Hope is making a comeback, says Michelle Obama as she bats for Kamala Harris' presidency
Chicago (PTI): Hope is making a comeback in America, former first lady Michelle Obama has said as she made an impassioned case for Kamala Harris and described her as the most qualified person ever to seek the office of the US president.
Michelle, in her speech to the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, described Vice President Harris as a candidate who worked her way up from a middle-class background, drawing on lessons from the two women’s late mothers.
"America, Hope is making a comeback," Michelle, the wife of former president Barack Obama, said as she was given a rousing welcome by thousands of Democratic party leaders and workers from across the country for the national convention.
Harris, 59, is scheduled to formally accept the Democratic Party's presidential nomination on Thursday to take on Republican rival Donald Trump, 78, in the November 5 election.
Recollecting the death of her mother recently, Michelle, 60, said she was an inspiration for her and so was the mother of Harris.
"Her mother moved from India at 19,” she said, as she spoke about Harris' mother Shyamala Gopalan.
“Kamala Harris is more than ready for this moment. She is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the presidency. And she is one of the most dignified tributes to her mother, to my mother, and probably to your mother too," she said.
"Her story is your story, it's my story. It's the story of the vast majority of Americans trying to build a better life. Kamala knows, like we do, that regardless of where you come from, what you look like, who you love, who you worship, or what's in your bank account, we all deserve the opportunity to build a decent reputation. All of our contributions deserve to be accepted and valued. Because no one has a monopoly on what it means to be an American. No one,’ she said.
Michelle said Harris has shown her allegiance to this nation, not by spewing anger and bitterness, but by living a life of service and always pushing the doors of opportunity open for others.
"She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don't get a second, third, or fourth chance," she said.
Michelle said for years Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear them.
"His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black," she said.
"Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those "Black jobs"? It's his same old con: doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people's lives better," she said.
Making a passionate plea for electing Harris as the net president of the United States, Michelle called for voting her to power.
“I don't care how you identify politically - whether you are a Democrat, Republican, independent, or none of the above- this is our time to stand up for what we know in our hearts is right. To stand up not just for our basic freedoms, but for decency and humanity, for basic respect, dignity, and empathy. For the values at the very foundation of this democracy," she said.
"It's up to us to remember what Kamala's mother told her: "Don't just sit around and complain about something!'" she said.
"If we start feeling tired, if we start feeling that dread creeping back in, we've got to pick ourselves up. throw water on our faces, and do something!" she added.
Michelle said that this election is going to be close.
"In some states, just a handful of votes in every precinct could decide the winner, So we need to vote in numbers that erase any doubt. We need to overwhelm any effort to suppress us. Our fate is in our hands,’ she said.
"In 77 days, we have the power to turn our country away from the fear, division, and smallness of the past. We have the power to marry our hope with our actions. We have the power to pay forward the love, sweat, and sacrifice of our mothers and fathers and all those who came before us. We did it before and we sure can do it again," she said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Sambhal violence orchestrated by BJP, govt to divert attention from poll rigging: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday alleged the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district over the survey of a mosque was "orchestrated" by the BJP, the government and the administration "to divert attention from electoral malpractice".
Police used tear gas and "minor force" in the face of stone pelting by locals in Sambhal on Sunday as tension escalated during a second survey of the Mughal-era mosque, claimed to be originally the site of an ancient Hindu temple.
Ten people have been detained and a probe was launched into the violence, an official said.
Tension has been brewing in Sambhal over the past few days after the Jama Masjid was surveyed last Tuesday on the orders of a local court following a petition that claimed that a Harihar temple stood at the site.
A day after the Uttar Pradesh bypoll results were declared and the Samajwadi Party managed to win just two seats while the BJP and its ally RLD bagged the other seven, Yadav levelled serious allegations against the police and administration.
"A serious incident occurred in Sambhal. A survey team was deliberately sent in the morning to disrupt discussions about the elections. The intention was to create chaos so that no debate on election issues could happen," the Samajwadi Party chief claimed.
Citing reports, he said several people were injured in the violence in Sambhal and asked when a survey of the mosque was already done, why was a new survey conducted again and "that too in the morning and without preparation?"
"I don't want to go into the legal or procedural aspects, but the other side was not even heard. This was intentionally done to provoke emotions and avoid discussions on election rigging," Yadav said.
"What happened in Sambhal was orchestrated by the BJP, the government and the administration to divert attention from electoral malpractices," the former UP chief minister alleged.
Asserting that in democracy, true victory comes from the people, not the system, he said, "The new democracy created by the BJP ensures that people cannot vote while the system dominates."
He added that whenever an impartial investigation takes place, and the truth comes out through booth recordings and CCTV footage, it will be evident that "voters did not cast their votes and someone else became the voter inside the booth".
Yadav claimed that on the polling day, the police and the administration removed the Samajwadi Party's almost all booth agents and many supporters who wanted to vote.
"If voters were prevented from voting, then who cast the votes? If Samajwadi Party votes didn't reach those booths and our candidate didn't get support, then who voted there? This is a serious issue," he said.
"Additionally, there were two types of slips, -- one with a red mark and another regular slip. We raised this issue on the voting day itself, stating that the administration had created such arrangements, leading to discrimination," Yadav alleged.
The Samajwadi Party's candidate for the Kundarki assembly bypoll Haji Rizwan too has alleged that his supporters were prevented from voting.
The BJP's Ramveer Singh won the bypoll in the Kundarki seat by a margin of over 1.45 lakh votes.
