Rahul terms EVM as 'Modi Voting Machine';says NDA has no chance in Bihar
Madhepura/Araria (Bihar): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Wednesday described Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) as "Modi Voting Machine" (MVM), and asserted the youth of Bihar is "angry" this time and will vote out the NDA government "whether its EVM or MVM".
Wrapping up his campaign for the ongoing election in Bihar, he addressed two rallies during the day, and slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the migrant issue, handling of the coronavirus crisis, unemployment, and the new agricultural laws.
In his first rally at Madhepuras Bihariganj, from where veteran socialist leader Sharad Yadav's daughter Subhashini Yadav is contesting the poll on a Congress seat, Gandhi said the chief minister had promised he would provide jobs to the youth and "change" Bihar, but he "could not deliver".
"When youths today ask Kumar during his public meetings about the jobs he had promised, he threatens them, chases them away and gets them thrashed," Gandhi alleged.
"He (Nitish) tells them he doesn't need their votes.
Fine then. The youth of Bihar will not vote for you," he said.
Raking up the EVM issue for the first time in this election, he said, "The name is not EVM (Electronic Voting Machine. The name is MVM i.e Modi Voting Machine. E is written just like that.
"But there is anger among the youth of Bihar this time around. So whether it's EVM or MVM, the mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) is going to win," he said.
He said he was not scared "whether its MVM or Modiji ka Media (Modi ji's media)".
"Truth is truth, justice is justice. I am fighting a war of ideology against this man. We are fighting against their thoughts. We will defeat their thoughts," he said.
"I won't budge an inch until I defeat Narendra Modi," he said.
He also raised the issue of Minimum Support Price for maize and paddy and said the money that the farmers should be getting is actually going to the middleman.
He alleged that the PM, through the three recently passed agricultural laws, has "cleared the way for new middlemen. Not the smaller ones but the bigger ones -- Ambani and Adani".
"You would never have seen the Prime Minister holding the hand of a poor farmer, but must have seen him embracing Ambani and Adani," he alleged.
He also alleged that Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Kumar did not help poor labourers and workers during the coronavirus lockdown, rather they got them "lathi-charged", and are asking for their votes now.
He said the prices of vegetable and other edible items are shooting up because of these new agricultural laws.
"Three laws have been brought by Modi ji which have destroyed the Mandi system, the MSP regime and the procurement system. Therefore, the prices of vegetables are increasing rapidly," he said.
"Modi Ji says, we have liberated the farmer. Now the farmer can sell his paddy and maize anywhere. But Modi Ji should tell me one thing, how will he sell? He needs a road (to travel to sell the produce), but where is the road in Bihar?" he asked.
He alleged, "The whole country is watching that you have given the freedom to the biggest billionaires of India and enslaved the farmers and labourers."
Attacking the chief minister, he asked the crowd, "You gave him a vote. What did he give you? Unemployment."
"Modi Ji & Nitish Ji run the government only for a few businessmen, not for the poor or labourers. I am here to tell you that when the Mahagathbandan government comes to power, it will be a government for every farmer, labourer, caste, religion and class," he said.
At his Madhepura rally, he praised Sharad Yadav, saying the veteran leader taught him a lot and was in a way a "guru" to him.
The two districts are going to the polls in the last phase on November 7.
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Siddaramaiah gives push for AI in Karnataka Budget
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said to further strengthen the AI sector, AI and Robotics Technology Park under IISc, will set up a robotics and AI campus called "Bangalore Robotics and AI Innovation Zone" during the current year.
This campus will be set up in collaboration with ISRO and Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS), Siddaramaiah added.
Presenting Karnataka Budget 2026-27, he said, a centre of Excellence for AI will be set up at IIIT Raichur at a cost of Rs 5 crore.
Noting that Karnataka is the first state to introduce the Global Capability Center (GCC) Policy, the CM said, as a result of the progressive policies of the government, more than 550 GCCs are currently operating in the state.
"Under this policy, the target is to establish 500 new GCCs in the state by 2029, which are expected to create employment for 3.5 lakh people and generate an economic output of USD 50 billion. A new IT park will be established in Mangalore to promote GCC by KEONICS," he said.
With the support extended to the IT sector, more than 30,000 employees are working in 100 companies in Mysuru, the CM said.
To ease the congestion in Bengaluru and to strengthen economic activities beyond Bengaluru, Myasuru city will be developed as the second IT city of the state, he added.
To support drone testing and performance appraisal, a drone testing facility will be established in Chikkaballapur district, he said.
"During the current year, Rs 4 crore will be allocated for the development of an advanced surgical-assisted robot (COBOT)" in collaboration with IIIT-Bangalore and NIMHANS. This technology will facilitate improved outcomes in neurosurgical procedures, he added.
The CM said that infrastructure facilities will be developed at the Centre for Human Genetics at a total cost of Rs 20 crore to accommodate the newly established Institute of Advanced Genome Editing and Gene Therapy, along with other biotechnology-based laboratories.
With the objective of establishing a state-of-the-art AI Center of Excellence in Bengaluru, two centres of excellence will be set up in collaboration with the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms and NASSCOM at a total cost of Rs 16 crore, he said.
Rs 10 crore will be allocated to implement the first phase of the Quantum Road Map over five years and this will train and develop high-quality human resources required in the quantum technology sector, he said.
Noting that a detailed project report has been prepared and submitted to the Central Government to establish a state-of-the-art 'Science City at a cost of Rs 233 crore in Adinarayana Hosahalli, Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said, upon its approval, the State will take further steps, including design and development.
To inculcate scientific temper among students, Science centres have been established in all the districts, and planetariums have been set up in 11 districts. In the current year, six new planetariums will be developed in Vijayanagar, Ballari, Chitradurga, Yadgiri, Koppal and Bidar districts at a unit cost of Rs 4 crores and a total cost of Rs.24 crore, he said.
Highlighting that Karnataka is leading in the country's Information Technology sector, the CM said, "Our state has contributed to 43 per cent of India's IT exports. Under the new IT Policy 2025-30, software exports are expected to reach Rs 11.5 lakh crore by 2030."
Karnataka State has moved up from 21st position in the previous year to 14th in the global start-up ecosystem and is home to over 18,000 active Start-ups, he said.
"Bengaluru is also ranked 5th in the world's top 50 AI cities in the field of AI and Big Data," Siddaramaiah said.
The LEAP is a flagship initiative of the Government, launched with an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore to promote start-ups and entrepreneurship in cities beyond Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said.
To increase employment opportunities through long-term industry-academia partnerships, a super 100 industry-academia adoption programme will be implemented in collaboration with Karnataka Digital Economy Mission(KDEM).
Karnataka ranks among the leading states in the ESDM and semiconductor sectors, he said.
It is a matter of pride that major global companies like Foxconn, LAM Research, and Applied Materials have recently invested in the state. The state anticipates investments to the tune of Rs 45,000 crore from companies in this sector, Siddaramaiah added.
