Page 13 - Gujarat

Congress left no stone unturned to insult Sardar Patel, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday alleged that the Congress did everything possible to "insult" Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and it has started praising him only now in view of the Gujarat Assembly elections. Even the last rites of the country's first deputy prime minister were performed in "unceremonious" way, the BJP leader said at an election rally at Khambhat in Gujarat's Anand district. "I am surprised that the Congress now praises Sardar Patel. Since my childhood, I have never heard any Congress leader talking about Patel. Instead, they left no stone unturned to insult Patel, right from performing his last rites in an unceremonious manner to ensuring that no monument was built in his memory," Shah said. Voting for Khambhat and 92 other seats will take place on December 5, in the second phase of the Assembly elections. Shah further said that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who paid a real tribute to Patel by constructing the Statue of Unity, Patel's statue which is .

SC asks Guj HC to hold periodical hearings in Morbi bridge collapse

Terming the Morbi bridge collapse an "enormous tragedy", the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Gujarat High Court to take up the suo motu matter on a periodical basis

Time has come to realise Mahatma Gandhi's dream of disbanding Cong: Yogi

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP leader Yogi Adityanath on Monday hit the campaign trail in poll-bound Gujarat and said the time has come to realise Mahatma Gandhi's dream of disbanding the Indian National Congress. Addressing a poll rally in Porbandar, the home town of the Father of the Nation, Yogi alleged the Congress would have usurped the funds meant for the treatment and vaccine during the coronavirus pandemic had it been in power. The elections for 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 8. "The BJP always keeps its promises, unlike Congress. Congress never stands with the people during crises. That is the reason Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi) had suggested that the party should be disbanded once India attains Independence," said Yogi, one of the star campaigners of BJP, while canvassing for the party candidate Babubhai Bokhiria. "The time has come to realise the dream of Bapu (of disbanding

Rahul Gandhi hits Gujarat campaign trail after taking break from yatra

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said he felt the pain of farmers, youth and tribals after meeting them during his Bharat Jodo Yatra and accused the BJP of drawing up plans to displace adivasis by handing over forests to industrialists as he hit the campaign trail in Gujarat 10 days ahead of the first phase of Assembly polls. Addressing his first rally in Gujarat after the announcement of the Assembly poll schedule, Gandhi asserted tribals are the first owners of the country, but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was working to take away their jungles and keep their children away from modern education. The Congress MP took a break from his Bharat Jodo Yatra, currently passing through Maharashtra, and travelled to Gujarat, where he addressed a gathering of tribals at Mahuva in Surat district in support of his party, which is seeking to end its nearly three-decade stint in the opposition in the BJP-ruled state in the next month's Assembly polls. Gandhi said his 3,570-km yatra,

Gujarat could become top state as people rejected lucrative promises: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said no one had imagined Gujarat could become the top state as it faced droughts and other issues but the people ensured the turnaround by electing BJP and rejecting false propaganda and lucrative promises. The prime minister was addressing a poll rally in Navsari town in south Gujarat on the third day of his campaign for the next month's Assembly elections in which the BJP is seeking a seventh straight term. "In the past, people used to say Gujarat can't progress because it lacked natural resources, it has a long coastline. That it has the desert on one side and Pakistan on the other side. (They used to say) Gujarat faces droughts frequently. In addition, Gujarat used to suffer due to frequent communal riots and curfews," said Modi, who had served as the chief minister of the state before assuming the Prime Minister's office in 2014. The elections to 182 constituencies will be held in two phases on December 1 and December 5. In the first phase

No action against culprits of bridge crash as they are linked to BJP: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said no action has been taken against the "real culprits" behind the last month's collapse of a suspension bridge in Gujarat's Morbi town, where 135 people were killed, because they share a "good relationship" with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Addressing an election rally in Rajkot, his second in the day, he said while watchmen (posted at the accident site) were arrested and jailed, no action was taken against the real culprits. "When journalists asked me what I think about the Morbi tragedy... I said around 150 people died and this is not a political issue and so I would say nothing on this. But the question arises today as to why no action was taken against those who were behind this (tragedy), why no FIR (has been filed against them)?" he asked. "Will nothing happen to them because they share a good relationship with the BJP? They arrested chowkidars (watchmen) and put them behind bars, but no action has been taken against the .

Congress president Kharge to campaign in Gujarat from Nov 26 ahead of polls

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will campaign in Gujarat from November 26 to 28, sources close to him said here. Kharge will address a public meeting in Ahmedabad on November 26 and is likely to address a press conference the next day, they said. He will address a public meeting in Indore after participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra with Rahul Gandhi on November 27. The yatra enters Madhya Pradesh on November 23. Kharge will address another public meeting near Gandhinagar on November 28. The Gujarat assembly elections will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. Results will be declared on December 8. Other details of Kharge's poll meetings are being worked out, the sources said. The new Congress president, who took over from Sonia Gandhi recently, had earlier addressed public meetings in Himachal Pradesh, where assembly elections were held on November 12.

ICICI Bank launches dollar bond, deposit-linked loan for NRIs at GIFT City

Lender claims to be the first to offer these products in GIFT City

Rahul Gandhi to address two public rallies in poll-bound Gujarat

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address two public rallies in Gujarat on Monday as part of the campaign for party candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state. This will be Gandhi's second visit to Gujarat in two-and-a half-months and the first to campaign for the state elections which will be held on December 1 and 5. He will address rallies at Mahuva in Surat district and in Rajkot city, as per the schedule released by the party. Gandhi is currently leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra, a mass contact initiative of the Congress which started on September 7. He last visited Gujarat on September 5 when he addressed a gathering of booth-level party workers in Ahmedabad.

Assembly polls: PM Modi to address three rallies in Gujarat today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address three public rallies in Gujarat on Monday, the third day of his visit to the state where the Assembly polls are scheduled next month. The PM is addressing a series of 'Vijay Sankalp Sammelans' for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which he started on Saturday with a roadshow in Valsad. On Monday, he will address rallies organised as part of the BJP's campaigning at Dhrangadhra in Surendranagar district, Jambusar in Bharuch district and Navsari city, as per the schedule shared by the party. The PM on Sunday addressed four rallies in the state - in Veraval, Dhoraji, Amreli and Botad. He had later also met party workers and tweeted about it saying, "After a long day of campaigning, being among fellow Karyakartas at Kamalam is very energising!" Elections for the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5 and votes will be counted on December 8.

SC to hear plea seeking probe into Morbi bridge collapse on Nov 21

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking the constitution of a judicial commission to probe the Morbi bridge collapse incident in Gujarat which claimed over 130 lives. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli will hear the PIL filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, which said that the accident depicted the negligence and utter failure of the authorities. On November 1, Tiwari had mentioned the matter for urgent listing, and the top court had said it would take up the matter soon. According to reports, the death toll in the collapse of the British-era bridge on October 30 on the Machchhu river in Morbi in Gujarat has gone up to 134. "From the past decade, various incidents have taken place in our country wherein due to the mismanagement, lapse in duty, and negligent maintenance activities, there have been cases of huge public casualties which could have been avoided," Tiwari has said in his PIL. The more than a century-old bridge, located aro

Gujarat polls 2022: Rahul Gandhi to hold rallies in Rajkot, Surat on Nov 21

Amid the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address rallies in poll-bound Gujarat for the first time since elections were announced in the coastal state.

For the Congress, a middle position is hard to sustain: Zoya Hasan

'While the Congress claims that the yatra is not a tool to win elections, its success will only be gauged in electoral terms in the future'

Ensure BJP's victory in every booth, PM appeals to people in Gir Somnath

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday appealed to the people of Gir Somnath district in election-bound Gujarat to make the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) victorious in all the polling booths. Addressing a rally in Veraval town after offering prayers at the famous Somnath Temple near here, the PM also urged the people to turn up in large numbers on polling day and break all the previous records of voter turnout. He was canvassing for four BJP candidates from Gir Somnath district in Gujarat, where the Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. "I want you to make sure the BJP wins each and every booth here. Will you do it for me? This time, my focus is to win in all the polling booths. If you help me in achieving this, these four BJP candidates will automatically reach the Assembly," Modi said. Out of the total 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat, voting in 89 seats will be held on December 1 and in the remaining 93 seats on December 5. The counti

Defamers of Gujarat should not find place in state: PM Modi in Valsad rally

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appealed to people to be wary of those who defame Gujarat, who he said should not find a place in the state. Addressing a rally in Valsad district in the run-up to the next month's Assembly elections, Modi said Gujarati people have never hurt anybody and embraced whoever comes to Gujarat. Be aware of the people who want to defame Gujarat and are speaking against us. They are trying to defame Gujarat and Gujaratis. They are also trying to defame our state in foreign countries, the prime minister said. Tell them to stop using such language. The people of Gujarat have never tried to hurt anybody. Wherever they went, they mingled with local people like sugar is dissolved in milk. If somebody comes from outside, they have embraced them, he said. Those people who want to defame Gujarat should not find a place in the state, he said. "We can never accept those who try to take Gujarat in a reverse gear, Modi added. He also took a swipe at Congress,

Gujarat elections: 1,112 nomination forms valid for second phase on Dec 5

A total of 1,112 nomination forms were found to be valid for the second phase of Gujarat Assembly elections scheduled to be held on December 5, an official said on Saturday. The scrutiny of nomination papers for the 93 seats, where elections will be held in the second phase was taken up on Friday, he said. "A total of 1,515 forms were received for the second phase, out of which 1,112 were held valid," a statement from the office of the state's chief electoral officer said. The first phase of the election for 89 seats will take place on December 1. Counting of votes for all 182 Assembly elections will take place on December 8. In the 2017 Assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won 99 seats, followed by 77 by the Congress. However, the opposition party suffered defections with as many as 20 legislators resigning over the last five years, many of them winning bypolls on BJP tickets.

PM Modi to address rallies in poll-bound Gujarat for two days from Saturday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a visit to Gujarat starting Saturday, during which he will address rallies in different districts of the state as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign for the next month's Assembly elections. He will arrive in the state on Saturday and address a rally in Valsad district in the evening, party sources said. This rally will be held at Jujwa village in Valsad around 6.30 pm, they said. On Sunday, the prime minister will address four rallies in the districts of Bhavnagar, Amreli and Junagadh, the party sources said. This is Modi's second visit to his home state after the announcement of the Assembly poll schedule. During his last visit on November 6, he had addressed a rally at Kaprada in Valsad district and attended a mass marriage function in Bhavnagar. Elections to the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases - on December 1 and 5 - and the counting of votes will be taken up on December 8.

Gujarat polls: 788 candidates in fray for 89 seats in first phase on Dec 1

A total of 788 candidates, including 70 women, remain in the fray for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly polls for 89 seats on December 1 after the culmination of process of scrutiny of nomination papers and withdrawal of candidature, officials said on Friday. These include candidates from 39 parties and 339 independents, a release from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for Gujarat informed. While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Congress have fielded their candidates on all the 89 seats, the Aam Aadmi Party will fight on 88 seats, the Bahujan Samaj Party on 57 and All Indian Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on six Assembly segments. In all 1,362 candidates had filed their papers for the 89 seats, which went down to 999 after scrutiny on November 15, and dipped further to 788 on November 17, which was the last date to withdraw nominations. The Election Commission has so far received 1,515 nomination papers for the 93 seats that

Nadda, union ministers, CMs to address 89 BJP rallies in Gujarat on Friday

Senior BJP leaders, including its national president J P Nadda besides Union ministers and chief ministers, are expected to address public meetings on Friday in the 89 Gujarat assembly constituencies going to the polls in the first phase of elections on December 1. With the BJP intensifying its campaign, party sources said Nadda will hold rallies in three places -- Navsari, Ankleshwar and Rajkot East -- while Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Narendra Singh Tomar and Anurag Singh Thakur will speak at three, four and four meetings, respectively. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan will address three and four rallies, respectively. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union ministers V K Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste are among other party leaders who will be addressing rallies, they said. Saurashtra, Kutch and south Gujarat are the regions going to the polls in the first phase while 93 seats in north a

Gujarat: Morbi Civic body blames Ajanta Manufacturing for bridge collapse

The charges were made in an affidavit filed before the Gujarat High Court by Morbi Nagar Palika in-charge Chief Officer Naran Muchhar