‘Statement reflects deep frustration’: Rahul’s ‘match-fixing’ remarks criticised by BJP, JD-U

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Patna, June 7 (IANS) Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has once again accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of electoral malpractice, claiming that the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections “could be fixed, just like the Maharashtra polls last year”.

The Congress MP’s statement has triggered a flurry of sharp reactions from leaders across the NDA, including the BJP and JD-U in Bihar.

Reacting strongly to the allegation, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said that Rahul Gandhi’s comments reflect his pre-emptive acceptance of defeat.

“It is natural for a person who has consistently lost to make such statements. If someone does not trust the democratic system, he should resign and leave it,” Choudhary said, underscoring that elections in India are conducted under a robust and impartial framework.

“He holds a good record of continuous defeat. His statement reflects deep frustration at not being able to digest the country’s progress,” Choudhary said.

Adding to the criticism, Union Minister Lalan Singh (JD-U) questioned Rahul Gandhi’s ‘political consistency’, stating: “When his party wins in Telangana or Karnataka, then the election is fair. But when Congress loses, it becomes match-fixing. This clearly shows his double standards.”

Earlier, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi also expressed a similar view and said Rahul Gandhi has accepted defeat.

Notably, Rahul Gandhi’s latest allegations came just months ahead of the high-stakes Bihar Assembly elections.

His reference to the post-poll developments in Maharashtra — where the government formation process faced accusations of manipulation and political engineering — has reignited the debate over electoral fairness.

However, NDA leaders argue that such statements are part of a narrative built to delegitimise institutions and distract from the Congress party’s repeated electoral setbacks.

Political analysts believe that with campaigning intensifying, these war of words between the Opposition and ruling alliance signals a fiercely contested election season in Bihar.

–IANS

ajk/pgh

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New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS) India is seeing at least 30 million new demat accounts being opened every year since 2021, and nearly every one in four is now a women investor, indicating an increasing prevalence of using capital market as a channel of financialisation of savings, SBI Research said on Monday.

The report from the State Bank of India’s Economic Research Department stated that owing to this, the total demat accounts in the country crossed 150 million (of which 92 million are unique investors on NSE) in FY24 as compared to a paltry 22 million in FY14.

“This year, the number of new demat accounts may cross the 40 million mark,” said Dr Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Adviser, SBI, adding that apart from a few states, the participation of women increased more than national average in FY25 as compared to FY22.

Delhi (29.8 per cent), Maharashtra (27.7 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (27.5 per cent) exhibit higher female representation than the pan-India average of 23.9 per cent in FY25, while states such as Bihar (15.4 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (18.2 per cent) and Odisha (19.4 per cent) had sub-20 per cent female share in their respective registered investor bases, the findings showed.

Declining mean/median age and increasing share of less than 30-year age individuals reflects the influx of relatively younger investors in the markets over the last few years, driven by technological advancements, lower trading costs and increased access to information.

According to the report, 1 per cent rise in market capitalisation leads to 0.06 per cent rise in GDP growth rate.

The increasing share of mutual funds in financial savings has made them the most preferred instrument for financialisation of savings. The new SIP registered increased fourfold since FY18 to 4.8 crore, leading to total SIP contribution of around Rs 2 lakh crore.

In the last 10 years, funds mobilised by Indian companies from capital markets has increased more than 10-fold, from Rs 12,068 crore in FY14 to Rs 1.21 lakh crore in FY25 (till October).

“The savings of households in ‘Shares and debentures’ has increased to 1 per cent of GDP in FY24, from 0.2 per cent in FY14 and the share in household financial savings has increased from 1 per cent to 5 per cent”, the report mentioned.

Meanwhile, in FY25 (till October), a total of Rs 1.21 lakh crore of capital was raised from equity markets from 302 issues.

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CBI books Ghaziabad passport official for Rs 85 lakh illegal assets

New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) The CBI has booked a senior passport superintendent in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad for possessing disproportionate assets of Rs 85 lakh while working in the department between 2018 to 2024.

Deepak Chandra, a permanent resident of Patna, joined the department as assistant passport superintendent in 2015 and rose to be promoted as senior passport superintendent in 2021 at the Ghaziabad passport office, the CBI FIR said.

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Convict Amrit Lal Verma, then manager, Jharia Branch, Hamirpur, had demanded an illegal gratification of Rs 12,000 for sanctioning a Rs 3 lakh loan under Kisan Credit Card to the complainant’s father Ram Nath.

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One dead, over 25 injured in dumper-bus collision in Gujarat’s Hazira

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