On how Kejriwal’s arrest would impact the opposition, especially as the PM making corruption an issue using the cases of the Delhi CM and Hemant Soren, Ramesh said, “‘Chanda do, dhanda lo (quid pro quo)’ is becoming obvious, after the electoral bonds issue”.”It is true that Mr Modi will use this Hemant Soren and Kejriwal cases to say that he is cleaning up the system, but he has not cleaned up the system. Evidence shows, this is completely to the contrary,” Ramesh asserted.On opposition parties, including the Congress, also getting donation worth crores of rupees through electoral bonds, he said they do not have central probe agencies and cannot grant central contracts to companies.”There is clear evidence that we have put out which shows there are 30 companies against whom ED and CBI was used and Rs 330-crore worth donations came through these 30 companies,” he said.On whether Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest Amethi and Rae Bareli seats respectively or have they abandoned their family pocket boroughs in Uttar Pradesh, Ramesh said, “Rahul Gandhi had said that he is a loyal soldier of the party and if the CEC asks him to contest, he will do so.” He also rejected insinuations that senior Congress leaders are reluctant to contest the Lok Sabha polls.”None of the senior leaders are escaping contesting these Lok Sabha elections. I don’t think there is any leader who has been asked to contest and is not contesting.” Asked if the Congress was looking beyond Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, Ramesh said the Gandhi scion is there and is leading the organisation and has undertaken the Bharat Jodo Yatras, which no other leader in the country has.”His politics is a different type of politics. His politics is the politics of movement. He wants to revitalise and revamp the organisation,” he said.Ramesh said Gandhi has been “extraordinarily successful” in infusing new energy in the organisation and all have been forced to look upon him differently after the Bharat Jodo Yatras led by him.”If you look at the pre-Bharat Jodo Yatra and post-Yatra, it is not yes, but. The commentariat class has been forced to look at him differently,” he asserted.Ramesh also claimed that every opposition leader had joined the Yatra in the states as there was nobody who did not join the Yatra, except Mamata Banerjee, which was due to reasons peculiar to West Bengal.On the Congress’s counter to the BJP’s Ram temple issue, Ramesh said, “There cannot be one strategy, there can’t be a ‘jadu ki chhadi’ (magic wand). We cannot generate a counter.” The seven-phase Lok Sabha polls will be held between April 19 and June 1.The results will be announced on June 4.
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