Soon after the video of meeting controversial Tamil pastor George Ponnaiah went viral, Congress hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, alleging that the ruling party at the Centre has been spreading lies adding that its “typical mischief” is an attempt to damage the spirit of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.

“It is a completely bogus video. What was said in the conversation has nothing to do with the tweet. We have issued the full text of what was said. It is typical mischievous lies being spread by the BJP to damage the spirit of Bharat Jodo Yatra,” said Jairam Ramesh.

Ramesh slammed BJP for dividing the country and said, “We are trying to unite people and to bring people together because India is being broken because of economic inequality, social polarisation and political centralisation. The BJP divides and Congress unites. BJP believes in uniformity while congress unity. BJP rejects India’s diversity but Congress celebrates India’s diversity.”

He further said that this Bharat Jodo Yatra is like Lord Hanuman which will bring ‘Sanjeevani’ for the revival of the Congress party.

“We are determined that this Bharat Jodo Yarta will be a huge success, it will create the new political culture and it will strengthen the Congress party organisation. India needs a strong vibrant Congress and the Bharat Jodo Yatra is Hanuman to create ‘Sanjeevani’ for Congress,” he added.

Taking to Twitter, Ramesh said that the video bears no relation whatsoever to what is recorded in the audio.

“An atrocious tweet from the BJP hate factory is doing the rounds. It bears no relation whatsoever to what is recorded in the audio. This is typical BJP mischief that has become more desperate after the successful launch of Bharat Jodo Yatra which is evoking such a huge response,” he said in a tweet.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with the priest and said that “it is Rahul Gandhi’s Nafrat Jodo Abhiyan” while adding that today they have met a person like George Ponnaiah, the poster boy of Bharat Jodo Yatra-who challenged, threatened Hindus and said inappropriate things about Bharat Mata. Congress has a long history of being anti-Hindu.”

Poonawalla attacked Rahul Gandhi, “George Ponnaiah who met Rahul Gandhi says Jesus is the only God unlike Shakti (& other Hindu Gods)”

He further said, “Earlier he was arrested for his bigotry remark, when he said, “I wear shoes because impurities of Bharat Mata should not contaminate us.”
Poonawalla took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with the priest, saying, “Bharat Jodo with Bharat Todo icons?”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a 150-day-long Bharat Jodo Yatra, on Friday met a controversial catholic priest George Ponnaiah in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu.

A video clip of Rahul Gandhi’s interaction with the Tamil Nadu pastor went viral, in which Rahul Gandhi can be heard asking, “Jesus Christ is a form of God? Is that right?” to which the Tamil Nadu priest George Ponniah replied, “He is the real God.”

Ponniah goes on to say, “God reveals him(self) as a man, a real person…not like Shakti…so we see a human person.”

Ponniah has a history of delivering provocative statements that have landed him in trouble in the past. He was arrested last year in July in Kallikudi, Madurai for allegedly making a ‘hate speech’ against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, DMK Minister and others.
Rahul Gandhi met him at the Muttidichan Parai Church, Puliyoorkurichy where he camped for a morning break on Friday.

Pastor George Ponnaiah was arrested last year in July for his hate speech targeting the Hindu community. He made contentious remarks in a meeting on July 18, 2021, at Arumanai in Tamil Nadu.

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah are slated to participate in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of major cooperative institutions of Gujarat on Sunday.

In his day-long visit to his hometown, the Minister will participate in the co-operative symposium– an AGM of major cooperative institutions of Gujarat organised in Amreli city in Gujarat around 11.30 am.

Sources said that the pride of dairy co-operatives and owner of the brand Amul, GCMMF, the apex body of 18 milk unions spread across the state of Gujarat, may also participate in the AGM as the Union Cooperation Minister months ago this year lauded its commitment for strengthening the co-operative movement and empowering women.

Speaking at the AGM, an official said detailed turnover, profits and future plans of the major co-operative institutions in Gujarat are expected to be discussed.

The meet is being organised two days after, the Home Minister chaired a two-day conference of State Cooperation Ministers organised by the Ministry of Cooperation in New Delhi on September 8 to 9 in which deliberations were held on various important themes including – National Cooperation Policy, National Cooperative Database, New Proposed Schemes of Ministry of Cooperation like Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in every Panchayat, Export of Agro-based and other products, promotion and marketing of Organic Products, expansion of Co-operatives to New Areas.

In the meeting, subjects related to PACS and Model Bye-Laws including PACS Computerization, Action Plan for Revitalization of defunct PACS and Model Bye-Laws of PACS were also discussed along with issues related to Primary Co-operative Societies regarding prioritizing long-term financing, Milk Co-operative Societies and Fish Cooperative Societies in presence of 21 states and Lieutenant Governors of two Union Territories.

After attending the cooperatives’ meeting, as per the current schedule, the Home Minister will go for worship at Lord Somnath temple at 3 pm.

Ahmedabad, Sep 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called for concerted efforts to make India a global centre of research and innovation, and urged state governments to frame modern policies in the fields of science and technology.
Addressing via video link the inaugural session of the Centre-State Science Conclave organised here, Modi said India is going ahead with the mantra of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandhan’.
“We have to work together on various fronts to make India a global centre of research and innovation in this ‘amrit kaal’. We have to take our research in the fields of science and technology to the local level. It is the need of the hour for all the states to give emphasis on innovation to find local solutions to local problems,” he said.
Urging the state governments to frame modern policies related to science, innovation and technology to find solutions to local problems, he stressed the need for more cooperation and collaboration with scientists.“In order to encourage innovation, the state governments should give emphasis on creation of more and more scientific institutions and on simplification of processes. The number of innovation labs should also be increased in the institutions of higher education in the states,” he said.
The prime minister noted that India’s Global Innovation Index ranking improved from 81 in 2015 to 46 due to the efforts of the central government. (Agencies)

NEW DELHI, Sept 10: A military station on the banks of Lohit Valley along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and a key road in this mountain hamlet were on Saturday named after India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, around nine months after he died in a helicopter crash.
As a young Colonel, Rawat had commanded his Battalion 5/11 Gorkha Rifles at Kibithu from 1999-2000 and contributed immensely in strengthening the security structure of the area.
The Kibithu military camp and the 22 km-long road stretch from Walong to Kibithu were named after Gen Rawat at a ceremony attended by Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brigadier (retd) B D Mishra, Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita and Gen Rawat’s daughters Kritika and Tarini. Several senior military officials also attended the event.
The Kibithu military camp was renamed as Gen Bipin Rawat Military Garrison wherein a grand gate built in local traditional architectural style was inaugurated by the governor. The 22-km road stretch from Walong to Kibithu was dedicated as Gen Bipin Rawat Marg by Chief Minister Khandu.
A majestic life size mural of the Gen Rawat was also unveiled.
Gen Rawat was killed in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8 last year along with his wife Madhulika and 12 armed forces personnel.
Kibithu is a small hamlet on the banks of the Lohit Valley in the eastern most part of India.
A circle under Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh, Kibithu is considered an important location from the military perspective.
The Army said Gen Rawat’s vision and foresight were instrumental in implementing the infrastructural development and ensuring societal progress in the area.
“Gen Bipin Rawat’s untimely demise in December 2021 left an irreplaceable void in the country,” it said.
The event was attended by citizens of Kibithu and Walong.
The Army said the ceremony has further synergised civil-military relations and is a befitting tribute to the first Chief of Defence Staff of India.
In March, the then Army Chief Gen M M Naravane had announced setting up of a ‘Chair of Excellence’ in memory of India’s first Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat at the United Service Institution of India (USI), a leading military think tank, in Delhi. (Agencies)

NEW DELHI, Sept 10: Five Congress MPs have written to AICC central election authority chief Madhusudan Mistry expressing concern about the “transparency and fairness” of the party chief’s election and sought that the list of PCC delegates that make up the electoral college be provided to all electors and potential candidates.
In a joint letter to Mr. Mistry dated September 6, Congress’s Lok Sabha members Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Karti Chidambaram, Pradyut Bordoloi and Abdul Khaleque said this list must be made available in order to verify who is entitled to nominate a candidate and who is entitled to vote.
“In case the CEA [Central Election Authority] has any concerns with respect to releasing the electoral rolls publicly, it must put in place a mechanism to securely share this information with all electors and potential candidates,” the letter said.
Electors and candidates cannot be expected to go to all 28 Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs) and nine Union Territorial units across the country to verify the electoral rolls, the MPs said in their communication to Mr. Mistry.

They said that as Congress MPs, they are concerned about the transparency and fairness of the election process for the president of the party.
“It is unfortunate that an erroneous interpretation is being given to our demand of releasing electoral rolls. We are not suggesting that any internal document of the party should be released in a manner that may give an opportunity to those who wish us ill to misuse the information contained therein,” the MPs said.
They said that they are of the firm opinion that before the commencement of the nomination process, the party’s CEA must provide a list of PCC delegates that make up the electoral college.
The MPs said that providing the list will remove any unwarranted arbitrariness from the election process. “As long as this demand is met, our concern about transparency — a sine qua non in any free and fair election — will be met,” the letter said.
The letter came a day after the party launched its ambitious ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Kanyakumari to Kashmir on Wednesday.

Speaking on the party’s polls, Rahul Gandhi on Friday said at a press conference in Kanyakumari that he has made his decision on whether he will take up the party presidency but did not divulge his plans. He said he will give his reasons if he does not contest the upcoming elections for the post
Asked if he would become the Congress president, he said, “Whether I become president or not, this will become very clear when the presidential elections of the Congress party take place.”
Wait till that time. When that time happens [comes], you will see. And if I don’t stand, you can ask me ‘why didn’t you stand’ and I will answer the question for you,” Mr. Gandhi told reporters.
Sources said Mr. Tharoor and Mr. Bordoloi had written separate letters to Mr. Mistry earlier as well seeking the publication of the electoral rolls.
Mr. Tharoor and Mr. Tewari were among the group of 23 leaders who had written to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking an organisational overhaul. Mr. Tharoor is contemplating running for the post of party president.

Last month, Mr. Tewari and Mr. Chidambaram, along with Mr. Tharoor, had demanded that the electoral rolls be made public to ensure transparency.
Mr. Tewari had raised objections to Congress not making public the names of the electors for the polls to elect the next party president and said the list must be published on the All India Congress Committee (AICC) website for a “free and fair” process.
Mr. Mistry, however, has maintained that the election is being held transparently and the entire poll process is free and fair.
He had said that according to the party’s constitution, the electoral rolls cannot be made public but they can be provided to anyone contesting the election.
The notification for the Congress president’s election will be out on September 22 and the process for filing nominations will be held from September 24 to 30.
The last date for the withdrawal of nominations is October 8 and the election, if required, will be held on October 17. The results will be out on October 19. (Agencies)