KPCC formally invites Rahul Gandhi to contest LS polls from Karnataka
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Congress on Monday wrote to party president Rahul Gandhi inviting him to contest the Lok Sabha polls from the state.
In a letter to the Congress chief ahead of his rally in Kalaburagi, Pradesh Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao said his candidature from Karnataka will boost the party's rank and file in entire south India.
"The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee takes pride to invite you to kindly contest from Karnataka in the coming Lok Sabha election.
"Our state has stood by the Congress party whenever we were in troubled times. The present scenario in India is that our party will emerge stronger in the ensuing elections," Rao said.
Rao said the ruling "NDA is losing its shine and our alliance in the south is on a strong wicket".
The Congress earlier this month had announced that Rahul Gandhi will contest from his bastion Amethi and Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli.
Former chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday had tweeted that Karnataka unit of Congress wants Rahul Gandhi to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from the state.
Calling Rahul Gandhi the "next Prime Minister of India", the Congress Legislature Party leader had recalled his grandmother Indira Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi contesting Lok Sabha polls from Karnataka in the past.
Pointing out that Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi contested and won the polls from Karnataka, Rao said, "Sir, your acceptance to contest will be enthusiastically welcomed by our party workers and this decision by you will give very good message across south India."
While Indira Gandhi had scripted her political comeback from Chikkamagaluru in Karnataka after the Emergency by winning the Lok Sabha bypolls in 1978, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had contested and won from Ballari in 1999, trouncing Sushma Swaraj.
Interestingly, the Congress has ceded Chikkamagaluru seat to its alliance partner JD(S) this time, while Ballari remains with the grand old party.
The request comes amid reports about demands within the Congress party for Rahul Gandhi to contest from one of the seats in the South.
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Surat spiritual guru among seven held in Rs 2.38 crore fake currency racket in Ahmedabad
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Ahmedabad (PTI): City police has seized high-quality counterfeit Indian currency with a face value of Rs 2.38 crore and apprehended seven persons, officials said on Thursday.
Acting on a tip-off, the crime branch apprehended the accused, including a Surat-based spiritual and yoga teacher, when they arrived here on Wednesday, and seized 42,000 fake notes Rs 500 denomination.
Mukesh Thummar, Ashok Mavani, Ramesh Bhalar, Divyesh Rana, Pradip Jotangiya, Bharat Kakadiya and a woman allegedly brought the high-quality Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) in an SUV which was intercepted near Amraiwadi area, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Ajit Rajian.
Pradip Jotangiya is a 'spiritual and yoga teacher' at Shree Satyam Yog Foundation in Surat. The SUV had a "VVVIP" sticker and a plate reading "Shri Satyam Yog Foundation Recognized by Ayush Mantralay, Govt. of India".
Currency bundles were recovered from a black bag and concealed packaging inside the vehicle, the official said, adding that the process to arrest the accused was underway.
A crime branch team was immediately sent to Surat, and in coordination with the Surat crime branch, another Rs 28 lakh in fake currency was seized from a house where notes were being printed. Some equipment was also seized, DCP Rajian added.
Mukesh Thummar was allegedly the kingpin of the racket and arranged equipment and raw material including printers and paper cutting machines, as per an official release. Counterfeit currency was being printed at the place for the last four months, it added.
The accused had procured security thread paper resembling RBI markings from Chinese sources through e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba, it said.
Probe also revealed that photo-editing software and AI-based platforms such as ChatGPT were used to refine the design, layout, and visual features of counterfeit notes. One of the accused had expertise in graphic editing and printing processes.
The accused initially tested the counterfeit notes by using them in a few transactions. After gaining confidence that the fake currency was not being detected, they engaged agents to produce additional notes, Rajian said.
The accused will be produced before a court later on Thursday and police will seek their custody, he said.
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