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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra makes her formal public political debut with a roadshow

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Priyanka Gandhi roadshow

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A roadshow that attracted an enthusiastic response marked Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s political debut in Uttar Pradesh with a roadshow in Lucknow today (Monday, Feb 11).

Accompanied by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Jyotiraditya Scindia, this was Priyanka’s first visit to the state after being appointed as the party’s general secretary in-charge of eastern UP.

Ahead of Priyanka’s visit, supporters started raising slogans. Chants of “dusari Indira Gandhi hai,” and “badlav ki andhi, Rahul sang Priyanka Gandhi” filled the air in Lucknow.

Priyanka Gandhi, dressed in a light kurta-churidar, stood with her brother and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia and other Congress leaders on the bus decorated in party colours.

Hopping on to the bus commissioned for the event, Priyanka waved at supporters as the trio embarked on a roughly 25-km-long roadshow through major thoroughfares of Lucknow, sounding the bugle for the Congress campaign for 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

As low electricity wires in the congested city forced the Gandhi siblings to switch to an SUV mid-way, they sat cross-legged on its roof and resumed their waving. They also stopped for hot tea and little chats.

“Priyanka and Scindia-ji will work for the Lok Sabha election but their mission goes beyond that to the assembly polls. We will not relent until we establish a Congress government in UP,” said Rahul Gandhi in course of the roadshow, stressing that his party was in UP for the long-haul.

He threw in his oft-repeated “Chowkidar chor hai”, targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on corruption. The chant, picked up by the workers, followed them for much of the journey.

Priyanka, the Congress’s brand new general secretary, folded her hands or flashed a thumbs up sign as supporters, accompanied by drummers, cheered and shouted slogans. Among the kaleidoscope of posters and billboards welcoming her were those featuring her grandmother Indira Gandhi, playing on her striking resemblance to the former prime minister. And, people drew parallels between Priyanka and her grandmother Indira Gandhi, thus questioning if she would prove to be a game changer for the party ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

47-year-old Priyanka, no stranger to roadshows with her brother, is campaigning for the first time outside the Gandhi family constituencies of Amethi and Raebareli. For the first time in decades, the party managed to generate a buzz in UP, that too in its capital, which has voted the BJP in every election since 1991.
Eastern UP is home to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Varanasi constituency and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s base Gorakhpur. In the past, Allahabad (or Prayagraj, as it is called now) was Lal Bahadur Shastri’s Lok Sabha seat and home to the Nehru family. Neighbouring Phulpur was the Lok Sabha seat of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister and the Gandhi siblings’ great-grandfather.
Before arriving in Lucknow, Priyanka also made her Twitter debut. “I have hope that together we will start a new kind of politics, a politics in which all of you will be stakeholders. Come, let’s build a new future, new politics with me,” Priyanka Gandhi told party workers and supporters through Congress’ Shakti App on Sunday.
Priyanka and Scindia will camp in Lucknow for the next four days, meeting leaders and party workers, while Rahul is likely to return today after the roadshow.
Priyanka Gandhi would later visit Jaipur her husband Robert Vadra is likely to depose before ED tomorrow in connection with a probe into an alleged land scam in the Rajasthan’s border town of Bikaner. Vadra’s mother Maureen is also likely to appear before the central probe agency at about 10 AM at its zonal office on Bhawani Singh Road in Jaipur Tuesday.

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Rahul Gandhi returns from US to attend CWC meeting after Pahalgam terror attack

Rahul Gandhi returned to New Delhi early Thursday, cutting short his US trip following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack. He is set to attend the Congress Working Committee meeting amid heightened political and security activity.

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Rahul Gandhi

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, arrived in New Delhi early Thursday morning, having cut short his official visit to the United States. His return comes in response to the recent deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives, including one foreign national.

Gandhi is scheduled to participate in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at the party headquarters in New Delhi at around 10:30 am. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh had earlier announced the change in Rahul Gandhi’s itinerary due to the grave security situation in the Kashmir Valley.

The government is reportedly preparing for an all-party meeting on Thursday, likely to be chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, to deliberate on the national security response to the attack. The attack, which occurred at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, is being described as the most severe since the 2019 Pulwama incident.

Centre responds with strong diplomatic and security measures

In the wake of the violence, the Indian government has initiated a series of stringent actions aimed at sending a message to Pakistan, which it holds responsible for supporting cross-border terrorism. Among the measures announced are the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 and the immediate closure of the Attari integrated checkpost.

Additionally, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri declared that Pakistani nationals will no longer be allowed to travel to India under the SAARC visa exemption framework. These announcements came after a high-level Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. The CCS condemned the attack unequivocally, expressing deep sorrow for the victims and stressing the need for swift action.

Victims’ families demand justice

Emotions ran high across the country as families performed last rites for the victims. Among those killed was Indian Navy Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, whose funeral was held in Karnal. Another victim, Manjunath Rao from Shivamogga, was remembered by family and friends who called for firm government action against terrorism.

This latest incident has reignited national concerns around security in Jammu and Kashmir, especially given its scale and the timing following the revocation of Article 370 in 2019.

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Stalin reminds PM Modi’s statements as Gujarat CM after his crying for funds remark

During the event, Stalin inaugurated over 6,700 completed projects worth ₹1,166 crore in Tiruvallur, laid foundations for 7,300 new initiatives, and distributed welfare benefits to 2.02 lakh residents.

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday took aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a government event in Ponneri, Tiruvallur district, invoking Modi’s own words as Gujarat’s Chief Minister to counter recent remarks about Tamil Nadu’s demands for funds.

Addressing a gathering, Stalin refuted Modi’s claim from a Rameswaram visit that Tamil Nadu leaders were “crying” for central funds regardless of allocations.

“With utmost respect, I remind the Prime Minister of his own stance as Gujarat CM, when he said states aren’t beggars pleading for Union handouts,” Stalin said.

He recalled Modi’s criticism of the Centre’s partisan fund allocations and accusations of Governors running “parallel governments” in opposition-ruled states. “When Tamil Nadu seeks its rightful share, how is it ‘crying’? I’m asserting our state’s rights, not groveling. I learned this from our leader Kalaignar [Karunanidhi],” Stalin asserted.

Minister S.M. Nasar, MPs S. Jagathrakshakan and Sasikanth Senthil, legislators T.J. Govindarajan, Durai Chandrasekar, S. Chandran, V.G. Raajendran, A. Krishnaswamy, K. Ganapathy, S. Sudharsanam, Collector M. Prathap, and senior officials attended the event.

Stalin also challenged Shah’s recent Chennai statement that Tamil Nadu’s demands were “diversionary tactics.” He posed pointed questions to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, “Can you exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET? Guarantee no Hindi imposition? Ensure our representation isn’t reduced post-delimitation? Specify the funds allocated to our state?”

Stalin emphasised that Tamil Nadu’s fight is for all states’ rights, citing the DMK’s landmark Supreme Court victory against Governor R.N. Ravi’s delay in approving Bills. “This historic ruling shows we act when the Centre fails,” he said.

Highlighting national awareness of Tamil Nadu’s struggle, Stalin dismissed Shah’s accusations of diversion, urging, “If our demands are distractions, why haven’t you addressed them clearly?” He underscored the state’s resolve to protect its interests, rooted in principles of federalism and justice championed by DMK’s legacy.

During the event, Stalin inaugurated over 6,700 completed projects worth ₹1,166 crore in Tiruvallur, laid foundations for 7,300 new initiatives, and distributed welfare benefits to 2.02 lakh residents.

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Priyanka Gandhi accompanies Robert Vadra to ED office for second day in Gurugram land probe

Robert Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, appeared before the ED for the second day in the Gurugram land case.

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Robert Vadra Priyanka Gandhi

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accompanied her husband Robert Vadra to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office on Wednesday as he appeared for questioning for the second consecutive day in connection with the Gurugram land case.

Mr Vadra, the brother-in-law of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, was seen exchanging a hug with Ms Gandhi before entering the ED office. He is under scrutiny in a money laundering probe linked to a 2008 land deal in Manesar-Shikohpur area, now known as Sector 83 of Gurugram.

Focus of the probe: land deal from Congress tenure in Haryana

The investigation stems from a land transaction executed by Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd, a company in which Mr Vadra was formerly a director. In February 2008, Skylight purchased 3.5 acres of land from Onkareshwar Properties for ₹7.5 crore. At that time, Haryana was governed by a Congress-led administration under then Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

In September 2012, four years after the acquisition, Skylight sold the same land to real estate developer DLF for ₹58 crore. The deal later drew public attention after senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who was then heading the Land Consolidation and Land Records department in Haryana, cancelled the land mutation, citing violations of the State Consolidation Act and procedural discrepancies.

Haryana Police registered an FIR to examine the deal in 2018, further intensifying the legal scrutiny.

ED questions Vadra under PMLA

On Tuesday, Mr Vadra was questioned for nearly five hours by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), during which his statement was recorded. The businessman has consistently maintained that the case is part of a political vendetta and emphasized that he has cooperated fully with all investigative agencies, submitting numerous documents over the years.

Calling for a closure to what he described as a decades-old matter, Mr Vadra said cases like these should not be allowed to drag on indefinitely.

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