Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh concluded his 33-year-long parliamentary innings in the Rajya Sabha, just as former Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi enters the Upper House of Parliament for the first time. Meanwhile, the Congress used Manmohan Singh’s retirement from the Rajya Sabha as an opportunity to draw the nation’s attention to the dignity of the Prime Minister’s Office, true politics and economic prudence that can remove poverty and boost growth. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote in a letter to Manmohan Singh: “The nation misses the quiet yet strong dignity that you brought to the office of the Prime Minister. Parliament will now miss your wisdom and experience. Your dignified, measured, soft-spoken yet statesman-like words are in contrast to the loud voices filled with lies that signify the current politics.” The Congress chief added: “The economic prosperity and stability that we enjoy today is built on the foundations laid by you along with our former Prime Minister, Bharat Ratna Shri P V Narasimha Rao”. He said: “Thanks to your policies, India was able to lift 27 crore people, the highest number of poor people, out of poverty in the world while you were the Prime Minister. The MGNREGA scheme launched under your government continues to provide relief to the rural workers during times of crisis. Whatever little reforms done by the current government has its seeds in the work initiated in the UPA government headed by you. The work initiated by your government to ensure direct transfer of benefits to individual beneficiaries by creating zero balance accounts, unique identification of the beneficiary through Aadhaar was hijacked by the succeeding government without giving you credit.”
GHULAM NABI AZAD TO CONTEST FROM ANANTNAG, MAY FACE MEHBOOBA
The Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) declared that its president, former Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, will be contesting the Lok Sabha polls from the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency. Azad, as a candidate of DPAP, will be taking on the National Conference’s veteran leader Mian Altaf Ahmad, who is the INDIA bloc candidate. Mian Altaf’s candidature has, in fact, concluded the chances of a pre-poll alliance between the National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Congress has been carrying on negotiations over several months between the National Congress and the PDP to reach an election deal. However, Mehbooba Mufti is unwilling to give up Anantnag, which had been a bastion of the PDP. The party is likely to announce the former CM’s name as the candidate for the seat. Mufti has told that her party would contest all three Lok Sabha seats in the Valley.
PRIYANKA GANDHI’S POINTED BARB AT PM MODI: POWER ISN’T PERMANENT
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra marked a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a ‘Loktantra Bachao’ rally in New Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan. Recollecting on her childhood memories of attending gatherings at Ramlila Maidan with her grandmother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi underscored the significance of the annual burning of Ravan’s effigy. Drawing parallels between the present government’s claims of devotion to Lord Ram and the timeless narrative of Ramayana, she urged those in power to reflect on the essence of the age-old tale. “I want to tell those in power and PM Narendra Modi that the message of Lord Ram’s life is that power is not permanent, power comes and goes and arrogance gets shattered one day,” she said.
CONGRESS ELECTION MANIFESTO: ‘PAANCH NYAY’, ‘GHAR GHAR GUARANTEE’
On April 5, the Indian National Congress launched its election manifesto in New Delhi emphasizing the party’s ‘Ghar Ghar Guarantee’ initiative, under which it successively aims to reach out to crores of households across the country and acquaint them aware of its guarantees. On April 3, Kharge launched the initiative from Usmanpur, Kaithwada, in the North East Delhi Parliamentary Constituency and distributed pamphlets on the party’s ‘Paanch Nyay Pachees Guarantee’. The Congress’ poll pitch is centred around ‘Paanch Nyay’ or five pillars of justice, namely ‘Yuva Nyay’, ‘Naari Nyay’, ‘Kisaan Nyay’, ‘Shramik Nyay’ and ‘Hissedari Nyay’, as well as the guarantees made by it to the people under these heads. The party has already launched its new slogan “Haath Badlega Halaat” on social media platforms.
CPI(ML) DECLARES INDIA BLOC CANDIDATES IN BIHAR’S ARA, NALANDA, KARAKAT
CPI(ML), which is part of the INDIA bloc, has declared its candidates for Ara, Nalanda and Karakat seats. The party has fielded Paliganj MLA Sandeep Saurav from Nalanda opposite three-time JD(U) MP Kaushlendra Kumar, Although Sandeep Saurav (36), who was JNU Students Union general secretary during the year 2013 and had contested the 2020 Assembly polls successfully from Paliganj as a Mahagathbandhan nominee. Saurav hails from an OBC family. His father was a marginal farmer. While Tarari MLA Sudama Prasad would take on BJP MP and Union Minister R K Singh from Ara. Former MLA Rajaram Singh would contest from Karakat against NDA candidate Upendra Kushwaha. (IPA Service)