The BJP and the Congress continued to trade barbs at each other as the Lok Sabha elections head towards the second phase of polling on April 19. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress for disrespecting the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh incident by not attending the centenary event, Congress General Secretary from UP East Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that attempts are being made by the ruling party to destroy the Constitution. Let us have a look at the political developments which happened today: PM Modi ups the national security question Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted three election rallies at Kathua, Aligarh and Moradabad on Sunday. At Kathua, PM Modi lauded the people who came out to exercise their franchise in the first phase of elections in the state and said the people have given a befitting reply to the terrorist leaders, opportunists and people in 'mahamilawat' (a term he uses for Opposition coalitions). He also targeted the state parties NC and PDP, saying that the two families have ruined three generations of Jammu and Kashmir. PM Modi castigated the Congress for not letting Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh attend the Jallianwala Bagh Centenary. "The entire country was commemorating Jallianwala Bagh centenary yesterday but Congress politicised this sensitive occasion too. The Vice-President was in Jallianwala Bagh for govt event, he paid tribute to the martyrs but Congress' CM was not there." "I have known Captain Amarinder Singh for a long time. I have never raised a question on his patriotism. I can understand the kind of pressure which must have been put on him for this kind of 'Parivar bhakti,' PM Modi said. The Prime Minister also accused the Congress of overlooking the sufferings of Kashmiri Pandits and reiterated his commitment to settle displaced Kashmir Pandits in their native places in Kashmir. "It is due to Congress's policies that my Kashmiri Pandit brothers and sisters had to leave their homes. The party and its allies witnessed the atrocities committed against Pandits but they paid no heed," the prime minister said. In Aligarh, PM Modi paid tributes to Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on his 128th birth anniversary and said, "This is the power of Baba Saheb's constitution that a gentleman, coming from the backward and deprived society, is sitting as the president of the country today. Someone from the village farmer family has been the Vice-President. This is the grace of Babasaheb's constitution that a chaiwala is sitting at the post of a prime minister today." Follow more election news here In Moradabad, PM Modi took a jibe at the SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh, saying that today the 'elephant' is riding the 'cycle' to target 'chowkidar'. He also accused BSP supremo of indulging in corruption, saying that Behen ji (Mayawati) has looted the people of UP so much that if you'll search the purses of her statues, you may find money in that as well. Opposition demand 50% EVMs be verified against VVPAT Raising doubts over the credibility of EVMs, a number of opposition parties Sunday said they will move the Supreme Court again to demand verification of at least 50 per cent of votes by paper trail. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who Saturday met Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora to raise the issue of EVM malfunctioning, said 21 political parties have demanded verification of VVPAT paper trails of 50 per cent of the EVMs. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “Questions were raised after the first phase of elections, we don’t think EC is paying adequate attention. If you press the button before X Party, vote goes to Y party. VVPAT displays only for 3 seconds, instead of 7 seconds.” Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said that the people were losing faith in EVMs and want to go back to paper ballot. And since there is a shortage of time, at least 50 per cent VVPATs should be counted, he added. Meanwhile, the BJP described the presser by the Opposition as an admission of defeat. BJP National Spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said, “The so-called all-party meeting convened in Delhi is nothing but a confession of defeat by of the so-called Mahagathbandhan.” Rao further said that the Opposition does not have any agenda on governance nor the leadership to inspire people. “The only thing opposition parties have in common is the negativity and an attempt to somehow pull India back from the development it witnessed in the last five years,” he said. Constitution under threat, says Priyanka Gandhi in Silchar Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Sunday targeted the NDA government, alleging that there are attempts being made to destroy the Constitution. “Today, you are seeing that the Constitution is not respected and an attempt is being made to destroy it,” Priyanka was quoted as saying by PTI. The Congress leader also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not visiting his constituency of Varanasi in UP. “He went to America and hugged there, went to China and hugged there, too. He went and hugged in Russia and Africa. He went to Japan and played the drum. In Pakistan, he had biriyani. But in his own constituency, he did not go once to a family’s house to inquire about their condition,” she alleged. P Vijayan accused PM Modi of misleading the nation on Sabarimala issue A day after Narendra Modi accused the Kerala government of “punishing” people for invoking the name of Lord Ayyappa, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Sunday claimed the PM was “misleading” the nation on the Sabarimala issue. Dubbing PM Modi’s remark as an “utter lie”, Vijayan wondered how could a prime minister make such “wrong” statements. Vijayan clarified that those who were arrested during the Sabarimala agitation had gone against the law. “In other states, Sangh Parivar activists may not land in jail or there may not be any cases against them, thanks to the blessings of Modi. But that will not happen in Kerala,” Vijayan warned.
