CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ bhubaneswar l tuesday l july 02, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l Late city EDITION Yoga may feature in the marquee sporting event of Asian Games according to Indian authorities who are in touch with Olympic Council of Asia. Rahul’s fiery debut speech Attacks BJP saying its leaders aren’t Hindus; criticises Agniveer scheme, NEET-UG examination discrepancies Modi makes two interventions; BJP seeks apology R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi (left) gestures during his debut speech; and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in one of his two interventions during the address, in the Lok Sabha on Monday | PTI P reetha N a i r @ New Delhi The Lok Sabha witnessed a massive showdown on Monday after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi launched a blistering attack on the BJP in his debut speech, saying the leaders of the ruling party are not Hindus as they engage in “violence and hate” round the clock. The remark prompted sharp responses from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, accusing Rahul of portraying the entire Hindu community as violent. In his speech that lasted nearly two hours, the Congress leader hit out at the government over a range of issues – from NEET to Agniveer to farm distress, unemployment and inflation among others. Alleging that the BJP was instilling fear in all sections of society, Rahul invoked Lord Shiva and the teachings of Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, Buddha and Mahavir to drive home the point that all religions preach, ‘don’t to be scared, and do not scare others’. “Lord Shiva says ‘don’t be scared,’ shows the abhaya mudra, talks about ahimsa, but those who call themselves Hindus indulge in hatred, violence and untruths round the clock,” He alleged, pointing towards the BJP MPs. As the Treasury benches erupted in protest, Shah demanded an apology for hurting the sentiments of the Hindu community An unfazed Rahul, howev. er, hit back saying he was speaking about the BJP and neither the ruling party nor the RSS represent the entire Hindu society “You are not Hindus. It is . clearly written in Hinduism that one should stand with the truth and not back down from the truth or be scared of it,” he said. Taking potshots at the BJP over its defeat in Ayodhya after the Ram temple’s inauguration, Rahul said the voters have conveyed a clear message to the government for its failures. Holding the government responsible for the unrest in Manipur, he said the prime minister and home minister have totally neglected the state. He also accused the BJP of threatening the minorities and spreading hatred and violence against them. Referring to the NEET-UG row, Rahul said students do not believe in the exam because they feel it is for the rich and that there is no place in it for meritorious students. Multiple breaks Rahul had to stop his speech several times as ministers Amit Shah, Rijiju, Bhupender Yadav and others made interventions. As he held up a picture of Lord Shiva, Speaker Birla said rules do not allow placards in the House When Hemant Soren or Arvind Kejriwal goes to jail, I should be concerned. When you unleash enforcement agencies on them, we should defend them. When you are a constitutional person, your personal aspirations should take a back seat Rahul Gandhi on his new role BJP leaders on Monday launched a barrage of criticism both inside and outside Parliament against Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi for alleging they were not Hindus as they promote division and violence. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first intervention in the debate said Rahul calling the entire Hindu society violent was a serious matter, Union home minister Amit Shah and other ministers demanded an apology from the Congress leader. In his second intervention during Rahul’s speech, Modi said the Constitution has taught him to take the LoP seriously . Referring to the Agniveer scheme, MSP issue Rahul described how the family of a When Rahul martyr is deprived of compensation alleged that the from the Army. Defence minister Ragovt did not want jnath Singh rebutted him by pointing to give a legal out that an Agniveer who lays down his guarantee on MSP, life in the line of duty gets a compensaagriculture tion of `1 crore. “This House is not for minister Shivraj spreading lies. Rahul Gandhi should Chouhan accused apologise to the House, to the country him of misleading and to Agniveers,” Shah said. the House Later, Union ministers Kiren Rijiju and Ashwini Vaishnaw did a media briefing and accused Rahul of denigrating the LoP post with his “utterly irresponsible” speech. Vaishnaw joined issue with Rahul who alleged that adequate compensation was not paid to the relocated shopkeepers in Ayodhya. “The state government and the administration provided `1,253 crore in compensation to 4,215 affected shopkeepers,” he claimed. Vaishnaw accused Rahul of insulting the Hindu. “This is an old habit of the Congress. In 2010, P Chidambaram called Hindus terrorists, and in 2013, Sushil Shinde repeated it,” he alleged. Rijiju stated that the BJP has contested many of Rahul’s claims and has requested action from the Speaker. “He will have to substantiate or apologise.” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also alleged that the appeasement politics of the Congress and Rahul “starts and ends with Hindu hate”. CM holds grievance hearing, 1.5K people log in on first Monday E x press N e w s S er v i c e @ Bhubaneswar After a gap of 16 years, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday brought the public grievance redressal cell back to life again with more than 5,000 people turning up to air their problems and issues before the CM. With about 1,540 complaints registered, the chief minister accompanied by deputy chief minister KV Singh Deo and three ministerial colleagues gave a patient hearing to the aggrieved people and issued necessary instructions to department authorities concerned for early resolution of their problems. “The chief minister and his ministerial colleagues met the people and went through their complaints. They disposed of most of them barring those with legal issues. Matters with legal complications have been left for competent courts to decide. Rest of the complaints were referred to departments concerned for quick disposal,” sources in the chief minister’s CM Mohan Majhi listening to problems of a differently-abled man at the grievance cell on Monday | EXPRESS office (CMO) told TNIE. Hearing of public grievances started at 10.30 am and continued till 5 pm as the people who attended the cell insisted that they would not leave the place without meeting the chief minister. Exuding confidence that 99 per cent of the registered complaints will be resolved shortly, Majhi said he has instructed district administrations to strengthen the grievance redressal mechanism at their level so that such a large number of people from far off places do not have to come to the state capital to seek resolution of their problems. Continued on P5 Govt may not fill post of deputy speaker As uncertainty over the appointment of the deputy speaker post of the Lok Sabha continues, sources said the government is unlikely to move in this direction soon | P5
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