Rahul considered Amethi his family: Raj Babbar

Agencies
June 3, 2019

Lucknow, Jun 3: UP Congress chief Raj Babbar on Monday said the poor electoral showing of the party in the state has left pain in the hearts of party president Rahul Gandhi and the people of Amethi.

In his first interview after the election results, Babbar said Gandhi considered Amethi not just as his parliamentary constituency, but his family.

The Gandhi scion lost to BJP's Smriti Irani from the constituency in the recently-held general elections.

"Rahul Gandhi ji did so much for Amethi and he considered Amethi as his family. He never viewed it as his constituency. Now, the family members have given such a verdict," the UP Congress chief told PTI.

"One thing, which I am 100 per cent sure is the fact that despite becoming an MP (from Wayanad), there will be pain in the heart of Rahul ji and also among the people of Amethi... that a person who considered Amethi as his family and gave an identity to Amethi, we did not allow a person from our family to emerge (victorious)," he said.

On whether Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was appointed Congress general secretary in charge of eastern UP ahead of the polls, could not make the desired impact for the party, the actor-turned-politician said party workers and local leaders failed to rise to the occasion.

"She (Priyanka) did her job. But, party workers, local leaders, candidates and the organisation could not accumulate the (electoral) benefits from it. Rahul ji worked so hard and Priyanka ji worked with such a high degree of enthusiasm," he said.

"We (party workers, local leaders and candidates) were unable to prove ourselves and rise to the occasion," Babbar said.

Asked about the future course of action, the 66-year-old Congress leader said Uttar Pradesh cannot be analysed in a single line.

"You have to take steps after a lot of deliberations (on various aspects) and strengthen the organisation," he remarked.

The Congress' performance in the Lok Sabha election was perhaps its worst, with the party managing to win only one out of 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

The lone victory for the party came from Rae Bareli where UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi retained the seat in the party bastion.

Refusing to state any particular factor behind its poll drubbing, Babbar said, "First we must accept our defeat and acknowledge the victory of the winner. Having said so, I cannot sit alone and deliberate upon the possible reasons for the defeat. Everyone has to sit together.

"I believe there is no point in putting the blame (of defeat) on others, instead we should ponder as to how 52 people from our party were able to emerge victorious," he said.

The UP Congress chief said he would like to engage with the party's winning candidates and seek to know what they did among the people, their plus points and what the party did in their respective constituencies.

On tasting defeat from Fatehpur Sikri Lok Sabha seat despite opting for it (after being initially named as party candidate from Moradabad), Babbar said, "The main reason for opting Fatehpur Sikri was that people there never asked my religion, caste or community.

"They accepted me the way I was. This was an incentive for me. Apart from this, I also identify myself with that place," he said.

The Congress had changed the seat earlier allotted to Babbar from Moradabad to Fatehpur Sikri, in an apparent bid to make the contest easier for the party leader.

Babbar was elected from Agra Lok Sabha in 1999 and 2004. However, following delimitation in 2008, the Lok Sabha seat was reserved for scheduled castes.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, he lost from Fatehpur Sikri to BSP's Seema Upadhyay by a margin of 9,936 votes.

But he got re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Firozabad in a by-election held the same year.

He is currently a Rajya Sabha member.

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 3,2020

New Delhi, Feb 3: The Allahabad High Court on Monday granted bail to former BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand in the alleged rape case of a law student. He was arrested in September last year after the 23-year-old woman accused him of sexual harassment and blackmail.

The woman was a student of the Chinmayanand-controlled SS Law College in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Chinmayanand is facing charges under Sections 376C (sexual intercourse by a person or persons taking advantage of their official position), 354 D (stalking), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The case is being investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed on the directions of the Supreme Court.

The case came to light after the woman posted a video on August 23 last year on social media alleging that “a senior leader of the saint community” was harassing and threatening to kill her. The law student went missing a day later, after which her father lodged a complaint, accusing Chinmayanand of harassing his daughter.

Chinmayanand was expelled from the BJP after his arrest.

The SIT had, on November 6, submitted chargesheet in the case.

In a parallel case, the woman was charged with trying to extort money from Chinmayanad. The Allahabad High Court granted her bail in that case in December last year.

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 29,2020

New Delhi, Feb 29: Amid the raging communal violence in the entire north-east Delhi earlier this week, there were people who were trying to save persons and families from the "other community" from the fury of the mobs of their own community.

Naeem Ali Pradhan, 34, from Shiv Vihar, helped at least 7-8 Hindus on the night of February 24 -- when the violence was at its peak-- escape to safer locations. Shiv Vihar is one of the worst affected areas in the violence.

According to Naeem Ali, that night mobs attacked dozens of shops on the road and later tried to enter inside the residential areas.

Suddenly, he spotted a group of youth who were looking hassled and frantically asking for directions.

"I saw them. Thye were Hindus who were trying to escape a mob looking to target them. They had lost their way inside the streets of our colony. I along with other Muslim men escorted them to the nearby Hindu locality," Naeem, who is also a member of the Aman Committee constituted by the Delhi police, told ANI.

"Several shops which were on the roads including some showrooms were attacked by a group. These Hindus were worried as a mob which was on the main road was attacking people. They asked me the address of a colony as they were unable to find their way," Naeem 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
June 26,2020

New Delhi, Jun 26: "Iam Indira Gandhi's granddaughter, not an undeclared BJP spokesperson like some of the opposition leaders," Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said, as she alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government is threatening her through various departments for speaking the truth. Priyanka Gandhi's dare to the Uttar Pradesh government came days after the Agra administration asked her to withdraw within 24 hours the claim of high coronavirus deaths in the district.

The Congress general secretary in-charge UP East has accused the Yogi Adityanath government of indulging in propaganda instead of dealing with the pandemic. "As a public servant, my duty is towards the people of Uttar Pradesh. And this duty is to put out the truth before them and not to put forth government propaganda. The UP government is wasting its time by threatening me through its various departments," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

"They can take whatever action they want, I will keep putting forth the truth. I am Indira Gandhi's granddaughter not an undeclared BJP spokesperson like some of the opposition leaders," she said. This week, Priyanka Gandhi repeatedly attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the "high" COVID-19 mortality rate in Agra and on other issues related to the state government's handling of the pandemic.

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.