
Cong's ‘Urban Gandhian' To Counter BJP's ‘Urban Naxal'
Devendra Fadnavis
, who was in Wardha on Monday, said he has no issues with anyone calling themselves 'Urban Gandhians', and he in fact welcomes this.
Sapkal's statement had been in response to BJP's allegations that 'urban naxals' have infiltrated many Gandhian institutions. Earlier, CM Devendra Fadnavis also said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is surrounded by people who have extreme left ideological leanings, taking the urban naxal jibe further.
Fadnavis, on Monday, said, "I am happy to hear that he (Sapkal) realised that he is an urban Gandhian. We have no issues.
We welcome urban and rural Gandhians."
A few days ago, Sapkal said, "I am an urban Gandhian. I am also an urban Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar follower." The urban Gandhian mention was specifically targeted at an accusation made by BJP MLA Sumit Wandkhede that urban naxals have infiltrated Gandhian organisations based in Wardha. The district is home to Mahatma Gandhi's Sevagram Ashram.
Fadnavis said that while not everybody can be labelled as an urban naxal, there were some specific inputs which led to these allegations being made. "In the recent past, some events were held here. And some organisations which were part of the event are known to have urban naxal connections, as per police records. So, while Sevagram Ashram is open to all, and that's the way it should always be, caution has to be taken," said Fadnavis.
Some Congress party members from Nagpur shared their photo from Sevagram Ashram on social media with comments like 'I am Urban Gandhian', thus taking the war of words to the social media space.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hans India
3 minutes ago
- Hans India
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor Breaks Ranks With Rahul Gandhi Over Trump's 'Dead Economy' Remark
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has publicly contradicted party colleague Rahul Gandhi's support for US President Donald Trump's characterization of India as a "dead economy," creating another visible fissure within the opposition party's leadership. Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Thiruvananthapuram parliamentarian firmly rejected Trump's economic assessment, stating simply that "this is not the case, and we all know it." His response directly countered Gandhi's endorsement of the American President's remarks made just one day earlier. Trump's inflammatory comments emerged this week as part of his broader criticism of India's relationship with Russia, where he declared indifference toward India-Russia cooperation and dismissed both nations as having "dead economies." The remarks accompanied his announcement of 25 percent tariffs on Indian goods effective August 1. Rahul Gandhi, serving as Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had embraced Trump's economic critique as validation of his criticism against the Modi government. Gandhi claimed that everyone except the Prime Minister and Finance Minister recognized India's economic struggles, alleging that the BJP had deliberately damaged the economy to benefit industrialist Gautam Adani. Tharoor's dissent represents the latest indication of growing tensions between the senior Congress leader and his party's official positions. Unlike Gandhi's harsh governmental criticism, Tharoor refrained from attacking the Modi administration while rejecting Trump's characterization. The government has strongly defended India's economic performance through Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's parliamentary statements. Goyal emphasized India's status as the world's fastest-growing major economy and its trajectory toward becoming the third-largest global economy, while asserting that India would protect its national interests regarding US tariff implications. This disagreement compounds existing friction between Tharoor and Congress leadership, particularly regarding his public support for Operation Sindoor, which conflicts with the party's official stance. Tharoor has consistently prioritized national interests over party positioning, stating that "the nation comes before the party" when defending military operations. The rift deepened when the government appointed Tharoor to head the Operation Sindoor delegation to the United States without Congress party nomination. Sources indicate he declined participation in parliamentary debates on the operation, reportedly unwilling to contradict his established positions for party messaging purposes. This pattern of public disagreement highlights broader challenges within Congress regarding message discipline and ideological coherence, particularly when national security issues intersect with partisan political considerations.


Hindustan Times
3 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Congress tried to ‘make Hindus appear as terrorists' after Malegaon blast: Devendra Fadnavis
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday alleged that the Congress had tried to paint Hindus as terrorists after the 2008 Malegaon blast and officer-bearers of the RSS and Hindutvadis were targeted in a planned manner. CM Fadnavis said the Hindu terror theory was created to show a particular community that the government was doing a balancing act.(PTI File Photo) Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Nagpur, Fadnavis claimed the then UPA government indulged in vote bank politics and coined terms like "Hindu terror" and "Bhagwa Aatankwad" (saffron terrorism) when terror attacks were taking place in the world, which were by Islamic extremists. Asked about a former ATS officer's claim that he was ordered to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in the blast case, the chief minister said the conspiracy behind the case is being exposed before everyone. A special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Purohit, in the blast case, noting that there was "no reliable and cogent evidence" against them. Fadnavis said the Hindu terror theory was created to show a particular community that the government was doing a balancing act. He said this was a conspiracy to target office-bearers of the RSS and Hindutvadis, and some of them were arrested as well. However, no evidence was found against them. "I think that now their conspiracy is being exposed. Islamic terror was there that time, and is present now as well, but no one said all Muslims are terrorists. However, the Congress had made attempts to make all Hindus appear as terrorists at that time," said Fadnavis.


Hindustan Times
3 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Shashi Tharoor challenges Delhi HC's ruling on defamation case over 'scorpion on Shivling' remark
Asking the complainant's lawyer "why be so touchy", the Supreme Court on Friday extended the stay on trial court proceedings against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in a defamation case filed for his alleged "scorpion on Shivling" remark targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The high court said that prima facie, the remark defamed the prime minister, the BJP as well as its office-bearers and members.(PTI File) A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh passed the order after adjourning the matter on the request of Tharoor's lawyer. The lawyer appearing for the complainant, BJP leader Rajeev Babbar, sought a hearing on a non-miscellaneous day. "What non-miscellaneous day? Why do you want to be so touchy about all this? Let us close all this," the bench said, as it posted the matter for hearing on September 15. Tharoor moved the top court against the Delhi High Court's August 29, 2024, order, which refused to quash the defamation proceedings against him, asking him to appear before the trial court on September 10. Tharoor's counsel previously argued that neither the complainant nor the members of the political party could be called an aggrieved party. The counsel also said that Tharoor's comment was protected under the immunity clause of the defamation law, which stipulates that any statement made in "good faith" is not criminal. Tharoor was stated to have merely made a reference to an article published in the Caravan magazine six years prior to making the statement. The top court had expressed surprise that in 2012, when the article was originally published, the statement was not deemed defamatory. "Eventually, it is a metaphor. I have tried to understand. It refers to the invincibility of the person referred to (Modi). I do not know why somebody has taken objection here," Justice Roy had said earlier. While refusing to quash the proceedings against Tharoor, the high court had said, prima facie, imputations like "scorpion on Shivling" against the prime minister were "despicable and deplorable". It said that prima facie, the remark defamed the prime minister, the BJP as well as its office-bearers and members. The high court also said there was sufficient material before the judicial magistrate for summoning Tharoor under Section 500 (punishment for defamation) of the IPC. The complainant alleged that his religious sentiments were hurt by the Congress leader's remark. In October 2018, Tharoor reportedly claimed that an unnamed RSS leader had compared Modi to "a scorpion sitting on a Shivling". The Congress leader purportedly said it was an "extraordinarily striking metaphor".