Modi vs Congress: Election Rhetoric Heats Up in Uttar Pradesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress and SP of undoing his development work, while Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge refuted claims regarding the Ram temple. The Election Commission has urged parties to avoid caste and religion-based campaigns, intensifying the political discourse ahead of the elections.

Following are the top stories at 5.35 pm: NATION: ELN81 ELECTIONS-UP-PM-LD SHRAVASTI **** INDIA bloc parties will undo work done by Modi: PM in UP's Shravasti Shravasti (UP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the SP and the Congress will undo the work done by him, taking away houses built by the government, closing people's Jan Dhan accounts, cutting off their power connections and removing water taps. **** ELN71 ELECTIONS-KHARGE-RAM TEMPLE **** PM's charge that Cong will run bulldozer on Ram temple 'complete lie': Kharge New Delhi: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has rubbished Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charge that the Congress will run a bulldozer on the Ram temple if it comes to power, saying it is a ''complete lie'' and the party respects all sects, religions and honours everyone's faith. By Sanjeev Chopra **** ELN62 ELECTIONS-UP-LD PM **** Congress, SP Pakistan's sympathisers: Modi at rally in UP's Basti Basti (UP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday here called Congress and Samajwadi Party ''sympathisers of Pakistan'' and alleged that these parties are ''scaring the country'' with its nuclear power status. **** ELN73 ELECTIONS-HR-LD RAHUL **** Army doesn’t want Agniveer scheme, INDIA bloc govt will throw it in dustbin: Rahul in Haryana Mahendragarh (Haryana): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Wednesday the Agniveer military recruitment scheme will be scrapped and thrown in the dustbin if the INDIA bloc comes to power, as he slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ''turning Hindustan ke jawan into labourers''. **** FGN51 IRAN-VP-DHANKAR **** Vice Prez Dhankhar arrives in Tehran to pay condolence on death of Iranian president Raisi in chopper crash Tehran: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar arrived here on Wednesday to attend an official ceremony to pay condolences on the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash. **** ELN65 ELECTIONS-EC-CONG-BJP **** EC asks BJP, Cong to desist from campaigning along caste, religious lines New Delhi: The Election Commission on Wednesday asked the BJP and the Congress to desist from campaigning along caste, community, language, and religious lines, asserting that India’ socio-cultural milieu cannot be made a casualty to elections. **** ELN76 ELECTIONS-WB-2NDLD SHAH **** Mamata compromising national security for sake of vote bank politics: Amit Shah Kanthi/Ghatal/Purulia: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of compromising national security for the sake of vote bank politics and ''committing a sin'' by allowing infiltrators to change the demography of the state. **** DEL11 CONG-ADANI **** JPC will be set up within one month of INDIA bloc govt formation to probe 'Adani scam': Congress New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday attacked the Modi government over a media report that claimed that the Adani Group passed off low-quality coal as far more expensive cleaner fuel in transactions with a Tamil Nadu PSU, and said that a JPC will be set up within one month of an INDIA bloc government taking office to probe such allegations. **** ELN72 ELECTIONS-WOMEN-CANDIDATES **** Women make up less than 10 pc of LS poll candidates: ADR New Delhi: Less than 10 per cent of the candidates contesting in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections are women, according to an analysis of data shared by the poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). **** DEL12 CBI-MP-COLLEGE-TERMINATION **** MP nursing college 'scam': CBI terminates services of its inspector arrested while taking bribe New Delhi: The CBI has terminated the services of its inspector Rahul Raj who was arrested by the agency while allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 10 lakh from the chairman of a Madhya Pradesh-based nursing college, officials said on Wednesday. **** MDS9 KA-SCANDAL-KUMARASWAMY **** Sexual abuse case: Kumaraswamy again appeals to Prajwal to return to India, face probe Mysuru (Karnataka): JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday once again appealed to his nephew and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing charges of sexually abusing women, to return from abroad and face the investigation. **** MDS7 AP-YSRC MLA-POLICE **** AP police teams on hunt for YSRCP MLA who damaged EVM Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena on Wednesday said police teams have been formed to look for 'absconding' YSRCP MLA P Ramakrishna Reddy who vandalised an electronic voting machine (EVM) at a polling centre in Macharla constituency of Palnadu district. **** LEGAL: BOM13 MH-COURT-ACCIDENT-FATHER **** Car accident in Pune: Juvenile's father, two pub employees sent in police custody Pune: A sessions court here on Wednesday remanded the father of a 17-year-old juvenile allegedly involved in a car accident and two employees of a pub in police custody till May 24. **** LGD10 SC-PFI-NIA **** UAPA case: SC sets aside HC verdict granting bail to eight alleged PFI members New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside a verdict of the Madras High Court which had granted bail to eight accused in a case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against alleged PFI operatives, holding that national security is of paramount importance. **** LGD9 UKD-HC-REVENUE POLICE ****High court orders abolition of revenue police system in Uttarakhand within a year Nainital: The Uttarakhand High Court has directed the state government to totally abolish the system of revenue police within a year and hand over areas under its jurisdiction to regular police. **** BUSINESS: DEL20 BIZ-RBI-LD DIVIDEND **** RBI approves highest-ever dividend of Rs 2.11 lakh crore to govt Mumbai: The Reserve Bank on Wednesday approved the highest-ever dividend payout of Rs 2.11 lakh crore to the central government for 2023-24, a decision which will help better manage the fiscal deficit. **** FOREIGN: FGN52 BANGLADESH-INDIA-MP-LD MURDER **** Bangladesh MP who went missing in India found murdered in Kolkata Dhaka: Veteran Bangladeshi MP Anwarul Azim Anar, who went missing in India, was found murdered in Kolkata and three people have been arrested, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan announced here on Wednesday. **** FGN53 SINGAPORE-FLIGHT-2NDLD PROBE **** Singapore Airlines cooperating with authorities in probing severe flight turbulence incident Singapore: Singapore Airlines on Wednesday said it is fully cooperating with relevant authorities in the investigation into the London to Singapore flight which encountered severe turbulence, leading to the death of one passenger and injuring nearly 60 others. By Gurdip Singh ****