11 pm: Here are the day’s top updates:

  • Over 200 Indian writers have issued an appeal to Indians to vote out hate politics in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and vote for a “diverse and equal India”.
  • The Supreme Court asked 21 Opposition leaders to reply within a week to the Election Commission’s affidavit on their plea about the use of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail slips in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
  • The State Bank of India has already issued electoral bonds worth Rs 1,716.05 crore in the first two rounds of sales this year. In comparison, bonds worth Rs 1,056.73 crore were issued in six rounds in all of 2018, according to a Right to Information plea.
  • The Election Commission sought a report after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath called the Indian Army “Modiji ki Sena” or the army of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally. Adityanath has been criticised by both Opposition leaders and defence personnel for what he said.
  • The BJP announced that Thushar Vellappally of the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena will be the National Democratic Alliance’s candidate from Wayanad constituency in Kerala. Vellapally is up against Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
  • Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tej Pratap Yadav launched the ‘Lalu Rabri Morcha’ amid reports of a rift in the party.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked National Conference leader Omar Abdullah for his statement that Jammu and Kashmir should have a separate prime minister, and asked the Congress and grand Opposition alliance to clarify their stance. Modi, meanwhile, claimed the Congress branded peace-loving Hindus as terrorists, and Amit Shah alleged that the Opposition party was trying to defame Hindus by linking them with terrorism.
  • The Aam Aadmi Party complained to the EC against a new 24-hour television channel, NaMo TV, which covers Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaigns live. The High Courts of Delhi and Bombay, meanwhile, dismissed separate petitions that sought a stay on the release of a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is expected to release on April 5.
  • Newly-inducted Congress leader Hardik Patel moved the Supreme Court on Monday challenging the Gujarat High Court’s refusal to stay his conviction in a 2015 rioting case.

10.30 pm: Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tej Pratap Yadav, son of the party’s chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, launches the “Lalu-Rabri Morcha” ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The Bihar leader demands that candidates of his choice be put up in some seats.

Read more here: Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tej Pratap Yadav launches ‘Lalu Rabri Morcha’ amid reports of rift in party

10.20 pm: The BJP’s Delhi will release a separate manifesto for the elections with special focus on local issues, PTI quoted Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari as saying.

10 pm: The Congress will release its poll manifesto on Tuesday, reports PTI.

The manifesto will be released by party President Rahul Gandhi and top Congress leaders including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at their party headquarters.

9.02 pm: Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar claims that Facebook’s move to remove 687 pages and accounts linked to the Congress’ social media cell have exposed the party’s “real character”, PTI reports. “Congress made fake accounts and groups to push lies,” Javadekar tells reporters in Jaipur.

8.53 pm: Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde claims the party never coined the phrase “Hindu terror”, ANI reports. “The prime minister didn’t speak on jobs, development and farmers’ issues,” he says. “We never raised issue of Hindu terrorism, been long when we did so, that also on input from intelligence agencies. They are digging up a nine-year-old issue.” Shinde claims the BJP is scared because of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi’s campaigns.

8.41 pm: The Biju Janata Dal releases a list of 10 candidates, one for the Lok Sabha polls and nine for the Assembly elections, ANI reports.

8.25 pm: The Mumbai district election officer has issued a notice to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut for his editorial in Saamana on Sunday, in which he claimed that EVMs in Begusarai had been tampered. The officer has asked Raut to respond by April 3.

7.59 pm: National People’s Party chief and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma says his party will continue to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill. “Meghalaya was the first state in India to oppose the Bill and raise its objection,” PTI quotes Sangma as saying. “We took the initiative to unite different political parties of Northeast and made our voice heard in Delhi and ensured that the CAB was not introduced in the Rajya Sabha.” The NPP is an ally of the BJP.

7.47 pm: Abdullah also takes a jab at the BJP and its IT Cell for ensuring his speech reached a wider audience. He also tells the Opposition parties that they do not have to support him or his party’s stand on this matter. “Dear friends in the Congress & other opposition parties. Please don’t hesitate to distance yourselves from my speech of today. In fact call Modi ji’s bluff by doing exactly that,” he writes on Twitter.

7.46 pm: Justifying his demand for a separate prime minister for Jammu and Kashmir, Abdullah says his party has “always stood for the restoration of the original terms of accession so there is NOTHING new in this”. The BJP must be “really desperate” when the prime minister makes this an election issue, he adds.

7.44 pm: At a rally in Telangana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticises the Jammu and Kshmir National Conference. “National Conference – a significant ally of Congress – has stated that Kashmir should have a separate prime minister,” Modi says, according to ANI. “Congress will have to answer for it. What is the reason behind Congress’ ally having the courage to come out with such statements?”

Modi was reacting to Omar Abdullah’s comments at a rally in Bandipora.

7.35 pm: The Election Commission seeks a report on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath’s statement that the Indian Army is “Modiji ki Sena”, or the army of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at an election rally, NDTV reports.

7.15 pm: Rahul Gandhi says a post-poll alliance is “absolutely possible” after the Lok Sabha elections as all Opposition parties are united in defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party, PTI reports.

6 pm: Buxar Police in Bihar book Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey for violating the Model Code of Conduct by forcibly entering a public park on Saturday and allegedly misbehaving with a government official who tried to stop him, reports PTI quoting police.

Police also booked district BJP president Rana Pratap Singh, who had accompanied Choubey. Choubey and Singh allegedly misbehaved with Sub-Divisional Magistrate Krishna Kumar Upadhyay when he tried to stop them from entering Kila Maidan, saying that the number of vehicles in their convoy exceeded permissible limits.

5.55 pm: Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav says Congress’ minimum income guarantee scheme will have a far-reaching impact on the people of Bihar and make a “massive dent” in the cycle of poverty, reports PTI.

Yadav says the Grand Alliance in Bihar has rattled the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. It is not a “lacklustre alliance” but a “robust rainbow coalition of not only political parties but also of social constituencies”, he says in an interview to PTI.

5.51 pm: BJP fields Abhimanyu Sethi, son of former Biju Janata Dal leader Arjun Sethi, from Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat. Veteran leader Bijay Mohapatra is BJP’s candidate for the Patkura Assembly seat, reports PTI.

5.48 pm: Union minister Rajnath Singh says the Congress should learn from the BJP how a government should be run, reports PTI. Singh says India was among the fastest growing economies in the world and not a single charge of corruption was raised against any minister in Narendra Modi’s Cabinet.

“India, which ranked 11th in the list of world economies in 2013, has jumped to the sixth position and will stand 5th in the list over the next six months,” says Singh at an election rally in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand. “If the pace of development continues, India will be the third biggest economy in the world by 2028.”

5.44 pm: Biju Janata Dal president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik rejects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that the BJP will repeat Tripura-like result in Odisha, reports PTI.

“We [Biju Janata Dal] will do very well in the elections,” says Patnaik in response to Modi’s statement. “I have said it before ... you will see.” The BJP had won a majority in the last Assembly elections in Tripura and formed the government dismantling 25 years of the Left Front’s rule.

5.40 pm: Sandip Singh, who is the producer, creative director and writer of the biopic PM Narendra Modi, says the team is happy that “finally justice has been given to the film”. “We believe in the system and the law,” Singh says. “We are hoping to release the film on time now.”

5.38 pm: Bombay High Court disposes off a plea seeking to stay the release of the film PM Narendra Modi, reports ANI. The film will be released on April 6. The Delhi High Court earlier in the day rejected a plea to stay the film’s release, according to The Economic Times.

4.44 pm: Over 200 Indian writers appeal to Indians to vote out hate politics in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and vote for a “diverse and equal India”. The writers include Girish Karnad, Arundhati Roy, Amitav Ghosh, Bama, Nayantara Sahgal, TM Krishna, Vivek Shanbhag, Jeet Thayil, K Satchidanandan and Romila Thapar.

Also read:

Over 200 writers including Girish Karnad, Nayantara Sahgal ask Indians to vote out hate politics

4.32 pm: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel sends a mirror to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “You keep this mirror at such a place in your residence on Lok Kalyan Marg from where you pass most of the time so that you can try to identify your real face by looking into this mirror again and again,” the Congress leader tweets. He adds that Modi may throw the mirror in the dustbin but cannot avoid looking into it. “The country’s 125 crore population is going to show you the mirror in this election...Are you ready Modiji?” Baghel asks.

4.24 pm: Congress leader Manish Tewari says the party will not react to the development of Facebook removing pages linked to them. “We don’t react to news reports which may just be coming in. We will have to check veracity of the report whether there are any Facebook pages which are linked to us,” says Tewari.

Read more here

Facebook says it has removed 687 pages, accounts linked to Congress IT cell

4.11 pm: Gandhi says the youth will get a free hand to start new businesses once the Congress comes to power in 2019.

4.08 pm: Rahul Gandhi says the Gabbar Singh Tax (GST) destroyed the MSMEs in Telangana but its chief minister supported it. “His remote control is in Narendra Modi’s hands,” says Gandhi.

4.03 pm: Addressing a rally in Telangana’s Wanaparthy, Congress President Rahul Gandhi says the Rs 72,000 cash under the NYAY scheme will be deposited in the bank accounts of the women in the family. “Crores of women will get power and India would stand on its own,” he says. He adds that 33% reservation will be given to women in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and state assemblies if the UPA is elected to power. Gandhi also promises 33% reservation for women in central government jobs.

3.44 pm: Modi says Naidu does not have time for farmers. “His favourite work is labelling his sticker on works of the central government,” says Modi. “As like they have done with PM Kisan Nidhi Yojana.”

Modi says the NDA ensured fast development even without increasing taxes. “We have not raised taxes in the last five years, but development has been on fast pace. Previous governments used to complain of lack of funds, including for buying Rafale aircraft”, says Modi.

3.40 pm: Modi says the NDA government declared Polavaram as a national project and has given Andhra Pradesh Rs 7,000 crore, keeping in view the importance of the project. But, Naidu used the project for corruption, says the prime minister.

“I have been told that TDP has started a new work, and that work is related to cyber crime,” says Modi. “The Seva Mitra app they talk about, neither it is doing seva [service] nor it is a friend. The truth is that app is stealing people’s data.”

3.39 pm: Patidar leader Hardik Patel moves the Supreme Court challenging a Gujarat High Court order that upheld his conviction so that he can contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, reports NDTV. A lower court at Mehsana in Gujarat had sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment in a 2015 rioting and arson case. In August 2018, the High Court suspended Patel’s sentence but upheld his conviction.

3.30 pm: Modi attacks Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu over the Polavaram irrigation project. He says the project is like an ATM for the chief minister. He calls Naidu “U-turn babu”.

3.27 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says the NDA government is committed to the all-round development of Andhra Pradesh. He is addressing an election rally in Rajahmundry. “With the help of you all honest taxpayers, we have taken steps to strengthen agriculture, education, connectivity and industrial infrastructure in Rajahmundry and Andhra Pradesh,” he says.

3.26 pm: Seven BJP candidates file their nominations for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat, reports PTI. Of these, six are sitting MPs and one is an independent who is contesting on a BJP ticket.

3.20 pm: NDA candidate from Wayanad Thushar Vellappally thanks the BJP for fielding him from the Lok Sabha seat.

3.19 pm: The Muzzaffarnagar Media Certification and Monitoring Committee will preview, scrutinise and verify advertisements put up by candidates, reports PTI. District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey says the committee will keep a tab on paid news and objectionable content. Muzaffarnagar will vote on April 11.

3.03 pm: Shiromani Akali Dal announces candidates for five Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab. Bibi Jagir Kaur from Khadoor Sahib, S Charanjit Singh Atwal from Jalandhar (Reserve), Prem Singh Chandumajra from Anandpur Sahib, S Surjit Singh Rakhra from Patiala and Darbara Singh Guru from Fatehgarh Sahib (Reserve).

2.47 pm: The BJP announces Bharat Dharma Jana Sena President Thushar Vellappally the NDA candidate from Wayanad. He will contest against Congress President Rahul Gandhi. “A vibrant and dynamic youth leader, he represents our commitment towards development and social justice,” says Amit Shah. “With him, NDA will emerge as Kerala’s political alternative.”

2.46 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticises her Uttar Pradesh counterpart Adityanath for reportedly referring to the Indian Army as “Modiji ki sena”. She says the Indian Army belongs to the countrymen. “It is shocking to hear the UP CM saying that the Indian Army is the ‘Modi Sena’,” tweets Banerjee. “Such blatant personalisation and usurping of our beloved Indian Army is an insult and a humiliation.”

2.37 pm: The Aam Aadmi Party writes to the Election Commission asking if permission could be given to a party to launch their own TV channel when the Model Code of Conduct is in force. “If no permission was sought by ECI then what action has been taken?” asks the party, reports ANI. The BJP announced the launch of a television channel named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. NaMo TV will be available on major DTH platforms.

Read more here

AAP complains to Election Commission against NaMo TV, the new channel dedicated to coverage on Modi

2.34 pm: Facebook says it has removed 687 pages, accounts linked to the Congress party, reports Reuters. It has also removed 113 accounts linked to Pakistani military employees.

2.21 pm: Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar files his nomination from the North Goa seat, reports PTI. The party’s South Goa seat nominee Francisco Sardinha will file his nomination on Tuesday.

2.20 pm: Animal rights body PETA India asks political parties to adhere to the Model Code of Conduct and not use any animal in the election campaigns. In a letter to the presidents of national political parties, PETA India’s associate director of policy Nikunj Sharma says using animals in election campaigns is “unnecessary, archaic and cruel.”

Read more here

2019 elections: PETA urges parties to follow new EC guidelines banning use of animals for campaigns

2.15 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accuses Congress of fooling the people for 50 years. “But, people will not be fooled again, they will support the BJP in this election,” he says.

At a rally in Wardha district, he says the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance will sweep the Vidarbha region like 2014 when they had won all the 10 Lok Sabha seats. Fadnavis makes fun of the Opposition’s grand alliance. “You don’t need 56 parties to run the nation, but a 56-inch chest to serve the people, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has,” he says.

2.12 pm: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor files nomination from Thiruvananthapuram Parliamentary constituency.

2.07 pm: Samajwadi Party candidate from Gorakhpur seat Ram Bhuwal Nishad alleges that the Nishad Party chief took Rs 50 crore from the BJP. “Sanjay Nishad had a deal with Yogi [Adityanath],” he tells ANI.

2.04 pm: Telangana Rashtra Samithi Working President KT Rama Rao says a “non-BJP, non-Congress front” will be a reality after the Lok Sabha elections, reports PTI. He says none of the two national parties will be able to get a clear mandate while the regional parties are likely to win at least 160-170 seats. Rao adds that his father and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has all “the qualities and capabilities to become [the] prime minister.”

2.01 pm: In a veiled attack on Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Keshav Prasad Maurya asks how a person disloyal to his father could forge a relationship of bua-bhatija (aunt-nephew) and wondered how long it would last. The Samajwadi Party has allied with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “Neither Akhilesh Yadav has been able to strengthen himself, nor Mayawati in the gathbandhan,” says Maurya. “In fact, both have become weak by forging this alliance.”

1.30 pm: The Bahujan Samaj Party announces its second list of six candidates for elections in Uttar Pradesh, PTI reports. The party is contesting on 38 Lok Sabha seats of the 80 seats, while its ally Samajwadi Party is contesting on 37 seats.

1.20 pm: Addressing a rally in Telangana’s Zaheerabad, Congress President Rahul Gandhi hits out at Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. “Did your chief minister ever raise the Rafale [jet deal] issue?” Gandhi says, according to ANI. “Did he ever say ‘chowkidar chor hai’? It is a partnership.”

Telugu Rashtra Samithi and their MPs help Narendra Modi,” Gandhi claims. “Fight is against Modi and the BJP, but only the Congress is fighting, not the TRS.”

1.06 pm: Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav says he has filed nomination from Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency. The 79-year-old party veteran, however, ruled himself out of the prime ministerial race, reports Hindustan Times.

1.05 pm: The BJP releases 14th list of three candidates in Odisha. The party also releases the fifth list of 11 candidates for elections to Odisha State Legislative Assembly, ANI reports.

Lok Sabha and Assembly elections will be held simultaneously in Odisha in four phases on April 11, April 18, April 23 and April 29.

12.54 pm: “Peace-loving Hindus”, who consider the entire world their family, were labelled terrorists, the prime minister claims. “That is why they [the Congress] are forced to take shelter in a minority seat [dominated by minorities],” Modi says, referring to Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Kerala’s Wayanad seat.

Besides Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, the Congress president will also be contesting from Wayanad, where Hindus make up 49% of the population, while Muslims and Christians account for the rest of the population. The BJP on Sunday had accused Gandhi of indulging in politics of appeasement by selecting to contest from Wayanad.

Read more here

Maharashtra: Narendra Modi claims Congress branded peace-loving Hindus as terrorists

12.45 pm: “When you heard of the term ‘Hindu terror’, were you not hurt?” Modi asks the crowd. “There has been no incident in history where Hindus have been involved in terrorism. The Congress has insulted our 5,000-year-old culture.”

12.40 pm: Modi targets Congress over “Hindu terror”, alleging that the Opposition party had conspired to defame Hindus before the entire world. The prime minister says the Congress should not be forgiven for this.

“A few days ago, a court verdict exposed the Congress’ conspiracy before the entire world,” Modi said, referring to the verdict in Samjhauta Express blast case.

Earlier this month, a trial court had acquitted all accused in the case and said there were “gaping holes in the prosecution evidence”. Religious leader Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajinder Chaudhary were the accused in the case. The explosion, which took place on February 18, 2007, had killed 68 people, including 10 Indians. In its chargesheet, the National Investigation Agency said the blast had targeted Pakistani Muslims. Samjhauta Express connects India and Pakistan.

12.34 pm: “I want to tell the Congress leaders, that by calling me a ‘chowkidar of toilets’, you thought you are insulting me, but I accept it with pride,” says Modi.

12.21 pm: “The NCP-Congress alliance in Maharashtra is like Kumbhakarna – they sleep for as long as six months when they are in power,” says Modi, in a reference to a Ramayana character. “One of them wakes up after six months, takes away public money, and goes back to sleep.”

12.20 pm: Sharad Pawar is not contesting Lok Sabha elections because he knows which way the wind is blowing, says Modi.

12.15 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing a rally at Wardha. He says, “After seeing your love and blessings, I wonder if Congress and NCP leaders will be able to sleep tonight or not.”

11.30 am: The District Electoral Officer of Kurung Kumey district in Arunachal Pradesh has ordered an inquiry against a BJP candidate Lokam Tassar and his supporters for allegedly assaulting a magistrate on duty, PTI reports. Santosh Kumar Rai, in a notification issued on Saturday, has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the “physical assault” of Jill Gyamar, who was on election duty near Leel village under Sangram circle of the district.

11.22 am: The Trinamool Congress also takes a jibe at the BJP and tweets, “If you believed this #Jumla of Jumlas, a very happy #AprilFools Day to you.”

11.20 am: Mocking the BJP on April Fool’s Day, the Congress puts out the saffron party’s parody manifesto titled “Ek Bharat, Berozgaar Bharat”. Under “Modi’s Vision for India”, the Congress writes “Dictatorship over Democracy, Freedom of Speech and expression not application.” It accused the prime minister of providing protection to fraudsters and fudging data and hiding reports.

11.03 am: Former Congress general secretary P Sudhakara Reddy have joined the BJP, PTI reports. BJP leader Ram Madhav tells ANI, “He has been a senior leader of the Congress party. Today, he has joined BJP and has decided to work under the leadership of Modiji. His joining BJP will strengthen the party in Telangana.”

Reddy is expected to take part in Narendra Modi’s rally in Hyderabad later on Monday.

10.50 am: The Supreme Court grants time till April 8 to 21 opposition parties who sought direction that 50% EVM results be matched and cross-checked with VVPAT, ANI reports. The court asks them to file response on an affidavit filed by the Election Commission of India which had opposed the plea.

10.16 am: Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) chief Shivpal Singh Yadav meets Mulayam Singh Yadav, who will file his nomination for Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency later in the day, ANI reports.

10.12 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public meeting in Wardha at 11 am to campaign for candidates of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Vidarbha region, PTI reports. All the 10 candidates in the region, including Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Hansraj Ahir, will be present the venue.

9.45 am: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister N Chinarajappa returned without campaigning on Sunday after protests by residents in his constituency in East Godavari district, ANI reports.

9.40 am: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says Congress President Rahul Gandhi has refused to forge an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party for the Lok Sabha elections in the national Capital, PTI reports. He said he had met Gandhi recently.

9.15 am: Here are the top updates from Sunday:

  • Narendra Modi continued his “Main bhi Chowkidar” campaign by addressing the nation on Sunday through video conferencing. Booths were set up at 500 locations. He said that the queue for the prime ministers’ post has become longer in 2019, taking a jibe at the Opposition’s grand alliance that is yet to project any face.
  • Shatrughan Sinha said he will join the Congress as it is a national party in the true sense. The actor-turned-politician said the BJP was now a ‘one-man show and two-man army’, and added that Lalu Prasad Yadav had recommended the Congress.
  • Congress President Rahul Gandhi promised special status and farm loan waiver for Andhra Pradesh.
  • Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Sunday claimed that the erstwhile Samajwadi Party government in the state had “shamelessly suppressed sentiments” after a case in Bisara – presumably a reference to the Akhlaq lynching case. A key accused in the case, Vishal Singh Rana, was sitting in the front row in the audience during Adityanath’s speech.
  • Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s decision to contest from Kerala’s Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency has not gone down well with the Left parties.