The Lok Sabha 2024 elections are round the corner and the opposition leaders are leaving no stone unturned to defeat the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government at the centre. However, all the efforts of the opposition to unite and choose a common Prime Ministerial candidate seems to be a distant dream as all of them seem to be aspiring for the coveted post.
Recently on July 18, 2023, the opposition met at Bengaluru and post the meeting they devised an acronym I.N.D.I.A on similar lines as they had devised in 2004 that is the United Progressive Alliance. The leaders of various regional parties trying to come under one umbrella to contrast against the NDA attended the meeting.
What was intriguing was those who all were claiming to be united, during and post the meeting, they all seem to be airing contradictory views and they seem to have no clear cut agenda for governance.
Therefore before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it is important for the voters to know the credentials of these Prime Ministerial aspirants and accordingly they should make a decision.
Rahul Gandhi- Out on bail in National Herald Case worth Rs 2000 crore, never held any administrative post
Advocate Subramanian Swamy had filed a case against Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi in cheating and breach of trust in the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd by Young Indian Ltd (YIL). He alleged that YIL had ‘taken over’ the assets of the National Herald in a fraudulent manner.
Swamy said that YIL “took over” over the assets of the defunct print media outlet by adopting wrongful means so as to gain profit and assets worth over Rs 2,000 crore.
Meanwhile, this is just one of the cases in which Rahul Gandhi is out on bail. There are other defamation cases which are filed against Rahul Gandhi in which he tried to malign the image of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. One such case is where he had said that RSS was responsible for the killing of Mahatma Gandhi.
Apart from the cases that are filed against Rahul Gandhi, what needs to be kept in mind is that during his two decade long political career, he has never held any administrative position. On the contrary, he and the opposition parties are trying to pitch him against Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was the former Chief Minister of Gujarat for 12 years and is PM of India for nine years.
Sharad Pawar – Known for his alleged links with Dawood Ibrahim
The needle of suspicion has been turned on Sharad Pawar over his alleged links dreaded gangster Dawood Ibrahim after Ex R&AW officer NK Sood in an interview stated that post the Bombay blasts in 1993, the Dawood and his accomplices were given adequate time to flee from the country and in the aftermath of the serial blasts that rocked the financial capital of India, the law enforcement agencies at that point of time did not take any stringent action against Dawood. During the Mumbai blasts, scores of people were left dead.
Sood during the interview also alleged that the statement of Shard Pawar that the Balakot airstrike was not an attack on Pakistan but on Jammu and Kashmir clearly exhibits the close bond that he allegedly shares with the enemy nation and there is more to see than what is visible to the naked eyes.
Sharad Pawar’s name had also up in the Lavasa scam.A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish S Kulkarni of Bombay High Court made an observation while hearing the petition challenging the controversial Lavasa project that there were irregularities and use of ‘political influence and clout’ by Pawar and his family members
Also, a number of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders are involved in various high profile cases of corruption.
Lalu Prasad Yadav – Accused in Fodder Scam, Rail Scam and Bihar became famous for jungle raj during his tenure
The former Chief Minister of Bihar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav was convicted in the Fodder scam case which was to the tune of Rs 900 crores. It was during his tenure that the IRCTC scam had also happened.
When Lalu Prasad was the Chief Minister of Bihar between 1990 to 2000, the per capita income of power had fallen from Rs 1373 to Rs 1289. Also Lalu Prasad’s tenure is known for misgovernance and arson and loot so much so that the industrialists were reluctant to invest in Bihar which was at that point of time notorious for kidnapping, rape, loot and murders.
Akhilesh Yadav – Known for appeasing the muslims, communal violence and lawlessness during his tenure
The former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, had openly come out in favour of the Muslims especially those who were being apprehended by the law enforcement agencies for committing various heinous crimes. Meanwhile, during his tenure as Chief Minister one of the worst communal violence took place in Muzaffarnagar in 2013 in which 62 people were killed, seven women were allegedly raped and more than 60,000 were displaced.
Of late, Samajwadi party leaders were involved in Anti-Hindu stand as they burnt the RamcharitManas.
Arvind Kejriwal – Opposed the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, demanded proof of surgical strike undertaken by Indian Armed Forces
Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejrival who once rose to limelight due to his anti-graft campaign is now seen sharing the stage with all those leaders whose names allegedly figure in various corruption cases. Moreover, he also questioned the surgical strike that was undertaken by the Indian armed forces in Balakot and had demanded proof for the same. Also, his failure was highlighted during the time of COVID 19 when people were vying for oxygen cylinders and there was acute shortage of beds to admit the Covid -19 patients. It was not until Union Home Minister Amit Shah intervened that the situation was brought under control.
Of late he put the blame of waterlogging and floods in Delhi on the Haryana government. People in Delhi had to face a tough time as Yamuna river water had touched the danger mark and people had to make their way through the waterlogged streets.
Arvind Kejriwal’s ministers are lodged in jail on charges of corruption, prominent among them being the former Deputy CM of Delhi, Manish Sisodia and former health minister of Delhi, Satyendra Jain.
His parshad Tahir Husaain is accused in the Delhi Riots case and Kejriwal’s name has also figured in the liquor scam case.
In the past, Kejriwal had opposed the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, despite the Supreme Court order. His aim primarily was to appease the Muslim voters. He had said, “ My ram cannot reside in a temple built on the debris of a mosque.”
Nitish Kumar – Running from pillar to post to convince the opposition to make him PM candidate
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who apparently is leading the newly formed alliance of 26 opposition parties that is being pitched against PM Narendra Modi led NDA. He is one of the main aspirants for the post of the prime minister.
Despite being the CM Of Bihar for more than 18 years, the state is underdeveloped and is less industrialised. Moreover, Kumar is known for switching sides as per his convenience.
In the past he had dislodged RJD on changes of graft and lawlessness and now he is running his own government by taking support from RJD whose leaders are embroiled in various cases of graft.
M K Stalin – Known for anti-Hindu remarks and cash for jobs scam
Stalin is the son of M Karunadhi and has been Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since 2021. He is known for his anti-Hindu stance and this is evident from the fact that his government is bringing the Hindu temples under the ambit of the government. His minister Senthil Balaji is involved in the cash for jobs scam and is in judicial custody. It has also been alleged that certain government officials accepted bribes in exchange for appointments to the state transport corporation between 2011 and 2015.
Mamata Banerjee – Her govt involved in violence in West Bengal, appeasement politics and corrupt practices
Mamata Banerjee who in the past had played a pivotal role in dislodging the Communist Party led government and has been the Chief Minister of West Bengal, is now heavily embroiled in appeasing the Muslims of the state and it has been alleged that 118 Muslim castes were given reservation in the OBC category. The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) received complaints regarding the same. NCBC chairperson Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said that of the 179 OBC groups included in the state list, 118 were from the Muslim community and they are looking into the matter.
Moreover, her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee was interrogated by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a school jobs scam, for more than six hours.
Also, there were reports of attacks on the Hindus at the time of Ram Navami festival and at the time of Durga Puja also. West Bengal Assembly and local body polls were also marred by violence in which a number of people were killed. Despite the presence of central armed forces, a number of people lost their lives as the TMC goons vandalised the property, destroyed the infrastructure and in order to create fear among the common man, they killed those who opposed them.
Conclusion
These are the politicians of I.N.D.IA who want to remove from power leaders like Narendra Modi, Ashwani Vaishnav, S Jsishankar, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman and prominent official and NSA Ajit Doval. Now it is for the voters to decide what is best for them.
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