Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 30 (IANS) Heaping praise on Rahul Gandhi, veteran Congressman and former Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Monday said that "with the Bharat Jodo Yatra ending in Kashmir a new Rahul has taken birth".
Antony said this at a party function and added that this Yatra of Rahul was unique, the country has ever seen.
"With the yatra coming to a close, I am seeing a new Rahul and this Yatra will come to a close only when the present BJP government is sent packing at the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The yatra has helped Rahul to see an India which has now realised that this is going to be re-birth of him," said Antony, while taking part in a party event here,
"The aim of the Congress for the yatra was a unification of the democratic forces," added Antony, who was caught on the backfoot last week when his son Anil Antony slammed the BBC for the documentary on Narendra Modi.
This outburst saw Antony's colleagues slamming his son, who quit the party posts the next day. This is the first time after his son's episode that Antony was seen on a public platform and that too in the company of leaders who took on his son.
Tight security arrangements are being put in place for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ayodhya on Sunday. International guests, diplomats, Union Ministers and celebrities are expected to join the Deepotsav festivities on Sunday. Key events will be organised at the Ram Katha Park.
Paying tributes to the martyrs, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the Punjab Police is an exceptional force which served the country both in times of peace and disturbance. He said 1,792 police officers had sacrificed their lives while fighting terrorism during the period from September 1981 to August 1992.
The spokesperson said the employees will be given option for adopting the old pension scheme or the new pension scheme. The old pension scheme was discontinued in 2004 and ever since then the employees are being given the new pension scheme. However, the employees have been since long demanding the restoration of the old pension scheme.
Two petitioners, engaged in storing and selling of green crackers, approached the High Court challenging the Delhi Pollution Control Committee's (DPCC) order to completely ban the manufacture, storage, sale, and bursting of all kinds of firecrackers till next year in the capital city. The plea stated that the air quality in New Delhi has been moderate or better at least since August 15 this year.
Meanwhile, according to sources in the know of things, Tharoor, who got 16 members from Kerala to put their signature in his nomination form, has managed to secure 130 votes out of the 297 votes from his home state, which is a very tall figure given the fact practically all the bigwigs from Kerala stood rock stock and barrel for Malikarjuna Kharge, who beat Tharoor by a mile.
"This is a revolutionary step aimed at supplementing the income of the farmers to bail them out from the agrarian crisis," he said after inaugurating Verka's newly-built milk processing and butter plant here. The Chief Minister said that the state government has inked an agreement with the Delhi government in this regard.
