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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Renowned filmmaker Sangeeth Sivan passes away
Thiruvananthapuram, May 8: Noted film director and cinematographer Sangeeth Sivan passed away in Mumbai, according to film industry sources on Wednesday.
He was 65 years old.
He directed approximately 20 films in Malayalam and Hindi.
Yoddha, Vyuham, Gandharvam, and Nirnayam are among the Malayalam films directed by Sivan. Kya Kool Hai Hum and Apna Sapna Money Money are some of the Hindi films he directed.
He made his directorial debut with the film Vyuham in 1990.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled his demise.
