 |
|
|
|
Sonia takes BJP govt to task, woos Jharkhand voter Secret of Laloo’s strength?
CDs: BJP seeks
action against Laloo Cong woos minority voters
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Sonia takes BJP govt to task, woos Jharkhand voter Ghatshila (East Singhbhum), February 11 The JMM chief attacked the BJP, praised Mrs Gandhi and urged the gathering to elect the alliance government in his brief lacklustre speech. There was none of his usual wit and aggression. There was no reference to JMM district president Ram Das Soren, who is contesting as an Independent against Congress nominee Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu. Observers here say that almost the entire JMM cadre is working for the party rebel much to the consternation of the Congress. A JMM worker reportedly removed the party flag from the vehicle of Mr Balmuchu, forcing senior Congress leaders to intervene. It was Congress general secretary Ambika Soni who sought to fulfil the main aim of the joint rally by urging the candidates to seek the “blessings” of Ms Gandhi and Mr Soren. Only the Congress candidates from Ghatsila and Jamshedpur were called to the stage though the JMM candidates are in the fray from the adjoining Bahragora and Potka seats. Mr Balamuchu, who has won the past two elections from Ghatsila, is being seen as a contender for the top job in the state in the event of the Congress getting the numbers to lead the government. The presence of the JMM rebel is posing him a threat and there’s a possibility of the BJP getting an advantage. The candidate of the All -Jharkhand Students Union is expected to cut into the vote share of the two parties in this predominantly tribal seat. Bengali is the lingua franca of the town which was once part of Bengal. In her speech Mrs Gandhi promised the locals to solve their problem of closure of copper mines. She said the UPA Government at the Centre was giving top
priority to creating employment opportunities. “Several districts of Jharkhand have been included among the 150 backward districts in the country where the government will provide at least 100 days employment to a member from a poor family,” she said. Mrs Gandhi assured that a UPA Government in the state would give due attention to improving roads and providing better irrigation facilities. Urging the people to vote for the Congress and its allies, she said “when the Centre and the state have governments of the same party, the progress is easy and faster. We will pay attention to all your problems.” Mrs Gandhi reminded the people of the sacrifices made by former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. “A country is built by the people who are willing to sacrifice their lives,” she said. The Congress President said that the BJP government had failed to live up to the dreams of the people of the new state. “The BJP rule has been marked by violence, corruption and starvation deaths,” she observed. “Teach a lesson to those who have betrayed you. The occasion has come. I am confident you will change this anti-people government.” she said. Mrs Gandhi stressed that the Congress would protect the traditions of tribesmen while ensuring their speedy development. She referred to the Nehru-Gandhi family’s special bond with the tribesmen. Though Mrs Gandhi did not touch the issue of increase in prices, she said the common man in the state was feeling stifled under the BJP rule. The Congress President said that politics and elections should not be treated only as a means of coming to power. Mrs Gandhi attacked the state government for not holding the panchayat elections, saying that the people in villages had been deprived of their right to have elected representatives. Referring to the UPA government’s performance in the state in the last Lok Sabha poll, Mrs Gandhi said that people had supported the Congress and its allies. She noted that Mr Soren was a minister in the Congress-led government at the Centre which had formulated several programmes for the welfare of people. Later answering queries about the UPA partners contesting against each other in the state, Ms Gandhi said that “a secular government will be formed after the elections.” Mrs Gandhi addressed four rallies in the state during the day to boost the prospects of her party candidates ahead of the crucial second phase of the Assembly elections. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Secret of Laloo’s strength? The Union Railway Minister dismisses claims of his rivals with contempt thundering that the RJD would win 200 of the 243 Assembly seats. A split in the Muslim votes is only “wishful thinking of our opponents”, the spokesperson said. The RJD is trying its best to retain its Muslim and Yadav vote bank. Laloo Prasad Yadav has not only invited non-Bihari Muslim Ulemas, Maulvis and other leaders from the community to issue appeals for casting votes in favour of the RJD but is also using every possible trick to maintain its hold on the community. In the Rupauli Assembly constituency, an incident of using the post- Godhra Gujarat riots CD came to light after using Godhra posters in Bhagalpur and other places in the state. The showing of the CD, which is blaming LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, JD (U) senior leader George Fernandes and BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain for betraying the Muslim cause, is a clear contravention of the Election Commission’s code of conduct. The RJD is showing this CD to Muslim voters in Purnea, Katihar, Kishanganj and Araria where Muslim voters account for 30 to 36 per cent of the electorate. They are going to decide the fate of over 36 candidates in the second phase. Distribution of the ticket and rebel RJD candidates in the fray are other factors that
make the RJD chief angry, BJP leader Ashish Singh pointed out. “Laloo Yadav’s two brothers-in-law Sadhu Yadav and Subash Yadav are going to damage him the maximum as both are nursing their own political ambitions”, Mr Ashish Singh asserted. “Both of them are already MPs but now they have got the ticket to their cronies”, he said.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
CDs: BJP seeks action against Laloo
Patna, February 11 Charging the RJD with exploiting religion for electoral purposes by indulging in such “objectionable tactics”, BJP vice-president Sushil Kumar Modi demanded that the Election Commission should take stern against the ruling party. “The use of such CDs at the time of elections will disturb peace and communal amity,” Mr Modi said seeking punitive action against the District Magistrates of the districts concerned where such CDs and posters on the Gujarat riots were on display. Mr Modi said such CDs were being shown in the Rupauli constituency of RJD MLA Bima Bharti in Purnea district and elsewhere in blatant violation of the model code of conduct. Reacting to the BJP charge, RJD leader
Laloo Prasad said there was nothing objectionable about the CDs. “We have already submitted the CDs to the state election office which gave us permission to show these. The CDs are only showing the incidents which took place in Gujarat,” he said. Earlier, posters depicting the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat had appeared in Bhagalpur and Kishanganj districts of the state with an appeal to the electorate to vote for the RJD.
— PTI |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Cong woos minority voters Ranchi, Feb 11 Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who will campaign for the Congress in Jharkhand in the next three days, said here yesterday that the move to provide reservation had been approved by the Union Cabinet. He said a commission had been set up to work out further modalities. The commission, which was set up two months ago, was expected to give its report after four months, he said. Admitting to some friendly fights within the UPA, he said it was a temporary phase and all issues would be sorted out after the elections. He said a UPA government in the state would work on the basis of common minimum programme. Mr Azad parried questions about claims by JMM chief Shibu Soren on the post of Chief Minister, saying the issue would be decided after the poll in consultation with the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The minister said that the BJP Government had failed to take the state forward in its four- year rule. He said that the state government had deprived villages of elected representatives by not holding the panchayat elections. The minister said that law and order had deteriorated under the BJP rule. He also blamed the state government for the rise in the prices of essential commodities. “They have dumped the supplies in godowns to jack up prices,” the minister said. UPPCC chief Salman Khursheed also reached Ranchi to campaign for the party. He will be in the state for a day or two before going to Bihar.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shibu Soren off colour at the joint rally
Purnea, February
11