The incident occurred on April 20 when three men and two minor girls died and two were injured in after a wall of the Madanpuri cremation ground collapsed on them
In a strong riposte to PM Narendra Modi’s twin jabs of a Muslim League imprint on the party’s manifesto and an alleged promise of “wealth redistribution to infiltrators”, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has said the PM should stop his attempts at dividing society and grant him time so that he can explain the document’s contents.
In a series of speeches at election rallies this month, the PM had said that the promises made in Congress’ manifesto were reminiscent of the thoughts that the Muslim League had before Independence. In a rally in Rajasthan on Sunday, PM Modi had also given rise to a controversy by claiming that the Congress intended to seize people’s property and redistribute it to Muslims. “They will not even leave your ‘mangalsutra’,” he had said.
Addressing a gathering in Kerala’s Wayanad – Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s constituency – on Tuesday, Mr Kharge took all the allegations head-on.
“PM Modi says the Congress Manifesto is a Muslim League manifesto. I request him, if he gives me time, I will take our manifesto and explain it to him. Where are we saying that something is only for Muslims? We are doing things for all. Our manifesto is for the poor, farmers, youth women and everybody. He just wants to divide the society and keep talking about Hindu-Muslim,” the Congress president said.
Referring to the Congress’ promises for the youth and women, Mr Kharge continued, “Yuva Nyay is for all. Naari Shakti is for all. It is not only for Muslims, not only for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, those below the poverty line. It is for all. During the UPA era, we have given some rights without the people asking for them. For example, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee was given by Sonia Gandhi and the BJP had opposed it.”
“They said that by bringing in MGNREGA, Congress was bringing poverty to the country. We made MGNREGA a right, education a right, food security a right. These things can’t be taken away even if PM Modi and (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah wish to do so. These are permanent rights brought by the UPA government,” he added.
Keeping up his attack on the Prime Minister, Mr Kharge said he has toured the world and the country, but hasn’t visited violence-hit Manipur. “Rahul Gandhi went there, consoled the people and told them, ‘Don’t lose heart. I am there’,” he said.
The controversy over the PM’s “infiltrator” remarks has continued to be on the boil. While the Congress has accused the PM of trying to play a communal card and divert attention from issues, the BJP has hit back and said that the PM called a spade a spade and echoed people’s sentiments. The party has also cited a clip from a 2006 speech by then PM Manmohan Singh to bolster his claims.
Responding to a senior Australian journalist’s claims that she had to leave India abruptly on the day of voting for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections because her visa extension was denied, sources in the Union government have labelled them “not correct, misleading and mischievous”.
The sources insisted that she had violated visa rules but was still given an assurance that her visa would be extended so she could cover the elections.
In posts on social media, Avani Dias, the South Asia Bureau Chief for Australian broadcaster ABC News said she had to leave India on Friday, April 19.
“Last week, I had to leave India abruptly. The Modi Government told me my visa extension would be denied, saying my reporting “crossed a line”. After Australian Government intervention, I got a mere two-month extension… less than 24 hours before our flight,” Ms Dias posted on Instagram
“We were also told my election accreditation would not come through because of an Indian Ministry directive,” she said in the post, adding that she and her partner had to leave on day one of voting.
In a strong response, a source said, “The contention of Avani Dias, South Asia correspondent of Australian Broadcasting Corporation, that she was not allowed to cover elections and was compelled to leave the country is not correct, misleading and mischievous.”
“Ms Dias was found to have violated visa rules while undertaking her professional pursuits. Inspite of this, on her request, she was assured that her visa would be extended for the coverage of the general elections. Her previous visa was valid till 20th April 2024,” the source added.