Latest Politics News
Gehlot says BJP snooping on its leaders as channels air footage of Hardik Patel in Guj hotel
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Hotel where Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Ashok Gehlot stayed in Ahmedabad confirms it gave CCTV tapes to police
As video clips of Gujarat’s Patidar agitation leader Hardik Patel entering and exiting a hotel in Ahmedabad in which Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi stayed on Mondaywent viral on television channels, amid suggestions that the two had held a “secret meeting”, Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot has alleged that the BJP was snooping at the leaders of his party.
Gehlot’s allegations have, in a sense, been confirmed by the management of the posh Hotel Ummed. The hotel’s officials have been quoted anonymously by various media organisations as saying that they were asked to hand over the CCTV footage of the hotel by the Gujarat police and did so.
The footage that was aired on several local channels in Gujarat almost simultaneously on Monday evening and later on national channels too shows Hardik Patel entering an elevator in the hotel around 11 pm on Sunday along with some of his supporters and exiting the next day around 4.15 pm. In one grab, he is seen inside a car, holding a handkerchief to cover his face.
Rahul Gandhi had arrived at the hotel at around 1 pm on Tuesday and left at 2.30 pm for a rally.
Media channels and the political grapevine have pointed at the footage as evidence of a “secret meeting” between Rahul and Hardik Patel though there is no confirmation yet on how the TV channels received the footage that the hotel had handed over to the Gujarat police.
The purported secret meeting between the Congress vice president and the face of Gujarat’s Patel Andolan – if it did really happen – assumes political significance since the Congress party has been desperately trying to convince Hardik to either contest the forthcoming Gujarat assembly polls as its candidate or at least endorse the party publicly and solicit votes for it, against the BJP[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Hardik has vehemently denied the reports of this secret meeting with Rahul but has conceded that he did hold talks with Gehlot and laid out demands of the Patidar/Patel community (reservations in government jobs in particular) before the Congress general secretary who is the party’s in-charge for Gujarat.
Gehlot has sought to turn the row over the purported meeting to the Congress’ advantage by alleging that the leaked video footage from the hotel shows that his party’s leaders were being spied on under orders of the state’s incumbent BJP government.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“The hotel staff told me that (local) intelligence bureau and police people inquired who all came… to meet whom. Then they took away CCTV footage and gave it to the media… Whether someone met Rahul Gandhi or others, what happened… how is that any of their concern. Is anyone an absconder (sic),” Gehlot told media persons on Tuesday.
Gehlot added: “I am asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is behind all this… How did the footage come in the media… because the local IB or police, they will not do anything without a signal from the BJP government, its leaders, Chief Minister, Prime Minister or PMO… And why did they seek the footage? Are Alpesh, Hardik and Jignesh Mewani absconders (sic).”
While the Ummed Hotel’s chief security officer, Vikram Singh Shekhawat, claimed that no rooms in the hotel were searched by the police, he admitted that “there were many police and IB officials deployed in the hotel throughout the day due to VVIP visits. The police did ask for CCTV footage and, after consulting our top management, we provided it to them. This was all for security reasons.”
Denying Gehlot’s allegations, Gujarat’s deputy chief minister Nitin Patel said that there is a security protocol for a visitor like Rahul Gandhi, but the state or its police have no role in it. “VVIP security is responsibility of security agencies… to ensure sanitised venues, checking by security agencies is done. There is no role of state agencies (sic),” Patel told reporters in Gandhinagar.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Latest Politics News
Rahul Gandhi claims Congress is winning upcoming elections in Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed his confidence in his party’s ability to win the upcoming legislative elections in Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan on Sunday. The Wayanad MP asserted at an event in the nation’s capital that there is no way we are not going to win any of them.
They are really close and he thinks they will be able to win, he said. Rahul Gandhi said, right now, he would say we are probably winning Telangana, they are definitely winning Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. By the year’s conclusion, elections are scheduled for the aforementioned states, he said.
The Congress MP said that the BJP wins districts and doesn’t allow the opposition to create a narrative as an important lesson that the party learned in Karnataka, where it staged a comeback earlier this year with overwhelming majorities.
He further said, they battled in a way in Karnataka that stopped the BJP from controlling the narrative, contrary to what they did there.
Gandhi claimed that the party sought to stray from the Opposition’s call for a caste census by using the insults leveled by BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri against Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali as a distraction in the Lok Sabha.
He continued, every time we bring a topic to the table, they use this type of nonsense to divert, and they have now learned how to deal with it. They know that a caste census is a fundamental thing that the people of India want, and they don’t want to have that discussion.
Gandhi claimed that one of the key elements in Telangana, MP, and Chhattisgarh was controlling the narrative, which contributed significantly to Congress’ victory in Karnataka.
He stated, what we did in Karnataka was we provided the state with a clear vision and then we controlled the narrative.
Rahul Gandhi referred to the One Nation, one-election debate as one of the side problems the BJP used as an excuse to sidetrack from the important issues.
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Ganesh Chaturthi: Home Minister Amit Shah offers prayers at Mumbai’s Lalbaugcha Raja | Watch here
Amit Shah visited Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s official residence Varsha and offered prayers to the Ganapati idol installed there.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday visited Mumbai’s famous Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh Pandal. On the auspicious occasion, the Home Minister along with his family offered prayers to Lord Ganesha. Every year, Amit Shah visits Lalbaugcha Raja to offer prayers to Lord Ganesha.
Lalbaugcha Raja is one of the oldest and the most popular mandals in the metropolis attracting around one crore devotees including celebrities and politicians. Celebrities who visited Lalbaugcha Raja to offer prayers to Lord Ganesh this year includes Shah Rukh Khan, Kartik Aryan, Vicky Kaushal, Pulkit Sharma, Manjot Singh and Varun Sharma, Varun Dhawan, Esha Deol, Sunny Leone, Urfi Javed among others.
Following his visit to Lalbaugcha Raja, Amit Shah visited Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s official residence Varsha and offered prayers to the Ganapati idol installed there. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also seen along with the Home Minister seeking blessings from Lord Ganesha.
In the evening, Amit Shah is set to take part in the Laxmanrao Inamdar Memorial lecture, which will be organized at the Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Convocation Hall on the Fort campus of Mumbai University. He will depart for Delhi at 7 pm. According to an official statement from the Mumbai University, Governor Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar will also attend the event.
The Memorial lecture is being conducted by the varsity in association with Sahakar Bharati, a pan-India organisation of Co-Operators and Co-Operatives, founded by Inamdar, popularly known as the ‘Vakil Saheb’ of RSS.
Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was present at the first official meeting of the High-Level ‘One Nation, One Election’ Committee that took place under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind. The first meeting was held at Jodhpur hostel.
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One Nation, One Election: Former President Ram Nath Kovind chairs first official meeting in Jodhpur
During the meeting, the members decided to hold discussion and get suggestions from the stakeholders and the political parties on the idea of the ‘one nation, one election’.
The first official meeting of the High-Level ‘One Nation, One Election’ Committee was conducted on Saturday under the chairmanship of former President Ram Nath Kovind. The first meeting was held at Jodhpur hostel. The meeting witnessed the participation of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and former Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad among others.
During the meeting, the members decided to hold discussion and get suggestions from the stakeholders and recognised national political parties on the idea of the ‘one nation, one election’, according to reports. In addition, the committee members also decided that if any of the political parties want to seek an appointment with the committee, it will be allowed to give their suggestions.
The committee members also deliberated to get the views of the stakeholders like the Election Commission of India, Law Commission Of India and other bodies. Reportedly, the members also primarily discussed how the committee will function and on which issues it needs to have deliberations with the concerned to build a consensus on the idea of the ‘one nation, one election’.
Furthermore, the panel also discussed how it needs to examine various scenarios for the simultaneous elections and make recommendations on how situations like a hung assembly or adoption of a no-confidence motion will be tackled.
Along with Kovind, Azad and Shah, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former chairman of the 15th Finance Commission N.K Singh, former Secretary General of Lok Sabha Subhash Kashyap, senior advocate Harish Salve and former Chief vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari are the other names, who are the part of the eight-member panel.
However, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury declined an invitation to be part of the eight-member committee formed by the Union government to examine the ‘One nation, One election’ concept. The Congress leader also did not attend the first official meeting in Jodhpur. As per reports, the committee will look into the feasibility of holding not only Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously, but also elections to municipalities and panchayats.
