INDIA’S
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“Mrs Vadra has lowered political discourse”
ELECTIONS SPECIAL 2014 w w w . l e m a t i n a l . c o m
“She has compared the BJP to 'panicstricken rats'...Mrs Vadra has lowered the quality of political discourse by her comments...If any of my family members started referring to my opponents as rats and reptiles I surely will be a worried man," said Arun Jaitley ,the BJP Leader.
LE MATINAL, PORT-LOUIS, TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014
Omar Abdullah : “He doesn't have the guts”
Modi : ‘Specimen’ Rahul has little knowledge of Gujarat I
n an escalation of war of words, Narendra Modi on Monday dubbed Rahul Gandhi as a 'specimen' who has 'little knowledge' of Gujarat and the Congress vice-president hit back accusing him and the BJP of adopting "double standards" on corruption and favouring select industrialists. Modi lampooned Rahul for dishing out "falsehoods" in his speeches about vast job vacancies and the institution of the Lokayukta in his state. He also alleged that the Congress has so far sent 100 emissaries to his home town of Vadnagar to find out if he ever used to sell tea or not. "If you want to relieve stress, listen to Rahul's speeches. As per his mathematics, there are 27,000 crore jobs lying vacant in Gujarat. How can this be possible when the total population of Gujarat is six crores? What kind of namuna (specimen) has the Congress brought ?" asked Modi during his rally in Kheralu town
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arendra Modi did not have the courage to come to campaign for BJP candidates in the Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Monday, after BJP's PM candidate blamed his family for the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits."You [Modi] do have the guts to come to Kashmir to seek votes. You go to Jammu, to Ladakh and to every other place in the country. But given the condition you have created for yourself here, how you have tried to defame the people here, I don't think people here have a place for you in their hearts," said Abdullah at a press conference. "The BJP has three candidates in Kashmir but Modi won't campaign for them. Obviously, he will not know what is happening here. His three candidates must feel orphaned that he has not come," he said. Modi has attacked Omar Abdullah's father Farooq Abdullah, the National Conference chief, in an interview after he said at a rally that "voters for Modi should drown in the sea". Referring to Modi's charges, Omar Abdullah said the Gujarat chief minister was ignorant about Kashmir's recent history. On Modi blaming Farooq Abdullah for the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley, Omar Abdullah said: "Pandits went during the tenure of Jagmohan, who was the governor of the state then, and when Mufti Mohammed Syed was the [union] home minister (1989). If Kashmiri Pandits went, they went with your party's support. Jagmohan was a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. BJP people are experts in using the pain of Kashmiri Pandits for politics."–HT
Rahul Gandhi : “ We never use harsh words” A
mid the bitter war of words between Congress and BJP, Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused Narendra Modi of being discourteous to his opponents, adopting double standards on corruption and favouring select industrialists. Rahul also said that the BJP prime ministerial candidate seeks to give an impression that development of Gujarat was his "personal" achievement and seems oblivious to the efforts of millions of people, including women who made the Amul brand a success. "You listen to his speech (Modi), You listen to mine. Rahul Gandhi You (Punjab) gave us Prime Minister. You see his (PM) speeches during the last 10 years, Sonia's (Gandhi) speeches, Congress leaders speeches, all talk with love and respect. "Even if we talk about them, (opponent), we talk with love and respect. We never use harsh words and angry tone. But wherever they (opponents) go, they cannot speak any good, nor they can do any good for others," he said addressing a rally in favour of Congress candidate Manpreet Singh Badal.–HT
under Patan Lok Sabha constituency. Addressing a rally in Bhatinda in Punjab , Rahul came down heavily on Modi, accusing him and the BJP of adopting double standards on corruption and favouring select industrialists. "Just two-three industrialists were benefited (under NDA regime) which they called India Shining. Big government owned companies worth thousands of crores were gifted. Balco, a government-owned company, was given to a friend of late union minister and BJP leader Pramod Mahajan," Rahul alleged. Accusing Modi of doling out favours to select corporates, Rahul alleged that he handed over 45,000 ares of land to Adani group at a rate of Rs. 1 per meter. Tearing into Modi's muchtouted Gujarat model, he said financial benefit to the tune of Rs. 26,000 crore as power waiver was given to an industrialist. A total benefit of Rs. 35,000 crore was handed over to Adani, he al-
Akhilesh calls Modi a ‘Model of Dividing India’
ELECTION HIGHLIGHTS... Women queue to cast their votes at a polling booth in Alwar, Rajasthan.
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ttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday appeared to be defending Priyanka Gandhi's husband Robert Vadra, accusing Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) of blowing the issue of land deals out of proportion and attacked Narendra Modi saying his name meant "Model of Dividing India". Yadav, without naming anyone, said the issue was being raised by BJP as an attempt to distract the attention of the people from other things, an apparent reference to the BJP questioning the land deals by Vadra, son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi. "BJP is unnecessarily blowing the land issue out of proportion. This is not a big thing. Which party does not give land to companies to set up project for the development of the area when it comes to power. By creating hype over the issue, BJP is distracting the attention of the people from other things," he said, without naming anyone, while addressing an election rally at Jaidpur. Though, he said rules have been framed for land acquisition in the state and no one can
Akhilesh Yadav forcibly acquired the land nor it can be auctioned for recovery of debt. Attacking BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Yadav said, "you don't know the full form of Modi. It is 'Model of Dividing India' and Modi wants to divide the country on the caste and religious lines." He claimed Modi was made the Prime Ministerial candidate due to pressures from Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, but his intention would never be fulfilled. "Only propaganda of Modi was being done and in reality BJP was nowhere," he alleged.-IT
leged. Labelling the Congress vicepresident as "ignorant" about Gujarat, Modi said, "Rahul recently claimed in his speech that Gujarat doesn't have Lokayukta. But he should be knowing that Gujarat does have Lokayukta and its first report has been tabled in the assembly. Rahulbhai, if you don't have that much knowledge, what would happen to India?" Modi said. He also accused Congress president Sonia Gandhi of heaping injustice on Gujarat over the issue of Narmada dam for her 'political gains'. "Sonia claimed that people of Gujarat are deprived of drinking water. I want to tell you that during Congress regime, water was sent to Saurashtra region through trains. Now, we have laid huge pipelines for that," Modi said during his final lap of canvassing in the state. Without naming Sonia's political advisor Ahmed Patel, Modi claimed that 'malicious' advice is being given to her. — HT
Trinamool Congress supporters wore Mamata Banerjee's mask at election campaign in support of party candidate Sudip Bandyopadhyay in Kolkata on Saturday.