Strengthen Congress to regain past glory in coastal districts: D K Shivakumar
Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state PCC president D K Shivakumar has urged party workers in the coastal districts to strengthen the Congress to regain its past glory in the region.
Addressing a workers' meeting at the district Congress committee office Wednesday evening, he said the state-level convention of the party will be held in Mangaluru next month to prepare ground for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and other national leaders are expected to attend the convention, to be jointly organised by the district units of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.
He said the party should be activated at the booth-level by involving more youth and the people should be made aware of the benefits of the guarantees implemented by the Congress government in the state.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state PCC president D K Shivakumar has urged party workers in the coastal districts to strengthen the Congress to regain its past glory in the region.
Addressing a workers' meeting at the district Congress committee office Wednesday evening, he said the state-level convention of the party will be held in Mangaluru next month to prepare ground for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and other national leaders are expected to attend the convention, to be jointly organised by the district units of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.
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He said the party should be activated at the booth-level by involving more youth and the people should be made aware of the benefits of the guarantees implemented by the Congress government in the state.
Shivakumar said the party needs more activists at the booth-level than leaders. The differences in the party in Sullia block of DK district should be sorted out among leaders.
He said the party workers should not get disappointed over the results of the last Assembly elections in the two districts where it could only win two seats. Attempts should be made to turn the Congress into a cadre-based party with the active involvement of result-oriented workers.
Later taking part in the annual conference of Karnataka state Sunni Yuvajana Sangha (SYS), Shivakumar said the Siddramaiah-led government is committed to protecting the rights of the minorities.
Without commenting on the contentious issues raised at the conference including hijab, he said the future of the country rests in the hands of the youth.
Earlier, talking to reporters, Shivakumar said the hijab issue and related religious matters are before court and should be addressed within the framework of law and the Constitution, ensuring protection of the rights of all religions.
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MPs defecting from political parties must be barred from contesting polls for 6 yrs: Digvijaya Singh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday said MPs defecting from political parties must be barred from contesting polls for six years, as he accused the Election Commission of being "biased", and also questioned the need for conducting Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Participating in the discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, Singh sought removal of the ceiling on electoral expenses to ensure transparency in the election process, and alleged "vote chori (theft)" in states like Karnataka, Haryana, and Maharashtra.
He also claimed that Rahul Gandhi had submitted proof in this regard, but the Election Commission never responded.
He alleged bias by the Election Commission and wondered whether citizenship was being ascertained or a new voter list was being prepared, claiming that matriculation certificates were being demanded from individuals during the SIR exercise.
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"SIR kaha se aa gaya? Humse citizenship ke question poochhey ja rahe hain (where did SIR come from? We are being questioned regarding citizenship)... matriculation certificate is being demanded from voters... whether citizenship is being ascertained or a voter list is being prepared?" Singh questioned during his remarks.
The senior Congress leader said, "When the election commission carries out summary revision four times a year, then what is the need of SIR?"
He suggested that the delimitation exercise should not be based on population and instead on the current seat dynamics in place in the North and South India.
"(Delimitation)... jansankhya ke aadhar par nahin hona chahiye. maujooda anupaat jo dakshin aur uttar bharat ki seats hai uss par hi hona chahiye," Singh said.
Singh claimed that multiple letters were written to the Election Commission and INDIA bloc members had sought time from the body but it was never granted.
He and Home Minister Amit Shah,
He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of wanting to implement a "fascist dictatorship" by appointing people following a particular ideology on constitutional positions.
He claimed that Shah was never associated with the RSS, a charge debunked by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal.
"Rahul Gandhi ne apne bhashan mein kaha tha is desh mein 2014 ke baad jitne bhi samvidhanik sansthaayein hain unpar ek nishchit vichardhaara ke logon ko bithaya ja raha hai, woh yogya ho ya ayogya ho, aur unke maadhyam se, mera yeh aarop hai, fascist dictatorship laagu karna chahtey hain Narendra Modi ji (Rahul Gandhi in his speeches has said that since 2014 people from a particular ideology, whether qualified or not, are being placed in constitutional posts... my allegation is that Modi ji is trying to impose fascist dictatorship in the country," Singh said.
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Speaking on the issue of illegal immigration, Samik Bhattacharya (BJP) quoted former PM Manmohan Singh's speech on September 30, 2005, claiming that Singh had stated that "India is opposed to all illegal immigration into the country be it from Bangladesh or elsewhere. The illegal immigration should not be encouraged."
He asserted that the Election Commission is a constitutional authority, and the SIR is underway and it needs to be accepted.
He also raised the issue of political violence and demographic imbalance/changes in West Bengal.
Sandeep Kumar Pathak of the Aam Aadmi Party raised the issue of exorbitant electoral expenses and the lack of level-playing field to contest polls by common citizens for this reason. He also suggested proper verification of the voter list.
