News Brief
PM Modi
A technical snag delayed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aircraft at Deoghar in Jharkhand this afternoon.
The aircraft is grounded at the city's airport until the issue is resolved, causing a delay in Prime Minister's return to New Delhi, NDTV reported.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi addressed two rallies in Jharkhand, on the occasion of tribal icon Birsa Munda anniversary, which is celebrated as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, and ahead of the second round of polling for the Assembly elections in the state on 20 November.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's helicopter faced a 45-minute delay in Jharkhand's Godda, which is located about 80 km from Deoghar.
The Congress alleged that the hold-up, caused by waiting for air traffic control clearance, was a deliberate attempt to disrupt the campaign schedule of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.---
During his rallies earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi slammed Congress and Rahul Gandhi.
Reiterating his "shehzada" (prince) jibe, PM Modi accused Gandhi of conspiring to scrap reservations for people belonging to SC, ST and OBC communities to "weaken" them.
"The Congress has dangerous intentions. The Congress' "shehzada" is conspiring to scrap reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs. The prince's father had declared reservation as slavery, bonded labour but he was later defeated in elections. His father had issued advertisements to remove reservations... We will thwart any such conspiracy," PM Modi said.
PM Modi also alleged that the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which is in alliance with Congress, was helping "infiltrators" become permanent residents in Jharkhand.