CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ kannur l wednesday l april 24, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Rahul’s Amethi house renovation creates buzz Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who hit a scintillating unbeaten century. Bolstered by a breezy Shivam Dube 50, the team reached 210 for four against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday | ashwin prasath N a m i ta B a j pa i @ Amethi Amid a strong buzz around former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Amethi, a viral video showing the cleaning and renovation of his dwelling in Gauriganj here has invigorated the party cadre. However, senior Congress leader Deepak Singh calls the renovation a routine exercise. While the Congress cadre are working silently on the ground, BJP workers along with the party candidate Smriti Irani are already engaged in an aggressive village-to-village campaign. Congress leaders claim that they want to keep it issuebased rather than falling for the BJP trap of making it a Smriti vs Rahul battle. Party insiders are confident that Rahul and his sister Priyanka would be fielded from Amethi and Rae Bareli respectively . A formal announcement on the two seats is expected after the polls on April 26 when Wayanad in Kerala, from where Rahul is a contestant, would vote. Cong plans to cut Dalit quota, give it to Muslims: PM Modi Claims Cong’s attempts to implement Muslim quota in AP foiled by apex court Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday added another layer to his attack on the Congress over its proposed redistribution of wealth, alleging it intends to cut the quota for Dalits and backward classes so as to allocate them to the Muslims. He claimed that in 2004, shortly after it came to power, the Congress tried to provide reservation to Muslims in Andhra Pradesh by reducing the proportion of the SC-ST quota. Although it was a pilot project, the party was intent on rolling it out nationwide, he added. “Between 2004 and 2010, the Congress made four attempts to implement the Muslim quota in Andhra Pradesh. But because of legal roadblocks and an alert Supreme EXPRESS READ Sobha refutes Dallal’s charges of irregularities Alappuzha: NDA’s Alappuzha candidate Sobha Surendran on Tuesday refuted the charges of financial irregularities levelled by T G Nandakumar aka Dallal Nandakumar. She also claimed he had approached her to bring a prominent CPM leader to BJP fold and sought a bribe for it | P6 HC junks Cong leader’s plea against Rajeev Kochi: The Kerala HC on Tuesday dismissed a plea by Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Avani Bansal seeking to pass an order on a complaint alleging that Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the NDA’s pick in Thiruvananthapuram, had filed a false affidavit along with his nomination papers | P5 turn to P2 Who will slay the fray? Court, they were unsuccessful in their designs,” Modi said. He made the allegations while addressing an election rally at Uniara in Tonk, Rajasthan. “Will the Congress at least now assure the nation that they will not redistribute the SC/ST and OBC quotas to benefit the Muslims?” In an apparent attempt to consolidate the Hindu votes, Modi recalled that a shopkeeper in Karnataka was beaten up merely for listening to Hanuman Chalisa in his shop. “Under the Congress government, even listening to Hanuman Chalisa has become a crime,” he alleged. The Congress, he added, is hatching a deep conspiracy to snatch people’s property and distribute it among its favoured groups. “My previous revelations created panic within the Congress and the INDI Alliance,” he said. EC examining Complaints against PM Complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in Banswara are under the ECI’s consideration, sources said. On April 21, Modi had said, “The Congress manifesto says they will calculate the gold with mothers and sisters, and distribute that property... Manmohan Singh’s govt has said that Muslims have the first right to the country’s assets....It will be distributed to the infiltrators. Should your hard-earned money go to the infiltrators?” MLA’s ‘DNA’ jibe at Rahul irks Cong, CM’s backing fuels ire E x p r e s s N e w s S e rv i c e @Kozhikode/Malappuram/T’Puram CPM MLA P V Anvar’s remarks that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should undergo a DNA test to verify whether he really belongs to the Nehru-Gandhi family snowballed into a controversy on Tuesday three days before the state , goes to the polls. With Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan backing the Nilambur legislator, a livid Congress reacted sharply to the remark and approached the Election Commission (EC) de- P V Anvar manding action. During an LDF poll campaign in Palakkad on Monday Anvar had called Ra, hul a “fourth-rate citizen” who does not deserve to keep the Gandhi surname. “This is not just my opinion. People in India are saying it. Will a person in the Nehru family talk like this? I doubt it. I am of the opinion that the DNA of Rahul Gandhi should be tested,” Anvar had said, in the backdrop of Rahul’s question as to why Pinarayi had not been arrested by central agencies. “Rahul Gandhi has become a fourthrate citizen who doesn’t deserve to keep the surname ‘Gandhi’,” he had said. The video of the MLA’s remarks went viral on social media, drawing widespread criticism from Congress leaders and workers. However, Anvar refused to withdraw his remarks on Tuesday. “Rahul Gandhi said what a member from t h e N e h r u f a m i ly would not say. He Rahul Gandhi doesn’t deserve to be considered a member of the Nehru family he said. ,” When sought his response, the CM defended Anvar and said Rahul should have spoken carefully. “He (Rahul) should be aware that if he says something, he will receive it back in kind,” the CM said during a press conference in Kannur. He also said Rahul was not someone above criticism. ● More on P5 Thrissur key to BJP’s bid to break jinx R AJESH R A V I @ Kochi The opening move for the battle for the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency was made on January 3, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a gathering of 2 lakh women and conducted a 1 km-long roadshow in the heart of the city . Two weeks later, on January 17, he visited the Guruvayur temple for the wedding of actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi’s daughter Bhagya Suresh. In a rare and symbolic gesture, the PM presented wedding garland to the couple. During the same trip, Modi made an impromptu visit to the Sree Rama temple in Triprayar within the constituency . Months later, Gopi was chosen as the NDA candidate for Thrissur. The PM made an additional visit to the area in April, dropping enough hints on how much importance the B J P g ive s t o t h e region. The BJP’s primary goal is to break the Kerala jinx and secure a seat that could establish a foundation for the party’s future in the state. Once a prominent figure in Mollywood, Gopi captivated audiences with his roles as a good Samaritan battling sinister forces. Despite losses in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2021 state assembly polls, Gopi has remained active in the constituency addressing neglect, ed issues and helping the needy which , gained him immense popularity The . CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) has fielded V S Sunil Kumar from the CPI in Thrissur. Kumar, who hails from the district, transitioned from student leader to MLA and minister, earning the local community’s trust over the years. Meanwhile, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) replaced sitting MP T N Prathapan with K Muraleedharan, the son of late K Karunakaran. Muraleedharan’s strong familial and political connections bolster his candidacy . The election fervour in the constituency is palpable. The streets are lined with towering hoardings, colourful posters, and banners. Despite the heat, party workers from all three fronts remain enthusiastic. Illustration: Mandar Pardikar Continued on: P9 േകരളളളൽ രസ് രം ഗുസ്തത ുു എൽഡഡഎഫ്-യുഡഡഎഫ് മുുണണകൾ ഡൽഹഹയയെലലലയയൽ ഒഒെെെെണ്. ഇനനയും നനം വവവതരരകേണണ? കഴഴഴ 70 വർഷമമയയ നനനൾ േകരളളളൽ എൽഡഡഎഫ്-യുഡഡഎഫ് സർർർരുകെള കകണുുു അവർ നനനെള വവവവവരരരുുു േകരരം അർഹഹഹുുത് തത േമമദദ എഎഎവേരരരും കരുതൽ കകണണണുുു േമമദദ വവേവചനം കകണണണുുുു യുുമുഖഖ് അകെെെ നനുെെ വവദദദർർർകെളയും നഴ്സുമമെരയും ൈവദദകെരയും കനനനസ്്തീകെളയും എഎഎം േമമദദ സുരരരതമമയയ തതരരെകെയയയയയ. ഗൾഫ് നനനുകളളൽ ജയയലലൽ കഴഴഴഴരുു നനരവധധ ഭഭരതീയരുെെ േമമചനം സസധധമമമമ ജനനളളെെ അനുുഗഹഹഹൽ നേരരര േമമദദ വീീും ധധനമമമമയയകുെമമ് ഉറററണ്. ർലെമമമൽ െവറും സസർശകരരകകൻ മമമതം എംംംമമെര വവജയയയയയുുെതതതന് ? ജനനനനെെ ശ്നനൾൾ് ഫലലലദമമയ രരഹഹരം കെെെുുതതന് എൻഡഡഎയുെെ നനർർർകെെ വവജയയയയയുക സമമധധനനനനും ുേരരഗതതതും സമൃൃൃൃും േമമദദ അനനവവരരമമണ്. എഎഎവർർും തുലലനീതത റററററൻ എൻഡഡഎയ്്് േവവവ് െചചചക. Published by: Bharatiya Janata Party, 6A Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, New Delhi R a j e s h A s n a n i @ Jaipur
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