Congress leaders in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday opposed Centre&#39;s plan to set up 12 special courts to try pending criminal cases against Members of Parliament (MPs) and Member of Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

After the ongoing winter session of Parliament resumed, Congress leader Anand Sharma said the demand had an inherent potential to be abused in entirety by the government of the day.

Sharma also asked the government to ensure adequate funds for setting up special courts to try criminal cases against politicians.

&nbsp;Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad also joined the debate saying the law should be equal for everyone and legislators alone should not be singled out.

In reply, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asked Congress if they had vested interests in delaying trials of politicians.

The Centre had informed the Supreme Court that it has decided to set up 12 special courts to deal exclusively with criminal cases against lawmakers and politicians.

Congress said the law should be for everyone and legislators alone should not be singled out

Congress leaders in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday opposed Centre's plan to set up 12 special courts to try pending criminal cases against Members of Parliament (MPs) and Member of Legislative Assembly (MLAs). After the ongoing winter session of Parliament resumed, Congress leader Anand Sharma said the demand had an inherent potential to be abused in entirety by the government of the day. Sharma also asked the government to ensure adequate funds for setting up special courts to try criminal cases against politicians. Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad also joined the debate saying the law should be equal for everyone and legislators alone should not be singled out. In reply, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asked Congress if they had vested interests in delaying trials of politicians. The Centre had informed the Supreme Court that it has decided to set up 12 special courts to deal exclusively with criminal cases against lawmakers and politicians.

Special courts for MPs, MLAs: Opposition objects, says Centre can misuse

The Congress has accused the government of delaying the winter session of Parliament &ldquo;without ascribing any justification for doing so&rdquo; and approached President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him to direct the Centre to summon the Houses at the earliest.

The Congress Parliamentary Party, in its November 21, 2017, letter to the President, claimed that not convening the Parliament session on time would set an &ldquo;unhealthy precedent&rdquo;. The party accused the NDA government of delaying the session &ldquo;without ascribing any justification for doing so&ldquo;.

It claimed that the apparent reason informally mentioned by the government for &ldquo;delaying&rdquo; the session is the Gujarat Assembly election. The Congress argued that the session was convened &ldquo;as per the established practice and convention&rdquo; and not the poll schedule.

The letter was signed by the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress&rsquo; leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, party&rsquo;s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, its chief whip in the Lower House Jyotiraditya Scindia and whip Deependra Hooda.

They also reiterated the party&rsquo;s allegation that the government was avoiding facing Parliament and answering questions on its &ldquo;flawed and unpopular&rdquo; policies an &ldquo;rampant corruption&rdquo;.

&ldquo;We seek to draw your attention to the inordinate delay by the government in convening the Winter Session of Parliament without ascribing any justification for doing so,&rdquo; they said in the letter.

The leaders said the 2012 Assembly polls in the State were held on December 13 and December 17. Parliament session, however, was duly convened on November 22 &ldquo;as per practice&rdquo; and adjourned on December 20 of that year.

&ldquo;It is also pertinent to mention, that Winter Session is preceded by the longest inter-session break after the Monsoon Session vis-?is all other inter-session breaks. Thus, not convening of Winter Session on time will set an unhealthy precedent,&rdquo; they added.

Claiming the government was avoiding facing questions on the floor of the Houses, the leaders said it was a &ldquo;matter of serious concern&rdquo; that the members of Parliament were allegedly being denied timely opportunity to discharge their duties.

&ldquo;It also undermines the institution of Parliament itself and calls for honorable president&rsquo;s urgent intervention as the custodian of the Constitution,&rdquo; they said.

The Congress has accused the government of delaying the winter session of Parliament ?without ascribing any justification for doing so? and approached President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him to direct the Centre to summon the Houses at the earliest

The Congress has accused the government of delaying the winter session of Parliament “without ascribing any justification for doing so” and approached President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him to direct the Centre to summon the Houses at the earliest. The Congress Parliamentary Party, in its November 21, 2017, letter to the President, claimed that not convening the Parliament session on time would set an “unhealthy precedent”. The party accused the NDA government of delaying the session “without ascribing any justification for doing so“. It claimed that the apparent reason informally mentioned by the government for “delaying” the session is the Gujarat Assembly election. The Congress argued that the session was convened “as per the established practice and convention” and not the poll schedule. The letter was signed by the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress’ leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, its chief whip in the Lower House Jyotiraditya Scindia and whip Deependra Hooda. They also reiterated the party’s allegation that the government was avoiding facing Parliament and answering questions on its “flawed and unpopular” policies an “rampant corruption”. “We seek to draw your attention to the inordinate delay by the government in convening the Winter Session of Parliament without ascribing any justification for doing so,” they said in the letter. The leaders said the 2012 Assembly polls in the State were held on December 13 and December 17. Parliament session, however, was duly convened on November 22 “as per practice” and adjourned on December 20 of that year. “It is also pertinent to mention, that Winter Session is preceded by the longest inter-session break after the Monsoon Session vis-?is all other inter-session breaks. Thus, not convening of Winter Session on time will set an unhealthy precedent,” they added. Claiming the government was avoiding facing questions on the floor of the Houses, the leaders said it was a “matter of serious concern” that the members of Parliament were allegedly being denied timely opportunity to discharge their duties. “It also undermines the institution of Parliament itself and calls for honorable president’s urgent intervention as the custodian of the Constitution,” they said.

Congress urges President to direct government to convene Parliament

Rajya Sabha witnessed an uproar after Samajwadi Party&#39;s Naresh Agrawal made controversial remarks over Hindu gods, PTI reported.

Taking strong objection to his comments, the Treasury benches demanded an apology from him.

Later, he withdrew his comments but SP&#39;s Ramgopal Yadav said that there is no question of apologising.&nbsp;

Earlier, Rajya Sabha witnessed acrimonious scenes over the issue of lynchings in the name of cow protection.

The Opposition came down heavily on the treasury benches for not doing enough to stop lynchings.

Congress party leader and Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said that this is a fight to save humanity while raising the issue of lynchings in various states.&nbsp;

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Congress&#39; Ghulam Nabi Azad raises issue of mob lynchings in different states <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RajyaSabha?src=hash">#RajyaSabha</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Monsoonsession?src=hash">#Monsoonsession</a> <a href="https://t.co/Pn4c0CSiuj">pic.twitter.com/Pn4c0CSiuj</a>
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Samajwadi Party leaders stormed the well of the House questioning the government over the steps it had taken to stop the lynchings, PTI reported.

This led to the House getting adjourned for 10 minutes.

Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, the junior home minister, while responding to Congress&#39; Digvijay Singh on whether the government is bringing a special law to deal with such cases, said that the there is no need to bring any changes to the existing laws.

He added that the centre had already issued advisories to states to register FIRs in such cases and book the culprits under existing laws.

The junior home minister further added that the Prime Minister had also spoken out against the issue of lynchings in the name of cow protection.

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PM stated cow vigilantes shouldn&#39;t take law in their hands, MHA issued advisory. Dragging BJP into this not right: MoS Home H. Ahir in RS <a href="https://t.co/sHwy3cWmJe">pic.twitter.com/sHwy3cWmJe</a>
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He rejected Samajwadi Party&#39;s Naresh Agrawal&#39;s charge that BJP men are behind the lynchings, PTI said.

&quot;It is not correct that BJP people are involved in this,&quot; he said.

The minister said that the NCRB started recording data on lynchings since 2014. He cited the NCRB data to show that there were more incidents of lynchings in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 in non-BJP ruled states.

The minister said that all states have acted against those behind such incidents and have sent information to Centre except West Bengal.

&quot;In Haryana, four people have been arrested, while three have been held in West Bengal, 30 persons in Jharkhand and four have been held in Maharashtra,&quot; he said, adding all states have acted and no culprits are roaming free, PTI reported.

&quot;If anyone is not arrested, we will ask the states to take action...The Centre is not running away from fulfilling its duty and have asked states to send complete reports,&quot; Ahir said. 
&nbsp;&nbsp; 
SP&#39;s Naresh Agrawal had asked the government if it was aware of the number of incidents of lynchings by cow vigilantes.

The junior home minister responded saying that police and public order are state subjects and the state governments are competent to deal with such issues under the provisions of law. He also added that the NCRB does not maintain data on lynchings in the name of cow vigilantism.

Dissatisfied with the Centre&#39;s response the SP members resorted to sloganeering in the well of the House which led to the adjournment.&nbsp;

The House witnessed acrimonious scenes as the Opposition targeted the government over the lynchings in the name of cow protection

Rajya Sabha witnessed an uproar after Samajwadi Party's Naresh Agrawal made controversial remarks over Hindu gods, PTI reported. Taking strong objection to his comments, the Treasury benches demanded an apology from him. Later, he withdrew his comments but SP's Ramgopal Yadav said that there is no question of apologising. Earlier, Rajya Sabha witnessed acrimonious scenes over the issue of lynchings in the name of cow protection. The Opposition came down heavily on the treasury benches for not doing enough to stop lynchings. Congress party leader and Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said that this is a fight to save humanity while raising the issue of lynchings in various states. Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad raises issue of mob lynchings in different states #RajyaSabha #Monsoonsession pic.twitter.com/Pn4c0CSiuj — ANI (@ANI_news) July 19, 2017 × Samajwadi Party leaders stormed the well of the House questioning the government over the steps it had taken to stop the lynchings, PTI reported. This led to the House getting adjourned for 10 minutes. Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, the junior home minister, while responding to Congress' Digvijay Singh on whether the government is bringing a special law to deal with such cases, said that the there is no need to bring any changes to the existing laws. He added that the centre had already issued advisories to states to register FIRs in such cases and book the culprits under existing laws. The junior home minister further added that the Prime Minister had also spoken out against the issue of lynchings in the name of cow protection. PM stated cow vigilantes shouldn't take law in their hands, MHA issued advisory. Dragging BJP into this not right: MoS Home H. Ahir in RS pic.twitter.com/sHwy3cWmJe — ANI (@ANI_news) July 19, 2017 × He rejected Samajwadi Party's Naresh Agrawal's charge that BJP men are behind the lynchings, PTI said. "It is not correct that BJP people are involved in this," he said. The minister said that the NCRB started recording data on lynchings since 2014. He cited the NCRB data to show that there were more incidents of lynchings in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 in non-BJP ruled states. The minister said that all states have acted against those behind such incidents and have sent information to Centre except West Bengal. "In Haryana, four people have been arrested, while three have been held in West Bengal, 30 persons in Jharkhand and four have been held in Maharashtra," he said, adding all states have acted and no culprits are roaming free, PTI reported. "If anyone is not arrested, we will ask the states to take action...The Centre is not running away from fulfilling its duty and have asked states to send complete reports," Ahir said. SP's Naresh Agrawal had asked the government if it was aware of the number of incidents of lynchings by cow vigilantes. The junior home minister responded saying that police and public order are state subjects and the state governments are competent to deal with such issues under the provisions of law. He also added that the NCRB does not maintain data on lynchings in the name of cow vigilantism. Dissatisfied with the Centre's response the SP members resorted to sloganeering in the well of the House which led to the adjournment.

Uproar in Rajya Sabha over SP member's remark over Hindu gods

After a Muslim man was killed by gau rakshaks&nbsp;in Rajasthan&#39;s Alwar, the BJP&#39;s Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in Parliament today that: &quot;No such incident took place.&quot;

&quot;Jis tarah ki ghatna pesh ki ja rahi hai, aisi koi ghatna zameen par nahi hui hai,&quot; ANI reported him as saying in the Rajya Sabha.&nbsp;

He added that the state government had refuted the incident, and that &quot;we do not condone lawlessness&quot;. &nbsp;

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Jis tarah ki ghatna pesh ki ja rahi hai, aisi koi ghatna zameen par nahi hui hai: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in RS on Rajasthan&#39;s Alwar incident <a href="https://t.co/ZqrUBwdwP1">pic.twitter.com/ZqrUBwdwP1</a>
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But the blowback was swift, with leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabhi&nbsp;Azad saying, &quot;Even the New York Times knows and the minister doesn&#39;t know.&quot; &nbsp;

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I am extremely sorry that the minister is so ill-informed. Even the New York Times knows and the minister doesn&#39;t know: Ghulam Nabi Azad <a href="https://t.co/dYazdhNkrH">pic.twitter.com/dYazdhNkrH</a>
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Pehlu Khan had died on Monday after he and four others were attacked by gau rakshaks&nbsp;(cow protectionists, India&#39;s Hindu community considers the cow sacred) in Alwar.

All five had to be hospitalised, but Khan -- who was 55 -- died from his injuries.

New reports said a sixth man with them -- their driver Arjun -- was allowed to go free.&nbsp;

News reports said the men had bought the cows they were transporting -- in an open pick-up -- from a cattle fair.

They had shown their attackers papers saying so.&nbsp;

Khan&#39;s companions said the cows were milch cattle -- that were to be reared for their milk, and were not meant for slaughter.

Which is why they were transporting them openly, and had not bothered to hide them. &nbsp;

(WION)

After a Muslim man was killed by gau rakshaks in Rajasthan's Alwar, the BJP's Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in Parliament today that: "No such incident took place." "Jis tarah ki ghatna pesh ki ja rahi hai, aisi koi ghatna zameen par nahi hui hai," ANI reported him as saying in the Rajya Sabha. He added that the state government had refuted the incident, and that "we do not condone lawlessness". Jis tarah ki ghatna pesh ki ja rahi hai, aisi koi ghatna zameen par nahi hui hai: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in RS on Rajasthan's Alwar incident pic.twitter.com/ZqrUBwdwP1 — ANI (@ANI_news) April 6, 2017 × But the blowback was swift, with leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabhi Azad saying, "Even the New York Times knows and the minister doesn't know." I am extremely sorry that the minister is so ill-informed. Even the New York Times knows and the minister doesn't know: Ghulam Nabi Azad pic.twitter.com/dYazdhNkrH — ANI (@ANI_news) April 6, 2017 × Pehlu Khan had died on Monday after he and four others were attacked by gau rakshaks (cow protectionists, India's Hindu community considers the cow sacred) in Alwar. All five had to be hospitalised, but Khan -- who was 55 -- died from his injuries. New reports said a sixth man with them -- their driver Arjun -- was allowed to go free. News reports said the men had bought the cows they were transporting -- in an open pick-up -- from a cattle fair. They had shown their attackers papers saying so. Khan's companions said the cows were milch cattle -- that were to be reared for their milk, and were not meant for slaughter. Which is why they were transporting them openly, and had not bothered to hide them. (WION)

After Muslim man is killed by gau rakshaks in Rajasthan, BJP's Naqvi says 'no such incident took place'

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad speaks with WION&#39;s Kartikeya Sharma on a range of issues concerning the ongoing assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. He said that Priyanka Gandhi is actively managing the elections in UP from Delhi&nbsp;and was in charge of all political decisions. He also claimed that the Prime Minister&#39;s three-day campaign in Varanasi is a sign of weakness and not strength as Prime Ministers do not devote so much time to their constituencies for election campaigning.

Q: How is the election going for the Congress Party?

A: I don&rsquo;t think we would have fought a better election than this. We have alliances in many states but the way alliance has worked in Uttar Pradesh has been different. I&rsquo;m very satisfied.

Q: In 2007 and 2012, Rahul Gandhi fought elections alone. How did the Congress reach the conclusion that it should fight the election in an alliance?

A: Even this time we wanted to fight elections alone. That is why we organized lot of kisan yatras throughout the state. We had also decided to review the situation in October whether we would be able to fight a good election or not. Simultaneously, developments took place in SP which created uncertainty for them. Then we too at that point of time were uncertain. We realized that we shouldn&rsquo;t repeat the mistake of Lok Sabha elections. BJP got 31&nbsp;per cent of votes and managed to get 282 seats (in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014) because the opposition vote got fragmented.&nbsp;So, we didn&#39;t want such a situation this time. It could be any other party this time who could have come to power with lesser vote share because of fragmentation of the opposition vote.&nbsp;We decided to create an alliance so that the vote doesn&rsquo;t divide. We didn&rsquo;t want this election to become a matter of false prestige. We didn&rsquo;t want to take chance this time around. May be this was the reason for SP also.

Q: But alliance has problems. Gandhi bastion is witnessing friendly fights. Priyanka Gandhi couldn&rsquo;t go because of it?

A: Priyanka did not go (for campaigning) not because of the friendly fights. She didn&rsquo;t because she was in a different role. There are two areas of campaign. One is physical campaign and another is management. Priyanka was in the management of the campaign like an in charge of ATC. Someone senior was required to look into the issue management of the elections and we decided that this part should be played by Priyanka Gandhi. If she wouldn&rsquo;t have done this job, then it would have fallen on any other general secretary. Priyanka Gandhi did a fabulous job. No one else could have done it better than her.

Q: Are you telling me that Priyanka Gandhi is in charge of the political air traffic control of the Congress Party?

A: She was involved from the beginning when it came to Uttar Pradesh. The decision to contest particular seat or to give it up were decided by her. It took us a month to firm up the alliance. We used Priyanka fully in Uttar Pradesh.

Q: Many would say that senior leaders did the work and gave all the credit to Priyanka?

A: I don&rsquo;t share credit unnecessarily. I don&rsquo;t give undue credit to anyone. Priyanka Gandhi really did a fabulous job. I don&rsquo;t think I would have been able to do the job like this or devote so much time.

Q: Goal posts in elections changed midway when Prime Minister spoke about &quot;kabristan&quot; and &quot;shamshan&quot;. But Congress didn&rsquo;t approach the Election Commission. Have you changed the goal posts? Like Gujarat?

A: Our agenda remains the same. It is focused on agriculture, employment and health. It is the PM who moved away from the developmental agenda. It is very disappointing. In 1990s, rath yatra was started. I don&rsquo;t want to get into it so that we get diverted from the agenda once again. The issue is that BJP felt that it was not able to match the agenda of the alliance. Akhilesh has done good job and they changed horses midstream and that is why they will lose the elections. I don&rsquo;t think statements of the Prime Minister were appreciated by the majority community. BJP wanted us to make this into an issue and that is why we refrained from it. We don&rsquo;t want to mix religion with politics.

Q: There are changes even in Rahul Gandhi. Before 2014 elections one couldn&rsquo;t find Rahul Gandhi going to temples religiously and regularly. Now he does. Why?

A: We have no issues with people going to temples or church. We never made any issue of PM going to temples. We have no issue with people visiting religious spaces but we have issue with people talking about things like kabristan and shamshan.

Q: Who is your opponent? BSP or BJP?

A: Our fight is against parties who have no political principles. Both of them are fighting each other for 2nd and 3rd position.

Q: Aren&rsquo;t you concerned about BSP? BSP has given large number of tickets to the minority community?

A: It is not an issue for us. We aren&rsquo;t BJP. We need both majority and minority. We want the votes of all the castes be it backward or forward. We want them all.

Q: Is demonetisation an issue in UP? It seems that demonetisation didn&rsquo;t work as an issue in municipal polls in Maharashtra?

A: Demonetisation was an issue. Whether people voted on the issue on it or not is a different thing. People got affected. This fact cannot be denied. Demonetisation affected lot of business. I have interacted with people in UP and I felt that demonetisation is a living issue.

Q: Biggest leader of SP, Mulayum Singh Yadav didn&rsquo;t campaign for the alliance? He didn&rsquo;t endorse it politically?

A: He is supporting us and his silence speaks for it.

Q: After 1998, Sonia Gandhi has not campaigned in Uttar Pradesh. Why?

A: She didn&rsquo;t campaign in any of the states for that matter. This time Rahul Gandhi aggressively campaigned.

Q: OK, if Priyanka Gandhi was in charge of the so called political ATC, then what was Rahul Gandhi doing?

A: He did the campaign for us.

Q:&nbsp;You decided the distribution?

A: He is my boss. He is the Vice President. He is above me and Priyanka Gandhi. All happened under his supervision. Alliance and distribution of the work. Both.

Q: This is the last phase. Does it worry you that there is an upsurge of BJP in the rural areas?

A: Our only worry is that they continue to polarise the elections. They are doing the same work which they used to do in the opposition.

Q: Are you worried that no one gets majority in UP. Even PM spoke of it?

A: PM is devoting three days to his constituency. He did a programme without EC&rsquo;s&nbsp;permission in the district. He did the roadshow. Prime Ministers never give so much time to their constituencies for election campaigning. There are 40 ministers in this area. Doesn&rsquo;t it show that we are coming to power.

Q: But it could also mean that BJP wants to fight for every seat?

A: This is a sign of weakness and not strength.

(WION)&nbsp;

Senior Congress leader, Azad, said Congress allied with the Samajwadi Party so that votes don't get divided

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad speaks with WION's Kartikeya Sharma on a range of issues concerning the ongoing assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. He said that Priyanka Gandhi is actively managing the elections in UP from Delhi and was in charge of all political decisions. He also claimed that the Prime Minister's three-day campaign in Varanasi is a sign of weakness and not strength as Prime Ministers do not devote so much time to their constituencies for election campaigning. Q: How is the election going for the Congress Party? A: I don’t think we would have fought a better election than this. We have alliances in many states but the way alliance has worked in Uttar Pradesh has been different. I’m very satisfied. Q: In 2007 and 2012, Rahul Gandhi fought elections alone. How did the Congress reach the conclusion that it should fight the election in an alliance? A: Even this time we wanted to fight elections alone. That is why we organized lot of kisan yatras throughout the state. We had also decided to review the situation in October whether we would be able to fight a good election or not. Simultaneously, developments took place in SP which created uncertainty for them. Then we too at that point of time were uncertain. We realized that we shouldn’t repeat the mistake of Lok Sabha elections. BJP got 31 per cent of votes and managed to get 282 seats (in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014) because the opposition vote got fragmented. So, we didn't want such a situation this time. It could be any other party this time who could have come to power with lesser vote share because of fragmentation of the opposition vote. We decided to create an alliance so that the vote doesn’t divide. We didn’t want this election to become a matter of false prestige. We didn’t want to take chance this time around. May be this was the reason for SP also. Q: But alliance has problems. Gandhi bastion is witnessing friendly fights. Priyanka Gandhi couldn’t go because of it? A: Priyanka did not go (for campaigning) not because of the friendly fights. She didn’t because she was in a different role. There are two areas of campaign. One is physical campaign and another is management. Priyanka was in the management of the campaign like an in charge of ATC. Someone senior was required to look into the issue management of the elections and we decided that this part should be played by Priyanka Gandhi. If she wouldn’t have done this job, then it would have fallen on any other general secretary. Priyanka Gandhi did a fabulous job. No one else could have done it better than her. Q: Are you telling me that Priyanka Gandhi is in charge of the political air traffic control of the Congress Party? A: She was involved from the beginning when it came to Uttar Pradesh. The decision to contest particular seat or to give it up were decided by her. It took us a month to firm up the alliance. We used Priyanka fully in Uttar Pradesh. Q: Many would say that senior leaders did the work and gave all the credit to Priyanka? A: I don’t share credit unnecessarily. I don’t give undue credit to anyone. Priyanka Gandhi really did a fabulous job. I don’t think I would have been able to do the job like this or devote so much time. Q: Goal posts in elections changed midway when Prime Minister spoke about "kabristan" and "shamshan". But Congress didn’t approach the Election Commission. Have you changed the goal posts? Like Gujarat? A: Our agenda remains the same. It is focused on agriculture, employment and health. It is the PM who moved away from the developmental agenda. It is very disappointing. In 1990s, rath yatra was started. I don’t want to get into it so that we get diverted from the agenda once again. The issue is that BJP felt that it was not able to match the agenda of the alliance. Akhilesh has done good job and they changed horses midstream and that is why they will lose the elections. I don’t think statements of the Prime Minister were appreciated by the majority community. BJP wanted us to make this into an issue and that is why we refrained from it. We don’t want to mix religion with politics. Q: There are changes even in Rahul Gandhi. Before 2014 elections one couldn’t find Rahul Gandhi going to temples religiously and regularly. Now he does. Why? A: We have no issues with people going to temples or church. We never made any issue of PM going to temples. We have no issue with people visiting religious spaces but we have issue with people talking about things like kabristan and shamshan. Q: Who is your opponent? BSP or BJP? A: Our fight is against parties who have no political principles. Both of them are fighting each other for 2nd and 3rd position. Q: Aren’t you concerned about BSP? BSP has given large number of tickets to the minority community? A: It is not an issue for us. We aren’t BJP. We need both majority and minority. We want the votes of all the castes be it backward or forward. We want them all. Q: Is demonetisation an issue in UP? It seems that demonetisation didn’t work as an issue in municipal polls in Maharashtra? A: Demonetisation was an issue. Whether people voted on the issue on it or not is a different thing. People got affected. This fact cannot be denied. Demonetisation affected lot of business. I have interacted with people in UP and I felt that demonetisation is a living issue. Q: Biggest leader of SP, Mulayum Singh Yadav didn’t campaign for the alliance? He didn’t endorse it politically? A: He is supporting us and his silence speaks for it. Q: After 1998, Sonia Gandhi has not campaigned in Uttar Pradesh. Why? A: She didn’t campaign in any of the states for that matter. This time Rahul Gandhi aggressively campaigned. Q: OK, if Priyanka Gandhi was in charge of the so called political ATC, then what was Rahul Gandhi doing? A: He did the campaign for us. Q: You decided the distribution? A: He is my boss. He is the Vice President. He is above me and Priyanka Gandhi. All happened under his supervision. Alliance and distribution of the work. Both. Q: This is the last phase. Does it worry you that there is an upsurge of BJP in the rural areas? A: Our only worry is that they continue to polarise the elections. They are doing the same work which they used to do in the opposition. Q: Are you worried that no one gets majority in UP. Even PM spoke of it? A: PM is devoting three days to his constituency. He did a programme without EC’s permission in the district. He did the roadshow. Prime Ministers never give so much time to their constituencies for election campaigning. There are 40 ministers in this area. Doesn’t it show that we are coming to power. Q: But it could also mean that BJP wants to fight for every seat? A: This is a sign of weakness and not strength. (WION)

WION Exclusive: Priyanka Gandhi managing elections from Delhi, says Ghulam Nabi Azad

Bharatiya Janata Party&#39;s Uttar Pradesh vice president Dayashankar Singh has been relieved of all responsibilities with immediate effect for derogatory statement against Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, said BJP UP president Keshav Prasad Maurya. 
 
Singh stoked a major row by making derogatory remarks against BSP Chief Mayawati that drew severe condemnation from parties, while an embarrassed BJP expressed regret, but furore over the issue forced adjournment of Rajya Sabha for the day. 
 
&quot;Mayawati is breaking the dream of Kanshi Ram into pieces. Mayawati is selling tickets like...,&quot; BJP Vice President Dayashankar Singh told reporters in Mau. 
 
&quot;Mayawati gives tickets for Rs 1 crore and if there is someone who can give Rs 2 crore than she sells it for Rs 2 crore within an hour. If someone is ready to give Rs 3 crore by the evening, she gives the ticket to him,&quot; Singh alleged. 
 
&quot;She is even worse than....The BSP workers, who are in BSP since Kanshi Ram&#39;s days are deserting the party,&quot; said Singh, who was in Mau for the first time after becoming party vice president to meet party workers this morning. 
 
Singh&#39;s remarks drew severe flak from members in the Rajya Sabha, including women MPs, with Deputy Chairperson P J Kurien saying that the House wants the Government to ensure that stringent action is taken against the BJP leader, as per law, for his &quot;unforgivable&quot; comments. 
 
There was all-round condemnation of Singh for his remarks by MPs, including Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam&#39;s Kanimozhi, Congress&#39; Kumari Selja and Renuka Chowdhury, TK Rangarajan of Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Satish Chandra Mishra of BSP and demands were made for action against him. 
 
Leader of the House Arun Jaitley got up to offer regret on behalf of the party, and said the remarks were highly condemnable. 
 
&quot;It is highly condemnable that a political leader uses such words against a prominent woman leader. I regret the use of such words and will ensure that the matter is taken up by the concerned. I personally express regret to Mayawatiji and we are with you on the issue of protecting dignity,&quot; Jaitley said. 
 
A visibly agitated Mayawati, who was present in the House, thanked Jaitley and all other members for their condemnation of Singh&#39;s remarks, but demanded that BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah discuss the matter, expel Singh from the party and take action against him. 
 
She said mere expression of regret will not suffice and added, &quot;His (Singh&#39;s) remarks apply for his sister and daughter and not for me. The whole country will not forgive BJP. People will come on the streets.&quot; 
 
Mayawati said the remarks by the BJP leader reflected the &quot;capitalistic mindset&quot; and asserted that never in her political career had she used any derogatory or personal remarks against her adversaries or questioned their character, though there could be ideological differences. 
 
The BSP chief said she represented the most oppressed and exploited people of the country and had dedicated her whole life to them. She said the BSP always collected funds from the poor to carry forward the movement started by Kanshi Ram so that it does not have to rely on capitalists. 
 
&quot;On my birthday, I have told my supporters not to give me any expensive gifts like gold and jewellery, but make economic contributions to the party,&quot; she said. 
 
Mayawati attacked the BJP, saying it was jittery, and its anti-dalit mindset has been exposed as it has still not sacked a minister who had compared dalits to dogs, an apparent reference to Minister of State V K Singh.&nbsp;As the uproar over the issue continued, the Deputy Chairperson adjourned the House till tomorrow. 
 
BSP MP S C Mishra said that the party will carry forward the issue and take legal action against Singh for his utterances under the 
SC/ST Act, as they do not expect the government to take any action in this regard. &quot;We will drag him to court,&quot; he said outside Parliament. 
 
Later in Ballia, Dayashankar Singh sought to do damage control saying it was a slip of tongue. 
 
&quot;Mayawati is a big leader and came from a small family. I did not want to hurt anyone. I regret the slip of tongue. I never meant to hurt the dignity of anyone,&quot; he said. 
 
(PTI)

Singh stoked a major row by making derogatory remarks against Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Mayawati that drew severe condemnation from parties

Bharatiya Janata Party's Uttar Pradesh vice president Dayashankar Singh has been relieved of all responsibilities with immediate effect for derogatory statement against Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, said BJP UP president Keshav Prasad Maurya. Singh stoked a major row by making derogatory remarks against BSP Chief Mayawati that drew severe condemnation from parties, while an embarrassed BJP expressed regret, but furore over the issue forced adjournment of Rajya Sabha for the day. "Mayawati is breaking the dream of Kanshi Ram into pieces. Mayawati is selling tickets like...," BJP Vice President Dayashankar Singh told reporters in Mau. "Mayawati gives tickets for Rs 1 crore and if there is someone who can give Rs 2 crore than she sells it for Rs 2 crore within an hour. If someone is ready to give Rs 3 crore by the evening, she gives the ticket to him," Singh alleged. "She is even worse than....The BSP workers, who are in BSP since Kanshi Ram's days are deserting the party," said Singh, who was in Mau for the first time after becoming party vice president to meet party workers this morning. Singh's remarks drew severe flak from members in the Rajya Sabha, including women MPs, with Deputy Chairperson P J Kurien saying that the House wants the Government to ensure that stringent action is taken against the BJP leader, as per law, for his "unforgivable" comments. There was all-round condemnation of Singh for his remarks by MPs, including Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's Kanimozhi, Congress' Kumari Selja and Renuka Chowdhury, TK Rangarajan of Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Satish Chandra Mishra of BSP and demands were made for action against him. Leader of the House Arun Jaitley got up to offer regret on behalf of the party, and said the remarks were highly condemnable. "It is highly condemnable that a political leader uses such words against a prominent woman leader. I regret the use of such words and will ensure that the matter is taken up by the concerned. I personally express regret to Mayawatiji and we are with you on the issue of protecting dignity," Jaitley said. A visibly agitated Mayawati, who was present in the House, thanked Jaitley and all other members for their condemnation of Singh's remarks, but demanded that BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah discuss the matter, expel Singh from the party and take action against him. She said mere expression of regret will not suffice and added, "His (Singh's) remarks apply for his sister and daughter and not for me. The whole country will not forgive BJP. People will come on the streets." Mayawati said the remarks by the BJP leader reflected the "capitalistic mindset" and asserted that never in her political career had she used any derogatory or personal remarks against her adversaries or questioned their character, though there could be ideological differences. The BSP chief said she represented the most oppressed and exploited people of the country and had dedicated her whole life to them. She said the BSP always collected funds from the poor to carry forward the movement started by Kanshi Ram so that it does not have to rely on capitalists. "On my birthday, I have told my supporters not to give me any expensive gifts like gold and jewellery, but make economic contributions to the party," she said. Mayawati attacked the BJP, saying it was jittery, and its anti-dalit mindset has been exposed as it has still not sacked a minister who had compared dalits to dogs, an apparent reference to Minister of State V K Singh. As the uproar over the issue continued, the Deputy Chairperson adjourned the House till tomorrow. BSP MP S C Mishra said that the party will carry forward the issue and take legal action against Singh for his utterances under the SC/ST Act, as they do not expect the government to take any action in this regard. "We will drag him to court," he said outside Parliament. Later in Ballia, Dayashankar Singh sought to do damage control saying it was a slip of tongue. "Mayawati is a big leader and came from a small family. I did not want to hurt anyone. I regret the slip of tongue. I never meant to hurt the dignity of anyone," he said. (PTI)

Dayashankar Singh removed as Bharatiya Janata Party's Uttar Pradesh vice president

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