NEW DELHI: Raghav Chadha on Saturday hit back at the Aam Aadmi Party after being removed as the party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha and replaced by Ashok Kumar Mittal, rejecting the allegations cited against him. Terming the move part of a “scripted campaign”, Chadha alleged that it was a “coordinated attack” aimed at targeting him. In a video shared on X, he said he would expose “every lie” and responded to each charge levelled by the party, ending with a popular line from Dhurandhar: “Ghayal hoon isliye ghatak hoon” (I may be wounded, but I am also stronger because of it).“The 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.“The first allegation is that when the opposition walks out of Parliament, I remain seated and do not join them. This is completely false — a blatant lie. I challenge anyone to show even a single instance where the opposition walked out and I did not join them. Parliament has CCTV cameras everywhere — bring out the footage and the truth will be clear,” he added.He further rejected the claim that he refused to sign the impeachment motion against the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.“The second allegation is that I refused to sign the impeachment motion against the Chief Election Commissioner. This too is false. No leader from the party ever asked me — formally or informally — to sign it. In fact, several Rajya Sabha MPs from the party themselves did not sign the motion. So why is the blame being placed solely on me? Moreover, such a motion requires 50 signatures in the Rajya Sabha, and that number could easily have been met. So why the noise?” he said.Tearing into the third allegations of raising “trivial issues” in the Parliament, Chadha said: “The third allegation is that I am afraid and therefore 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’s water, Delhi’s air pollution, the condition of government schools, strengthening public healthcare, and problems faced by passengers in Indian Railways. I have even raised issues like menstrual health, which people often hesitate to discuss, along with unemployment and inflation. You can check my four-year parliamentary record — I went there to create impact, not disruption.”AAP on Thursday informed the Rajya Sabha secretariat that Ashok Kumar Mittal has been appointed as its new deputy leader in the Upper House, replacing Raghav Chadha.Chadha, who has been a Member of Parliament since April 2022, has frequently drawn attention for raising key issues in Parliament. Recently, he flagged concerns over the practice of “sarpanch pati” or “panchayat pati,” where women elected to reserved local body seats often remain nominal representatives while actual authority is exercised by male family members.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 Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay on Saturday criticised both the BJP and Congress for failing to grant statehood to Puducherry despite ruling at the Centre for years. “Neither Congress nor BJP could give statehood to Puducherry despite holding power at the Centre. A TVK government will make a 100% effort to secure full statehood legally, free from interference by the lieutenant governor,” Vijay said at an election rally in the poll-bound 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 Centre’s recommendation, while the elected regional government has limited powers—fuelling a long-standing demand for full statehood.Meanwhile, the actor-politician also urged voters to support TVK’s “whistle” symbol to usher in a “one-finger revolution,” an apparent reference to a dialogue from one of his films.Vijay took a swipe at both major alliances in the region. “The ruling All India NR Congress (AINRC)-BJP combine is an exhausted alliance. Just like in Tamil Nadu, the opposition DMK-Congress alliance in Puducherry is a confused one,” the Tamil superstar, popularly known as “Thalapathy” (leader), added.He also introduced TVK’s candidates, describing 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 which 30 are elected and three are nominated by the Union government. Voting for the 30 seats will be held on April 9, with over 9.4 lakh voters set to decide the fate of 294 candidates. Counting of votes is scheduled for May 4, alongside assembly election results in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, which are voting around the same period as Puducherry.

MK Stalin at Nagercoil rally

NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, campaigning ahead of the state assembly elections, on Saturday slammed the Union government’s proposed amendment to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), alleging it targets minorities, particularly Christians.Also Read | ‘Anxiety among minorities’: Shashi Tharoor questions FCRA Ammendment BillThe FCRA bill could not be taken up for discussion in the Lok Sabha due to opposition protests. The BJP-led Centre has defended the legislation, with Union minister Kiren Rijiju asserting that it aims to protect national security and is not targeted at any particular religion.Addressing an election rally in Nagarcoil, Stalin called the FCRA bill an “assault on freedom of religion.”“The FCRA bill is draconian. It targets minorities, especially Christian organisations. If passed, recognition of Christian NGOs can be cancelled and their funds taken away even for minor lapses,” PTI quoted him as saying.The DMK supremo added, “The bill is tantamount to taking away rights provided by the Constitution, and it is a serious assault on the freedom of religion and also on people who wish to do social service. SCs, STs, and the rural poor will be affected the most.”Stalin also claimed he was the first to condemn the proposed amendments and stated that he has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging that the bill be withdrawn.Nagercoil, where Stalin addressed the rally, has a significant Christian population. According to the 2011 national census, the town in Kanniyakumari district had a population of 2.24 lakh, of which around 30% are Christians.Meanwhile, Stalin further alleged that the Centre has failed to protect Tamil Nadu fishermen and criticised its foreign policy. He also claimed that PM Modi has weakened India’s influence, even among smaller neighbouring countries.Voting for all 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu is scheduled for April 23, with counting of votes set for May 4. In the 2021 polls, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance won 159 seats, with the DMK alone securing 133 victories—well above the majority mark of 118.

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Friday unveiled the Air Pollution Mitigation Action Plan 2026, announcing a series of measures including strict enforcement of the “No PUC, No Fuel” rule, curbs on polluting vehicles and a push for cleaner transport and dust control.Announcing the rollout of the plan, Gupta said the initiative builds on the government’s ‘historic’ Green Budget for 2026-27 and aims to translate clean air goals into measurable outcomes.The action plan, announced after a high-level review meeting held at the Mukhyamantri Janseva Sadan, is aimed at tackling key sources of pollution such as vehicular emissions, road dust, construction activity, industrial discharge and biomass burning, officials said.