Evening Picture: Cong rakes up ‘Modi vs Gadkari’ claim, Punjab CM Mann fires back at Governor Purohit

The PM’s visit drew criticism from the Congress which alleged that he barred Siddaramaiah, the CM of the party-ruled Karnataka, from receiving him at the airport as they had felicitated the ISRO scientists before him.

Jairam Ramesh, the Congress general secretary in charge of communications, said on X: “The Prime Minister is scheduled to directly land in Bengaluru tomorrow at 6 am after his latest foreign jaunt to congratulate ISRO. He is apparently so irritated with the CM and Deputy CM of Karnataka for felicitating the scientists of ISRO before him, that he has purportedly barred the CM from receiving him at the airport, going against protocol. This is nothing but petulant petty politics. Has PM Modi forgotten CM Modi’s visit to the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad on 22nd Oct, 2008 just after the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-I at a time when Dr. Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister?”

Frustrated Congi ….!! https://t.co/nsLpNIBYbS

— B L Santhosh (@blsanthosh) August 26, 2023

The BJP hit back at the Congress. Replying to Ramesh, B L Santosh, the BJP general secretary (organisation), who is also from Karnataka, said: “Frustrated Congi ….!!”

And then there was a curious video the Congress put out on the internal dynamics of the BJP leading up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The video, shared across the party’s social media handles, claimed that a huge section of the BJP did not like Modi and was rooting for Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari to be the next PM should the BJP come to power again.

“The differences between Modi and Nitin Gadkari seem to be increasing. Gadkari has indicated that he is not happy with the way the PM and the BJP is currently functioning…The latest indication of this was on Vajpayee’s death anniversary on August 16. Gadkari did not even do a namaste to PM Modi. He did not smile looking at PM Modi,” the video claimed.

2024 से पहले BJP में बड़ी बगावत pic.twitter.com/gmTGNRoL0r

— Congress (@INCIndia) August 26, 2023

“Gadkari’s aim is clear…it is on the PM Chair,” the video said.

The Congress also shared a graphic, in response to the viral video from a Muzzafarnagar school where a school teacher had singled out a Muslim student and asked his classmates to hit him one by one. It charged that only “hatred” existed in “Modi’s paatshala”.

PM मोदी की पाठशाला pic.twitter.com/BWBtcTAQDj

— Congress (@INCIndia) August 26, 2023

The Opposition party also put out a video from its leader Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Ladakh from his recent visit there. “Ladakh is a strategic area. China has occupied the land of India. And PM Modi is lying like always. Everyone in Ladakh knows that China has occupied a piece of land here,” Rahul says.

चीन ने हिंदुस्तान की जमीन पर कब्जा किया है।

और

PM मोदी हमेशा की तरह झूठ बोल रहे हैं। pic.twitter.com/4JaTncosLy

— Congress (@INCIndia) August 26, 2023

As the standoff between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Governor Banwari Lal Purohit reached a flashpoint, with the latter saying Friday that he could recommend President’s Rule in the state, the AAP held a press conference Saturday.

CM Mann hit out at the Governor, saying the law and order of Punjab was under control unlike what the latter said. The AAP leader said that “23,518 drug smugglers were arrested; 17,600+ FIRs were filed; 1627 kg heroine was caught; and 753 hardcore gangsters were arrested,” among other things.

As Telangana gears up for polls later this year, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is pressing on with its farmer welfare narrative through its cash-transfer scheme called Rythu Bandhu.

In a post on X, the party claimed it was “a record in the history of independent India that Rs. 72,815 crore were given to farmers” under the Rythu Bandhu Scheme in 11 instalments.

🌾 స్వతంత్ర భారత చరిత్రలో రికార్డ్.. 11 విడతలలో రైతు బంధు పథకం క్రింద నేరుగా రైతుల ఖాతాల్లోకి రూ. 72,815 కోట్లు

🌾 మట్టిని నమ్ముకున్న రైతన్నకు మలీద ముద్దల్లా ఏడాదికి రెండుసార్లు రైతు బంధు

🌾 అన్నంపెట్టె అన్నదాతకు అండగా రెండు సార్లు రూ. లక్ష వరకు రుణమాఫీ

🌾 రైతే రాజు ఎన్నికల… pic.twitter.com/AtGIWYUFTn

— BRS Party (@BRSparty) August 26, 2023

Political Pulse recommends:

1. Hours after issuing his “final warning” to CM Mann for not responding to his letters, Punjab Governor Banwari Lal Purohit told Manraj Grewal and Kanchan Vasdev in an interview that he was “merely upholding the constitutional obligations” of his office.

2. The ruling BJP seems to be now facing a turbulent situation in the North-East, one of the brightest feathers in its cap as the party pulled off a series of stunning electoral wins to storm to power in Assam, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur besides emerging as a significant player in Nagaland and other states in the region since 2014. Liz Mathew reports on the multiple challenges that the saffron party faces in the region ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

3. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar seemed to deliver another googly Friday when he said: “Ajit Pawar is our leader. There is no doubt. When do we say there is a split? If a large group leaves the party. That is not the condition here. Here a group has taken a different position and that does not mean there is a split.” He made a U-turn hours later, saying he had not made the statement. Alok Deshpande and Ajay Jadhav decode these statements to catch up with Pawar’s play.