RAIPUR: The Congress in Chhattisgarh is set to launch a campaign to assist women fill up the forms on ‘Nari Nyay’ guarantee promising a direct annual fund transfer of Rs 1 lakh into the bank accounts of poor women.
Galvanising the party cadres into a battle-ready mode for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, State in-charge for Congress Sachin Pilot on Saturday asserted that “the fight is now to save the country”.
“The Congress candidates in fray, party campaigns, the guarantees on ‘Nyay’, 10-year of misgovernance and failures of the BJP-led Centre and the soon to be released manifesto will boost the prospect of the Congress party. The Modi government is misusing the central agencies like Enforcement Directorate, CBI, Income Tax raids in targeting opposition leaders”, he added. Pilot chaired separate crucial meetings of senior Congress leaders, office-bearers, party functionaries and coordinators at Rajiv Bhawan in Raipur, where he took feedback to chalk-out a strategy for the forthcoming elections on 11 Lok Sabha constituencies.
The ruling BJP has nine MPs, while the remaining two seats are with the Congress. “Besides, with the key issues of high inflation, problems faced by farmers and unemployment remaining, the country today faces threats to the Constitution and the democratic institutions are under attack. So the upcoming elections are not ordinary polls."
“To prevent the main opposition Congress from accessing a level-playing field to contest the elections, the bank accounts of the party have been frozen. The onus now lies more on the Congress workers to take up the challenge and be a part of various organised aggressive campaigns”, he said. Pilot exuded hope that there will be unprecedented results in favour of the Congress with far-better success in the Parliamentary polls.
The Congress will soon declare the candidates for the remaining five constituencies as the party is focusing on women, farmers and youth through various pledges declared for them. The BJP, however, has been asserting that the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections assume much significance as it will determine the future of the country.
‘High inflation, farmers’ issues threat to constitution’
Pilot chaired separate crucial meetings of senior Congress leaders, office-bearers, party functionaries and coordinators at Rajiv Bhawan in Raipur. He points out key issues of high inflation, problems faced by farmers and unemployment remaining as threats to the Constitution. Pilot said that the onus now lies more on the Congress workers to take up the challenge and be a part of various organised aggressive campaigns. He exuded hope that there will be unprecedented results in favour of the Congress with far-better success in the Parliamentary polls.
BSP MP expelled for indiscipline
Ram Shiromani Verma, the Bahujan Samaj Party MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Shravasti, was expelled from the party on Saturday on charges of indiscipline and anti-party activities. A letter by BSP district president Lal Chand Kori stated that Verma was continuously involved in anti-party activities and indiscipline. He was warned several times but there was no improvement. Keeping this in mind, the MP was expelled, the letter said.
14 criminal cases against Pramanik
Union minister Nisith Pramanik, who has been renominated by the BJP in Cooch Behar seat for the Lok Sabha elections, has 14 criminal cases pending against him, according to an affidavit filed by him along with his nomination paper. Of the 14 cases pending against the Union Minister of State for Home, nine were registered between 2018 and 2020. The other cases were filed between 2009 and 2014, as per the affidavit. He joined the BJP in 2019 after he was expelled from the TMC.
BJP ally refuses to campaign for BJP
The Mahayuti ally Prahar Janshakti Party led by MLA Bacchu Kadu threatened that if BJP nominates sitting independent Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana from Amarawati Lok sabha seat, then he will not campaign for BJP or may field his own candidate. Kadu and the Rana couple – MLA Ravi Rana and his spouse Lok Sabha member Navneet — don’t see eye to eye. Kadu, therefore, was against the fielding of Navneet. She was jailed for chanting Hanuman chalisa in front of ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray’s residence.