Politics
Will Rahul Gandhi’s promises to Adivasis fetch votes for Congress?

Congress party’s former president Rahul Gandhi has promised to scrap the rivers interlinking project in Gujarat, provide free health services and education.
Though these issues are deeply touching the bottom of the pyramid, the big question for Rahul and the party is, will these promises bring votes for their candidates and win more seats than the 2012 and 2017 Assembly elections.
Rahul Gandhi is on a day’s visit to Gujarat on Tuesday. While addressing Adivasi Satyagrah rally in Dahod, he said tribals have rights on the natural resources, and development should not be at the cost of their existence and livelihood.
He promised that if the Congress comes to power in the state it will scrap the Par- Tapi- Narmada interlinking project, which is being opposed by tribals from Valsad, Navsari, Tapi and Surat districts.
Reminding that during the BJP regime, he said that the privatisation has grown by leaps and bounds in social sectors like education and health sectors, this has become a burden for some parents and families. Rahul promised to give free health and education in the state, as the party did in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
In an effort to expose the BJP’s failure in tackling the Covid pandemic, he mentioned about the shortages in oxygen, ventilators and beds faced by the people of the state in first and second wave. He said because of the shortage “some three lakh persons lost their lives during the pandemic”. He also mentioned about the bodies floating in the Ganga River during the pandemic.
To connect with tribals as well as the general public, Rahul Gandhi recalled how the Land Acquisition Act 2013 was benefitting the people at large because strict norms and connecting land price with market value is helping in getting good financial rewards if their land is acquired for development projects. He also emphasised that the Congress brought changes in the ages old land acquisition Act introduced by the British.
He said that this was not a public meeting, “the Congress today launched ‘Satyagrah’ for the Adivasis’ rights and will continue to fight for their rights till they get justice. During the BJP rule people have benefitted less, but millionaires have made huge profits and the Indian society is divided into two parts — rich people’s India and poor India…”
For the first time Gujarat Congress has aggressively used social media to reach out to millions of people. Will Rahul’s speech influence the voters is difficult to answer, because to win elections the BJP will also fight aggressively. The Congress has to work hard as it has to overcome its internal fighting, build confidence and trust among the people and show they can deliver results, only if people are convinced such meetings will reap results, is the assessment of Hari Desai, a political analyst.
disaster
Mumbai’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sudhakar Pathare, who was posted in the Port Zone, passed away in a road accident on Saturday.

Pathare had visited Hyderabad for training. He was on his way to visit a temple with a relative when the accident occurred. Both Pathare and his relative lost their lives in the crash.
Mumbai Police have been informed about the incident.
More details are awaited.
Maharashtra
Order to demolish the tomb of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Baba in Mira Bhayander

Mumbai: The state government has issued an order to demolish the four hundred year old dargah of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Peer Rahmatullah Alaih located in Mira Bhayander. Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation has sent a letter to the collector declaring this dargah illegal and ordered action against it. As the dargah is located on forest land, communalists had started demanding the demolition of the dargah. In the House, Darranjan Daukhre had also demanded action against the dargah, after which now the state government has ordered to run a bulldozer on the dargah. An order has also been issued to remove and demolish the dargah by May.
Dargah trustee Amjad Sheikh said that this dargah is ancient and this order is illegal in itself. In this case, communal forces had launched a campaign against the dargah, after which this order was issued.
There is a dargah on the beach and citing the threat of terrorist and illegal activities and the presence of terrorists here, there was a demand to demolish the dargah. The dargah is close to the sea and in such a situation, the threat of a terrorist attack on Mumbai from the sea has been expressed, while the dargah administration has clearly denied this and said that communal organizations are running their agenda against the dargah and there is no such threat. Muslims have opposed this decision of the government and Muslims have also expressed their displeasure and anger over it.
The trustee says that this dargah is ancient and earlier the collector and the municipal corporation had given a notice, after which the illegal shed and other premises were demolished here and the dargah administration has taken this action at its own level. Now an order has been issued to demolish the dargah itself.
National News
Congress MP Imran Masood calls for banning liquor during Navratri

Saharanpur, March 29: Congress lawmaker Imran Masood said on Saturday that not just meat shops, liquor establishments should be shut during the nine-day festival of Navratri and called for embracing and promoting the spirit of brotherhood and communal harmony.
“Everybody is demanding a ban on meat shops during Navratri. Why is no one asking for a ban on liquor shops? Why is there no outpouring on the free flow of liquor during Navratri? Will this not spoil the purity and sanctity of the festival?” Saharanpur MP said in a special interaction with media.
The Congress Parliamentarian said that peaceful celebration supersedes everything, and it is incumbent upon all communities to maintain decorum during festivities and also make certain sacrifices, be it Eid or Navratri.
Notably, Eid-ul-Fitr and Navratri are coinciding on the same day this year. Both festivals are set to fall on Monday, with little possibility of change in the Eid schedule on account of moon sighting.
Days ago, the Congress MP also extended support to the demands of a meat ban during Navratri celebrations. In an apparent message to the Muslim community, he said that nothing would change if one did not eat meat for ten days.
“What matters above everything is the peaceful co-existence of communities. At no point in time, the differences over food preferences lead to communal strife,” Masood told newspersons.
Congress MP, when asked questions on the party’s strategy for the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, said that the Opposition is fully prepared to take on the Centre on “partisan legislation”.
“We opposed the amendments in the JPC meeting, tooth and nail. We will strongly voice our dissent in Parliament too,” he said.
Notably, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that the Waqf Bill will not be delayed any further and will be reintroduced in the ongoing session of Parliament.
Only four working days of the Budget Session are left, as it concludes on April 4.
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