Shabbir Ali demands withdrawal of cases against Rahul Gandhi
Hyderabad: Govt adviser Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Friday demanded the immediate withdrawal of what he termed the “illegal cases” registered against Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, while seeking stringent action against those responsible for allegedly insulting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. The Congress staged a protest at the Kamareddy district headquarters on Friday, alleging that cases had been registered against Rahul Gandhi after he questioned an incident of caste discrimination involving Kharge. Party workers took out a rally from Nizamsagar Chowrasta to the municipal office and later staged a dharna. Addressing the gathering, Shabbir Ali said there was no place in the country for caste discrimination, untouchability or any practice that treated people as inferior. He condemned reports that a venue attended by Kharge was “purified” with Gangajal, allegedly because he is a Dalit leader. “This is not merely an insult to Kharge. It is an insult to the Constitution and the ideals of BR Ambedkar,” he said. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Rahul Gandhi vs C Joseph Vijay: Can TVK chief do what Arvind Kejriwal could not?
The honeymoon period between Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and its coalition partner, the Congress, appears to be over. Barely months after the two parties came together to form the government, they are already sparring over a question that is ostensibly about the 2029 Lok Sabha election: Who should be the opposition’s prime ministerial face – Rahul Gandhi or Vijay? What began as statements and counter-statements between the two party leaders has quickly acquired a sharper political edge. TVK PWD minister Aadhav Arjuna pitched Vijay as a potential national leader, arguing that the country’s highest political office should go to a leader from Tamil Nadu. On the other hand, state minister S Rajesh Kumar said Congress ministers in the Tamil Nadu cabinet would resign if TVK did not support Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate in 2029. The confrontation spilled into the assembly as well. Congress Legislature Party leader and MLA Tharahai Cuthbert was shifted on August 31 from the section allotted to TVK legislators to the front row of the opposition benches. But beneath the immediate fight over Rahul versus Vijay lies a much bigger question: Does Vijay intend to remain a powerful Tamil Nadu leader, or does he see the state’s 2026 mandate as the launchpad for a national political project? And if the latter is the plan, can he succeed where Arvind Kejriwal could not? Vijay’s extraordinary first step The scale of Vijay’s rise explains why the 2029 debate has surfaced so early. The April 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly election ended nearly six decades of dominance by the DMK and AIADMK. TVK, only two years old, emerged as the largest party with 108 seats in the 234-member assembly. The DMK won 59 and AIADMK 47, while Congress secured five seats, with the remaining seats going to smaller allies. TVK was therefore not merely a new party that performed better than expected. It emerged as the central political force in an election that disrupted the state’s traditional two-party equilibrium. There was, however, one problem: 108 seats were still short of the 118 required for a simple majority. That made Congress indispensable. Vijay eventually formed the government with the support of MLAs from Congress [5], VCK [2] and IUML [2], along with outside support from the Left parties [4]. The MDMK, which has two MLAs, later extended its support. Congress moved away from its long-standing association with the DMK and backed a TVK-led government along with smaller allies, taking the coalition’s strength to 121. Vijay was sworn in as CM on May 10. Congress had submitted its letter of support after the election, making it clear that its support would be conditional on TVK keeping “communal forces” out of the alliance. C Joseph Vijay-Gfx The 234-member assembly currently has seven vacancies following the resignation of six AIADMK MLAs and Vijay vacating his second seat, Trichy East. The effective strength of the House is therefore 227, bringing the majority mark down to 114. The political equation is unusual. Congress is the junior partner, with only five seats, but its support helped Vijay cross the majority mark. At the same time, TVK’s 108 seats give Vijay overwhelming dominance within the coalition. That inversion may be at the heart of the present tension. Congress had been with the DMK in the pre-poll alliance and had never secured a place in MK Stalin’s cabinet. After the results, however, it quickly moved to TVK’s side and helped Vijay form the government. The alliance therefore contains a built-in contradiction: the party that needs Vijay’s government to survive does not want Vijay to emerge as the leader of the national opposition. C Joseph Vijay-Gfx3 The ‘agnipath’ of Vijay’s path Vijay’s route to Delhi runs into a problem that no amount of success in Tamil Nadu can entirely solve: numbers. Tamil Nadu sends 39 MPs to the Lok Sabha. Even a TVK sweep in 2029 would leave Vijay nowhere close to the 272 seats needed for a majority in the 543-member House. History, however, offers a little hope. In the past, India has had PMs whose parties did not come close to a Lok Sabha majority. HD Deve Gowda became PM in 1996 after the Janata Dal won just 46 seats, emerging as the consensus choice of the United Front with Congress support. IK Gujral followed a year later under much the same arrangement, with the Janata Dal holding only around 45 seats. Chandra Shekhar became prime minister in 1990 after breaking away from the Janata Dal with just 64 MPs, relying on outside support from Congress. This may give Vijay some hope. But it is also where the historical comparison begins to fray. The coalition politics that made these leaders PMs belonged to a different national landscape where coalition governments were a norm. The BJP, however, has changed that equation, building the NDA into a durable national coalition rather than the loose, post-election arrangements that defined much of the 1990s. The opposition, meanwhile, has come together in the form of the INDIA bloc which Vijay’s TVK is not part of yet. And yet, paradoxically, being outside the INDIA bloc may give Vijay an advantage over Rahul Gandhi. Rahul comes with the weight of the Congress’s history: its national footprint, its alliances and rivalries, the Nehru-Gandhi legacy and the political resistance that the party can provoke among regional leaders. Vijay comes with much less baggage. He would enter a coalition conversation not as the leader of a decades-old national party, but as a new political force with a mass following built before he entered politics. C Joseph Vijay-Gfx2 That distinction could matter if the next Lok Sabha produces another fractured mandate. But that is a big if, and one that looks unlikely in the present circumstances. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram has already put the arithmetic bluntly: “Every party has dreams, ambitions, and desires … but we know what the political reality is. There are 543 constituencies.” Thus, for Vijay, even
In letter, Sonia told of ‘administrative and political suppression’, says Telangana minister Surekha
A major grievance in the letter was the alleged curtailment of her authority as Minister. Surekha claimed that several important decisions were taken without her knowledge and that directions. HYDERABAD: Days before the AICC cleared her ouster from the state Cabinet, Endowments Minister Konda Surekha had sought Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s intervention, alleging that she was subjected to “sustained political and administrative suppression” by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and sections of the ruling party. On Thursday evening, Surekha released a 10-page letter dated August 22 that she had sent to Sonia Gandhi. The letter was also addressed to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal and Meenakshi Natarajan. A major grievance in the letter was the alleged curtailment of her authority as Minister. Surekha claimed that several important decisions were taken without her knowledge and that directions from the CMO had reduced her role to a largely nominal one. She cited the constitution of the Yadadri Temple Trust Board and the transfer of funds meant for the development of the Sammakka-Saralamma temple as examples of being sidelined. She also alleged that her former OSD N Sumanth was removed without informing her and was subsequently subjected to police action. Surekha also alleged delays in funds for projects including the Smart City Model Bus Stand and Bondi Vagu development in her Warangal East constituency, claiming that several works had not received the same priority as those in neighbouring constituencies. She objected to Station Ghanpur MLA Kadiyam Srihari holding a review meeting with Endowments officials without informing her, saying such actions undermined the authority of the minister concerned. Surekha further alleged that local leaders and public representatives were being encouraged to act against her and that attempts were being made to politically isolate the Konda family in the erstwhile Warangal district. She also alleged that different political standards were being applied to Congress leaders, referring to Revanth’s remarks on former MLA T Jayaprakash Reddy’s possible electoral plans and his appeal at Parkal for the re-election of MLA Revuri Prakash Reddy. Another grievance concerned the show-cause notice issued to her over remarks made by her daughter, Susmita Patel. Surekha questioned whether a minister could be held responsible for the personal statements of a family member merely because she was the mother. Despite her grievances, Surekha said her faith in the Congress, its ideology, democratic values and national leadership remained unwavering. Courtesy : TNIE Note: This news is originally published on https:/thenewindianexpress.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Vijay will be PM with Rahul Gandhi’s support, says TVK MLA
The statements drew attention, with a section of TVK supporters putting up wall posters in Madurai and other parts of the state, claiming that Vijay would become the next PM. CHENNAI: The ‘Rahul or Vijay for PM’ debate is rumbling on with leaders of TVK and Congress wanting their chieftain to be the prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. While Congress leaders have made it clear that Rahul Gandhi remains their choice, TVK legislator Kanimozhi Santhosh on Wednesday said Vijay would become the PM, with Rahul himself paving the way for him. Kanimozhi – an astrologer – who claims to have predicted C Joseph Vijay’s ascension to CM-ship, was confident that Rahul will make Vijay the PM in 2029. On Wednesday, the Kavundampalayam MLA, before taking part in the Assembly proceedings, predicted that Vijay would become PM in 2029. She said the next PM would come from TN. She further elaborated, “It was Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who helped our Thalapathy (Vijay) sit in the CM’s seat. So, he himself will hold Thalapathy’s hand and take him to Delhi in 2029 and make him sit there (as PM).” When asked by the media who would be Tamil Nadu CM if Vijay became PM, she replied, “Let’s see when it comes.” On the other hand, Congress is batting for Rahul, saying he has the support of the Tamil Nadu CM. Congress floor leader Tharahai Cuthbert on Wednesday told reporters that Rahul was the accepted leader and claimed that Vijay had also made it clear that Rahul should become the PM. She described the claims of TVK cadre as “fan mentality”. She said, “They still have a fan mentality. So naturally, they will consider their own leader to be the PM. There are no two opinions when it comes to the views of Vijay’s fans. There is nothing wrong in what they are doing. Therefore, you should not draw any conclusions based on this.” The statements drew attention with a section of TVK supporters putting up wall posters in Madurai and other parts of the state, claiming that Vijay would become the next PM. Meanwhile, BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran and senior BJP leader Pon Radhakrishnan on Wednesday claimed that cracks are appearing in the TVK-Congress alliance over the PM’s chair issue. On Tuesday in Tenkasi, Energy and Law Minister C T R Nirmal Kumar told reporters that there was no confusion within the alliance, and urged the media not to blow the issue out of proportion. S Kumaresan Courtesy : TNIE Note: This news is originally published on https:/thenewindianexpress.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Raj Gopal backs high command on cabinet picks
Hyderabad: Munugode MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy on Thursday said decisions on the proposed cabinet expansion and allocation of ministerial berths rested entirely with the Congress high command, adding that he would abide by whatever decision party leader Rahul Gandhi takes. Speaking at Sarvel village in Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district after laying the foundation stone for road development works, Raj Gopal Reddy said his priority was to ensure that Congress workers who stood by the party during its decade-long struggle against the BRS were given due recognition. “Leaders who worked for the party when it was in opposition should not be overlooked. Genuine Congress workers deserve justice,” he said. Amid speculation over the cabinet expansion, Raj Gopal Reddy said individual leaders had no role in deciding who should be inducted into the cabinet. “Who gets which post is for the high command to decide. I have complete faith in Rahul Gandhi and will abide by his decision,” he said. He clarified that his remarks should not be construed as a demand for any ministerial post, reiterating that his concern was to ensure deserving Congress workers received their due recognition. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Rahul Gandhi Punjab visit: Cong submits route, meeting plan
Chandigarh: With the BJP, AAP and SAD already hitting the ground for the Punjab assembly elections, the Congress’s top functionaries from Punjab on Thursday met Lok Sabha leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi’s team to plan his proposed visit to Punjab. AICC Punjab in charge Bhupesh Baghel, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and assembly LoP Partap Singh Bajwa also submitted a detailed plan covering routes and meetings for Rahul’s visit. AICC national media coordinator Hari Shankar Gupta had said on Wednesday that Rahul was likely to visit Punjab within 10 days, with the schedule almost finalised. The development comes as Punjab BJP is also preparing a four-phase anti-drug yatra covering all 117 assembly constituencies after mid-Sep. The party is finalising the schedule based on the availability of its national leadership. Rahul is likely to visit Punjab around mid-Sep, though the duration and dates have not been finalised. The state unit has proposed one-, two- and three-day options, with meetings planned with farmers, ex-servicemen and other sections of society. “There is no final decision on the duration. A proposal has been submitted to Rahul ji’s team, which handles logistics, route plans and meetings. After approval from his office, our preparations will begin,” Baghel told reporters. He said a date had been proposed but the visit would depend on Rahul’s availability. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
FIR can’t silence Rahul; Congress will return to power, says DK Shivakumar
The CM urged the BJP to apologise to the entire country for the purification ritual carried out after AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a gathering in Uttarakhand. BENGALURU: Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday predicted that the Congress would return to power in Karnataka in 2028, and at the Centre in 2029. Addressing a party protest at Freedom Park against what he described as a “malicious” FIR registered against Rahul Gandhi in Uttarakhand, Shivakumar said the Congress leader would neither apologise nor give an undertaking to authorities. “The BJP is trying to suppress everyone’s voice, and its last days are approaching. In 2028, the Congress government will come to power in Karnataka and in 2029, the Congress will form the government at the Centre,” he said. The CM urged the BJP to apologise to the entire country for the purification ritual carried out after AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a gathering in Uttarakhand. He termed it an insult to India’s social harmony. Shivakumar accused the ruling party of attempting to suppress voices critical of its actions. “Rahul Gandhi is a born fighter. Even if 100 cases are registered against him, he will not be afraid of such empty threats. Unlike others, Rahul Gandhi will neither give an undertaking nor apologise,” he said. Former CM Siddaramaiah alleged that filing an FIR against Rahul was a grave injustice. “A case of atrocities on Dalits has been registered for no reason. This is very regrettable. According to the Constitution, a case should be filed against those who practice untouchability. But the Central government is taking action against Rahul Gandhi with malicious intent to silence him,” he said. “PM Narendra Modi, BJP and Amit Shah have dared to silence the Leader of Opposition by filing an FIR. Congress workers staged a protest against them for smearing democracy, and were protesting in all districts,” KPCC president BK Hariprasad said. Courtesy : TNIE Note: This news is originally published on https:/thenewindianexpress.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
‘Savarkar never hated Muslims’: Grandnephew tells Pune court Rahul Gandhi portrayed him as ‘extreme hater’
PUNE: Satyaki Savarkar, grandnephew of Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, told a special court in Pune on Tuesday that Savarkar “never hated Muslims” and had written about ways for their progress, while alleging that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had portrayed him as an “extreme hater of Muslims”. Satyaki made the remarks while being cross-examined by advocate Milind Pawar in a criminal defamation case linked to statements allegedly made by Gandhi in London in 2023, news agency PTI reported. During the cross-examination, Pawar asked Satyaki to identify the exact words in Gandhi’s alleged speech that he believed had lowered the reputation of Swatantryaveer Savarkar. Satyaki referred to Gandhi’s statement that “Savarkar had written in a book that he and five to six friends had assaulted a Muslim youth and derived pleasure from the act”. “By these words, Savarkar was portrayed as an extreme hater of Muslims and as a mob lyncher. Savarkar never hated Muslims. Rather, in his writings, he showed the ways and means for their progress,” he said. During the proceedings, Pawar also submitted a 2004 video interview of Satyaki’s grandfather Gopal Godse along with its transcripts, PTI reported. Gopal Godse, the younger brother of Nathuram Godse, is purportedly heard acknowledging in the interview that Nathuram Godse was an RSS member. Nathuram Godse was one of the conspirators in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. What is the defamation case against Rahul Gandhi? Satyaki had filed the criminal defamation case against Gandhi, alleging that the Congress leader falsely claimed that V D Savarkar had written in a book about assaulting a Muslim youth with five or six friends and deriving pleasure from the act. The complainant has maintained that no such incident appears in Savarkar’s writings. The case concerns Gandhi’s alleged remarks made in London in 2023. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Rahul Gandhi’s Punjab tour likely within 10 days
Chandigarh: Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit Punjab within the next 10 days, with his tour schedule almost finalised, AICC national media coordinator Hari Shankar Gupta said on Wednesday. A central Congress media delegation reached Chandigarh to coordinate directly with the Punjab unit and held a strategy meeting with state Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Gupta said minor changes to Rahul Gandhi’s Punjab schedule were made due to his presence at student protests in New Delhi and his subsequent sit-in outside Parliament Street police station. He said the campaign blueprint was ready and Rahul Gandhi was expected to tour the state within a week to 10 days. Top Congress functionaries, including Warring, Charanjit Singh Channi, Partap Singh Bajwa and AICC Punjab in charge Bhupesh Baghel, would campaign together, the delegation said. Rejecting speculation about factionalism, the delegation said differences over ticket distribution were normal and that allotments would be decided by the AICC through an institutional process. The central team said all 29 political district committees across Punjab’s 23 administrative districts had been divided among its members across three zones. Wing Commander Anuma Aacharya was assigned Majha, Ishan Tyagi Doaba, while Malwa’s 19 districts were divided into Malwa-1, under Harnam Singh, and Malwa-2, under Vikram Lohia. Warring assured the delegation of organisational, logistical and grassroots support across all assembly constituencies. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Rahul Gandhi: How did Maharashtra’s draft SIR list drop 2 crore voters, but add 39 lakh in 2024?
Mumbai: The Opposition lashed out at the exclusion of 2 crore votes in the draft SIR list in Maharashtra, with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi alleging this meant the 39 lakh voters added before the assembly polls in 2024 was vote theft. “Maharashtra 2024 – Suddenly 3.9 million voters were added between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. I said it then and I say it today. This was vote-theft,” he said on X. “And now in Maharashtra, 2.07 crore voters have been removed from the draft list – that’s every fifth voter. Which list was correct?,” he stated. “The BJP and the ‘Vote Theft Commission’ keep changing their tactics and they will continue to do so – the goal remains just one: BJP’s victory at any cost, and the end of India’s democracy.” Congress MP Pawan Khera added on X, “Either the electoral rolls for the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election were flawless – in which case the SIR has led to wrongful deletions. Or those rolls were questionable – in which case Fadnavis is heading an illegitimate government.” “But either way, one conclusion is inescapable. The integrity of India’s election has been compromised. And Gyanesh Gupta is the culprit.” NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar said on X, “There is a Damocles sword hanging on those with unmapped and anomalies statuses as well. In Maharashtra a large number of eligible citizen’s names have been excluded. We suspect that a significant number of duplicate voters have been included in this list published after the SIR process.” Anti-corruption activist Anjali Damania tweeted, “Every fifth voter in the state has been tossed out of the list. This has happened most severely in Pune, Thane and the Mumbai suburbs – places where the population of labourers, migrants and slumdwellers. This does not seem like a coincidence.” Damania said the sudden disappearance of 2 crore voter’s names from the list is “not merely an administrative blunder; it is a massive assault on democracy”. She demanded an independent inquiry and an extension of the period to file objections. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights