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 ■ ■ HYDERABAD SUNDAY MAY 12, 2024 `12.00 PAGES 26 LATE CITY EDITION FINAL PUSH Narendra Modi government had a full majority for 10 years. But it did not use this to end quotas but to abolish Article 370 ... INDI alliance has nothing to be happy about Modi turning 75 Amit Shah, Union home minister You [the people] should tell Modi that you need employment, development, aid to farmers and women empowerment. Bahut ho gaya hai (enough with Modi’s rule) Union Home Minister Amit Shah waves to the crowd at a public meeting in Nagarkurnool on Saturday Priyanka Gandhi, AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi greets people Congress leader during a roadshow in Kamareddy on Saturday Long-drawn LS campaign, which began in mid-March & has been marked by rhetoric over reservations, comes to an end at 6 pm on Saturday in TG Shah: Modi will Priyanka: It’s a continue to be sin to weaken Constitution PM till 2029 E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad B K A R T H E E K @ Hyderabad UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday asserted that Narendra Modi will continue to be prime minister till 2029 and said there is no confusion in the party in this regard. The BJP leader was responding to remarks made by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that Modi himself had fixed 75 years as upper age limit to remain prime minister. Speaking at a press conference here, he said, “I want to tell Arvind Kejriwal and company and INDI alliance partners that you have nothing to be happy about Modiji turning 75 and there is no such provision in the BJP’s constitution. Narendra Modi will complete his tenure and he will continue to lead the country in the future. There is no confusion in the BJP about it,” Amit Shah said. He alleged that the leaders of the opposition alliance know that the NDA will cross the 400-mark and yet they are spreading “misconceptions”. Responding to the allegations of the Congress that the BJP will remove SC, ST and OBC reservations, Shah said that they have no such agenda. He said that they have had full majority in Parliament in the last two terms, and they never initiated any steps as alleged by the Congress. He said that the BJP’s priorities were construction of Ram mandir, abrogation of Article 370, mahila reservations, and continuing SC, ST and OBC reservations. He also clarified that his party is not against reservations for Muslims, but against the idea of quota on the basis of religion. He, however, reiterated that the BJP will remove four per cent reservations for Muslims after CONTINUED ON P5 coming to power in Telangana. AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi said weakening democracy and changing the Constitution in the name of dharma is a sin. She called upon the people to choose between tanashahi (dictatorship) and mazbooth loktantra, and Modi manmaani (Modi’s whims and fancies) and samvidhan (Constitution). On Saturday, Priyanka attended a public rally and a roadshow in Tandur and Kamareddy along with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy The Gandhi scion, who had . extensively toured Telangana during the Assembly elections, campaigned in the state for the Lok Sabha elections only on the last day She called upon people to de. clare that they don’t need hatred. She asked them to fight for protection of the Constitution and reservations, and added that the Constitution was drafted after struggles and shedding of blood of our ancestors. “You [the people] should tell Modi that you need work, employment, development, aid to farmers and women empowerment. Bahut ho gaya hai (enough with Modi’s rule) and people don’t need him any more,” she said. Accusing Modi of doing nothing during his 10year rule, she alleged that instead of seeking votes on the basis of his performance, he is targeting the Congress. “He speaks about Congress Nyay Patra [manifesto] without reading its contents,” she remarked. “I want to ask him [PM], what is there in their manifesto? They have just changed the names of the schemes implemented by the Congress, and added the photo of Modi,” she said. She also alleged that the Modi government resorted to the biggest scam in the form of electoral bonds. She also accused the PM of giving the country’s resources to his billionaire friends and waiving `16,000 crore loans. She said that the BJP is trying to divide people in the name of dharma during elections. Stating that the Congress followed the Hindu dharma adhering to satya and ahimsa, Priyanka said that Mahatma Gandhi carried out all his agitations duly following the Hindu dharma and with the spirit of satya and ahimsa. She recalled that Gandhi’s last words were “Hey Ram” when he was shot dead. SHAH INTERVIEW SAYS NO CHANGE IN QUOTA POLICY Amit Shah alleges that Congress wants to snatch away SC/ ST and OBC quotas and give them to Muslims | P9 Modi playing the game of 1 nation, 1 leader: Kejriwal A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi OUT on a 21-day interim bail ordered by the Supreme Court, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday was scathing in his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, accusing them of orchestrating a perilous game of ‘one nation, one leader.’ Kejriwal also sought to stir the leadership pot within the BJP, speculating on Modi’s successor as the prime minister. The chief minister alleged that his incarceration was a “Modi move to quell opposition voices as AAP was a potential threat to the BJP”. “Mamata Banerjee, M K Stalin, Uddhav Thackeray and Tejashwi Yadav could face similar suppression if Modi secures victory in the Lok Sabha polls,” he said. In his first press conference after coming out of Tihar jail, the AAP chief cited instances of what he said was the dimin- Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal during a roadshow at Mehrauli in New Delhi on Saturday | SHEKHAR YADAV ishing stature of veteran BJP leaders like L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sumitra Mahajan, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Manohar Lal Khattar. “Ours is a very small party it has gov, ernments in just two states; it is a 10-yearold party. The prime minister left no stone unturned in crushing it,” he claimed. “Our top leaders have been jailed. If top leaders of big parties go to jail, the party is seen as finished,” said Kejriwal. 100% in race for PM’s post, says KCR M A N DA RAV I N D E R R E D DY @ Hyderabad AFFIRMING that he was “100 percent” in the race for the prime minister’s post, BRS supremo and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday predicted a coalition of regional parties will form the government at the Centre, with the support of either the BJP or Congress “If there are chances, I am 100% in the race for PM’s post,” KCR told reporters here. “The BJP will not cross 200 seats in Lok Sabha elections. Regional parties are going to rule this country. Regional parties will come together and form a strong alliance. 100 percent it’s going to happen,” the former chief minister said, adding that he will continue to be in national politics. “I will try to unite the regional forces. I am already in talks with likeminded parties,” KCR said. The BRS chief further predicted that in Telangana, the BJP will get one or no seats at all. “In south India, the BJP will not even win 10 seats,” he CONTINUED ON P5 added. AN INFINITY OF PROMISE WITH THIS ISSUE PLUS 12 PAGES BJP SEES RED AS LEFT TRIES TO WREST BEGUSARAI | P6 Solar storm hits earth, creating light shows in Northern Hemisphere | P11
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