Rahul Gandhi now more than a match to Narendra Modi: Moily

Agencies
February 6, 2018

Hyderabad, Feb 6: Rahul Gandhi has emerged as "more than a match" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the aspiration of the party and youth is to see him as the country's PM, senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said here.

Asked about media reports suggesting that senior leaders like NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, both of whom were earlier in the Congress, maybe nursing an ambition to lead the UPA, he said, "Ambition is different, but the practical reality is another (matter)."

"The Congress has a pan-Indian person and identity," the former chief minister of Karnataka told PTI, stressing that only a party having nationwide presence fits the bill to lead the opposition bloc against the BJP.

The former Union minister claimed the Congress' victory in the recent by-polls in Rajasthan is a clear indication that the NDA government is facing a lot of "unpopularity" and the "national-level graph" of the prime minister is "steeply coming down".

"The election 'jumla' (rhetoric) will not be trusted by the people. There is a total trust deficit. There is a lot of difference between what they (the BJP) assure and what they implement," Moily alleged.

He claimed the Congress would get a majority in Rajasthan which goes to polls later this year and that the UPA would also form the government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections.

Asked if Rahul Gandhi would be projected as the UPA's prime ministerial candidate, Moily said, "Yes, he is our Congress president, this is our aspiration...of the entire country...youth require it."

"Now, he is more than a match to Narendra Modi, he has emerged like that, as a strong personality," he told PTI.

On the perception in some quarters that senior politicians like Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee might be reluctant to work under Rahul Gandhi, he said "these are localised conflicts".

"Each party would like to develop itself as a national party, nothing wrong in it. Ultimately, to face a communal party like the BJP, I think there is some understanding between the Congress party and other parties which are opposed to communal parties, and this kind of understanding, I don't think there is a dispute," Moily said.

He termed Sonia Gandhi - who recently stepped down as the Congress president but continues to be parliamentary party leader and UPA chairperson - as an "inspirational personality" for his party, the UPA allies and for the country.

"The Congress has never intended to impose its leadership on anybody (the UPA allies). It's a question of how you approach. There should be a pan-India personality of a political party, particularly to lead an alliance against the communal party like the BJP, you require a credible and pan-Indian personality...party," he said.

On suggestions that the Congress lost out in the recent Gujarat Assembly elections as it did not project a chief ministerial candidate, Moily said it may be one of the reasons but it's not the sole one.

The Congress cannot have a uniform policy on projecting a leader for the post of chief minister as it depends on the situation and circumstances in the party as well as the states concerned, he said.

"From state to state, this will change. State to state things will differ. And we cannot have a uniform policy (in different states) or approach to name the leader for chief ministership," Moily added.

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News Network
February 3,2020

New Delhi, Feb 3: In the third such incident inside of a week, two unidentified persons opened fire outside Gate No. 5 of Jamia Millia Islamia on Sunday night, the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) said.

A statement issued by the committee, a group comprising students and alumni of the university formed to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, said the attackers were on a red Rcooty.

No one was injured in the attack. One of the miscreants was wearing a red jacket, the statement said.

"Firing has taken place at Gate No.5 of Jamia Millia Islamia right now by two unidentified persons. As per report, one of them was wearing a red jacket and driving a red Scooty having vehicle no. 1532 or 1534," the statement said.

Police said they were verifying the JCC's claims.

Asim Mohammed Khan, former Congress MLA from Okhla, said the incident occurred around 11.30 pm. "We heard the gunshot. That is when we stepped out to see and the two men left on a Scooty," a student said.

"We have taken down the vehicle number and called police," he added.

This is the third firing incident in the Jamia Nagar area in a week.

On Thursday, a minor fired at anti-CAA protesters marching towards Rajghat, injuring a student.

Two days later, a 25-year-old fired two rounds in air in Shaheen Bagh in Jamia Nagar. No one was hurt in the incident.

The incident on Sunday night triggered panic in the area. A police vehicle had reached the spot after the incident but was chased away by angry students.

Hundreds of students and locals gathered outside the university.

Many raised slogans against the Delhi Police. They also staged a dharna outside the Jamia Nagar police station.

Shezad Ahmed, a JMI student and resident of Zakir Nagar, said they were not even allowed to protest peacefully.

"We are not going to be deterred by such incidents. We will continue with our protest," he added.

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News Network
July 17,2020
New Delhi, Jul 17:  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that as India's COVID-19 tally has crossed 10,00,000 mark and issued a warning that by August 10, more than 20,00,000 people may be infected in the country. He called on the government to take concrete steps to control the pandemic.
 
Taking to Twitter, Gandhi marked his earlier tweet from July 14 that stated: "This week the figure will cross 10,00,000 in our country."
"The tally has crossed 10,00,000 mark. If COVID-19 continues to spread at the same speed, by August 10, more than 20,00,000 people will be infected in the country.
 
The government must take concrete, planned steps to stop the epidemic," he tweeted today.
With the highest single-day spike of 32,695 cases and 606 deaths, India's COVID-19 tally on Thursday reached 9,68,876, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.
 
The total number of COVID-19 cases includes 3,31,146 active cases, 6,12,815 cured/discharged/migrated and 24,915 deaths. 

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News Network
March 31,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 31: Kerala Chief

Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said the government has collected the details of those who took part from the state in recent religious congregations in Nizamuddin and Malaysia and it needs to be examined if they have any health issues.

"Police have already made detailed examination in this regard. Thelist of participants have been given through respectivedistrictcollectors. Necessary precautions will be made in the concerned districts in this regard," Vijayan told reporters here.

The government has the exact number of participants and thedetails of the districts they are hailing from, he said.

Meanwhile, Pathananthitta police said they have identified 6 persons in the district in connection with the Nizamuddin congregation.

"Three persons had taken part in the congregation, of them one hadalready died. One person is in quarantine in the district while theother is located now in Thiruvananrhapuram," a senior police officialtold PTI.

The others are not participants but had travelled to Delhi along with them, he said.

In the nearby Alappuzha district, three persons have been identified in connection with the congregation, police said.

"They have been in quarantine and under the surveillance of thehealth department since they have reached back the state from Delhi," another official said.

Several people, who had attended the religious congregation at Nizamuddin in the national capital are suspected to be having symptoms of Covid19, even as at least 24 have tested positive.

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