India News
In poll-bound Gujarat, CM Rupani links ISIS case with Ahmed Patel, Congress says BJP frustrated

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Vijay Rupani alleged that two arrested ISIS suspects worked at a hospital where Patel, political secretary to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was once a trustee
As the heat for Gujarat Assembly polls intensifies, the two key political forces vying for power – BJP and the Congress – have begun to play an ‘allegation ping-pong’. And with the stakes as high as they could be, considering that the state is no longer being viewed as an impregnable BJP fortress, the manner of allegations too are more specific and not purely political rhetoric in line with the infamous ‘Maut ka Saudagar’ jibe.
At a hurriedly convened press conference late on Friday evening, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani fired the first allegation salvo at the Congress, targeting party chief Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary and Rajya Sabha MP from the state, Ahmed Patel.
Rupani sought Patel’s resignation from the Rajya Sabha over what he termed as the latter’s alleged links with two men arrested earlier this week by the state’s anti-terrorist squad (ATS) for being suspected Islamic State (ISI) operatives. The Gujarat chief minister also demanded an explanation from Rahul Gandhi, the Congress key campaigner for Gujarat, and Patel over the allegations terming the case as one that involved a “matter of national security”.
Two suspected IS operatives were arrested by the Gujarat ATS two days ago. According to an FIR, one of the accused, Mohammed Kasim Stimberwala, earlier worked as a echo technician at Sardar Patel Hospital in Ankleshwar town of Bharuch in Gujarat, the home district of Ahmed Patel.
Ahmed Patel had been associated with the foundation of the hospital where on October 23, 2016, the then President Pranab Mukherjee had inaugurated the renovated Sardar Patel Hospital and Heart Institute. In 1986, when Ahmed Patel was the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee chief he had reportedly helped raise funds for the hospital and had served as one of the trustees of the hospital for some time.
According to Rupani’s allegation, Patel was guilty of links with the arrested IS suspects as he was associated with the hospital where Timberwala was employed till October 24, when he was relieved of his duties. Timberwala had reportedly submitted his resignation from the job to the hospital management on October 4 on the grounds that he was moving to Jamaica where he had secured a job at a hospital to work as an echo technician. Stimberwala was arrested by the Gujarat ATS on October 25 – a day after being relieved from his job at the hospital – from Ankleshwar railway station in Bharuch district.
According to Rupani, the charges leveled by the ATS against the two arrested IS suspects –lawyer Ubaid Mirza (29) and Kasim Steamerwala (31) – the duo had planned to attack a Hindu Godman, Hindu shrines and a synagogue. “They were well-prepared with passports and visas to flee abroad,” Rupani claimed.
“This is a serious issue, as a terrorist was arrested from a hospital which is being run by Patel… It has been revealed that though Patel had resigned as a trustee of that hospital in 2014, he is still at the helm of the hospital’s affairs,” the Gujarat CM alleged. Rupani wondered “what would have happened if these two terrorists were not arrested… Patel, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress must come clean on the issue. We also want Patel to resign as Rajya Sabha MP.”
Jayesh N Patel, a trustee of the hospital has denied that “Ahmed Patel or any of his family members are connected with the hospital and the trust in any away’’. In a statement issued on Friday evening, shortly after Rupani making the allegations, the hospital trustee said that “some elements are levelling baseless allegations against the hospital”.
In a series of tweets, Ahmed Patel too denied the allegations made by Vijay Rupani, terming them “completely baseless”.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]The Congress party’s in-charge of communications Randeep Singh Surjewala too rubbished the allegations made by Rupani, insisting that “a frustrated BJP facing imminent defeat in Gujarat is resorting to levelling reckless and baseless allegations against Ahmed Patel.”
Rupani’s charges against Ahmed Patel come at a time when the Congress is aggressively questioning the BJP to come clean on allegations that Jay Shah, son of the saffron party’s national president Amit Shah, had made windfall gains in his wealth ever since Narendra Modi steered his party to victory in the 2014 general elections. The Congress has turned the meteoric rise in Jay Shah’s wealth into an electoral issue in Gujarat – the home state of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah – which goes to polls in two phases, first on December 9 and then on December 14.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
India News
PM Modi says hat-trick victories guarantee 2024 hat-trick
Narendra Modi claimed that dissatisfaction among youth over paper leak and recruitment scam led to ouster the governments of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan.

After the BJP’s sweeping victories in the assembly elections of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the victory is of a self-reliant India, honest, transparency and good governance. Hailing that this hat-trick of victories has given guarantee for a 2024 hat-trick, he said that voters do not believe talk in thin air, false promises and rather support a concrete roadmap for development and good governance.
Referring to the Congress demand for a caste census, PM Modi said that some people tried to divide the country on caste lines during the elections. He added that for him there are only four castes namely women, youth, farmers and poor whose empowerment can strengthen the country. He stated that the people from all castes, regions, communities voted for the party and that every poor person feels that he has won.
ELECTION 2023 COVERAGE: Madhya Pradesh | Rajasthan | Chhattisgarh | Telangana
Addressing party workers at the BJP headquarters, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the women, mentioning that women believe only BJP can provide guarantee for their security, safety and dignity. He remarked that women empowerment is an important pillar of BJP’s model of development. He also assured the women that all the promises will be fulfilled.
Referring to Congress’s defeat, Narendra Modi claimed that dissatisfaction among youth over paper leak and recruitment scam led to the ouster of the governments of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. He mentioned that be it in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh or Telangana, the incumbent party was thrown out of power because it was against the youth and had scams in its tenure. Especially thanking the people of Telangana, he said that the BJP will leave no stone unturned in working for them.
Modi underlined that the BJP government not only makes policies but also ensures that they reach the rightful beneficiaries. He further stated that these victories are a clear warning to those who are not ashamed to stand with the corrupt and try to cover up their deeds.
Slamming the opposition alliance INDIA, the Prime Minister asserted that coming together can yield good photo opportunities and media headlines but cannot win people’s trust. He also requested Congress and its allies to not indulge in politics that empower the anti-national forces.
India News
Welfarism beats the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan
Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched several schemes for women including cash incentives and even delivered two tranches of Rs 3000 each on Rakhi and Karwa Chauth to married women.

By Neeraj Mishra
In one giant swoop, the BJP has cornered entire Western and Central India with its latest victories in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. The party now controls the entire cow belt giving it the right platform for 2024.
While Rajasthan was iffy for the Congress, it was overconfident in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where a combination of weak and divided local leadership and women voters eventually brought it down. It has lost Madhya Pradesh 65-164 and Chhattisgarh 34-56.
ELECTION 2023 COVERAGE: Madhya Pradesh | Rajasthan | Chhattisgarh | Telangana
In many ways, these were elections driven by labarthis (beneficiaries) and the BJP proved itself with better planning, strategy and implementation. In Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched several schemes for women including cash incentives and even delivered two tranches of Rs 3000 each on Rakhi and Karwa Chauth to married women.
In Chhattisgarh, where the BJP was in the opposition, it adopted a better strategy by promising Rs 12,000 per annum to married women and later getting them to sign some forms which made the signatories believe they would receive the promised benefit later. BJP workers got more than 30 lakh forms signed and in a state with more women voters than men, it surely means something.
In MP, an overconfident Congress made a mess of ticket distribution. Digvijaya Singh grabbed the largest share and brought in all his 90s cabinet. Eventually, they all lost. It is perhaps time to get rid of Digvijaya and Kamal Nath altogether just like Uma Bharti was ex-communicated from the state by the BJP in 2007 after Shivraj became CM. It paved way for the new.
The loss in both states will hurt the party not only in the three states but its ramifications will be felt at national level with INDIA and other alliances.
India News
Rajasthan election result: Despite his confidence, Ashok Gehlot fails to break anti-incumbency jinx
Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said the people of the state have rejected the Congress misgovernance and accepted the BJP’s suraaj.

The victory of the BJP in Rajasthan underlines the fickleness of the voter despite being a recipient of several welfare schemes introduced during Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s tenure. The BJP is set to win 115 seats compared to the Congress’ 69 ending Gehlot’s efforts to overturn the state’s 30-year record of not re-electing the incumbent government.
Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said the people of the state have rejected the Congress misgovernance and accepted the BJP’s suraaj. She said that the people will also vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to serve them in 2024. She said the party’s victory in Rajasthan was also because of the leadership given by BJP president JP Nadda and party workers.
ELECTION 2023 COVERAGE: Madhya Pradesh | Chhattisgarh | Telangana
Raje prayed in the temples of the state ahead of the results. The BJP has not named a CM candidate during the campaign. Now, the party has to decide who will be the chief minister. Raje, who won from the Jhalrapatan seat, is a frontrunner but given the cold vibes between her and PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, speculation has been rampant pitching other names including Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.
The election, however, was won by PM Modi’s intense campaigning in the state despite its history of anti-incumbency. The key topics that won the voters over include the law and order situation in the state. These include crimes against women and the murder of an Udaipur tailor over the much-flayed comments against Prophet Muhammad.
Exit polls were split over the results in the state. Some gave the Congress an edge however slight, while others gave it to the BJP.
Within the Congress, Gehlot had overcome the internal challenge posed by former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot and unveiled welfare schemes for many sections of voters, including a significant health plan. Despite all his efforts, Gehlot had to eat humble pie after persistent claims that his party would return to power and break the jinx, which stuck to being a jinx.
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