As the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 date nears, the main political parties continue to show their might to woo voters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned in Telangana and is scheduled to campaign in Maharashtra for the elections today. Congress President Rahul Gandhi will also address three rallies in Telangana. He addressed a public meeting in Zaheerabad in Telangana.
In a sharp critique of the Congress, the Prime Minister said that the Rahul Gandhi-led party insulted the Hindu religion by coining the term 'Hindu terrorism' and urged people to keep that in mind when they go to vote. He also criticised NCP leader Sharad Pawar for forgetting the "woes and worries of the farmers" even though he is a farmer himself.
On the other hand, Congress President Rahul Gandhi criticised Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for not lashing out on BJP government over the Rafale case. He alleged that Rao's party TRS is helping the BJP.
Additionally, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav has filed his nomination from Mainpuri, while Congress leader Shashi Tharoor filed his nomination from Thiruvananthapuram.
ALSO READ: Rahul Gandhi promises to spend 6% of GDP on education if Congress is voted to power
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7:22pm: "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," Omar Abdullah said.
7:20pm: Responding to PM Modi's comment, Omar Abdullah said i am grateful to Modi Sahib for taking my humble speech and giving it a nation platform.
7:10pm: Prime Minister Modi said, "I want Congress and its partners to give me an explanation on the need for a separate prime minister in Jammu and Kashmir."
7:00pm: Former J&K CM Omar Abdullah addresses a gathering in north Kashmir's Bandipora.
6:55pm: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad comments after social media giant Facebook removed 687 pages and accounts.
6:50pm: A Congress delegation led by Kapil Sibal met Election Commission
6:40pm: Lalu Yadav's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav launches 'Lalu Rabri Morcha' in Patna.
5:00pm: Congress party has clarified that no official pages run by party or its verified volunteers have been taken down in the latest action by Facebook. The party is awaiting a list of pages that have been taken down by the social media giant. Reports earlier today suggested that 687 pages and accounts linked to a Congress IT cell were taken down on grounds of inauthentic behaviour and promoting spam.
4:20pm: "I have been told that TDP has started work related to cyber crime. The 'Seva Mitra' app that they talk about, is neither doing 'seva' (service) nor it is a 'mitra' (friend). The truth is that app is stealing people's data," said PM Modi in Rajahmundry.
4:15pm: "We know that Indian women need to be empowered more. We will give 33% reservation to women in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Vidhan Sabha. We will give 33% reservation to women in government jobs," said Rahul Gandhi.
4:14pm: "Gabbar Singh Tax (GST) destroyed MSMEs, but Telangana CM supports it. His remote control is in Narendra Modi's hands," said Rahul Gandhi in Telangana.
4:09pm: AAP's complaint to the EC against BJP's NaMo TV.
4:05pm: Manish Tewari on Facebook removing 687 pages, accounts linked to Congress party: "We don't react to news reports which may just be coming in, we will have to check veracity of the report."
4:00pm: "When you were fighting for Neelu (water), Nidhulu (funds) and Niyamakalu (jobs) during the formation of Telangana, Congress party helped you. But, you weren't aware that only one person will rule and benefit from it," said Rahul Gandhi in Wanaparthy.
3:55pm: BJP ally BDJS candidate Thushar Vellappally to contest against Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad.
3:45pm: "U-turn Babu has been using Polavaram as his ATM and backstabbing the farmers and people here. U-turn Babu does not have time to think about farmers. His favourite thing is taking credit for the work of Central govt, like he did with PM Kisan Nidhi Yojana," said PM Modi at a rally in Rajahmundry.
3:40pm: "Even by reducing burden of taxes on middle classes we have been able to increase the budget on infrastructure and necessary projects. Compare this with Congress party that said in 2013 that there is no money for Rafale deal. NDA govt declared Polavaram as a national project and have given Andhra Pradesh govt Rs 7,000 crore, keeping the importance of the project in mind. But Chandrababu Naidu used the project for corruption," said PM Modi at Rajahdmundry.
3:35pm: 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. We have taken up so many infrastructure projects in Andhra Pradesh including the modernization and upgradation of airports because of sincere taxpayer. I salute them for their contribution: PM Modi during the public meeting in Rajahmundry.
3:30pm: "First of all, I want to thank the public of Andhra Pradesh from the land of Krishna and Godavari. Whatever I have been able to accomplish in five years, it is only due to the blessings you all have showered upon me," said PM Modi at a public meeting in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh.
3:25pm: "It is shocking to hear the UP CM saying that the Indian Army is the 'Modi Sena'. Such blatant personalisation and usurping of our beloved Indian Army is an insult and a humiliation. We are proud of our Army. They belong to all. They are a great asset of our nation, and not a cassette of the BJP. People of this country must stand up and reject this statement," said West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
3:15pm: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) announces candidates for 5 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab - Bibi Jagir Kaur from Khadoor Sahib, S Charanjit Singh Atwal-Jalandhar (Reserve), Prem Singh Chandumajra-Anandpur Sahib, S. Surjit Singh Rakhra-Patiala&Darbara Singh Guru-Fatehgarh Sahib (Reserve).
3:05pm: The Income Tax department seized wads of cash that were meant for distribution among voters. The cash was seized from a cement godown in Tamil Nadu's Vellore district. The wads of cash, estimated to be Rs 9 crore, were kept in cartons and gunny bags and neatly packed with ward and division numbers written to them. I-T officials are also probing if the money was moved to the godown by DMK treasurer Durai Murugan.
3:00pm: "We removed 687 Facebook pages and accounts - the majority of which had already been detected and suspended by our automated systems - that engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior in India and were linked to individuals associated with an IT Cell of the Indian National Congress," said Facebook.
2:58pm: "There is a partnership between Telangana CM and Narendra Modi. He doesn't speak about Rafale scam. Do not forget that the only goal is to remove BJP and Narendra Modi from power," said Rahul Gandhi at a meeting in Wanaparthy.
2:55pm: "Demonetisation was neither a fight against black money nor against corruption. It was Narendra Modi's method to steal public money and give it to handful of crony capitalists," said Rahul Gandhi at a public meeting in Wanaparthy.
2:50pm: "Narendra Modi does only two things as Prime Minister - serves a handful of rich businessmen and spreads hatred in the country," says Congress President in Telangana's Wanaparthy.
2:40pm: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) writes to the Election Commission over 24-hour channel NAMO TV. The letter states: "Can permission be granted to a party to have their own TV channel even after model code of conduct is enforced? If no permission was sought by ECI then what action has been taken?"
2:25pm: Facebook says it is removing 687 pages and accounts linked to Congress party ahead of Lok Sabha polls: Reuters.
2:20pm: On Sunday, an individual tried to throw a slipper at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. He was campaigning at Orathanadu in Thanjavur district on Sunday, when the slipper hit the campaign vehicle. Police suspect that it was the work of miscreants who tried to create chaos during the CM's address to the gathering. Investigations are underway to establish the identity of the person who hurled the slipper.
2:07pm: In his address at Gajapati, Odisha, BJP chief Amit Shah said that the Modi government had disbursed Rs 5.5 lakh crore for the development of Odisha, but the funds were misappropriated by the state government officials.
2:04pm: "In all these years, there is neither electricity nor clean water in homes of Odisha, no roads in the villages. The Naveen government has done nothing but corruption," Amit Shah said.
2:03pm: If BJP comes to power, we will create an Odisha where people will not have to migrate and they can get employment in the state itself, Shah said.
1:58pm: "The coming election is going to decide the fate of the nation and Odisha both. On my visits from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Assam to Gujarat, when I ask the people who will form government. The answer everywhere is Modi," BJP president Amit Shah said during a rally at Gajapati, Odisha.
1:53pm: Ram Bhuwal Nishad, Samajwadi Party's candidate from Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat, has alleged that the Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad took Rs 50 crore from BJP to become a part of the party, ANI reported.
1:48pm: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has filed his nomination for the Thiruvananthapuram constituency.
1:30pm: Bombay High Court has dismissed the PIL seeking stay on release on PM Narendra Modi's biopic. The plea was filed to prevent the release of the film while Model Code of Conduct is in place ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
1:15pm: "Did your CM ever raise the Rafale issue? Did he ever say 'chowkidar chor hai'? It's a partnership. TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samithi) and their MPs help Narendra Modi. Fight is against Modi and BJP. Only Congress is fighting, not TRS. Whole country knows," said Rahul Gandhi at a public meeting in Zaheerabad in Telangana's Sangareddy district.
1:00pm: Mulayam Singh Yadav files his nomination from Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency.
12:50pm: "Everyday is April Fools' Day for him," says Lalu Prasad Yadav in a dig at PM Modi.
12:45pm: "Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign is not of the Bharatiya Janata Party but is the natural reaction of people of the country protesting against the kind of words used to insult the Prime Minister," said BJP chief Amit Shah.
12:40pm: "Congress committed the grave sin of insulting our culture of more than 5 thousand years. You have to keep in mind who coined the term 'Hindu terrorism'," said PM Modi in Wardha, Maharashtra.
12:30pm: "When you heard the term 'Hindu terrorism' for the first time, did it not hurt you? In thousands of years of history there is no instance of a Hindu inflicting terror. Even English historians never spoke of Hindu terror," said PM Modi in Wardha.
12:20pm: "Being a farmer himself, Sharad Pawar forgot about the woes and worries of farmers. During his tenure so many farmers took their own lives but Pawar saab did nothing about it," said PM Modi at Wardha in Maharashtra.
12:15pm: CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said on Monday that the Left Front would make all efforts to defeat the Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad, and there was no question of withdrawing its candidate. "We are not worried about his (Gandhi's) candidature. We will fight. We will make all efforts to defeat him in this election," Reddy told news agency PTI. "No question of withdrawing (our candidate in favour of Rahul Gandhi). We will fight," Reddy asserted. "We are making every effort to win the seat," he added.
12:11pm: Bahujan Samaj Party releases a list of 6 candidates in Uttar Pradesh.
12:10pm: "We still have 10 days left for the polls. But the love and blessings that you have showered on us today...we don't know if Congress and NCP leaders will get to sleep peacefully tonight," said PM Modi at Wardha.
12:00pm: "It is a matter of pride for us that ISRO achieved a historic achievement a little while ago. I congratulate the scientists at ISRO for this feat," said PM Modi at a public meeting in Wardha, Maharashtra.
10:15am: "I am sending you this mirror as a gift. Put this mirror at a place in your Lok Kalyan Marg residence that you pass most frequently. This is so that you can see your face in the mirror over and over again and recognise your real face in it," tweeted Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
10:10am: The Election Commission has directed the Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana to make arrangements to conduct elections in Nizamabad constituency using EVMs instead of ballot papers.
10:00am: Congress will release its manifesto tomorrow. Rahul Gandhi will release the manifesto at an event.
9:45am: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that Congress President Rahul Gandhi refused to forge an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. Talking to reporters at the airport in Delhi, the AAP leader said he had met Rahul Gandhi recently and the Congress leader had refused to "join hands with the AAP".
9:30am: Mamata Banerjee urged people to vote for Chandrababu Naidu's TDP at a rally in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. "This is a special election. There are not many people to fight for the country, please vote for Chandrababu Naidu. Modi and Shah bully everyone," she said.
9:25am: Rahul Gandhi will address three public meetings today in Telangana. He will be at Sangareddy at 12 pm, Wanaparthy at 1 pm and Suryapet at 3:30 pm.
9:20am: "Modi didnt address a presser in five years. He reads from tele-prompter and says he has a 56-inch chest," said West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. She also challenged the Prime Minister to an open debate on Sunday.
9:15am: Asaduddin Owaisi criticises BJP for allowing Dadri lynching case accused to sit in the front row at a BJP rally addressed by UP CM Yogi Adityanath.
9:00am: Mulayam Singh Yadav to file his nomination from Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency today.
8:45am: "Jaganmohan Reddy played dirty politics. People are with us. We've done so many things in spite of so many problems. We had bifurcation problems, special status wasn't given, still we were able to do extremely well. Election will be one-sided," said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.
8:36am: P Sudhakara Reddy joined Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of BJP president Amit Shah. "He (Reddy) has been a senior leader of the Congress party. Today, he has joined BJP and has decided to work under the leadership of Modi ji. His joining BJP will strengthen the party in Telangana," said BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav.
8:32am: BJP MP Hema Malini seen carrying stalk of hay in Mathura's Govardhan area.
8:30am: Talking about the 22 lakh job vacancies, Rahul Gandhi said that devolution of funds from the Center to each state government for healthcare, education etc. will be linked to these vacant positions being filled.