Rahul Gandhi News

The Election Commission has not named Shah or Gandhi in its notices- as is usually the norm- but held the party responsible for its star campaigners like it had done amid Lok Sabha polls, when faced with complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Alongside, the poll panel is soon likely to take a view on the BJP's complaint on the Congress party releasing its Jharkhand manifesto in the 'silent period' on November 12- 48 hours before the November 13 Phase 1 poll in the state, ET has gathered.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a snack break during campaigning and relished Nagpur's famous "tarri poha". The Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition arrived at Shyamji Ramji Pohewale on Wardha Road in the evening and tried his hand at cooking the dish made out of flattened rice. According to sources, Gandhi went to the food joint unannounced and interacted with a group of youngsters on issues of farmers, the Constitution and unemployment.

BJP had made Parliament «hostage» and was not allowing discussions on the floor of the House but it was Rahul Gandhi who compelled the Narendra Modi government to hear the voices of all parties, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said on Saturday. The Congress general secretary and the party's Karnataka in charge was answering a query on Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju's statement earlier in the day that «the standard of debates in the Lok Sabha has gone down since Rahul Gandhi's arrival». «The BJP made Parliament hostage and there were no discussions. However, after Rahul Gandhi became leader of opposition (in the Lok Sabha), he compelled the government to have discussions and hear the voice of every party,» Surjewala said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at Dhamangaon Railway in Maharashtra's Amravati district. He was here to address a public rally for the November 20 assembly polls. Gandhi's bag was checked after his helicopter landed at the helipad in Dhamangaon Railway, which is among the eight assembly seats in Amravati district. Former state minister and Congress' Teosa MLA Yashomati Thakur, speaking to reporters, questioned the action of the poll authorities and asked why they were not checking bags of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah or Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Kiren Rijuju on Saturday said that the standard of debates in the Lok Sabha has gone down since Congress leader Rahul Gandhi entered Parliament. Addressing a press conference, the Union minister of parliamentary and minority affairs, who is here to campaign for the November 20 Maharashtra election, said there is an undercurrent in favour of the BJP and Mahayuti, and the Ladki Bahin scheme will benefit the ruling alliance. «The standard of debates in the Lok Sabha has gone down since Rahul Gandhi's arrival. We have people who can talk and debate, but the Congress seems to have no one, and those who want to debate are afraid of Rahul Gandhi,» he said. Rijiju claimed that many senior Congress MPs have told him they want debates and discussions, but the Leader of Opposition is not concerned because he cannot debate and reads chits given by some NGOs.

BJP president JP Nadda on Friday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi does not understand the «ABC of the Constitution» and flaunts a copy of it at political gatherings while not knowing that Dr B R Ambedkar did not subscribe to job reservations on religious lines. The Union minister said the Congress wants to give quotas meant for SCs, STs and OBCs to minorities in Karnataka and Telangana, where the party is in power. «Gandhi does not know that the Constitution does not allow reservations on religious lines. He does not understand the ABC of the Constitution. He sells materials of hatred in his 'mohabbat ki dukan' (shop of love)',» Nadda remarked, hitting out at the Raebareli Lok Sabha MP.

Amit Shah on Friday dared Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to speak «nicely» about Veer Savarkar and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. «Uddhav ji, if you have the courage, get Rahul Baba to speak two good words about Veer Savarkar and Balasaheb,» Shah said, addressing a rally at Hingoli in Maharashtra ahead of the November 20 state assembly elections. «Rahul Baba's Congress party has passed a resolution in Kashmir to bring back Article 370. Rahul Baba, listen carefully, not only you but even your fourth generation cannot bring back Article 370,» Shah said. Shah said that in the Haryana assembly elections, Rahul Gandhi had said with confidence that his party had won. «So much arrogance in a democracy. Look at the results, Congress was wiped out in Haryana and BJP formed the government,» he said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's waving of a red cover Constitution copy is a concept stolen from campaigns in a Latin American nation featuring «anarchist forces», Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday. Speaking to select members of the press here, he also said the concept had boomeranged on the opposition, especially after it was revealed in a Congress rally in Nagpur that the inside pages of the Constitution copy Gandhi waves are blank. «This concept is stolen from a Latin American nation where elections were fought taking along anarchist forces and involved waving copies of the Constitution. This is not an original concept of the Congress,» the senior BJP leader said. The concept of waving a copy of the Constitution was a hit till the Nagpur fiasco, Fadnavis asserted. «What can be a greater insult to the Constitution? Can't you print proper copies of the Constitution? You chant the name of the Constitution but circulate a blank book. They (Congress) are wearing a burkha (veil) of the Constitution but are blank inside. They have no respect for the Constitution,» Fadnavis said.

Amit Shah on Wednesday said that even if former prime minister Indira Gandhi comes from heaven, Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir will not be restored. Even four generations of Rahul Gandhi won't be able to give reservation to Muslims, he added. "Congress has done appeasement their entire life. Isn't Kashmir ours? Didn't Modi do good by removing Article 370? Congress has now passed a resolution that they want Article 370 back. I want to tell them that even if Indira Gandhi comes down from heaven, she will not be able to bring back Article 370," Shah said while speaking at a campaign rally in Dhule.

Rahul Gandhi took a break from campaigning for the Wayanad by-election on Tuesday to explore the region and promote its tourism potential. The LoP in the Lok Sabha posted a video of himself trying out Kerala’s longest zipline in Wayanad’s scenic hill district, donning an “I love Wayanad” T-shirt. During the visit, he also jokingly challenged his sister, Priyanka Gandhi, to join him on the zipline in her saree. The region, which has suffered from a decline in tourism following devastating landslides in July, has been struggling with economic hardships, particularly for locals in the tourism and hospitality sectors. However, Gandhi praised the resilience of the people, noting that despite the challenges, they’ve worked hard to create new attractions, such as South India’s largest giant swing and a thrilling drop tower.

Wayanad Lok Sabha seat and the Chelakkara assembly constituency in Kerala commenced at 7am on Wednesday People started arriving early in the morning at the 1,354 polling booths in the hill constituency of Wayanad where there are over 14 lakh registered voters, according to the Election Commission figures. The Wayanad constituency comprises seven assembly segments of Mananthavady (ST), Sulthan Bathery (ST), and Kalpetta in Wayanad district; Thiruvambady in Kozhikode district; and Eranad, Nilambur, and Wandoor in Malappuram district. A bypoll was necessitated in the hill constituency after Rahul Gandhi, who won the Wayanad LS seat in the general elections held earlier this year, vacated it after he also won from the Rae Bareli constituency.

Narendra Modi and the BJP for equating a «red book» of the Constitution with "urban Naxalism" and said the PM gave a similar copy in 2017 to then President Ram Nath Kovind. Addressing a press conference here after launching the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi 's (MVA) manifesto for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections, Kharge also said his party's demand for a caste census is not to divide people, but to understand how various communities are placed at present so that they can get more benefits. Notably, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was trying to seek support from «urban Naxals and anarchists» by holding a «red book» in his hand. Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, has been displaying an abridged version of the Constitution in a red cover during his rallies.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that the party had fulfilled every promise they had made during the elections, whether it is Karnataka, Telangana or Himachal Pradesh. He reiterated that the INDIA alliance will bring changes in Maharashtra too with their promised 'five guarantees'.

Amit Shah on Saturday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of insulting and making a mockery of the Constitution by showing a «fake» copy of it. Shah also claimed that the BJP will never allow the Congress to implement reservations for minorities.

Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday equated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with an "unguided missile" and urged former AICC chief Sonia Gandhi to train him.

Sharad Pawar on Thursday said the people of Maharashtra want a change and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will work towards giving them that alternative after the upcoming state assembly polls. Pawar also backed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's demand for a caste census in the country.

Anil Kumar Yadav along with other party workers on Wednesday offered milk on the poster of Rahul Gandhi in Hyderabad as the caste census began in Telangana.

Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday chaired a District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) committee meeting in Raebareli. DISHA committee meetings are held on a quarterly basis, under the chairmanship of the MP. Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi inaugurated the newly-built Shaheed Chowk and Degree College Chauraha in Raebareli. He also visited and offered prayers at Shri Peepaleshwar Mahadevji Mandir and Hanuman Mandir in the city.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday assured that he and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the UDF candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha bypoll in Wayanad, are committed to establishing a medical college in the hill constituency. Addressing a public meeting at Areekode in nearby Malappuram district as part of the election campaign, the former Wayanad MP said it's not easy for him to leave the hill constituency as the people cutting across party lines supported him during his tough time. «Some commitments that I have made to you. Commitment to medical college… commitment of night traffic. I guarantee you, your new MP is going to be committed to doing these things. And also, your old MP is also going to be committed. We will personally build one of the best medical colleges in the country in this constituency,» he said. The mountainous constituency faces a shortage of basic infrastructure, with the need for a well-equipped medical college emerging as a key issue highlighted by all three political fronts — the Congress-led UDF, CPI(M)-led LDF, and the BJP — in this bypoll.

Uddhav Thackeray will begin his campaign trail for the Maharashtra assembly polls on November 5 from Konkan and Vidarbha with focus on constituencies of MLAs who were part of the 2022 rebellion led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Thackeray will address a rally in Ratnagiri on November 5, a seat represented by state industries minister Uday Samant. He will also canvas votes for party MLA Rajan Salvi who is contesting from neighbouring Rajapur constituency. On November 6, Thackeray will campaign in Bhiwandi Rural constituency, which is represented by Shantaram More, one of the 40 MLAs who rebelled against him. Bhiwandi Rural is part of Thane district, the home turf of CM Shinde. On the same day, Thackeray will take part in the Maha Vikas Aghadi's rally at Bandra Kurla Complex here, which will be attended by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar.

Rahul Gandhi, who has spent a lot of time at the 10, Janpath bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi, says he is «not a big fan» of the house. The reason is that his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was living in the 10, Janpath house when he was assassinated in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991. «My father died (while he was living) here, so I am not a big fan of this house,» Gandhi tells his nephew Raihan Rajiv Vadra, while working with paint jobs workers at the 10, Janpath residence ahead of Diwali. The conversation is recorded as part of a Diwali video that Gandhi released on Friday in which he interacts with paint job workers and potters. The video also features Vadra with whom Gandhi is in conversation.