Rahul's ISI remark: Congress is advancing BJP's agenda, says PFI

[email protected] (Press Release)
October 27, 2013

Mangalore, Oct 27: Popular Front of India chairman K M Shareef in a statement said that the allegation made by Rahul Gandhi in a public meeting linking Muzaffarnagar riot victims to Pak intelligence agency ISI is immature, superfluous and irresponsible.

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He said, “It is evident that Rahul Gandhi has only joined the bandwagon of playing cheap politics upon the unfortunate events happened in Muzaffarnagar with little concern for the consequences. His statements come at a time when various minority groups are working hard to provide humanitarian help and to restore peace and harmony in the affected regions. These are not the words the displaced victims expect from a prominent leader of the Congress party. Such severe remarks will only help to create an atmosphere of suspicion against Muslims who have already lost their dear ones in the riots and further worsen the situation in Muzaffarnagar.”

Mr Shareef warned that such statements by the top party leaders would only harm the secular credential of the Congress Party and adversely affects its prospects in forthcoming elections. By trying to overtake Hindutva communal forces in the fake exercise of linking Muslims with Pakistan agencies, Congress leaders are in fact strengthening their political opponent BJP. It is in effect not Congress against BJP, but Congress against Congress.

He demanded Rahul Gandhi to clear the misconceptions created by his emotional public statement either by its withdrawal with an apology or by revealing the details and initiating legal proceedings against the accused, in case he has ample evidences to substantiate his stand.

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March 15,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 15: Former Karnataka chief minister and senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor at his residence in Bengaluru last month.

Yediyurappa, 81, was booked after a woman lodged a complaint saying that she visited his residence on February 2 seeking justice in a rape case against her daughter and sought that a special investigation team (SIT) be formed to look into the case.

According to the first information report (FIR), Yediyurappa allegedly took the minor to a room, closed the door and sexually assaulted her. The woman further alleged in the FIR that when she confronted Yediyurappa, he said that he was checking if the girl was raped or not. Yediyurappa later allegedly apologised and asked the woman not to reveal the matter to anyone.

The Sadashivanagar police in Bengaluru have registered a case under Section 8 (commit sexual assault) of the Pocso Act and Section 354 (a) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Reacting to the allegations, the former CM said that around one-and-a-half months ago, they (the victim and her mother) had come to his house seeking help and he had taken them inside. 

“After listening to her, I called the city police commissioner B Dayananda over phone seeking to address her problem. Later, they spoke against me and I then suspected that there is some health problem with her. I sent them to city police commissioner’s office. I even gave her some money as they were in distress. I came to know that an FIR has been registered and will look into it. But this is what I get for helping someone,” he added.

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March 12,2024

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The Congress on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Anantkumar Hegde's remark about amending the Constitution, asking whether he would take action against the BJP MP to demonstrate his commitment to the Constitution.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh hit out at the prime minister who is on a visit to Gujarat and Rajasthan and posed five questions to Modi.

"The prime minister is in Ahmedabad for the Sabarmati Ashram Memorial Project. While the prime minister is embracing the Mahatma for his political gains, will he commit to Mahatma Gandhi's ideals of non-violence, inclusivity, and equality?" he said in a post on X.

The Congress leader also asked whether PM Modi would take action against Anantkumar Hegde, the BJP MP from Karnataka, to demonstrate his personal commitment to the Constitution that he swore an oath to bear true faith and allegiance to.

Hegde, at a gathering at Karwar in Karnataka on Saturday, had said the BJP needed a two-third majority in both Houses of Parliament to amend the Constitution and 'set right the distortions and unnecessary additions made to it by the Congress'.

In his posers to the prime minister, Ramesh also asked whether PM Modi would explain the 14 paper leaks that have occurred in Gujarat over the last seven years.

'The Congress has announced a comprehensive plan, 'Paper Leak se Mukti' under its Yuva Nyay guarantees to tackle the issue. How does the Prime Minister plan to address it?' he said.

Ramesh said on crucial indicators of development, Gujarat fares poorly compared to other states.

'Gujarat does worse on retention of students in higher secondary education and spends less on public education than poorer states like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Gujarat currently ranks 10th among 20 major states in terms of its population living Below Poverty Line,' he said.

'Despite the prime minister's public posturing on 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao', Gujarat ranks 15th out of 20 states in sex ratio. How does PM Modi reconcile the reality of Gujarat's socio-economic backwardness with the 'Gujarat Model' that he publicised in 2014 or the 'Double Engine' Sarkar model that he espouses today? the Congress leader said.

Ramesh said Prime Minister Modi will also visit Pokhran in Rajasthan, made famous exactly 50 years ago by Indira Gandhi as the site of India's first 'peaceful nuclear explosion', to celebrate India's indigenous defence capabilities which have incidentally been developed despite his best efforts.

'The share of expenditure on defence has fallen from 17.43 per cent of the Union Budget in FY19 to 13 per cent for FY25. As percentage of GDP, it has fallen from 2.13 per cent to 1.9 per cent between 2014 and 2024 - below the global standard of at least 2 per cent,' he said.

How does the prime minister intend to safeguard India's border or show China his 'Lal aankh' (red eye) without adequate expenditure on the armed forces, Ramesh asked.

'In the same vein, the prime minister has set up two committees in the last three years to investigate ways in which he can privatise or shut down the DRDO. The K VijayRaghavan committee has reportedly suggested that the DRDO's role be limited to research and development without being involved in developing prototypes or technology demonstrations,' he said.

'Instead, any production and further development would be done by selected private players. What is the prime minister's motivation in privatising defence research and development? Is it an attempt to bring his favoured industrialist friends into the industry through the backdoor?' Ramesh asked.

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March 11,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 11: Senior Congress leader and Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday said there are discussions in the party about seven to eight state ministers contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka.

He added that the party will most likely finalise the candidates for the 28 Lok Sabha segments after gauging who among the current stable of ministers will agree to contest in the 'interest of the party'.

"There are discussions that seven to eight Ministers should contest, among the ministers. Whoever agrees in the interest of the party, they will be fielded. There may be some clarity on it after today's meeting (of the screening committee)," Parameshwara told reporters here.

Asked about Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa not willing to contest, he said, "He (Mahadevappa) is saying that he doesn't want to contest and the ticket be given to his son. Party will ultimately decide whether it will be Mahadevappa or his son or someone else. He cannot be pressured if he doesn't want to (contest)."

Efforts are on to pacify those upset or disgruntled about selection of candidates, to ensure that they work in the party's interest, he said, adding that 'such things are common during polls'.

Congress has announced candidates for seven seats of Karnataka in the first list. Interestingly, Congress' first list did not have names of any of the ministers and legislators, amid reports that they are reluctant to fight the Lok Sabha polls.

According to party sources, the Congress leadership has been making efforts to convince some ministers and lawmakers to contest, as they have faced problems in identifying winnable candidates in several segments.

The Ministers instead are said to be pushing for the candidature of their family members to 'ensure' the party's victory in their respective segments, and according to sources, the leadership seem to be worried about the message it may send out if their kin are fielded.

Meanwhile, state Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the party's screening committee will meet today evening to finalise the candidates.

"We are meeting in the evening, we don't have the rights to announce the candidate. We will send it to Delhi, the Central Election Committee will meet there and may accept or reject our recommendation. They may add names into the list on their own and announce," he said.

On some Ministers like Mahadevappa and K H Muniyappa not keen on contesting the polls, he said, "do you know about it? I don't know, haven't spoken to them."

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