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Rahul to concentrate on Amethi
BJP gives new meaning to
Swadeshi
BJP vows to end illegal migration
BJP wants to strengthen Hindu votebank:
CPM
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Uma ‘exposes’ Digvijay caste
bias
CEC to visit Chandigarh
on April 7
Allow pupils in nearby exam centres, says
HC
Vajpayee to visit Santiniketan on April 2
50,000 devotees take dip on
Ardh Kumbh
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Rahul to concentrate on Amethi New Delhi, March 30 Rahul Gandhi, who makes his political debut in this general election, is to file his papers on April 5 after which the family will move to the neighbouring constituency, Rae Barelli, reclaimed for Mrs Sonia Gandhi after she vacated Amethi for her son She is expected to file her papers on April 6. Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s presence in Amethi on the day Rahul begins his political career will only serve to emphasise that he is the inheritor of the family legacy. That the family mantle was being passed on to Rahul Gandhi was made clear when it was decided to field him from the constituency once represented by his father, the late Rajiv Gandhi. Congress sources said that instead of contesting elections, Priyanka will be campaigning extensively for the party. It was stated that though her tours are still being planned, her campaign will not be confined to Uttar Pradesh alone. Given that there is rush of requests from the states for Priyanka, the party will be chalking out her tour programme to ensure that she covers as many constituencies as it is possible. Her visits will be coordinated with those of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, it was stated. Rahul Gandhi, it was stated, would largely concentrate on Amethi as he has made it clear that the constituency is his first priority. Party insiders said he would, nevertheless, canvass in Uttar Pradesh itself. In addition to presenting its youthful face, the Congress has also drafted an old Rajiv Gandhi loyalist, Sam Pitroda, for the party’s campaign. Mr Pitroda’s, whose name is synonymous with the revolution brought about in the telecom and IT sectors, met Mrs Gandhi today to formally pledge his support to the party. Mr Pitroda, who has returned to India after a decade and is also being perceived as Rahul Gandhi’s “conscience keeper”, will counter the BJP’s campaign claims by emphasising that it was Rajiv Gandhi who laid the foundations of the present successes in the IT and telecom sectors. Mr Pitroda told presspersons that his objective is to recall what all was done in Rajiv Gandhi’s time and what the Congress represents. Rubbishing the BJP’s claims that it had achieved far more in the past five years as compared to the previous 50 years, Mr Pitroda said it was during Rajiv Gandhi’s time that “many seeds were planted, seeds that flowered to give India strength and confidence”. Mr Pitroda, who begins his campaign from Mumbai on April 2, said it was Rajiv Gandhi who started the liberalisation of the Indian industry, ushered the country into the electronics and computer age and gave a new dimension to Indian science and technology by launching missions in drinking water, immunisation, literacy, oilseeds and wastelands development. |
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Rahul wins hearts, hopes to win poll
too
Amethi, March 30 Rahul (33), followed the dusty trail taken by his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi as he travelled in the villages of the largely rural Amethi constituency, marking his debut in the world of electoral politics. “I have come here to win hearts of people ... dil ki rajniti karne aaya hun,” Rahul told reporters at Munshiganj. Chiding BJP’s “feel good” slogan, he said they (BJP leaders) must be feeling good but how poor people can feel good when there is no electricity, no safe water and no roads for them. “It is my responsibility to do something for the country but for now my main focus is winning from Amethi,” he told reporters. The fifth generation scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family to plunge into politics, Rahul will file his nomination on April 5. People lined the roads in hundreds, came out of their shops and homes and stood waving for hours to see the man they heard was the splitting image of Rajiv Gandhi. Amethi, comprising some 700 villages, shares a strong emotional bond with the Nehru-Gandhi family that began in 1977 when Sanjay Gandhi, Rahul’s uncle, contested but lost. He subsequently won. But after his death in 1980 Rajiv contested a byelection and won. Rajiv won four times, the last time in 1991 - when the result was announced after his assassination. Sonia Gandhi contested from here in 1999 winning with the highest victory margin in the country. But this time she has vacated the seat for her son, shifting to neighbouring Rae Bareli. It was evident that nothing mattered here but the family as Rahul, in a Toyota Qualis, was cheered at every village with cries of “Long live! Rahul Bhaiya (brother)”. Said Ghulam Bakht of Jagdishpur village: “He is Rajiv Gandhi’s son... If we don’t vote him, then whom do we vote for? Atal Bihari (Vajpayee)?” Rahul, who has worked as a financial consultant in the USA and London, slipped into the role of political candidate with ease, reminding that “politics comes naturally to me.” “If you have sincerity of purpose then there is no reason to be nervous,” he smiled in reply to queries about leaving his sister’s shadow for the first time. Everywhere people hoisted him up in the air, hugged him, touched his feet and begged him to try their hospitality. He obliged, grinning widely, and even drinking hot tea in an earthen cup happily with the people. Flushing in the heat, he specially interacted with children, teasing one urchin for being “dirty” and asking another in Hindi: “What is your name, baby?” At Inhona village he sought the blessing of Aliman Begum, a withered and bent old woman who had walked several kilometres for a glimpse of the young man. “How old are you, mother?” he asked her before asking her to give him “dua” (blessings) for victory. Despite much spotlight on his charismatic sister, it was clear it would take no time for Rahul to “know the ropes”. |
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BJP gives new meaning to
Swadeshi
New Delhi, March 30 The party, which released its “Vision Document 2004”, also committed to further reducing the role of the government in manufacturing and the services sector. Observing that a big shift is taking place in the global economy and India should be prepared to take advantage of it, the document said, “the BJP is committed to accelerating this process by further reforming our economy, modernising our infrastructure, enriching India’s human resources, and augmenting our capabilities in science and technology.” “This will place our predominantly young population in an advantageous position vis-a-vis many advanced nations in the world that are projected to have a demographic disadvantage in the coming decades,” the document said adding that “this is the Swadeshi approach for turning globalisation into an opportunity for India in the 21st century.” Spelling out its commitment to Swadeshi, the philosophy of India First, and to the path of self-reliance, it says that “the BJP believes that India’s goal of achieving a double-digit annual GDP growth rate on a sustainable basis can be achieved principally by mobilising our own domestic resources.” “Swadeshi means faith in indigenous institutions and a strong belief that the future of India must be secured by Indians themselves,” it said, adding that “a strong, efficient and high-growth Indian economy, in which Indian products, services and entrepreneurs dominate the domestic and global markets, is our concept of Swadeshi.” Emphasising on the need for bridging the current divide between the developing and developed economies to reduce the risks and challenges of globalisation and to enhance its opportunities and gains, the document said the NDA government had been at the forefront of defending the interests of Indian farmers by bringing about a coalition of developing countries against such unjust practices of developed countries. “We did so at the WTO meets in Doha and Cancun. Our government has also successfully defended India’s case in other matters such as patents. |
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BJP vows to end illegal migration
New Delhi, March 30 The BJP, in its 48-page ‘Vision Document 2004’, said the NDA government had given unprecedented attention to the development of the North-East and it was committed to the restoration of peace in the region. The document said it would encourage dialogue with all groups which were willing to give up violence, and firmly deal with those who continued on the path of extremism. The party would pursue the 3-D formula — detect, delete and deport to end cross-border illegal migration, it said. The party would also ensure that the ethnic identities of various groups in the region were protected, the Vision Document said. |
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BJP wants to strengthen Hindu votebank:
CPM
New Delhi, March 30 Politburo member Sitaram Yechury, in his initial reaction to the ‘Vision document’ released by the BJP, said it had spelt out what the government would do if it returned to power and the NDA was a “mere fig leaf.” He said the BJP’s political objective now was to “consolidate the communal Hindu vote-bank, with the rest of the issues (in the document) merely being for public consumption”. The ‘Vision document’ has been prepared after consultations between the RSS and the BJP leadership and “NDA is a mere fig-leaf and this will be the real document if it returned to power and not the common minimum programme”, Mr Yechury said. Observing that the document did not contain a single photograph of the freedom struggle, he said “this proves our point that this set of people (BJP leaders) had no role to play in the liberation struggle”. The BJP has brought out the document this time though it had gone along the NDA’s common minimum programme in the last elections, he said, adding that the party would give its point by point reaction on Wednesday. |
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CPM wants SP to lead fight against BJP
New Delhi, March 30 “The major secular party in each state should take lead in uniting all secular forces to fight the communal forces backed by the BJP,” party’s politburo member Sitaram Yechury told reporters here. Asserting that the Left parties in Tripura, Kerala and West Bengal have so far ensured that the BJP did not open its account, Mr Yechury said it should serve as a warning to the secular parties that the BJP could form the government at the Centre “due to the strength it gained in Uttar Pradesh”. |
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Uma ‘exposes’ Digvijay caste
bias
Bhopal, March 30 Mr Digvijay Singh had alleged victimisation of Congress workers by the Bharati government with a view to demoralising them during the Lok Sabha election campaign and had urged her to intervene. Ms Bharati wrote to him last night, simultaneously releasing her letter to the press, pointing out that eversince the BJP government came to power, the former Chief Minister had made “recommendations”, over the telephone and during personal discussions in respect of the following five persons alone: Mr K.P.Singh (Pichhor constituency), Mr Govind Singh (Lahar), Mr Daggi Raja (Mungawali), Mr Brijendra Singh (Niwari) and Mr Shankar Pratap Singh (Chhatarpur). “Every one is aware of the controversial style of functioning and background of these five persons. Since you have felt greatly aggrieved by the travails of these five persons, I’ll pay special attention to ensure that no false cases are registered against these five persons or their supporters but the action against criminals would have to be taken”, she wrote. The Chief Minister further said that Mr Digvijay Singh had never telephoned to her or written to her about the “hundreds of Congress workers” whom he was referring in the media. “Yours is a large party and it may be having not thousands, but lakhs, of poor workers. But after the formation of the BJP government, you have never mentioned to me (the plight of) any poor, Dalit or backward Congress worker. That only means that either the ordinary Congress workers are not feeling any harassment or you are not sensitive to the problems of ordinary Congress workers”. Ms Bharati concluded her letter with the assertion that she had given directions to the administration not to harass the poor and innocent but not to spare criminal elements, whether they belonged to the Congress or the BJP. |
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CEC to visit Chandigarh
on April 7
New Delhi, March 30 EC sources said the team led by Mr Krishnamurthy and the two Election Commissioners, Mr B B Tandon and Mr N Gopalaswami, would hold talks with political parties, Chief Electoral Officers and senior officials. The commission would visit Chandigarh a day after holding an all-party meet convened to discuss the opinion and exit poll and political advertisements, including surrogate ones, on the television. |
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Allow pupils in nearby exam centres, says
HC
New Delhi, March 30 Mr Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul directed the Haryana Education Board to consider the request of students to allow them to appear for exams in nearby centers as most of the 70 petitioners were girls who had to cover a distance of 50 to 100 km to reach the
examination centres. These students who moved the court, were from the areas touching the Capital’s border. Since the students had moved the court at a stage when practicals for the final examinations had started on March 23, the court said it would entirely be for the students to obtain the consent of that particular center regarding allowing them to sit in the
examination. The allocation of alternative center would also depend on the location of a nationalised bank branch close to it so that the question papers could be deposited in its safe custody, the court said. |
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Vajpayee to visit Santiniketan on April 2
Kolkata, March 30 Dr Bose felt that since the Prime Minister was the Chancellor of the university, he thought it right to personally visit Santiniketan after this deplorable incident. The Trinamool Congress leader, Ms Mamta Banerjee, also made a formal request to Mr Vajpayee to come to Santiniketan to see for himself the present state of affairs in this national university. The TMC has welcomed the Prime Minister’s visit. |
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50,000 devotees take dip on
Ardh Kumbh
Hardwar, March 30 The administration had made elaborate security arrangements and enforced strict traffic rules. Heavy police force, the PAC, the Rapid Action Force, the ITBP, the BSF, the CISF, bomb disposal squads and divers were deployed throughout the area. The bath passed off peacefully. |
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