Today in Politics: Day after his remarks sparked row, PM Modi to address rally in Aligarh

“Pehle jab unki sarkar thi, unhone kaha tha ki desh ki sampati par pehla adhikar Musalmano ka hai. Iska matlab, ye sampati ikatthi karke kisko baatenge? Jinke zyada bacche hain, unko baatenge, ghuspaithiyon ko baatenge. Kya aapki mehnat ki kamayi ka paisa ghuspaithiyon ko diya jayega? Aapko manzoor hai yeh? (Earlier, when they (the Congress) were in power, they had said Muslims have the first right to the wealth of the nation. This means they will distribute this wealth to those who have more children, to infiltrators. Should your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators? Do you agree with this)?” the PM said.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and national president J P Nadda will address rallies in Kanker of Chhattisgarh, and Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur, Durg and Raipur respectively. While Aligarh and Kanker go to polls in the second phase on April 26, the three seats in Chhattisgarh will go to polls in the third phase on May 7.

In context: Modi in his speech was referring to former PM Manmohan Singh’s speech at a meeting of the National Development Council in 2006. “We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure that minorities, particularly the Muslim minority, are empowered to share equitably in the fruits of development. They must have the first claim on resources,” Singh had said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed Modi for his remarks and said the PM’s level of lies has fallen so much that, out of fear, he now wants to divert the attention of the public from the issues. “After the disappointment in the first phase of voting, the level of Narendra Modi’s lies has fallen so much that out of fear, he now wants to divert the attention of the public from the issues. Trends have started coming in regarding the immense support that Congress’s ‘Revolutionary Manifesto’ is receiving. The country will now vote on its issues, vote for its employment, its family and its future,” Rahul Gandhi wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Recommended reading: Congress govt used to say Muslims have first right to wealth… they will distribute wealth to those with more children: PM Modi in Rajasthan

‘Minorities have first rights to resources’: PM Modi cites speech he attacked Manmohan Singh for

Repolling in 11 booths of Inner Manipur LS seat

Repolling will be held on Monday in 11 booths across five Assembly segments of the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat. The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday said repolling would be held from 7 am to 5 pm on April 22.

“The Election Commission of India has, under Sections 58(2) and 58A(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, directed that the poll taken on April 19, 2024 (Friday) in respect of 11 polling stations of IMPC to be void and appointed April 22, 2024 (Monday) as the date for taking fresh poll at the said polling stations with hours of poll from 7 am to 5 pm,” a press release from the Chief Electoral Officer(CEO), Manipur said.

“All the voters of these polling stations are hereby appealed to come out in large numbers to exercise their franchise,” the release added.

In context: Polling in the Inner Manipur seat on April 19 was marred by incidents of shooting, damage to Electronic Voting machines (EVMs), threats to voters and polling agents by armed miscreants and alleged rigging.

Despite heavy deployment of forces, videos and photos on social media showed armed miscreants roaming freely and gunshots being fired near at least one polling station. One voter sustained bullet wounds in one such incident at a polling station under Khurai assembly seat.

Recommended reading: Days before polling, two killed in fresh violence

Elections in Manipur, fault lines to the booth

Delhi HC to hear Kejriwal plea against ED summons

The Delhi High Court will on Monday hear Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition challenging the summonses issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its probe into an excise policy-linked money laundering case.

Kejriwal, arrested by the agency on March 21 after the High Court refused to grant him interim protection from coercive action, has also challenged the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) with respect to arrest, questioning and grant of bail.

The plea is scheduled for hearing before the bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain.

The AAP national convenor had approached the High Court in the wake of the ninth summons issued by the ED asking him to appear before it on March 21

The federal probe agency has alleged that the accused were in touch with Kejriwal for formulating the now-scrapped excise policy that resulted in undue benefits to them, in return of kickbacks to the AAP.

In the plea, Kejriwal has raised several issues, including whether a political party is covered under the anti-money laundering law. It alleged that the arbitrary procedure under PMLA was being used to create a non-level playing field for the general elections to “skew the electoral process in the favour of the ruling party at the Centre”.

Karnataka BJP protest against Neha murder

The Karnataka unit of the BJP has announced state-wide protests on Monday against the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government over the murder of college student and Neha Hiremath in Hubballi.

The BJP has been alleging ‘Love Jihad’ in the incident and slammed the state government alleging failure of law and order even as the Congress has ruled it out. The accused Fayaz Khondunaik has been arrested.

Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra compared the law-and-order situation in the state with state of affairs in Pakistan and alleged that the Congress has blood in its hands. “Abysmal handling of Law and Order in the State is glaringly evident, that reminds one of the sorry state of affairs in PAKISTAN & AFGHANISTAN! Buck Stops entirely at CM @siddaramaiah & @DKShivakumar for the Anarchy, Chaos in the lives of people! With “Congress having BLOOD on its HAND”, @BJP4Karnataka is holding strong protests across the state on Monday condemning the extreme minority appeasement policies & laxity of @siddaramaiah govt in tackling the crimes!,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

In context: Neha, a first-year MCA student in Hubballi’s BVB College, was stabbed to death on the campus by accused Fayaz Khondunaik. The accused, who was arrested later, allegedly told the police that he had stabbed Neha multiple times because the two were in a relationship and she had been avoiding him of late. The victim’s family, however, claimed he killed her as she declined his marriage proposal.

“As my daughter was returning from college, an unknown person came and stabbed her seven times and she died on the spot. The accused has already been arrested. The motive of the murder is that the victim rejected the accused’s love proposal. We had a conversation with the accused before the incident took place where we explained to him that we are Hindu and you are Muslim, so we cannot allow you to get married,” Niranjan Hiremath, a Congress corporator and Neha’s father told the media on Saturday.

– With PTI inputs