1,500 Sikhs join BJP ahead of Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, Punjab

by Manisha Das

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

After several people from the Sikh community in Delhi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday, party's National President JP Nadda said that it was a moment of pride for the BJP to welcome the people from the Sikh community.

New Delhi, April 27: After several people from the Sikh community in Delhi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday, party's National President JP Nadda said that it was a moment of pride for the BJP to welcome the people from the Sikh community.

Addressing the public, Nadda said, "We know how Sikh brothers have sacrificed their lives for the country. It is a matter of pride for us that such members of the Sikh community join the BJP. There is only the BJP, through which we can take forward the unity, security and integrity of the country."

Further, praising PM Modi for carrying out development works, specifically for the Sikh community, JP Nadda said that the Prime Minister was Punjab in charge for a long time and has been to every district of the state.

"PM Narendra Modi has been to every city and every district of the state and that is why he has so much love for Punjab. We have said for a long time that FCRA registration for the Harmandir Sahib should be done because many people across the world want to donate money. But it was never done and people could not contribute to it in ways they wanted to," he said.

The BJP national president also mentioned what previous governments could not do in 70 years, PM Modi has completed them.

"The previous Prime Ministers could not do this for the Sikh community what PM Narendra Modi has done, and now people across the world can donate to the Harmandir Sahib. When it came to imposing GST on langar served in the gurdwara, our government decided it would pay the GST but the langar would be tax-free. The Kartarpur Corridor is also in front of you. The country was divided in 1947 and it became difficult to pray there. No one has been able to find a solution in 70 years. But PM Modi built Kartarpur Corridor and today we can go there," Nadda said.

(ANI)

Give Us 10 Seats, We Will Make Telangana Number One: Amit Shah

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

Hyderabad, May 9: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday appealed to the people of Telangana to bless the BJP with 10 Lok Sabha, promising to make Telangana ‘number one’ state in the country.

Addressing a public meeting in Bhongir Lok Sabha constituency, he said that the double-digit tally from Telangana will help the BJP-led NDA cross 400 mark across the country.

“In the 2019 elections, the people of Telangana gave us four seats. We will win more than 10 seats this time,” he said

The BJP leader claimed that the party has reached close to 200 in three phases of the elections held so far.

He said that this election is between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. “This election is about vote for jihad versus vote for vikas, one family’s welfare versus people’s welfare and Rahul Gandhi’s Chinese guarantee versus Modi’s Indian guarantee,” he said.

Amit Shah remarked that the Congress is in such bad shape that it is not finding candidates to contest the elections.

He mentioned that in Bhongir Congress fielded a candidate who had forged Rahul Gandhi’s signature and was suspended from the party. He said as the party did not find any candidate, it pleaded with him to contest.

He alleged that the Congress is contesting the elections by spreading lies. “They are saying if Modi Ji comes again, he will end the reservation. For 10 years he ran the government with full majority but did not scrap the reservation,” he said.

Amit Shah alleged that the Congress in Telangana robbed SCs, STs and OBCs of their reservation and gave a four per cent quota to Muslims. “Give the BJP more than 10 seats, we will scrap 4 per cent Muslim reservation and increase reservation of SCs, STs and OBCs,” he said.

The Home Minister termed Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) as a triangle of Muslim appeasement.

“Congress and BRS can’t stop Owaisi. They are the ABC of appeasement. A for Asaduddin Owaisi, B for BRS and C for Congress,” he said.

He alleged that these parties do not allow the Ram Navami procession, the celebration of Hyderabad Liberation Day and also oppose CAA. “They want to run Telangana on the basis of Quran and Sharia,” he said and claimed that they want to bring back triple talaq.

Mentioning the construction of Ram temple and abrogation of Article 370, Amit Shah said PM Modi fulfilled all the promises he made.

He slammed the Congress for not implementing the promises it made in the Assembly elections in Telangana.

“We want to know what happened to Rahul Gandhi’s promises to waive off farmers’ loans up to Rs 2 lakh, Rs15,000 annual financial assistance for each farmer, Rs12,000 annually for every agriculture labourer, Rs 500 bonus on rice and wheat, loan up to Rs 5 lakh for students, scooty for college going girls and an international school in every tehsil,” he said.

(IANS)

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BJP will win all 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

by Utkalika Mohanty

Sambalpur, May 9: Union Minister and BJP candidate from Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat, Dharmendra Pradhan expressed confidence that BJP will win all the 21 Lok Sabha seats of the state in the upcoming polls.

Dharmendra Pradhan said, "The credibility and trust in PM Narendra Modi is 100 percent in Odisha. BJP will win all the 21 Lok Sabha seats of the state. PM Modi has emphasised, why the state of immense possibilities, Odisha is lagging behind. Why people are migrating to other states for jobs? Why there is no drinking water in villages? Why irrigation is not taking place? Why there is no cold storage? Why there are no doctors in government hospitals?"

He said that this incompetent government is abusing PM Modi to hide its failures and the people of Odisha will answer to it.

"PM Modi distributed 18 lakh crores in the last 10 years in various sectors like railway, road, minerals. Odisha's earnings from minerals in 2014 were only Rs 5000 crores and today it has become 49 to 50 thousand crores. For drinking water PM Modi gave Rs 10,000 crores but the state has spent only 800 crores. Today in Odisha 3 crore 25 lakh people are getting free food grains of 5 kgs per month," he further said.

He further added that people will vote BJD out of power in this election.

The state of Odisha will hold Assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections in four phases from May 13 to June 1, with vote counting scheduled for June 4.

(ANI)

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IPL 2024: I don't think we could have ever expected chasing it like that, says Travis Head

by Utkalika Mohanty

Hyderabad, May 9: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batting star Travis Head 'never expected' the way he and along with fellow opener Abhishek Sharma chased down the total of 166 in 9.4 overs in the IPL 2024 match against Lucknow Super Giants (SRH) on Wednesday night at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Head smashed a 16-ball half-century with some astonishing display of cricketing shots and remained unbeaten on 89 off just 33 deliveries to guide his team home. He along with his opening duo Abhishek Sharma stitched up 166 runs opening partnership and hammered 107 runs in the power play in comparison to LSG's 27.

"I don't think we could have ever expected chasing it like that," acknowledged Head at the post-match press conference. "It looked like a tough wicket in the first innings, it looked like it was holding and a slow pitch. I guess, knowing that as a batter, you know that the powerplay is important. (We were) trying to maximise that and we played beautifully, we were able to get ahead of the rate, which is nice. And once we got going in the first two or three overs, it was just about trying to maximise that as much as we can and I felt we picked our targets and played very well," he said.

SRH obliterated LSG's challenge by first stifling them with the new ball and then launching a sensational chase of 166 in just 9.4 overs, the highest 10-over score in any T20. In all T20 cricket, only seven times 100 or more been scored in the powerplay, SRH have the two top scores, both in IPL 2024.

"You always want to perform, you always want to be consistent, you always want to try and be doing the job; it's not going to always happen in T20 cricket (but) I felt the way we have been playing is great. We're going to have ups and downs, we've had that. Nice to be able to chase a score tonight after being put under pressure by them batting (first).

"A couple of times we've chased throughout the season, we've been put under pressure. To be able to do the job tonight, and chasing, (it feels great). Looking forward to the next two games being at home as well," said Head.

Head and Abhishek have combined for three century stands in the IPL with two of the, coming in the powerplay. SRH is the only side with more than one century opening stand in the IPL 2024.

"It's nice to just come here and contribute. I wasn't sure if I was going to play. Nice to get a go, nice to be performing, and the partnership with Abhi has been fantastic. He's such an exciting talent for Indian cricket, he's exceptional. We complement each other well and he's very, very enjoyable to be around. He's so excited and thinks about the game, he's got loads of energy, so he's a great partnership to be involved in," Head said of the opening stand before he added that the middle order has also played a key role for SRH.

"I guess the Kings game (against Punjab Kings) is a blueprint for us in the way we're able to go about the game. It's not always going to work at the top of the order, we are going to lose wickets, but we want to be brave through the whole middle. Nitish [Reddy] has played some unbelievable innings, obviously we've got Klassy (Heinrich Klaasen) and (Abdul) Samad tops it off for us...

"Everyone is high on confidence, everyone is playing well, we're not dependent on the top order. Yes we are playing well but I don't think it defines the team. I feel like we've got a really strong middle order...we're very well rounded at the moment," he concluded.