Opposition will benefit from Rahul’s walking
Rahul Gandhi has started ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar, which is his fifth major padyatra. Its objective is to raise the issue of removal of names from the voter list and to unite the marginalized communities. Rahul Gandhi’s Bihar Voter Rights Yatra Subodh Ghildiyal: Rahul Gandhi has built his political identity and image around padyatras from the very beginning. The ‘Vote Rights Yatra’ which started from Bihar on Sunday is his fifth major padyatra. 508 days ago, he had done Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Manipur to Mumbai, which was successful. Under his current campaign in Bihar, he will walk both on foot and by vehicle. He will cover a distance of 1300 km through 20 districts. Just need an opportunity. Even in his early days in politics, Rahul had done padyatra against land acquisition in Bhatta-Parsaul of West UP. To promote the issues of farmers, he did a ‘Kisan Yatra’ from Deoria to Delhi. In 2015, he visited Kedarnath. Its purpose was to show that the situation has become normal after the disaster of 2013. All these examples show that wherever there is a slight possibility, Rahul Gandhi takes to the streets. Shadow of SIR. But the Bihar Yatra is not like any previous campaign. It is happening at a time when the Supreme Court, accepting the demands of the opposition, has directed the Election Commission to make public the information of those whose names have been removed from the new draft roll. Assembly elections are to be held in Bihar by the end of this year and a few months before that, when the process of Special Intensive Revision i.e. SIR suddenly started, many doubts started arising. Fear of the opposition. The meeting with the Election Commission deepened the fear of the opposition that the workers, poor and marginalized people who have migrated outside the state may be excluded from the voter list. This class is considered anti-BJP. There were massive protests against SIR and the matter reached the Supreme Court. All this happened during the monsoon session of Parliament, which also gave a big platform to the opposition. This is how the possibility arose. On August 7, Rahul claimed that there was a large-scale manipulation in the voter list of Mahadevpura assembly constituency of Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha seat during the 2024 general elections. This claim shocked the country and strengthened the doubts that the Congress has been expressing on the results of some seats of Maharashtra Assembly elections and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. When the Supreme Court gave instructions to the Election Commission, it was believed that Rahul’s hard work has paid off. This also led to the possibility that could there be another yatra, which carries protest and election together? New identity. After the SIR controversy, RJD, CPI-ML and other allies welcomed the idea of the yatra. This 16-day yatra will pass through 100 to 125 assembly constituencies. There will be an attempt to woo the extremely backward classes, SC, ST, Muslims and poor sections. Rahul has created a new identity by combining caste census, removal of reservation cap, exposing atrocities and secularism. This is on the lines of Mukesh Sahni’s VIP Party and Dipankar Bhattacharya’s CPI-ML. Example of UP. The purpose of Rahul Gandhi’s Bihar visit is to attract the Bahujan Samaj and to make a dent in the vote bank of Nitish Kumar’s JDU and Chirag Paswan’s LJP. Akhilesh Yadav had made a similar strategy in UP last year, in which he was successful. In response to BJP’s extremely backward class, Samajwadi Party created its identity as PDA i.e. a party of backward, Dalit and tribal classes. Rahul Gandhi’s agenda of social justice worked in conjunction with Akhilesh and SP got a spectacular victory in the last Lok Sabha elections. SP’s victory. From 2004 till now, there is a lot of evidence that shows that in the states where Congress is marginalized, Rahul Gandhi’s presence benefits his allies or ideological rivals more. Rahul’s important role in the victory of the Mahagathbandhan in UP in 2024 is internally accepted. There is even talk that the campaign he launched against the corruption prevalent in UP in 2007 made BSP a villain and this became the basis for the victory of SP in 2012. The Rahul factor also worked during the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra last year. At the same time, despite Congress being a marginal party in Tamil Nadu, DMK gives importance to Rahul’s credibility. The journey will happen again. In Sasaram, Tejashwi Yadav was driving the jeep and Rahul was sitting on the seat next to him. This picture indicates that Tejashwi is in the lead role in his state. RJD has the organization, while Congress brings national leadership and ideology, whose face is Rahul. Bihar elections are still a few months away. In such a situation, this trip cannot be the last. It is expected that Rahul will hit the road again when the elections come closer. Edited by: Sanjeev Kumar Courtesy: Hindi News
Rahul accuses BJP of stealing votes, says Bihar will fight back
Patna: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the BJP of “stealing votes” with the support of the Election Commission and claimed the alleged practice was aimed at shaping the future of industrialists. He said Bihar would not allow it to happen again. “Do you know why the vote theft is being done across the country? They want to rob your future and shape the future of big industrialists,” Rahul told a gathering in Munger on the fifth day of his “Voter Adhikar Yatra”. Rahul returned to Bihar after a day’s break and joined the yatra in Lakhisarai. Earlier in the day, RJD leader and leader of opposition in the state assembly, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, had resumed the march in Sheikhpura in his absence. Apprehending that even the last elections might have been manipulated, Rahul alleged, “BJP and the Election Commission are stealing votes in every state. Perhaps they even did it in the last election, but this time we have found out.” Standing atop an open jeep alongside INDIA bloc leaders, Rahul waved to crowds lining the roads. Groups of enthusiastic youths rushed forward to greet him and he shook hands with many, stopping frequently to interact with people. Earlier in the day, he wrote on social media that a govt formed by stealing votes had no interest in serving the public. “Since they don’t even need your votes, they don’t care about your problems either,” he said. Citing demonetisation, the Covid crisis and the farmers’ movement, he alleged that despite hundreds of lives being lost, PM Narendra Modi neither offered help nor expressed empathy. “Do you know why? Because this government wasn’t chosen by you; it was formed by stealing votes. Whether you live, die, or suffer – it makes no difference to them because they are confident they will return to power through theft.” Calling a clean voter list the foundation of free and fair elections, Rahul appealed to the masses not to let their rights slip away. He alleged record unemployment was destroying the future of youth while scams such as NEET, SSC and repeated paper leaks had crushed the dreams of lakhs of students. “But the govt has simply turned a blind eye,” he said. Rahul also attacked the NDA govt over incidents of violence and terror. “From Pahalgam to Manipur, hundreds of lives have been lost, but the govt has not taken responsibility,” he alleged. He added that train accidents and the collapse of roads and bridges had caused untimely deaths, yet accountability was missing. The yatra, launched from Sasaram on Aug 17, is scheduled to conclude with a rally in Patna on Sept 1. 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.
NE’s 1st trans doctor wins legal battle to have new identity in academic certs
IMPHAL: Beoncy Laishram, who broke the glass ceiling by becoming the Northeast’s first transgender doctor, won another landmark battle Tuesday when Manipur high court acknowledged her right to have all academic certificates reissued to reflect her “female” name and gender. The court directed the authorities to issue the certificates Beoncy had applied for within a month of the order. Beoncy, born male and known as Boboi Laishram before undergoing gender reassignment surgery in Oct 2019, got her Aadhaar, voter ID and PAN updated by producing a transgender certificate issued by the district magistrate of Imphal West. She approached the high court in Feb 2024 after the Board of Secondary Education Manipur, Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur, Manipur University and Manipur Medical Council refused to change her name and gender in their records. Beoncy’s counsel Jayna Kothari cited sections 5, 6 and 7 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, while arguing for her right to have the requisite modifications made in her academic certificates. The law applies to all official documents, including one’s birth certificate. The court ruled that the relevant provisions outlined in sections 6 and 7 of the Act must be incorporated into all laws, rules and regulations governing establishments within Manipur, as defined under Section 2(b) of the legislation. For Beoncy, the judgment comes as “a relief” that she can now build on her career without having to worry about identity confusion. “I have been thinking of specialising in surgery or gynaecology someday. I was scared I would be made to stay in a boys’ hostel just because my academic records say I am a male,” she 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.
20-year-old Dalit girl’s charred body found in Karnataka’s Chitradurga, boyfriend held
On Tuesday evening, the mother identified her daughter’s charred body at the mortuary of Chitradurga District Hospital based on a tattoo on her hand. CHITRADURGA: A 20-year-old Dalit college student was allegedly murdered and burnt to death by her boyfriend in Chitradurga. The police have taken the accused, a 21-year-old unemployed school-dropout, into custody for questioning. Various Dalit organisations and ABVP, the student wing of the BJP, alleged the victim was raped and murdered. The police are, however, yet to confirm the charges of rape. Superintendent of Police Ranjit Kumar Bandaru said the body of a young woman was found in a charred state on Tuesday in a vacant plot on NH 48 in Gonur village under Chitradurga Rural Police Station limits. The police suspect the victim was killed and the body burnt using petrol by the accused. The victim was a second year BA student at Government Women’s College in Chitradurga. She stayed at the college hostel and had informed the hostel warden that she will be going to her village at Koverahatti in Hiriyur taluk on August 14. She told her family that she was going out with a friend Chethan. Later when she did not reach home and could not be reached on her mobile phone, the victim’s mother went to the hostel on Tuesday to check her whereabouts. The mother also lodged a complaint with the police. On Tuesday evening, the mother identified her daughter’s charred body at the mortuary of Chitradurga District Hospital based on a tattoo on her hand. ‘Dispute between victim, accused led to murder’ Sources in the police department said the victim and Chethan were in love. The police suspect that there were disagreements between the two and it might have led to the murder. On Wednesday, the body of the victim was handed over to the family after postmortem. The protesters demanded the arrest of the accused and blocked roads in various parts of Chitradurga city. Meanwhile, Planning and Statistics Minister D Sudhakar condemned the murder. The minister handed over a compensation cheque of Rs 5 lakh to the victim’s family, including Rs 2.50 lakh from the district administration and Rs 2.50 lakh by himself. 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.
When Reel Meets Real: Inter-Caste Love and Honour Killing, a Replicated Case of Dhadak-2 in Bihar
Caste inequality and discrimination breed the arrogance of caste pride, and this very understanding never allows oppressor-oppressed relations to become equitable in practice. Thus, the questions arise: In what ways can love relationships, as a site of resistance to caste-based discrimination, be antithetical to the oppressor-oppressed dichotomy in society? How far does a girl become the face of family pride? Do depressed individuals in Indian society aspire for those moments of ek dhadak? If yes, how are they crushed? I think this movie helps us deeply explore such terrain. Dhadak-2 is a romantic drama film themed on inter-caste love amid social intricacies and is considered a remake of the Tamil film Pariyerum Perumal (2018) by Mari Selvaraj. This 146-minute feature film, released on 1st August 2025, was written and directed by debutant director Shazia Iqbal. Her experiment to set the film in an urban landscape, where caste practices are camouflaged, is remarkable. In this new age of social life, where things are overtly presented, such a realistic movie perhaps sensitizes us as citizens in building a discrimination-free society across all spectrums. In the lead roles, Siddhant Chaturvedi as Neelesh Ahirwar and Tripti Dimri as Vidhi Bhardwaj played their characters authentically. Neelesh belongs to a Scheduled Caste, whereas Vidhi has Brahmin lineage. Vidhi’s first encounter with Neelesh occurs at her sister’s marriage function, where Neelesh was a paid drummer (Baja Wala). Later, Neelesh managed to get a scholarship and enrolled in a law college, where Vidhi and her brother were also enrolled. During his admission, Zakir Hussain as Haider Ansari, the Principal of the college, warned him against indulging in politics, otherwise labeling him as a “quota child” would demean him further. In the following parts, Haider Ansari—a lower-caste Muslim (Pasmanda) who himself has been a victim of caste-based discrimination—gives Neelesh straightforward advice: “Indeed, I stop you from doing politics, but if you have to choose between death and fight, you must choose to fight,” i.e., jeena hai to marna seekho, kadam kadam par ladna seekho. Neelesh’s entry into college was seen as an opening door for power and liberation, a belief his mother instilled in him during her perilous life. On the first day of college, while he was being ragged, he was immediately rescued by Shekhar—an Ambedkarite student activist who tried hard to recruit him into his organization, but Neelesh was afraid to join. Due to their involvement in campus politics, some student activists had their fellowships revoked, and as a struggle to continue their fellowships, their organization staged a sit-in protest. In such hopelessness and under administrative assault, Shekhar ultimately lost his life. He was a brilliant student and a star of the Ambedkarite galaxy, who once taught Neelesh that if you don’t join the struggle together, it will be hard to find solidarity for yourself in the future. I assume here that Priyank Tiwari, in the role of Shekhar, symbolizes the life of Rohith Vemula of the Ambedkar Students’ Association at the University of Hyderabad, where he hanged himself over similar issues. The same day, Neelesh also encountered Vidhi and reminded her of their first meeting. They became good friends, spent time together, and Vidhi became his biggest strength. Thereafter, their story spans from household discourses to happenings at the Law College (National University of Law), where both protagonists unearth the endemic Bahujan discourse of socio-linguistic discrimination in teaching pedagogy, maligned reservation debates, and the re-emphasized agenda of casteism from the status-quoist ecosystem. It captures the nuanced imagery of our everyday practices in sustaining an inequitable society. Neelesh and Vidhi are deeply in love and struggle to remain compatible lovers throughout, but the hindrances from Vidhi’s family were so disastrous that Neelesh was nearly murdered by someone named Shankar. Saurabh Sachdeva as Shankar, a special character portraying a Brahmin assassin whose goal was to eliminate low-caste people, espoused: “Main criminal nahi hoon, samaaj ki safai kar raha hoon. Poonya ka kaam hai.” I think he was an ideational embodiment of caste cruelty, a freak child of Brahmanism that hates and kills untouchables wherever they come into contact with him. Therefore, Shankar’s death at the end of the movie resonates with the destruction of such hateful ideology. Vipin Sharma as Neelesh’s father is a cross-dressing dancer who supports his family’s livelihood, and his mother’s resolute character depicts the sudden realities of depressed-class households in varying ways. His mother’s conviction, that according to the rule of the jungle, you either die or make others die for survival, is so stimulating that it corresponds to ek dhadak in the life of the depressed class, once in a while. The Case of Tanu Priya Jha and Rahul Kumar Mandal In Bihar, at Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Rahul Kumar Mandal, aged 25, was a 2nd-year B.Sc. nursing student, and Tanu Priya Jha was a 1st-year B.Sc. nursing student, staying in the same campus hostel. Both fell in love and later got married unconventionally through a court marriage. Rahul Mandal belonged to an extremely backward caste group from Supaul district in Bihar, and his father, a working-class man, took informal and formal loans to bear the cost of his only son’s medical education. On the other hand, Tanu Priya Jha was a Brahmin girl whose father, Prem Shankar Jha, runs a private clinic in Saharsa, a district in Bihar. Prem Shankar Jha and his family were not ready to accept their daughter’s inter-caste marriage (pratiloma) with the “lowly” Rahul Mandal. During a college event, just three months after their marriage, Prem Shankar Jha himself carried a gun and shot his son-in-law on the campus premises in front of hundreds of students. As Rahul was shot, he ran toward his wife, Tanu Priya Jha, and collapsed in her lap. She screamed loudly in shock upon seeing her accused father, who had just killed her husband. Nearby students thrashed Prem Shankar Jha until the police arrived, protected him, and sent him to the hospital. All of this happened in the name of
Dhadak 2’s Savarna Feminism: When ‘Love’ is a Privilege, Not a Feeling Is Dhadak 2 a Love Story or a Story of Savarna Entitlement?
Dhadak 2 (a remake of the Tamil film Pariyerum Perumal directed by Mari Selvaraj) like Dhadak (a remake of the Marathi film Sairat directed by Nagraj Manjule) follows the trope of a Brahmin girl (Vidhi) meeting a Dalit boy (Neelesh). If it feels harsh to call it a trope, consider how in both Fandry and Masaan, it is a fair-skinned Brahmin girl and a dark-skinned Dalit boy. It’s important we acknowledge these tropes as they form rather than being isolated in a state of gratefulness for a seat at the table. When you search Dhadak 2 on Google, this is what comes up: “Nilesh and Vidhi fall in love with each other. However, tragedy strikes when the caste differences threaten to end their relationship.” Vidhi and Neelesh meet and become friends, but it is Vidhi who is in a position to “fall in love”. In the journey from friends to lovers, who has the privilege of this realization? This uncertain space of the in-between is not equal for all. Love does not suspend our identities. To realize that one is in love with a friend requires freedom of the mind and heart. Neelesh is not allowed this freedom. Dalits are not allowed this freedom. There is a monologue where he struggles to explain his existence to Vidhi, let alone the price that he would have to pay for them breaking caste rules. Caste informs every aspect of both these individuals’ lives but only one of them could ignore it. Both are law students but she comes from a lineage of lawyers while Neelesh is the first in his bloodline to become one. When asked by their professor, she did not hesitate to say her full name, Vidhi Bharadwaj. Yet, when Neelesh Ahirwar spoke to her about being harassed for his last name, she dismissed him saying, “that professor is like that with everyone.” There is no such thing as caste neutrality, only pride and shame. Tragedy has informed Neelesh’s life since the “accident of his birth” in Bhim Nagar. We see this in the opening of the film where a Dalit boy is being murdered and the scene cuts to it coming up casually in a conversation between Neelesh and his friends, as they all lived in the same area. We see a glimpse of his pain in a flashback where the police arrest him and his friends, and assault his mother for “stealing water”. In contrast, tragedy was introduced to Vidhi when she associated outside acceptability by speaking and spending time with a Dalit boy. The tragedy being, her not getting what she wanted, with no regard for the safety of the person she claims to love. Unlike Jo (from Pariyerum Perumal, the character Vidhi is based on) who is naïve, Vidhi is selectively critical. She sees the injustice of gender as she is the victim in this framing but fails to acknowledge her position as an oppressor in terms of caste. When Neelesh points out their differences, her response is to argue that their differences are not her fault. “Love heals all” is easy to say when you’re not the one who’s wounded. If Jo followed the “loosu ponnu” (dumb girl) stereotype of infantilizing women to be completely unaware of their surroundings, Vidhi is a Savarna feminist who does not acknowledge her complicity in caste oppression. She comes close to this when she offers to teach Neelesh English and Latin saying her privilege should be of some use. This was after Neelesh confided in her about an incident of caste violence he experienced. She could see caste when it was a story from his past, when the villains were strangers, but she could not see it in her family, in her brother, her father, herself. When asked about Neelesh’s last name by her family, she boldly, almost rebelliously said “Ahirwar” but later behaved cluelessly when he “disappeared” at the family function she invited him to. The idea that her family harmed him or were even capable of committing harm did not even occur to her. Caste differences did not threaten to end the relationship. It couldn’t be formed in the first place. Not only because of her family’s cruelty but also her own oblivion. What does it mean to be in a relationship, to love, if not to truly see the other person? bell hooks argues that the phrase “falling in love” suggests that love is something that just happens when it actually takes conscious effort. She speaks about how our behaviour shapes our feelings rather than it being the other way around. “To think of actions shaping feelings is one way we rid ourselves of conventionally accepted assumptions such as…that one simply falls in love without exercising will or choice” (hooks, 2000, p. 13). “When we are loving we openly and honestly express care, affection, responsibility, respect, commitment and trust” (hooks, 2000, p. 14). A core belief of hooks is that love cannot co-exist with abuse. Can we think of neglect as a form of abuse? If Vidhi has no idea of the pain her caste and her blood inflicts on someone she loves, can what she felt for Neelesh, even be called love? I wonder if the value we attach to the Dalit man is relationally conditional to the Savarna woman’s feelings about him. Is it because he is loved by an upper caste woman that the audience is supposed to care about him? If this typical Dalit boy meets Brahmin girl is flipped to Dalit girl meets Brahmin boy, would an audience care about a Dalit girl’s feelings the same way? Would they be moved by her tears? Much like how white women’s tears are weaponized, our caste counterpart of Savarna women’s tears holds true as well. After escaping a murder attempt from Vidhi’s family, Neelesh puts forth his “case” expressing how he has been relentlessly tortured by them but this was not respected by the plot; this did not bring about any resolution.
Dalit teen abducted, forced to prostrate before caste Hindus in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai
Madurai: A 17-year-old Dalit boy from Sankampatti village in Usilampatti, Madurai, was allegedly abducted and humiliated by a group of caste Hindus who forced him to prostrate before them. The incident occurred on January 16, but police registered a case only on January 18, sparking outrage from rights groups. According to the teenager’s complaint, members of the dominant caste abducted him when he returned home for the Pongal holidays. He alleged that the group hurled casteist slurs, beat him, and forced him to prostrate before each member present, including a six-year-old child. The boy’s relative, advocate Deviammal, further alleged that the attackers urinated on him before releasing him after learning that police had been alerted. The Usilampatti police have registered an FIR against six individuals, invoking provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Sections 296(b) and 351(2), along with Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. However, the police denied the allegation that the accused urinated on the boy. “The case has been registered based on the teenager’s complaint. The claim about urination is not true. Further investigation is underway,” officials stated. The Neelam Cultural Centre condemned the delay in filing the FIR, accusing the police of shielding the accused. “The police registered the FIR only on January 18 even though the complaint was lodged on January 16. This shows their bias,” the group posted on X. The boy, who is undergoing treatment at the Usilampatti Government Hospital, remains traumatised. Relatives also accused the police of trying to weaken the case by misrepresenting his age as 19 instead of 17. facebook sharing buttontwitter sharing buttonwhatsapp sharing buttonlinkedin sharing buttonemail sharing buttonprint sharing button Courtesy : Vartha Bharati Note: This news is originally published on https:/varthabharati.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.
After ‘vote chori’, it’s ‘satta chori’, claims opposition, says bill aimed at keeping Naidu, Nitish in check
NEW DELHI: Even as it anchored the protest against the bill on unseating jailed ministers and CMs in the constitutional provisions, Congress claimed BJP brass was conjuring up the provision to keep a check on its two allies – CMs Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar – a political spin that struck a chord with the rest of the opposition as the issue flared up Wednesday. Rahul Gandhi said the bill takes the country back to “medieval times” when a king could just remove anybody at will, just for not liking somebody’s face. In the thick of opposition protest on “vote chori”, Modi govt’s move on a constitutional amendment to provide for automatic dismissal of any minister who has been jailed for 30 days, initially surprised anti-BJP camp. But INDIA bloc soon concluded it was a BJP bid to “distract” people from “vote chori” that has triggered a national campaign under a united rival camp. Congress MP K C Venugopal said, “When allies like Naidu and Nitish need to be threatened… the home minister brings this dangerous bill that strikes at the heart of the constitutional principles.” The spin is not only in step with opposition’s jibes post-2024 that Modi 3.0 is governing on crutches, but adds an intrigue to it. INDIA has been relishing the fact that TDP chose to write to EC on SIR in line with opposition’s concerns and in defiance of BJP. It also inserts a mischief ahead of Bihar polls where BJP is aligned with JD(U). But the generic attack line, that further cements the unity among regional parties, is that BJP is looking to destabilise opposition states. Congress MP Manickam Tagore sarcastically said, “Amid ‘vote chori’, this is law for ‘satta chori’.” RSP MP N K Premachandran said it is Article 356, by which the Centre can dismiss a state govt, by another name. “It is, in fact, an easier 356. Under the proposed law, you don’t need a governor’s report or evidence. Just file a case and arrest a CM for a month, and the govt is vulnerable.” Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee said, “When EC could not be twisted to their tune, they unleashed ED, with an ulterior motive to jail opposition leaders, topple elected govts, and steal people’s mandate. This is a super emergency.” 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.
Where is Dhankhar, asks Rahul, at VP nominee felicitation
NEW DELHI: Urging fellow MPs to remember the reason behind the premature vice-presidential election, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi Wednesday asked, “where has the old VP gone”, echoing queries about Jagdeep Dhankhar’s whereabouts in the wake of his absence from public view since his shock resignation exactly a month ago. He even joked that search for Dhankhar has become like “those Agatha Christie books”. At a gathering of opposition MPs to felicitate their VP candidate B Sudershan Reddy, Rahul said there was a story behind why Dhankhar stepped down and there is a story behind “why he is in hiding”. He said, “Why is the (former) VP of India in a situation where he cannot say a word, one word, and has to hide… everybody knows it…. Suddenly, the person who used to burst forth in Rajya Sabha has gone silent, completely silent. So, these are the times we are living in”. Kharge framed the contest between Reddy and BJP nominee CP Radhakrishnan as “Constitution vs RSS”. He said, “It is an ideological battle for the soul of our nation. While the ruling party has chosen the ideology of RSS, we uphold the Constitution as our guiding light.” In an allusion to complaints the opposition had with Dhankhar as the Rajya Sabha chairman, Kharge said Reddy’s nomination is a promise of restoring fairness to the functioning of the Upper House. Underlining that he keeps abreast of the parliamentary proceedings, VP nominee Reddy said, “I just remembered one quote of Lohia, ‘Jab Sadak Khamosh Hain, Sadan Aawara Banti Hain’. (When streets are silent, the parliament becomes wayward)”. He added that Rahul does not allow the streets to stay silent. In an allusion to complaints the opposition had with Dhankhar as the RS chairman, Kharge said Reddy’s nomination is a promise of restoring fairness to the functioning of the upper house and ending the transgressions against the Constitution. He said the Parliament is witnessing a growing trend of stifling opposition voices and advancing the BJP’s ideology. Claiming that there is a war between those who are attacking the Constitution and those who are defending it, Rahul said, “I happened to look inside his (Reddy’s) pocket, and to my surprise, he had a copy of the Constitution of India. He carries it everywhere. He mentioned that he has been carrying the copy for 52 years.” In the thick of the row triggered by Modi govt’s bill on unseating ministers and chief ministers jailed for 30 days, Kharge said it will be used to destabilise the state govts, especially after a “blatant misuse of parliamentary majority over 11 years to arm the autonomous agencies with draconian powers to target opposition leaders”. Congress leader KC Venugopal said the opposition will hold a mock poll on September 8 to familiarise the MPs with the voting in the VP election. 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.
Voter Rights Yatra’ will start without Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi will take charge, now pamphlets will be distributed door to door
Voter Rights Yatra’ will start without Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi will take charge, now pamphlets will be distributed door to door Bihar Voter Adhikar Yatra: Before the assembly elections in Bihar, India Alliance is taking out Vote Rights Yatra. The alliance is also putting its promises in front of the public along with the Voter Rights Yatra. The workers will go door to door and distribute the rights pamphlets. Rahul Gandhi will also join the Yatra. Akhilesh Yadav will participate in the Yatra on August 28. Today is the fifth day of the Vote Rights Yatra. Patna: Before the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav have started the Voter Rights Yatra to woo the public. In this journey, the leaders of the alliance are directly communicating with the people and are taking the list of their promises to every house through pamphlets. Today is the fifth day of the Yatra, but Rahul Gandhi will not start the journey today. Let us know when Rahul Gandhi will join the Yatra again… When will Rahul Gandhi join the Voter Rights Yatra? Thursday is the fifth day of the Voter Rights Yatra. It will start from Sheikhpura and reach Munger, where there will be a halt at night. The yatra had a break on Wednesday. Rahul Gandhi will join the yatra from Thursday evening due to being busy with work related to the Vice Presidential election. Tejashwi Yadav and other opposition leaders will lead the yatra from the morning itself. Akhilesh Yadav will also join the yatra Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal informed on social media platform X that on August 28, Samajwadi Party President and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will also join this yatra. He said that Akhilesh’s joining will further strengthen the public movement against vote theft. Mahagathbandhan workers distributing pamphlets full of promises During the yatra, alliance workers are distributing a pamphlet to the people. This pamphlet has pictures of the alliance’s prominent leaders Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, CPI-ML General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, VIP chief Mukesh Sahni and CPI General Secretary D. Raja. This pamphlet mentions promises related to income, medicine, education and social justice. The alliance says that their election manifesto will be prepared on the basis of these promises. Direct communication with the public The alliance is explaining to the public what will be done if their government is formed. Their promise is that better employment (earnings), better health facilities (medicine), quality education (study) and social justice will be ensured to the people. Curated by: Sudhendra Pratap Singh About the author Sudhendra Pratap Singh, Principal Content Producer at Navbharat Times Online. Started journalism from Agra. Started the journey from local newspaper Agrabharat. From here the caravan grew and reached NBT.com via Kalpataru Express, Hindustan News Paper and News18. Currently, he is working on the politics of Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Courtesy: Hindi News