Brazilian presidential candidate stabbed at rally
Brasilia, Sep 7 : Brazil's front-running far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed during a rally while campaigning for next month's election.
On Thursday, Bolsonaro, notorious for making racist, sexist and homophobic remarks, was being led through a crowd on the shoulders of supporters in Juiz de Fora city in the southern state of Minhas Gervais when an assailant stabbed him from the front and he appeared to scream in pain, reports CNN.
Known to many of his countrymen as the "Brazilian Trump", Bolsonaro was taken to a hospital where medical officials and his family said he was in a stable condition.
"Unfortunately it was more serious than we hoped," tweeted his son Flavio Bolsonaro.
"The wound reached part of his liver, lung and intestine. He lost a lot of blood, reaching the hospital... Almost dead... His condition now seems stable. Please pray!"
Brazil's federal police said that they arrested a man identified as Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, 40, whom a group of people tried to lynch after accusing him of staging the attack, reports Efe news.
Bolsonaro is one of the most controversial candidates in the current electoral round because he is a defender of Brazil's 1964-1984 military dictatorship.
He is also facing court proceedings for inciting violence.
According to a voter survey released on Wednesday, the rightist would finish first in the October 7 election if imprisoned former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose candidacy was declared invalid by election authorities does not participate, but he would lose in a runoff.
Lula was heading all the voter surveys with some 40 per cent support but recently he was declared "ineligible" to run because of his conviction on corruption charges.
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K'taka Cong to protest against replacing MGNREGA, 'hate politics' in National Herald case
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said that the ruling Congress in the state will hold protests against the central government's move to replace the existing rural employment law MGNREGA, and the alleged "hate politics" against the party leadership in the National Herald case on December 17.
The state Congress president said that the protest led by him and CM Siddaramaiah will be held in front of Gandhi state at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha here on Wednesday, and similar protests will also be held at all district and taluka centres of the state.
The party also plans to raise the issues in the state legislature here.
"The agitation has become necessary. Tomorrow at 9.30 am, the chief minister, myself, all ministers, MLAs and MLCs will stage a protest in front of the Gandhi statue. Everyone will participate," Shivakumar said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the protests will also be held in all district and taluk centres including Bengaluru, and there is also a plan for a programme on Saturday, details of which will be shared later.
"In Assembly too there is a need to discuss this and for it to go into records, we are making preparations for it....the protest is against removing Mahatma Gandhi's name from MGNREGA, and against the hate politics towards Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Congress leaders," he added.
The Congress' move, came as the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, that seeks to replace the existing rural employment law MGNREGA, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid strong objections by the opposition to the "removal" of Mahatma Gandhi's name from it.
Also, a court in Delhi on Tuesday refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's money laundering charge against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and five others in the National Herald case.
Alleging that Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were "harassed" in connection with the National Herald case, Shivakumar said several people, including him, had given funds to help the party related organisation, and they too were being troubled.
"My brother D K Suresh (former MP) and I were supposed to appear before the Delhi police in connection with the National Herald case. We had written a letter to them seeking a FIR copy. Chargesheet was filed by ED in the case without an FIR," he claimed.
Pointing to the Delhi Court's decision, the Deputy CM said, "This is proof that the legal system in the country is still alive. This also proves that the power is being misused (by those in the central government) to harass political opponents."
Highlighting that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru started the National Herald in 1937, and that it is Congress' property, Shivakumar, questioning the validity of the ED case, said, "As Congress presidents (in past) Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had their shares, it was not their own. Similarly, if we as Congress workers don't donate to the party organisation, who else will?"
Shivakumar also said that the move to rename MNREGA is with an intention to "insult" Gandhi and to weaken the scheme by reducing its funding.
