Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.
Maharashtra, Haryana Assembly Elections 2019 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday questioned the ‘purpose’ of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s “unprecedented” visit to France to receive the first Rafale fighter jet, saying BJP leaders are bearing “guilt” in their minds for making “mistakes” in the controversial deal.
Addressing a poll rally in Chandivali assembly constituency in Mumbai, his second in the day, Gandhi also raised the alleged fraud in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank which has led to restrictions on withdrawal of money by depositors.
Addressing a rally in Pataudi in Haryana, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “Today with utter politeness, I want to give a suggestion to Pakistan that they must change the way they think and the direction of their thinking, else the Pakistan that was divided into two parts earlier, will now be divided into several parts.”
With less than a week left for Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi raked the Jammu and Kashmir special status issue in Jalgaon. Addressing an election rally, PM Modi threw an open dare to the Opposition asking them to announce in their manifesto that they will bring back Article 370 if voted to power.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday questioned the 'purpose' of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's "unprecedented" visit to France to receive the first Rafale fighter jet, saying BJP leaders are bearing "guilt" in their minds for making "mistakes" in the controversial deal.
Addressing a poll rally in Chandivali assembly constituency in Mumbai, his second in the day, Gandhi also raised the alleged fraud in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank which has led to restrictions on withdrawal of money by depositors.
"It seems the Rafale deal is still hurting the BJP.. (If not) Why Rajnath Singh went to France to receive the first fighter jet?" he asked the audience.
In Chandivali, sitting Congress MLA Naseem Khan is seeking another term against Shiv Sena's Dileep Lande.
In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi had alleged "irregularities" in the Rafale deal under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"There has been some guilt in the minds of BJP leaders that they have made a mistake in the Rafale deal. Even Defence officials had claimed that PM Narendra Modi is interfering in the Rafale fighter jet deal. No one can run away from this truth, neither Narendra Modi, nor Amit Shah or the BJP. The truth will catch them one day," he said.
He said everyone knows that the Rafale deal was controversial and "some kickbacks were given".
"The deal still hurts (the BJP) and hence our defence minister went to France to collect the first fighter plane. So far, no one ever had gone to the supplying nation to collect the fighter plane like this," Gandhi said.
The defence minister on Tuesday received the first Rafale fighter jet from France on behalf of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday attacked NCP president Shara Pawar for a certain hand gesture over the former's remark that the Opposition was nowhere in contest for the October 2 Assembly polls.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance at the rally, Fadnavis said BJP leaders do not make gestures like 'Natrang' (a 2010 Marathi film centered on a stage actor playing effeminate roles). He said Pawar's "conscience" was weakening sensing defeat in the polls.
Addressing a poll rally in Solapur's Barshi o Saturday, Pawar had hit out at Fadnavis over the latter' remark that the BJP's "wrestler" (poll machine) was ready t fight, but there was no opponent.
Rahul Gandhi in Mumbai: "Whole country knows there was theft in Rafale deal, people from Defence Ministry wrote clearly that PM is interfering in deal, that is why there is guilt. The name Rafale hurts, that is why Rajnath Singh Ji went to France to collect Rafale."
Addressing a rally in Chandivali, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, "Modiji speaks about Make in India and then goes to have tea with Chinese president in China. He will talk about the Moon, goes to Corbett national park, but will not talk about PMC bank or impact of notebandi. Who heads the PMC bank, will he answer?"
Rahul Gandhi arrives in Chandivali to address Lokmanya Tilak nagar slum population.
(Express Photos)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah holds a road show in Shirur.
In a veiled attack on the ruling BJP in Haryana, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday said those who are expecting to form the next government in the state will sit in the opposition.
"The situation is changing too fast in Haryana. Those who are thinking of forming government will sit in opposition," Badal told reporters while campaigning for SAD candidate Kulwinder Singh Kunal from Ratia seat in Fatehabad district. Asked about BJP's poll manifesto released in Chandigarh, he said, "When (a BJP) government is not going to be formed then what comments should I make."
The BJP has set a target of 75 plus seats in the state election to be held on October 21.
Addressing a rally in Maharashtra, Home Minister Amit Shah said, "'Modi Modi' ke naaro se Congress walon ke peth (stomach) mein dard hota hai. Arey Congress walon, yeh videsh mein jo naare lag rahe hain, yeh Modi ji ke liye nahi lag rahe hain, yeh desh ke 125 crore janta ke samman mein lag rahe hain. (Slogans of Modi, Modi hurt the Congress. These slogans that are raised abroad, these are not for Modi, but for the 125 crore population of the country)"
PM Narendra Modi in Sakoli, Maharashtra: It is your trust that is continuously inspiring us & giving us the strength to take strong & big decisions. It is because of your trust that we are able to take strong steps, steps that people were hesitant & scared to take earlier.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the media of distracting people's attention from core issues.
Addressing an election rally at Ausa in Maharashtra's Latur district for the upcoming state polls, Gandhi said when the youth ask for jobs, the government tells them to watch the moon, in an apparent reference to ISRO's recent lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2.
He also sought to know if Modi, during his recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, asked the latter about the 2017 Doklam standoff.
He was referring to the alleged incursion of Chinese troops into the Indian territory in 2017.
Addressing a rally in Maharashtra's Lantur, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the media ask Chinese president about Doklam during his second informal summit with Modi.
Addressing a rally in Pataudi in Haryana, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "Today with utter politeness, I want to give a suggestion to Pakistan that they must change the way they think and the direction of their thinking, else the Pakistan that was divided into two parts earlier, will now be divided into several parts."
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for abrogating Article 370, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the previous governments never had the courage shown by the "man with 56-inch chest" in integrating Jammu and Kashmir with India's mainstream.
Addressing a rally in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district ahead of the upcoming state polls, he said people should ask Congress and NCP leaders, when they come to seek votes, whether they support the NDA government's decision to abrogate Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
"Several governments came and went, several prime ministers came and went, no one had the courage to abrogate
Article 370. But, the man with the 56-inch chest scrapped it in one go," Shah said.
Addressing a rally in poll-bound Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "On 5th August, as per your wishes, we took a decision, that was unthinkable till then. There was a situation in which scope for development of vulnerable sections in J&K was negligible. On Valmiki Jayanti, I'm fortunate that I can embrace 'Valmiki' brothers from J&K. "
From assuring interest-free crop loans of up to Rs 3 lakh to farmers to providing skills training to over 25 lakh youths, BJP on Sunday made a host of promises while releasing its party’s manifesto in Chandigarh for the October 21 Haryana Assembly elections.
Describing it as a “Sankalp Patra” or “commitment paper” that represented all sections of society, the saffron party promised to provide collateral-free loans to those belonging to the scheduled caste community if voted to power for another term. The party also promised to provide skill training with an outlay of Rs 500 crore to 25 lakh youths. Besides this, the party also assured old age pension of Rs 3,000.
"The people of India and Maharashtra gave more than 300 seats to PM Modi, and in the first session of Parliament, he abrogated Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 and mainstreamed Kashmir within the Indian Union," says Union Home Minister Amit Shah at an election rally in Maharashtra's Kolhapur.
During his address, PM Modi also attacked NCP chief Sharad Pawar for elbowing a man on stage during a rally. "I was shocked to see a video in which a prominent leader got angry and hit a man with his elbow who was standing next to him on stage. The man tried to put his head in the garland while the leader was being garlanded. Just think that the person who hits his own party member for trying to take a photo, what will he do with the general public."
Launching an attack on the Opposition, Modi said, "Even Opposition is shocked by the amount of work that has been done in the past five years. Today our opponents also believe that the leadership of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is energetic and a hardworking team. But the reaction of some parties, leaders to decisions in India's interests unfortunate."
Thanking people for voting back BJP to power for the second term, Modi said, "Have come to Maharashtra to seek people's support for the second term of Fadnavis as CM. New India's josh not due to Modi but your one vote."
Addressing a rally in Maharashtra's Jalgaon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the world can now see the new India. "This happened only because of the votes citizens in favour of the BJP in elections that happened four months ago," he said. Invoking the scrapping of Article 370, Modi dared Opposition to announce it in their manifesto that they will bring back special status for Jammu and Kashmir if voted to power. "Will you allow this? When the parties know that they can do nothing, why are they making noise about it."
The Jat agitation, aimed at their inclusion in the Other Backward Classes (OBC), spawned violence across the region for almost ten days, resulted in at least 30 deaths and extensive damage to property. The government finally gave in and Jats got the OBC status. But the Punjab and Haryana High Court set aside the quota soon after.
While BJP believes that people will vote for improved law situation, Congress is confident about raking in the Jat votes this time.
"I can say that unlike the previous CMs of Haryana - be it a CM of Congress or of INLD who used to run their govt from Delhi and not from Haryana, CM Manohar Lal Khattar runs the govt by working from the grass-root level," Rajnath Singh said in Karnal
Announcing the manifesto, Nadda said, "In the next 5 years, Haryana will be made anaemia free. Haryana startup mission will be launched. Skilled labour to be given Rs 3 lakh loan free of interest. A loan worth Rs 10 lakh to be given within an hour to promote young entrepreneurs. Every person above 30 years of age will have to undergo mandatory health scans, to diagnose and capture life-threatening diseases at an early age."
He also said that 36 Rafael, Apache aircraft, 6 submarines with nuclear weapons, 1.86 lakh bulletproof jackets, 83 Tejas MK1A replacing MiG-21 are being inducted under Jai Jawan program of GoI. "It has a direct impact on Haryana because each home in Haryana contributes to our armed forces," he said, adding that there's no single case pending of OROP now.
"In the next 5 years, we shall focus on quality education, comprehensive healthcare -preventive, primitive and curative health structure shall be built. Kurukshetra Dev Darshan package, under religious tourism, to be launched," he added
Crediting Manohar Lal Khattar for "changing the image of Haryana," JP Nadda called the manifesto a "very serious and studied document." "This is a practical, pragmatic paper. It is doable. Khattar has changed the political culture in Haryana. It is not only a cosmetic change but there's a fundamental change that has taken place. Earlier, Haryana's image was synonymous with corruption, nepotism. And today, Haryana is bhrastachaar-mukt, vikas-yukt aur paardarshi sarkaar hai. This commitment paper represents all sections of the society. It addresses the questions of every sections of the society."
Home Minister and BJP chief Amit Shah is also in Maharashtra today. He will address rallies in Kolhapur, Satara, Pune and Aurangabad.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, meanwhile, will address three public gatherings in Haryana
Ahead of Assembly polls, BJP released its election manifesto in Chandigarh today. CM Manohar Lal Khattar and BJP working president JP Nadda were present for the occasion
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Welcome to The Indian Express live blog. PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi will lead BJP's and Congress' poll campaign in Maharashtra today. Follow this space for the latest news from the election battleground