The Evening Wrap: Congress will distribute people’s property, gold among Muslims: PM Modi

Taking a dig at the Congress’ promise to address the inequality of wealth and income in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Congress, if elected to power at the Centre, would distribute people’s property, land and gold among Muslims. “The Congress has [already] declared that Muslims have the first right to the country’s resources,” Modi said. Modi addressed public meetings in support of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates in Rajasthan’s Jalore and Banswara constituencies, both of which will go to the polls in the second phase on April 26. While BJP State executive member Lumbaram Choudhary is the party’s nominee in Jalore, the party has fielded Congress turncoat and veteran tribal leader Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya from Banswara. Modi said the Congress had announced that it would conduct a survey to find out the property of individuals, gold owned by women, silver mostly owned by tribal families, and land and cash belonging to government employees and others, and redistribute it. “Can you tolerate the government snatching your hard-earned money and property?” he asked. While the Congress manifesto has promised to make “suitable changes in policies” to address the growing inequality of wealth and income, party leader Rahul Gandhi said in Hyderabad earlier this month that the Congress, if voted to power, would carry out a financial and institutional survey, after the caste census, to ascertain the distribution of wealth among the people in the country. Modi said the then Congress Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had stated in 2006 that Muslims had the first claim on the country’s resources. “That means the property will be distributed among those who have a large number of children… and among the intruders. Is it acceptable to you?” he asked. The Prime Minister said the “urban Naxal” ideology of Congress would even deprive the women of their auspicious mangal sutra. “Gold jewellery of my mothers and sisters is not just for show. It is a matter of their self-respect. Congress has stooped to such a level. How can you tolerate your hard-earned money going in the hands of intruders?” Modi said. Taking a swipe at the Congress-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alliance in Delhi, Modi said the ‘shahi parivaar’ (royal family) of the Congress would not cast votes for its own party in the national capital for the first time. As the Congress has not fielded its candidate from the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat, Modi asked what right the party had to seek people’s votes elsewhere. “In Banswara, Congress leaders are going door-to-door, asking people not to vote for their own party,” Modi said, in an oblique reference to the party’s candidate, Arvind Damor, refusing to withdraw his nomination after it decided to extend support to Bharat Adivasi Party candidate Rajkumar Roat. Damor’s presence in the fray has caused embarrassment to the Opposition Congress. Modi said the nation was punishing the Congress for its “sins” as the party, which had once won 400 seats in Lok Sabha, was unable to find candidates and contest even 300 seats this time. The Congress had also been unable to find a single tribal person who could be the country’s President during the 60 years of its rule, he said. Without naming former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Modi said those who were unable to contest and win an election had “fled the ground to take the Rajya Sabha route” from Rajasthan. Ms. Gandhi was recently elected as a Rajya Sabha Member from the State. Modi said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was also elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, was ill for a long time and never seen in the State. The Prime Miniter said the BJP was working with utmost sincerity and commitment to uplift the underprivileged, while the Congress was trading in “fear, hunger and corruption”. “Congress has a history of intimidating Dalits, tribals and minorities and perpetuating a culture of fear and oppression,” he said, while appealing to the people to vote for BJP candidates. INDIA bloc leaders slam PM Modi at Ranchi rally In a show of strength, the INDIA bloc held a rally in Jharkhand capital Ranchi where leaders of the alliance slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and pledged to protect the Constitution and democracy. The Opposition leaders also made the claim that in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government would be uprooted. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, RJD leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, JMM chief Shibu Soren, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, CPI (ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh attended the rally. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had to skip the rally as he was not well. Kharge held PM Modi responsible for the arrest of two Chief Ministers — Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren. “Modiji arrested two Chief Ministers. There was no fault of Hemant Soren but there was pressure on him that if he remains in the INDIA alliance, he will have to go to jail. BJP had warned of sending him to jail but Hemant Soren did not agree. Hemant is a very bold leader and he tries to scare the tribals, he himself will be destroyed. If the Constitution is abolished today, nothing will be left,” Kharge said during the rally at the city’s Prabhat Tara ground. The rally was called Ulgulan Nyay Maharally as in the local language any major revolution is called Ulgulan. Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal accused the Centre for hatching a conspiracy to kill her husband. Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren read out his letter at the rally. Congress Surat candidate Nilesh Kumbhani’s nomination papers invalidated In a huge setback to Gujarat Congress, nomination papers of Nilesh Kumbhani, the party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Surat, were rejected after his three proposers claimed in an affidavit to the district election officer that they had not signed his nomination form. On April 21, the District Election Officer (DEO) Sourabh Pardhi rejected the nomination of the Congress candidate on the ground that his three propers failed to turn up before the DEO to support his nomination form. Also, the nomination papers of the substitute candidate of the party has also been rejected on the same ground that the proposers have denied having signed the form. Now, there is no Congress candidate in the fray for Surat Lok Sabha seat. The leaders of the opposition party have alleged that the proposers were “kidnapped” by the ruling party with the help of the Police and state machinery in order to get the candidate out of the race. PhD can be pursued directly after a 4-year bachelor’s degrees and 75% marks: UGC Students with four-year undergraduate degrees can now directly appear for NET and pursue PhD, according to University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Jagadesh Kumar. To pursue a PhD with or without a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), the candidates will require a minimum of 75% marks or equivalent grades in their four-year undergraduate course. So far, a candidate for the National Eligibility Test (NET) needed a master’s degree with a minimum of 55% marks. “The candidates with four-year undergraduate degrees can now directly pursue PhD and appear for NET. Such candidates are allowed to appear in a subject in which they want to pursue a PhD irrespective of the discipline in which they have obtained the four-year bachelor’s degree,” Kumar told PTI. “The candidates having passed a four-year or eight-semester bachelor’s degree programme should have a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade on a point scale wherever the grading system is followed,” the UGC chairman said. A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC, ST, OBC (non-creamy layer), differently-abled, economically weaker sections and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the UGC from time to time, he added. In Brief: Gukesh took the sole lead after beating Alireza Firouzja of France in the penultimate round of the FIDE Candidates chess tournament at Toronto on Saturday. The 17-year-old from Chennai had 8.5 points going into the final round. He was closely followed half-a-point behind by three players. Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, the winner of the last two editions of the tournament, and the two top -seeded Americans Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura were all on eight points. Caruana joined the leaders after scoring a win with black pieces against R. Praggnanandhaa. Nepomniachtchi and Nakamura paired with each other and played out a draw. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 21 April 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Congress will distribute people’s property, gold among Muslims: PM Modi Taking a dig at the Congress’ promise to address the inequality of wealth and income in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday[said the Congress, if elected to power at the Centre, would distribute people’s property, land and gold among Muslims](. “The Congress has [already] declared that Muslims have the first right to the country’s resources,” Modi said. Modi addressed public meetings in support of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates in Rajasthan’s Jalore and Banswara constituencies, both of which will go to the polls in the second phase on April 26. While BJP State executive member Lumbaram Choudhary is the party’s nominee in Jalore, the party has fielded Congress turncoat and veteran tribal leader Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya from Banswara. Modi said the Congress had announced that it would conduct a survey to find out the property of individuals, gold owned by women, silver mostly owned by tribal families, and land and cash belonging to government employees and others, and redistribute it. “Can you tolerate the government snatching your hard-earned money and property?” he asked. While the Congress manifesto has promised to make “suitable changes in policies” to address the growing inequality of wealth and income, party leader Rahul Gandhi said in Hyderabad earlier this month that the Congress, if voted to power, would carry out a financial and institutional survey, after the caste census, to ascertain the distribution of wealth among the people in the country. Modi said the then Congress Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had stated in 2006 that Muslims had the first claim on the country’s resources. “That means the property will be distributed among those who have a large number of children… and among the intruders. Is it acceptable to you?” he asked. The Prime Minister said the “urban Naxal” ideology of Congress would even deprive the women of their auspicious mangal sutra. “Gold jewellery of my mothers and sisters is not just for show. It is a matter of their self-respect. Congress has stooped to such a level. How can you tolerate your hard-earned money going in the hands of intruders?” Modi said. Taking a swipe at the Congress-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alliance in Delhi, Modi said the ‘shahi parivaar’ (royal family) of the Congress would not cast votes for its own party in the national capital for the first time. As the Congress has not fielded its candidate from the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat, Modi asked what right the party had to seek people’s votes elsewhere. “In Banswara, Congress leaders are going door-to-door, asking people not to vote for their own party,” Modi said, in an oblique reference to the party’s candidate, Arvind Damor, refusing to withdraw his nomination after it decided to extend support to Bharat Adivasi Party candidate Rajkumar Roat. Damor’s presence in the fray has caused embarrassment to the Opposition Congress. Modi said the nation was punishing the Congress for its “sins” as the party, which had once won 400 seats in Lok Sabha, was unable to find candidates and contest even 300 seats this time. The Congress had also been unable to find a single tribal person who could be the country’s President during the 60 years of its rule, he said. Without naming former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Modi said those who were unable to contest and win an election had “fled the ground to take the Rajya Sabha route” from Rajasthan. Ms. Gandhi was recently elected as a Rajya Sabha Member from the State. Modi said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was also elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, was ill for a long time and never seen in the State. The Prime Miniter said the BJP was working with utmost sincerity and commitment to uplift the underprivileged, while the Congress was trading in “fear, hunger and corruption”. “Congress has a history of intimidating Dalits, tribals and minorities and perpetuating a culture of fear and oppression,” he said, while appealing to the people to vote for BJP candidates. INDIA bloc leaders slam PM Modi at Ranchi rally In a show of strength, the [INDIA bloc held a rally in Jharkhand capital Ranchi]( where leaders of the alliance slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and pledged to protect the Constitution and democracy. The Opposition leaders also made the claim that in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government would be uprooted. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, RJD leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, JMM chief Shibu Soren, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, CPI (ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh attended the rally. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had to skip the rally as he was not well. Kharge held PM Modi responsible for the arrest of two Chief Ministers — Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren. “Modiji arrested two Chief Ministers. There was no fault of Hemant Soren but there was pressure on him that if he remains in the INDIA alliance, he will have to go to jail. BJP had warned of sending him to jail but Hemant Soren did not agree. Hemant is a very bold leader and he tries to scare the tribals, he himself will be destroyed. If the Constitution is abolished today, nothing will be left,” Kharge said during the rally at the city’s Prabhat Tara ground. The rally was called Ulgulan Nyay Maharally as in the local language any major revolution is called Ulgulan. Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal accused the Centre for hatching a conspiracy to kill her husband. Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren read out his letter at the rally. Congress Surat candidate Nilesh Kumbhani’s nomination papers invalidated In a huge setback to Gujarat Congress, [nomination papers of Nilesh Kumbhani, the party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Surat, were rejected]( after his three proposers claimed in an affidavit to the district election officer that they had not signed his nomination form. On April 21, the District Election Officer (DEO) Sourabh Pardhi rejected the nomination of the Congress candidate on the ground that his three propers failed to turn up before the DEO to support his nomination form. Also, the nomination papers of the substitute candidate of the party has also been rejected on the same ground that the proposers have denied having signed the form. Now, there is no Congress candidate in the fray for Surat Lok Sabha seat. The leaders of the opposition party have alleged that the proposers were “kidnapped” by the ruling party with the help of the Police and state machinery in order to get the candidate out of the race. PhD can be pursued directly after a 4-year bachelor’s degrees and 75% marks: UGC Students with four-year undergraduate degrees [can now directly appear for NET and pursue PhD]( according to University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Jagadesh Kumar. To pursue a PhD with or without a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), the candidates will require a minimum of 75% marks or equivalent grades in their four-year undergraduate course. So far, a candidate for the National Eligibility Test (NET) needed a master’s degree with a minimum of 55% marks. “The candidates with four-year undergraduate degrees can now directly pursue PhD and appear for NET. Such candidates are allowed to appear in a subject in which they want to pursue a PhD irrespective of the discipline in which they have obtained the four-year bachelor’s degree,” Kumar told PTI. “The candidates having passed a four-year or eight-semester bachelor’s degree programme should have a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade on a point scale wherever the grading system is followed,” the UGC chairman said. A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC, ST, OBC (non-creamy layer), differently-abled, economically weaker sections and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the UGC from time to time, he added. In Brief: [Gukesh took the sole lead]( after beating Alireza Firouzja of France in the penultimate round of the FIDE Candidates chess tournament at Toronto on Saturday. The 17-year-old from Chennai had 8.5 points going into the final round. He was closely followed half-a-point behind by three players. Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, the winner of the last two editions of the tournament, and the two top -seeded Americans Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura were all on eight points. Caruana joined the leaders after scoring a win with black pieces against R. Praggnanandhaa. Nepomniachtchi and Nakamura paired with each other and played out a draw. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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