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News18.com
Last Updated: March 31, 2024, 16:54 IST
New Delhi, India
Lok Sabha Election 2024 LIVE Updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Bharatiya Janata Party’s poll campaign for Lok Sabha Election 2024 in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut today (March 31). While addressing a rally there, PM Modi said the BJP government made the impossible possible by building Ram Temple and scrapping Article 370. The prime minister also added that the coming 5 years will be dedicated to the empowerment of women if the BJP is voted to power.
Prime Minister Modi also lashed out at the Congress over the controversial Katchatheevu island that was handed over to Sri Lanka by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1974.
ALSO READ: How Katchatheevu Issue is Taking Spotlight Ahead of LS Polls; Why Indira Gandhi Ceded Island to Sri Lanka
This is the first occasion when PM Modi and RLD Chief Jayant Chaudhary shared the stage, a decade after BJP decimated RLD in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. RLD joined the BJP-led NDA in February after the PM announced the Bharat Ratna for former Prime Minister and Jayant’s grandfather Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Meanwhile, the convoy of Union Minister and BJP candidate from Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha constituency, Sanjeev Balyan was attacked during his election campaign on Saturday night. According to reports, a group of miscreants pelted stones at the convoy. The BJP leader, however, was safe. According to Muzaffarnagar Superintendent of Police, Satyanarayan Prajapati, around 8:30 p.m. they received information about stone pelting from Madkarimpur village under Khatauli police circle. “After reaching the village, it came to light that a public meeting was being held in the village by the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate. During this public meeting, slogans were first raised by some anti-social elements and then stones were pelted at the convoy of vehicles parked outside,” the SP said. Further investigation is underway and then a case will be registered soon.
On the Katchatheevu Island, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Today, another anti-national act of Congress has come before the country. Katchatheevu is an island in Tamil Nadu, off the coast of India, between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu and this island is extremely important from the perspective of national security. When the country became independent, we had this island, and it was an integral part of India but 4-5 decades ago, Congress said that this Island was of no use and cut off a part of Maa Bharti and separated it from India.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lashed out at the Congress over the controversial Katchatheevu island that was handed over to Sri Lanka by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1974. The debate around the Katchatheevu Island is currently hotting up in Tamil Nadu politics and beyond ahead of the Lok Sabha Election. READ MORE
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday cited a media report to assert that new facts reveal that the Congress “callously” gave away Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka.
“New facts revealed how Congress and INDI alliance callously gave away Katchatheevu. Katchatheevu was an integral part of India,” said PM Modi.
On the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir by the NDA government, PM Modi said, “In J&K, abrogation of Article 370 seemed impossible. But, Article 370 has been abrogated and J&K is developing at a rapid pace. This is why, people are going to bless us with 370 seats.”
Addressing a rally in Meerut, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “I said this from the ramparts of Red Fort that this is the right time. India’s time has come. Today, modern infrastructure is being built rapidly in India. Today, India is making an unprecedented investment in building infrastructure.’
“Today, new opportunities are being created for the youth in every sector. Today, women’s power in the country is coming forward with new resolutions. Today, India’s credibility is at a new height, the whole world is looking at India with confidence,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing a rally in Meerut said everyone thought it was impossible to construct Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
“This year, Ram Lalla played Holi in Ayodhya,” said PM Modi.
Addressing a public rally in the presence of PM Narendra Modi, and UP CM Yogi Adityanath, RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary said, “Yesterday I accepted the Bharat Ratna award on behalf of my grandfather (Chaudhary Charan Singh) from the President. The true recipients of the respect that came with the award are the farmers, youth, soldiers, and social workers of our country.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday addressed the rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut and called the people of UP his family.
“My family members across the country including Uttar Pradesh have made up their minds to give us a third opportunity to serve the public by voting for BJP-NDA,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was felicitated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ahead of his public rally in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitated ahead of his public rally in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. pic.twitter.com/FnpXP0E1Yn
— ANI (@ANI) March 31, 2024
“Chaudhary Charan Singh Ji got Bharat Ratna yesterday. I would like to thank PM Modi for it. You have honoured the farmers of the country by doing so,” said Yogi Adityanath in Meerut.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be in Rajasthan on a two-day tour from Sunday. He will be reviewing the preparations made by the BJP to win all 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
The Home Minister will be attending cluster core committee meetings in Jaipur for Churu, Jhunjhunu, Karauli, Dholpur, Dausa and Nagaur Lok Sabha seats. Thereafter he will attend a mega roadshow in Sikar.
On Monday, he will be in Jodhpur to attend another cluster core committee meeting.
The decision of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to hand over the Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka in 1974, is becoming one of the major issues in Tamil Nadu during Lok Sabha elections, with the BJP taking up this in a big way.
The island is located between Neduntheevu in Sri Lanka and Rameswaram in India and has been traditionally used by fishermen of both sides.
Already hundreds of fishermen families of Tamil Nadu are on the streets against the Sri Lankan Navy arresting Tamil fishermen and impounding their costly mechanised fishing boats for reasons like crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and poaching in Sri Lankan waters.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) senior leader and MLA Kadiyam Srihari, along with his daughter Kadiyam Kavya, joined the Congress party here on Sunday.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and AICC in-charge Deepa Dasmunshi welcomed them into the party. The development came two days after the Congress leaders invited the father-daughter duo to join the ruling party. Srihari, a former Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana, made the decision after a meeting with the followers.
Srihari was elected to the Assembly from Station Ghanpur constituency in the recent elections. His daughter was declared BRS candidate for Warangal Lok Sabha seat but on March 28, she announced her decision to opt out of the contest.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Sunday condemned what it calls attempts by YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) to spread false propaganda through deep fake technology.
The TDP alleged that the ruling party used deep fake technology and video editing to spread false statements, claiming that TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu said his alliance with the BJP is temporary.
The main opposition party released original and deep fake videos in support of its allegation. It termed this a desperate but failed attempt. The TDP chief, in the original video, mentioned the misuse of technology by YSRCP to spread false news about the TDP. He claimed that YSRCP released a fake press note in his name stating that the alliance was temporary. Condemning such acts, the former chief minister urged people to be vigilant about such false propaganda and not fall into the trap of the YSRCP.
The Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) have joined hands to form a new alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Ahead of the alliance announcement, Apna Dal(K) leader Pallavi Patel had met AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi in Hyderabad three days ago. An official announcement of the alliance was made at a joint press conference of Pallavi Patel and Asaduddin Owaisi in Lucknow on Sunday.
The alliance came up with a new slogan — PDM (Pichhda, Dalit and Musalman) which has been tweaked from SP’s PDA (Pichhda Dalit Alpsankhyak).
Tyranny won’t work and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal cannot be kept behind bars for long, said Sunita Kejriwal, reading out her husband’s message from Enforcement Directorate custody at the INDIA bloc’s ‘Loktantra Bachao’ rally here on Sunday. In her maiden speech at a political rally, Sunita also asked people whether Kejriwal should resign as Chief Minister.
“The BJP is demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Kejriwal. Should he resign? Is his arrest justified? He is a ‘sher’ (lion). They won’t be able to keep him behind bars for long,” she said. Sunita thanked people for showering blessings on her husband.
“This tyranny will not work. My husband is getting lots of blessings,” she said.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said the BJP is in an extreme state of panic as it can sense defeat in the Lok Sabha polls. Addressing party functionaries here, Abdullah accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of dividing people on ethnic, linguistic and regional lines.
“The BJP is in an extreme state of panic sensing defeat in the polls. The closer the Lok Sabha polls come, the frustration and hopelessness of the BJP and its subsidiaries in Jammu and Kashmir is becoming visible,” Abdullah said.
“Having done nothing, they are now eying gains from dividing people on ethnic, linguistic and regional lines,” he said, adding that the BJP knows that its “lies are not swaying people”.
Gold, drugs, alcohol and various goods worth around Rs 140 crore and more than Rs 7 crore in cash were seized in West Bengal since the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced this month, an officer said Saturday.
According to data released by the Election Commission, the amount of cash seized till Saturday was around Rs 7.87 crore. The EC also seized 12.7 lakh litres of alcohol with a market value of Rs 33.86 crore, he added.
“Drugs weighing around 3.5 kg worth Rs 18.28 crore were also seized,” he said.
In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday claimed that his guarantee is like Chinese goods and is only meant for polls, as he urged people not to fall for the BJP’s “propaganda” in the Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing the INDIA bloc rally at the Ramlila maidan here, Yadav alleged that an “undeclared emergency” was prevailing in the country and asserted that the opposition will not let the RSS agenda to be implemented in the country.
Yadav also sang lines from a Govinda-starrer movie with a play on the lyrics “tum toh dhokebaaz ho, vaada karke bhool jaate ho”, to allege that Prime Minister Modi did not fulfil his promises made in the last election. The former Bihar deputy CM charged that the Enforcement Directorate, CBI and IT department are cells of the BJP.
Ahead of his first Lok Sabha election rally in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday referred to the people of the country as his family members and said his government has given a new flight to their aspirations. The prime minister will hold a rally in Meerut on Sunday where the BJP has fielded actor Arun Govil of TV serial ‘Ramayan’ fame as its candidate. According to sources, apart from Govil, Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Chaudhary, who recently joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, will share the dais with the prime minister.
In a post on X in Hindi, PM Modi said, “In the last 10 years, our government, through its work, has given a new flight to the aspirations of my family members across the country. To give further speed to this, the countrymen have once again made up their mind to go with the BJP-NDA in the Lok Sabha elections.”
“Will get the privilege of receiving blessings from the public around 3.30 pm today in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
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