Don't need certificate from mom-son duo out on bail: Modi slams Rahul, Sonia for questioning note ban

Agencies
November 12, 2018

Bilaspur(Chattisgarh), Nov 12: Hitting out at Rahul and Sonia Gandhi for questioning him on demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday said he did not need a "certificate of honesty" from the "mother-son duo" who are out on bail.

In a no-holds-barred attack on the Congress, its president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia, Modi also said the party's "politics begins and ends with one family".

Addressing a poll rally in Bilaspur ahead of the second and final phase polling in Chattisgarh on November 20, the prime minister made a strong pitch for development, saying its pace under the Congress' watch was "far slow" than that during the BJP's rule.

Singling out the Gandhis for "seeking account of demonetisation", Modi asked "whether the mother-son duo who are out on bail for financial irregularities would give him certificate of honesty".

"They want an account of demonetisation. It was due to the demonetisation that fake companies were identified. And because of that you had to seek bail. Why do you forget that it was due to the note ban that you had to seek bail," he said without naming the Gandhis.

Modi announced the ban on high-value currency notes on November 8, 2016.

Modi's remarks were an apparent reference to the bail granted by a Delhi court to Rahul and Sonia in December 2015 in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the National Herald case.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad disapproved of Modi's bail remarks, saying the prime minister should not lower the dignity of his office.

Attacking the Congress on the issue of corruption, Modi also referred to then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's remark in 1985 that only 15 paise of every rupee meant for the welfare of the downtrodden reached them.

Which "hand" (election symbol of the Congress) had siphoned off the remaining 85 paise, Modi asked.

Alluding to Rajiv Gandhi's remark, Modi said demonetisation "brought back the 85 paise which were disappearing" due to corruption.

Congress never got a leadership which worked with a resolution of "living or dying for the welfare of the nation", he said.

Chhattisgarh may have taken 50 years to attain the present level of development had it still been ruled by the Rahul Gandhi-led party, he said.

"And there is a reason for it. Their politics begins and ends with one family, while our politics begins from the huts of the poor," he told the gathering.

Modi said people ask him from where was he getting the money for developmental works. "It (money) is very much available," he added.

"The money is yours. Earlier it was hidden under someone's bed, in cupboards. It all came out after demonetisation was announced," he said.

Without naming the Congress, Modi said its leaders were "disconnected" from the aspirations of people.

"Hence, they (Congress leaders) would give slogans, but they did not have policies and intentions to realise. Neither did the Congress get a leadership which worked with the resolution of living or dying for welfare of the nation," he said.

He also targeted the Congress president, saying when Congress released its 36-point manifesto for Chhattisgarh polls, 'Naamdaar' (Rahul Gandhi) was referred to as 'Sir' 150 times which shows he is more important for them (Congress) than Chhattisgarh.

The BJP is for development and it was due to this commitment that the opposition is unable to understand how to compete with ruling party in elections, Modi said.

Comments

Angle
 - 
Tuesday, 13 Nov 2018

What about you faku, you have blood of innocent people in your hand, which you killed in 2002, how will you show your face to GOD on judgment day, dont think i will live as king forever many have destroyed at the end time, your karma will follow you,,,one of the loofar & 3rd class PM india ever had.

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 25,2020

New Delhi, Feb 25: Condemning the violence in Delhi, the Congress on Tuesday demanded that the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Chief Minister of Delhi come forward to ensure peace and maintain brotherhood while rising above partisan politics.

"This is Gandhi, Nehru, Patel's India, can any Indian accept this mindless violence? Congress appeals to the people of Delhi to maintain communal harmony and thwart all attempts of the forces dividing the country on the basis of religion," Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters.

Unabated violence and incidents of stone-pelting and murder in the national capital have shattered the nation, he said, while referring to the riots in northeast Delhi over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act that continued for the third day, and demanded stern action against the culprits.

"Our appeal to the prime minister, the home minister and the Delhi chief minister is, can you rise to the occasion, leave aside your political partisanship and views, and become really not leaders of your parties but leaders of the society so that harmony, peace, and non-violence prevail," he said.

The Congress party will stand with the Centre and the Delhi government in every way to maintain brotherhood and harmony in the society, he said.

"Do not fail this country because you belong to different political parties," Surjewala said, adding this was a sincere appeal "on behalf of people of Delhi and the country" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"There is no place for violence in Gandhi ji's India... Today there is a need to establish peace on the ground and maintain brotherhood," he said.

Surjewala said the party also prays for the speedy recovery of DCP Amit Sharma and the hundreds of other people who have been injured in the violence.

"We also condemn the firing at three journalists Arvind Gunasekar, Saurabh Shukla and Akash and pray for their good health," he said.

"We strongly condemn these brutal riots and demand that the culprits are identified and stern action is taken against the real culprits and miscreants. The Congress mourns the death of Head Constable Ratan Lal and others in the violence," Surjewala said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 23,2020

New Delhi, Mar 23: The total number of COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 390 on Monday after 30 fresh cases were reported.

The figure includes 41 foreign nationals and the seven deaths reported so far.

Gujarat, Bihar and Maharahstra reported a death each on Sunday, while four fatalities were reported earlier from Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra and Punjab, the Union Health Ministry said.

The total number of active COVID-19 cases across the country now stands at 359, while 24 people have been cured/discharged/migrated.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 18,2020

Beijing, Feb 18: Police in China have arrested a prominent activist who had been a fugitive for weeks and criticised President Xi Jinping's handling of the coronavirus epidemic while in hiding, a rights group said Tuesday.

Anti-corruption activist Xu Zhiyong was arrested on Saturday after being on the run since December, according to Amnesty International.

China's ruling Communist Party has severely curtailed civil liberties since Xi took power in 2012, rounding up rights lawyers, labour activists and even Marxist students.

The death this month of a whistleblowing doctor who was reprimanded by police for raising the alarm about the deadly new virus before dying of it himself triggered rare calls for political reform and freedom of speech.

The "Chinese government's battle against the coronavirus has in no way diverted it from its ongoing general campaign to crush all dissenting voices," said Patrick Poon, China researcher at Amnesty International, in an emailed statement.

Another source, who spoke to news agency on the condition of anonymity, said Xu had been arrested in the southern city of Guangzhou.

Guangzhou police did not respond to requests for comment.

Xu went into hiding after authorities broke up a December gathering of intellectuals discussing political reform in the eastern coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province, prior to the coronavirus crisis.

Over a dozen lawyers and activists were detained or disappeared after the Xiamen gathering, according to rights groups -- and Xu's detention appears linked to his presence at the meeting, explained Poon.

But while on the run, Xu continued to post information on Twitter about rights issues.

On February 4 Xu released an article calling on Xi to step down and criticised his leadership across a range of issues including the US-China trade war, Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests and the coronavirus epidemic, which has now killed nearly 1,900 people.

"Medical supplies are tight, hospitals are filled with patients, and a large number of infected people have no way to be diagnosed," he wrote. "It's a mess."

"The coronavirus outbreak shows just how important values like freedom of expression and transparency are -- the exact values that Xu has long advocated," Yaqiu Wang, China researcher at Human Rights Watch, told news agency.

But the disappearance of Xu illustrates how the Chinese state "persists in its old ways" by "silencing its critics", she said.

Xu -- who founded a movement calling for greater transparency among high-ranking officials -- previously served a four-year prison sentence from 2013 to 2017 for organising an "illegal gathering".

"That he was a fugitive for so many days while continuing to speak out, that in itself was... a kind of challenge to (Chinese authorities)," said Hua Ze, a long-time friend of Xu who told AFP she lost contact with the Chinese activist on Saturday morning.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.