Congress must aim for 150 seats or else corrupt BJP will 'steal' next govt in K'taka: Rahul Gandhi
Bengaluru, Apr 16: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said there is a strong undercurrent in favour of Congress in poll-bound Karnataka but pressed on his leaders to ensure that the party wins at least 150 seats so that the next government is not "stolen" by a corrupt BJP.
He also reminded everyone that people in the party have a duty to defend the idea of India from the RSS and BJP amid hatred, violence and attacks on the country's institutions.
The Congress leader arrived in Karnataka on a two-day event to take part in a series of events in Kolar, Bengaluru and Bidar before flying back to Delhi.
"Most of us are aware of what the BJP is doing to the nation in terms of hatred and violence, the attack on institutions. These are the things that are visible to everybody," Gandhi said after inaugurating Indira Gandhi Bhavan.
Dwelling on his party's prospects in the May 10 Karnataka Assembly election, he said: "We are facing an election now in Karnataka and I am quite happy to see that there is a very strong undercurrent in favour of the Congress and I am confident that the party is going to win the election."
The Congress leader expressed happiness that there was "certain amount of unity" among party leaders in the state. "I am happy to see also that there is a certain amount of unity among all our leaders, unity of purpose and unity of action. I saw all the leaders of Karnataka during the Bharat Jodo Yatra," he added.
Winning elections in a close manner will not work in Karnataka, Gandhi said urging his leaders to win at least 150 seats of the total 224 in the Assembly.
"We have to win the election with 150 seats because the BJP is a corrupt organisation. The BJP has a huge amount of money that they have stolen from the people of Karnataka and they will attempt to steal the next government as well," he underlined.
The Congress leader said he was confident that if Congress campaigned in a united manner and stood together, then the party will win the election hands down.
"The essence of our country, the nature of our country is being attacked and it is our duty as Congress people, as people who have helped build the modern idea of India, as the institution, the organisation that has helped build the modern idea of India to defend it from RSS and the BJP."
Lashing out at the Basavaraj Bommai-led dispensation, the former Congress president said everybody knew the state government in Karnataka is one of the most corrupt in the country.
"The tag '40 per cent Sarkar' has stuck. Everybody understands that the BJP in Karnataka is a symbol of corruption," Gandhi said pointing out that the people of Karnataka are keen to teach a lesson to the '40 per cent Sarkar'.
Stating that the BJP government has "gone beyond being corrupt", Gandhi underscored that no matter what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said or did, it was very clear to the people of Karnataka that the BJP wasted its time.
"They have stolen five years of theirs because this government did not belong to them. This was a non-BJP government that was elected and this was a government that has been stolen," the Congress leader said.
Congress has made corruption as a poll plank alleging that the ministers demand 40 per cent commission on public works from contractors.
Appealing to the Congress workers to work hard in this election, he said a message should be conveyed that the party is coming to power with a serious purpose to deliver things to the people of Karnataka.
In the outgoing 224-member Assembly, the BJP currently has 119 seats, followed by the Congress with 75 and the JD (S) with 28 seats. Two seats are vacant.
While polling for the Assembly election will take place on May 10, the results would be declared on May 13.
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Young woman from MP who shot to fame during Kumbh found to be minor, case registered against husband
Khargone (MP) (PTI): The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes on Friday confirmed that a young woman from Madhya Pradesh who became famous due to her viral videos during the 2025 Maha Kumbh has been found to be a minor after an inquiry.
Citing the findings of an inquiry panel set up by the commission, local BJP leaders alleged that her interfaith marriage in Kerala last month was a case of "love Jihad", and sought legal action.
While the panel had submitted its report in March, ST commission chairman Antar Singh Arya confirmed its findings to the PTI on Friday.
A case for alleged kidnapping and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has already been registered against her husband, a Muslim man, at Maheshwar on the basis of the inquiry findings, police said.
The girl gained national fame after her videos while selling garlands and rudraksha at the Maha Kumbh went viral on social media and also earned her a role in a film.
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes set up an inquiry panel after receiving a complaint on March 17 from Pratham Dubey, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, that she was a minor and was being exploited.
Maheshwar BJP MLA Rajkumar Mev and BJP mandal president Vikram Patel, armed with documents, told reporters on Friday that her marriage in Kerala was a case of "love Jihad" and she should be brought back home.
'Love jihad' is a term used by right-wing groups to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into marriage to convert them to Islam.
Police said an investigation is underway, and further action would be taken accordingly.
The girl, who belongs to the nomadic Pardhi community, got married at a temple in Kerala in March. The interfaith marriage drew angry reactions from rightwing Hindu groups.
Her family members and film director Sanoj Mishra -- who had offered her a film role after she became famous -- too alleged that it was 'love Jihad'.
As per the inquiry conducted by the ST commission, records at the Maheshwar government hospital showed the woman's date of birth as December 30, 2009 which meant she was 16 years and two months old at the time of marriage, said Dubey, the complainant.
On a complaint filed by her father, police registered a case against the girl's husband at Maheshwar police station on March 25 for alleged kidnapping and under the POCSO Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Police sources said that a separate case was also registered on March 24 under section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (taking a minor from lawful custody of guardian without their consent) based on the the commission's findings.
