New Delhi: Raghav Chaddha counterattacked on saturday Aam Aadmi Party Rejecting the allegations against him, he was removed from the post of deputy leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha and Ashok Kumar Mittal was appointed in his place. Describing the move as part of a ‘written campaign’, Chadha alleged that it was a ‘coordinated attack’ aimed at targeting him. In a video shared on Twitter, he said he would expose “every lie” and respond to every allegation made by the party, ending with a popular line. stalwart: “Ghayal hoon toh ghaatak hoon” (I may be injured, but I am also stronger because of it).“Aam Aadmi Party made three allegations and said that because of these Raghav Chadha should not be allowed to speak in Parliament. I would like to address all three,” he said.He said, “The first allegation is that when the opposition walked out of Parliament, I remained sitting and did not join them. This is a complete lie – a white lie. I challenge anyone to show me even a single instance where the opposition walked out and I did not join them. There are CCTV cameras everywhere in Parliament – bring out the footage and the truth will become clear.”He also rejected the claim that he refused to sign the impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.“The second allegation is that I refused to sign the impeachment motion against the Chief Election Commissioner. This is also false. No party leader ever asked me – formally or informally – to sign it. In fact, many Rajya Sabha MPs from the party themselves did not sign the motion. So why is the blame being put only on me? Moreover, such a motion requires 50 signatures in the Rajya Sabha, and this number could have easily been met. So why the noise?” he said.Taking a dig at the third charge of raising “trivial issues” in Parliament, Chadha said, “The third charge is that I am afraid and hence raise trivial issues. Let me clarify – I did not go to Parliament to shout, create chaos or break microphones. I went there to raise public issues. I have spoken on GST, income tax, Punjab water, Delhi’s air pollution, the condition of government schools, strengthening public healthcare and the problems faced by passengers in the Indian Railways. Along with unemployment and inflation, I have also raised issues like menstrual health, which people often hesitate to discuss. You can check my four-year parliamentary record – I was there to create influence, not disruption.”AAP informed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat on Thursday that Ashok Kumar Mittal has been appointed as the new deputy leader of the party in the Upper House in place of Raghav Chadha.Chadha, who has been a Member of Parliament since April 2022, has often attracted attention by raising major issues in Parliament. Recently, she expressed concern over the practice of “Sarpanch Pati” or “Panchayat Pati”, where women elected to reserved local body seats often remain nominal representatives, while real authority is exercised by male members of the family.He urged the Government to take steps to ensure that women elected to Panchayati Raj institutions are able to exercise real power, in line with the intent of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay

New Delhi: Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay on Saturday criticized both the BJP and the Congress for failing to grant statehood to Puducherry despite ruling it at the Center for years. “Neither the Congress nor the BJP could grant statehood to Puducherry despite being in power at the Centre. The TVK government will make 100% efforts to achieve full statehood legally, free from the interference of the Lieutenant Governor,” Vijay said at an election rally in the Union Territory.Puducherry, a former French colony, officially merged with India in 1962 and was granted union territory status the following year. It is administered by a Lieutenant Governor appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Centre, while the elected regional government has limited powers – giving rise to a long-standing demand for full statehood.Meanwhile, the actor-politician also urged voters to support TVK’s “whistle” symbol to start a “one-finger revolution”, an apparent reference to a dialogue from one of his films.Vijay took a dig at both the major alliances in the region. The Tamil superstar, popularly known as “Thalapathy” (leader), said, “The ruling All India NR Congress (AINRC)-BJP alliance is a tired alliance. Like Tamil Nadu, the opposition DMK-Congress alliance in Puducherry is a confused alliance.”He also introduced TVK’s candidates and described them as leaders who “stand with the people” and outlined a series of welfare promises. These include:

The Puducherry Legislative Assembly has 33 members, of whom 30 are elected and three are nominated by the Central Government. Voting for the 30 seats will take place on April 9, with over 9.4 lakh voters deciding the fate of 294 candidates. Counting of votes is scheduled to take place on May 4 along with assembly election results in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, with voting taking place around the same period as Puducherry.

MK Stalin at Nagercoil rally

New Delhi: Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu mk stalinWhile campaigning before the state assembly elections, he criticized the proposed amendment of the central government on Saturday. Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), alleging that it targets minorities, especially Christians.Read this also ‘Anxiety among minorities’: Shashi Tharoor questions FCRA amendment billfcra bill could not be picked up For discussion in the Lok Sabha due to opposition. The BJP-led Center has defended the law, with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju insisting that it is aimed at protecting national security and is not targeted at any particular religion.Addressing an election rally in Nagercoil, Stalin called the FCRA bill an “attack on religious freedom”.“The FCRA bill is harsh. It targets minorities, especially Christian organisations. If passed, recognition of Christian NGOs could be canceled and their funding taken away even for minor defaults,” PTI quoted him as saying.The DMK supremo said, “This bill amounts to snatching away the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, and is also a serious attack on freedom of religion and on those who want to serve society. SCs, STs and the rural poor will be most affected.”Stalin also claimed that he was the first to condemn the proposed amendments and said that he written Urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw this bill.Nagercoil, where Stalin addressed the rally, has a large Christian population. According to the 2011 national census, the city in Kanniyakumari district had a population of 2.24 lakh, of which about 30% are Christians.Meanwhile, Stalin further alleged that the Center has failed to protect Tamil Nadu fishermen and criticized its foreign policy. He also claimed that PM Modi has weakened India’s influence even among smaller neighboring countries.Voting for all 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu is scheduled for April 23, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4. In the 2021 elections, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance won 159 seats, with the DMK alone winning 133 – well above the majority mark of 118.