Ahmedabad, July 6 (IANS) Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that the INDIA bloc will defeat the BJP in Gujarat in the upcoming Assembly elections.

“They (BJP) have challenged us. We will defeat PM Modi and the BJP in Gujarat too just like we did in Ayodhya,” LoP Rahul Gandhi said while addressing the party workers at the Gujarat Congress headquarters in Paldi.

The LoP was on a day-long visit to the state after the recent clash between Congress and BJP supporters outside the Gujarat Congress headquarters.

He also met with the families of those who lost their lives in various tragedies in Gujarat, assuring them that he as LoP would raise their demands in the Parliament.

The relatives of TRP game zone fire victims, victims of the boat capsizing in Vadodara, victims of the 2022 Morbi bridge collapse, and victims of the 2016 Una Dalit flogging case met the LoP Rahul Gandhi at Congress headquarters.

He interacted with the family members of the victims, understood their issues, and promised to raise them in Parliament to ensure justice is served.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Minister Rushikesh Patel criticised LoP Rahul Gandhi’s aspirations, asserting that his ambitions for a Congress-led government in Gujarat are unfounded.

“LoP Rahul Gandhi and Congress engage in politics while we focus on development,” Patel said.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, on a visit to Ahmedabad in Gujarat on Saturday, reiterated his claims of defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the next Assembly elections and said that the ‘latter will meet the same fate in 2027 polls akin to Ayodhya.’

Rahul’s combative remarks came while addressing the workers at the party office in Ahmedabad, days after clashes between Congress and BJP members in the city on July 2. The altercation reportedly broke out after BJP youth wing members assembled outside its office to protest against Rahul’s comment on Hindus.

The Rae Bareli MP in a frontal attack on the Prime Minister and BJP said that the way they damaged our offices, we will dislodge them from power in 2027.

“Likh kar le lo, we will defeat PM Modi and the BJP, much like the way we did it in Ayodhya,| Rahul told party workers on Saturday.

The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha made a similar pitch during his address in the lower House, last week and asserted that Congress will show the door to BJP in its Gujarat bastion, in the 2017 Assembly elections.

Political experts see it as Congress’ tactical attempt to pile up pressure on the BJP and prolong the ‘victory perception’ that it has gained after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The party hopes to gain greater political mileage by cornering the ruling dispensation on issues related to youth, women and the armed forces.

The ensuing Assembly elections, later this year, will show whether such an aggressive and confrontational strategy yields a return or backfires for the party.

However, putting the Gujarat electoral numbers in perspective, it looks fairly clear that the Congress leader’s claims are too ambitious and far-fetched.

Notably, Gujarat has been the biggest stronghold of the BJP, with the latter winning the past seven consecutive elections by a decisive margin. Narendra Modi served as the Gujarat Chief Minister from 2001 to 2014, before becoming Prime Minister.

The Gujarat Assembly has 182 seats. The last 2022 Assembly elections saw a mega BJP sweep with the party romping home with 156 seats and Congress getting reduced to mere 17 seats. BJP amassed over 52 per cent vote share while Congress and AAP managed to get 27 and 13 per cent votes respectively.

In recent memory, the 2017 Assembly elections were the only one where Congress gave a tough fight to BJP by registering its best-ever performance in over two decades. It won 77 seats while BJP garnered 99 seats.

Addressing the party workers in Gujarat, Rahul asked them to prepare for a fight akin to the 2017 elections and ‘teach them a lesson’ in 2027.

“In 2017, we fought for just three to four months and you saw the outcome. We almost brought it to the mat in three months, today we have three years to prepare. A new Congress will emerge from Gujarat,” said Rahul.

However, this is not his first ‘prophecy’ for Gujarat. A viral social media post shows Rahul’s three assertions where he vowed to dislodge the BJP from power in the Assembly elections of 2017, 2022 and Lok Sabha polls of 2024.

In the latest Parliamentary elections too, Congress was made to bite the dust. BJP swept the state with a landslide victory and huge vote share while the INDIA alliance’s only claim to fame remained its victory in 1 seat – Banaskantha.

Therefore, Rahul may be boasting and bragging about the party’s poll prospects, buoyed by the recent performance of the INDIA alliance but in reality, the claims look from reality, for now.

–IANS

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London, July 6 (IANS) Citing deep connections between people, business, and culture, Britain’s new Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Saturday hailed the “unique friendship” between India and the United Kingdom.

The 51-year-old Labour Party politician spoke with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar and reaffirmed the commitment of the new government led by Keir Starmer to enhance the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

“The UK and India share a unique friendship with deep connections between our people, business, and culture. Great to speak to my friend Dr S Jaishankar about unlocking the potential of our relationship and developing a stronger and deeper comprehensive strategic partnership,” Lammy said on Saturday evening.

EAM Jaishankar stated that he was “delighted” to speak to the UK Foreign Secretary and is looking forward to an early in-person meeting.

Earlier in the day, while outlining his priorities following his appointment, the new British Foreign Secretary said that the new Labour government will begin with a “reset” with Europe on climate and with the global South.

Lammy highlighted that the world is currently facing “huge challenges” with more countries engaged in conflict than at any time since World War II.

“This government will reconnect Britain for our security and prosperity at home. What happens here in the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office is essential.

“Diplomacy matters. We will begin with a reset with Europe, on climate, and with the global South. And a gear-shift when it comes to delivering on European security, global security, and British growth,” Lammy said in a statement released by the UK Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 6 (IANS) Mumbai Police have filed a closure report in an alleged corruption case filed against Mumbai MP Ravindra Waikar, barely four months after he quit the Shiv Sena (UBT) to join the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, which is a crucial constituent of the ruling MahaYuti in Maharashtra.

The development drew sharp reactions from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which said now only fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim is left to be given a clean chit by the ruling alliance.

Following a hue and cry raised by former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had booked Waikar, his wife Manisha, their business associates Aaso Mehlani, Raj Lalchandani, Prithpal Bindra, and an architect named Arun Dubey.

After a complaint was filed by BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) engineer Santosh Mandavkar with the Azad Maidan police station, the EOW took over the case and charged the six persons with alleged irregularities, flouting rules and civic norms, in connection with a luxury hotel of Waikar coming up in Jogeshwari East.

While Somaiya has declined to comment on the latest development, the MVA pounced on the MahaYuti with strong comments criticising the BJP.

“The government has taken all the corrupt people into its fold… Even Waikar had switched sides fearing action against him. Is there rule of law? Now only Dawood is left to be given a clean chit,” said Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut.

State Congress President Nana F. Patole said that this was yet another instance of BJP’s ‘washing machine’ tactic that has cleansed Waikar, and is one of the numerous incidents of the ruling party misusing the central agencies like the ED and the CBI.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi leads all the corrupt in the country… Waikar had mentioned how he was pressured to switch sides to join the ruling alliance before the (Lok Sabha) elections. So it’s not surprising that he has been exonerated and the files against him have been closed,” said Patole.

Maharashtra Congress General Secretary Sachin Sawant said the Waikar case is another example of ‘political blackmail’ being practised in the state for the past 10 years.

“It starts with people like Somaiya hurling allegations against a target, then filing a complaint, the probe agencies enter to scare the person and his family with raids and probes, and then the political leader is forced to join the ruling alliance. In the LS polls, people have cleaned up politics to an extent, but more needs to be done,” Sawant said.

Once a close confidante of Shiv Sena (UBT) President and ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray, Waikar came into the limelight last month after he was elected from the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat by a wafer-thin margin of 48 votes, defeating his Shiv Sena (UBT) rival Amol G. Kirtikar.

In its closure report, the EOW has contended that the reason for dropping the case is ‘incomplete information and misunderstanding’ in the complaint lodged by the BMC.

On his part, Waikar said that he had always maintained his innocence in the past and even now, as the allegations were fake, plus he had strictly followed the laws and now the truth has won.

–IANS

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Srinagar, July 6 (IANS) Four terrorists and an army soldier were killed on Saturday in the two ongoing gunfights between the security forces and the terrorists in Kulgam district.

Officials said that four terrorists have been killed in the encounter between the security forces and the terrorists in Chanigam village of Frisal area of Kulgam district while firing exchanges are still going on there.

“A terrorist commander is among the four terrorists killed in Chanigam village of Frisal area in Kulgam district where one terrorist is still engaged in firing exchanges with the security forces,” officials said.

In another encounter in the same district, one army soldier was killed in the initial firing exchange between the security forces and the hiding terrorists in Mudergam village of Kulgam district.

The encounter is still going on in this area as well, officials said.

–IANS

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