that while the Prime Minister in his speech at Azamgarh claimed that his government is fighting for the rights of Muslim women, he forgot to touch upon rapes in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh and to tell people about his party MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar who has been charge sheeted by CBI for rape.
"The Prime Minister could have announced in the same breath that he was expelling Sengar from the party. He forgot to speak on the rampant rapes in Uttar Pradesh in BJP rule," Tiwari said.
He said that Modi sounded like a tired commander who was staring at the defeat.
"After giving 73 Lok Sabha and 323 assembly seats to BJP, the public had been expecting to hear from the Prime Minister about the jobs, employment, about farmers' dues, about the reopening of shut down factories and mills. But he spoke none of that because he has nothing to show on the ground," Tiwari added.
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Bengal: Over 55 pc turnout till 1 pm in repoll in 15 booths of 2 assembly seats
Kolkata (PTI): Over 55 per cent turnout was recorded till 1 pm in repoll in 15 booths of two assembly constituencies in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Saturday, an official said.
Voting was underway more or less peacefully at 11 polling stations of Magrahat Paschim assembly constituency and four in Diamond Harbour, where the EC ordered repoll a day ago, following reports of electoral malpractices.
However, at booth number 179 at Chanda Primary School of Diamond Harbour seat, the Trinamool Congress alleged that a specially abled voter and his mother were harassed by central forces. The alleged incident sparked protests by party workers and locals.
The TMC claimed that the voter's mother, who had entered the booth to assist him, and her son were detained for a considerable time by central forces over alleged rule violations.
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"TMC leaders Manmohini Biswas and Pratik Ur Rahman reached the spot and led the protests, with residents terming the action unwarranted harassment. The matter has been taken care of by our officials there," an official of the poll body said.
Polling was otherwise peaceful across 15 booths in the area, he added.
Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, the official said, adding that till 1 pm, the turnout was 55.57 per cent.
Magrahat Paschim registered 56.33 per cent voter turnout, while in Diamond Harbour, it was 54.9 per cent, a poll official stated.
Voting in these two assembly constituencies was held in the second phase of the state elections on April 29.
The repoll order was based on reports received from returning officers and observers of the two constituencies and "material circumstances", the Election Commission official said.
In Magrahat Paschim, TMC's Md Samim Ahamed Molla is pitted against BJP nominee Goursundar Ghosh, while Abdul Majid Halder of the Congress and ISF candidate Abdul Aziz Al Hassan are also in the fray.
TMC candidate Panna Lal Halder is contesting against Dipak Kumar Halder of the BJP in the Diamond Harbour seat. Goutam Bhattacharya of the Congress and CPI(M)'s Samar Naiya are among other candidates.
The BJP had alleged rampant electoral malpractices in certain polling stations of both the assembly seats under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, which is represented by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
The EC had deputed its special observer, Subrata Gupta, to fact-check the allegations from the ground.
The poll panel will decide on repolling in the Falta assembly constituency on Saturday.
The West Bengal assembly elections were held in two phases -- April 23 and April 29 -- amid unprecedented security arrangements.
Counting of votes will take place on May 4.
