 "Polls latest: Jaishankar on Katchatheevu row, Kejriwal's custody extended")
Lok Sabha elections: Amid the row over Katchatheevu island issue, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday slammed the Congress, saying whether it was Pandit Nehru or Indira Gandhi, Katchatheevu was nothing more than a “rock” for them.
“You see how strong, deep and pervasive this thinking was! For them, sitting in Delhi, that ‘small island’, that ‘rock’ didn’t matter. It was an inconvenience to be given away. For them, it was a headache,” he said at a press conference.
The matter is related to the “ceding” of Katchatheevu, an uninhabited island between India and Sri Lanka, by the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government in 1974. The DMK was in power in Tamil Nadu during the development. The matter gained fresh spotlight after Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president K Annamalai sought an RTI reply on the issue. With Lok Sabha elections on the horizon, the BJP is raking the issue, which is central to Tamil Nadu politics. The saffron party did not win any seats in the southern state in the 2019 polls.
Here are ten Lok Sabha elections updates for April 1:
Congress reacts on Katchatheevu issue
1) On the row, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh accused the BJP of twisting and distorting history. He posted on ‘X’ that in 1974, the Sirima Bandaranaike-Indira Gandhi Pact allowed the repatriation of 600,000 Tamil people from Sri Lanka to India. “In a single move, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi secured human rights and dignity for six lakh hitherto stateless people,” he said.
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Ramesh also pointed out that the Congress supported the Modi government’s Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh that gave up 17,161 acres of Indian territory while receiving only 7,110 acres. He said the real threat to the integrity of the nation has been the large-scale encroachment of the Chinese Army on Indian territory in the last few years.
Modi slams DMK on Katchatheevu issue
2) Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the DMK on the Katchatheevu island’s boiling issue, alleging that the party failed to safeguard the state’s interest. “Rhetoric aside, DMK has done NOTHING to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s interests. New details emerging on Katchatheevu have UNMASKED the DMK’s double standards totally. Congress and DMK are family units. They only care that their own sons and daughters rise. They don’t care for anyone else. Their callousness on Katchatheevu has harmed the interests of our poor fishermen and fisherwomen in particular,” he alleged.
Congress launches donation drive in MP
3) The Congress’ unit in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday launched a “one note, one vote” campaign to raise funds for the coming Lok Sabha elections. It said the party has run out of money, accusing the BJP-led Centre for freezing its bank accounts in a bid to “cripple” the Opposition party financially.
4) The Congress has named star campaigners for Uttar Pradesh, where senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra among others will be seen attempting to sway the public sentiment. The party exhibited a poor performance in the state in the last polls, winning only one seat -- Raebareli. Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi won the lone UP Lok Sabha constituency in 2019, for which the party is yet to announce its this year’s candidates.
Rahul Gandhi's fresh attack on Modi
5) Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused PM Modi of trying to do “match-fixing” in the Lok Sabha polls. He made the remarks at the Opposition's ‘Save Democracy’ rally in Delhi. “When pressure is put on umpires and captains, players are bought off and the match is won, in cricket, it is called match-fixing. We have Lok Sabha polls before us. Who selected the umpires? Before the match started, two players were arrested... Narendra Modi is trying to do match-fixing in these polls,” Gandhi said.
INDIA bloc’s five demands before EC
6) The Opposition’s INDIA or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance on Sunday put forth five demands before the Election Commission. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi urged the poll body to ensure a level playing field for all parties in the elections, demanded release of arrested Opposition CMs Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Horen, a Supreme Court-monitored SIT on electoral bonds issue. She also asked the poll body to stop the central probe agencies’ actions against the Opposition, citing its "adverse impact" on the Lok Sabha elections.
Kejriwal's ED custody ends today
7) Arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s custody under the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was extended till April 15 after he was produced before Delhi's Rouse Avenue court on Monday. He was produced before the court as his remand period was set to end today. The Delhi CM was arrested by the ED in an excise policy-linked money laundering case on March 21.
AIMIM-Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) join hands in UP
8) In UP, the Samajwadi Party’s (SP) former ally Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) has announced a partnership with the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM for the upcoming elections.
The development could hurt the vote share for the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP as the three parties aim to sway the votes of Muslims, Dalits and backward groups. Notably, the SP is a part of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc and will fight the polls with the Congress.
BJP fields 'Nirahua' from UP's Azamgarh
9) Bhojpuri star Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly called ‘Nirahua,’ will fight the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from UP's Azamgarh once again. Nirahua is the sitting BJP MP from the seat and will contest to retain the SP stronghold, which he won in the 2022 by-elections.
Notably, Akhilesh Yadav had defeated Nirahua to win the seat in 2019, however, vacated it in 2022 following his victory in the Assembly elections from the Mainpuri seat. The BJP has roped in many public figures, including actors Kangana Ranaut and Arun Govil in hopes to cross its ambitious goal of ‘400-mark’ in the coming elections.
10) The BJP released its eighth list of candidates over the weekend, dropping Lok Sabha MP and Bollywood celebrity Sunny Deol from Punjab’s Gurdaspur. This comes as the noted actor has expressed his desire to opt out of electoral politics.