In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has accused him of lowering the dignity of public discourse and the gravity of the office of the PM by giving hateful speeches during the poll campaign.
His remarks came ahead of the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections, which is scheduled to be held on June 1.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to the voters of his constituency just before the polls, highlighting the support received from the people of Varanasi over the last ten years. Pointing at the development efforts undertaken in Kashi, Modi urged the people of the city to make a new record on June 1.
This, and more, in today's top political developments --
Narendra Modi is the first head of govt to reduce the dignity of PM’s office, says Manmohan Singh
Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Manmohan Singh-led dispensation of having said that Muslims have the first right to wealth, former PM Manmohan Singh in a three-page letter said Narendra Modi is the first PM to have reduced the dignity of PM's office.
Responding to PM Modi's statement, Singh said that he had “never distinguished one community from another”.
In a letter addressed to the citizens ahead of the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections, Manmohan Singh said: “I have been watching the political discussion very carefully during this election campaign. Modiji has engaged in vile hate speeches, which are downright divisive. Modi ji is the first Prime Minister who has reduced the dignity of office, and with it the seriousness of the Prime Minister’s office. No previous Prime Minister used such vile, unparliamentary and low-level language to target a particular section or opposition. They have also given me some wrong statements. I have never in my life distinguished one community from another. This is the special right and habit of BJP.”
Appealing to the voters of Punjab ahead of voting on June 1, Singh urged the electorate to vote for development and coordinated progress. He added that only the grand old party can ensure development and ensure an ideal social order where constitutional provisions are regarded supreme.
People of Kashi have to make a new record on June 1: PM Modi's message to voters ahead of phase 7 polling
Two days before Lok Sabha polls in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the voters in the city, highlighting the support bestowed by them over the last 10 years. In his message to voters ahead of the last phase of Lok Sabha polls, PM Modi said that the city has guided him and also supported in all the schemes of the central government in the last decade.
"For me, Kashi is a city of devotion, power and detachment. Kashi is the cultural capital of the world, the land of music. Being the representative of this city is possible only with the immense grace of Baba Vishwanath and the blessings of you Kashi residents. This time's election for Kashi is an election for the creation of not only 'Navkashi' but also a developed India. The people of Kashi have to make a new record on June 1," said Modi.
Highlighting the development efforts undertaken by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the city, Modi said that Kashi has become the capital of youth welfare and development in the last 10 years. Recalling the day he filed his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha polls, Modi stated, "On the day of my nomination, the youths were very excited. Now this enthusiasm should be seen at every booth, this is my request."
INDIA bloc to pick PM within 48 hours, party with max seats 'natural claimant' to leadership: Jairam Ramesh
The INDIA bloc will get a "decisive mandate" in the Lok Sabha polls and may take even less than 48 hours to decide on its prime ministerial pick, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday, asserting that it stands to reason that the party which gets the maximum seats in the alliance will be a "natural claimant" for its leadership.
In an interview with PTI on the last day of campaigning for the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls, the Congress general secretary exuded confidence that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will get seats "well above" the 272-mark needed for a majority in the Lower House.
Ramesh also said that when the INDIA 'janbandhan' parties will get the people's mandate, then some NDA parties may join the coalition and the Congress high command will have to decide whether to include them in the alliance or not.
Asked whether post-polls doors will remain open for NDA allies such as JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, the Congress leader said, "Nitish Kumar is the master of 'palti (volte-face)'.
"Naidu was with the Congress in alliance in 2019. I would say when INDIA janbandhan parties will get the people's mandate, then not only INDIA parties but also some NDA parties may join the coalition," he said.
Delhi court to hear Kejriwal’s bail pleas on June 1, issues notice to ED
Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court on May 30 issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s interim and regular bail pleas.
The court will hear the two petitions on June 1. The chief minister was arrested by ED, which looks into economic offences, including money laundering, on March 21 in the Delhi excise policy case.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju told the court that the ED wished to file a response to Kejriwal's pleas, which, he claimed suppressed many facts.
Kejriwal, who had been campaigning from the day he was released on interim bail by the Supreme Court, was claiming to be unwell as the date for surrender neared, Raju said.
The Aam Aadmi Party leader, who was granted an interim bail on May 10 to campaign for the Lok Sabha election, has to surrender on June 2.
He has filed a petition for extending the relief by a week, citing ill-health. The second plea is for regular bail.
On May 29, the Supreme Court's registry refused to list Kejriwal's plea for extension of the interim bail, saying the court had granted him the liberty to move the lower court.
One Nation, One Election: Frequent elections not good for country, says Rajnath Singh
Frequent polls do not bode well for the country, said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on May 30, adding efforts will be made to adopt the "one nation, one election" plan in the next five years.
The union minister said that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are of the opinion that Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections should be held simultaneously.
“In five years, we will try our best to make provisions for one nation, one election,” Singh said, while rallying for Vijay Kumar Dubey, BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh.
Heaping praises on PM Modi, Singh said, “When India speaks today, the world listens." He further added that even politicians in Pakistan are praising India, but those in the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) do not understand this.
The BJP leader also pointed that India has become the fifth-largest economy in the world and credited Modi for it. "By 2027, India will become the third-largest economy. I have no doubt that India will become a developed country by 2047, but if our government continues like this, India will become the largest economy in the world by 2070," he said.
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