1. Home
  2. Udit Raj hits out at BJP, says it wants Dalit votes but not Dalit leader

Udit Raj hits out at BJP, says it wants Dalit votes but not Dalit leader

Agencies
April 24, 2019

New Delhi, Apr 24: Udit Raj, the BJP MP who on Wednesday jumped ship to the Congress, hit out at the saffron party, claiming that he was denied a ticket because he took stand on many issues against the party lines. He slammed the BJP saying that the party wanted Dalit votes but noa Dalit leader.

The sitting MP from North West Delhi was denied a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which fielded singer Hans Raj Hans from the reserved seat.

"Congress President Rahul Gandhi welcomes Udit Raj into the Congress party," the Congress tweeted.

Addressing a press conference at the party office after joining the Congress, Raj said: "The BJP carried out internal surveys by various agencies of all the seven seats in Delhi. And out of the seven Lok Sabha constituencies, the only positive feedback came from my seat.

"But I was denied a ticket as I took stand on issues against the party lines and because I was not deaf and dumb. I took a stand on the SC/ST Act and supported the Bharat Band called last year."

Raj also expressed his gratitude to Rahul Gandhi for allowing him to join the Congress.

Taking a potshot at the BJP, Raj said, "On May 20, 2014, (President) Ram Nath Kovind came to me with his bio-data. BJP's SC/ST Morcha leader Vivek Sonkar is a witness to that meeting. He (Kovind) had asked me to help him get a proper position in the party.

"The BJP did not think him fit though Kovind was planning to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. However, he was made the President as he remained silent. If I too remained silent, they (BJP) would have made me the Prime Minister some day."

Delhi Congress chief and three-time Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that Raj joining the party would help the Congress in the elections on all the seven seats of the national capital.

Earlier in the day, in a series of tweets, Raj said: "It was nice to speak to senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra. He was saddened over denial of ticket to me."

Raj said he would not have felt so bad had he been informed about being denied the ticket. "Why did the party declare the name on the last day of filing nomination," he asked.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • 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
January 9,2020

New Delhi, Jan 9: JNU students who tried to march towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday protesting the violence on the university campus were stopped by police and later detained.

The police also resorted to baton charge to control the mob who tried to block the traffic at Janpath. Using loudspeakers, the police also appealed to the crowd to maintain peace.

Before the students tried to proceed towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan, a delegation of JNU Students' Union and JNU Teachers' Association also met Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry officials and demanded the removal of Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar from his post.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • 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 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: A Delhi court Thursday issued fresh death warrants for execution of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case for March 20 at 5.30 am.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana fixed March 20 as the new date of execution after it was told by the Delhi government that the convicts have exhausted all their legal remedies.

The lawyer for the four death row convicts also told the court that there was no legal impediment for the court to proceed in fixing the date of execution.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • 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 8,2020

New Delhi, June 8: Only 20.26 lakh migrant workers of the targeted 8 crore such labourers have received free food grains in May and June (2020), according to data released by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

In the middle of May, as part of the Rs 20 lakh crore Atma Nirbhar Bharat package, the Modi government had announced that migrant labourers who are not covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) or any state-run PDS scheme, will receive free food grains for two months.

"Non-card holders shall be given 5 kg wheat or rice per person and 1 kg chana per family per month for the next 2 months. About 8 crore migrants will benefit from this scheme that will cost the government Rs 3500 crore,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said at a press conference following PM Modi’s announcement.

But the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said on Sunday, "The states and UTs have lifted 4.42 LMT (lakh metric tonne) of food grains and distributed 10,131 MT of it to 20.26 lakh beneficiaries."

It added, "The Government of India also approved 39,000 MT pulses for 1.96 crore migrant families. Around 28,306 MT gram/dal have been dispatched to the states and UTs. A total 15,413 MT gram have been lifted by various states and UTs". The state governments, the ministry added, had distributed only 631MT (metric tonnes) of gram so far.

Because of the constant movement of migrant workers, the Centre had said that the states will be responsible for identifying the migrants and subsequent food distribution.

The Centre claims it is spending approximately Rs 3,109 crore for food grains and Rs 280 crores for grams/chana under this package.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • 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.