Page 108 - Congress

News update: Mamata Banerjee invites agitating junior doctors for meeting over RG Kar issue

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Congress accuses PM Modi of allowing Manipur to 'go up in flames'

Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the situation in Manipur, Congress Tuesday alleged he allowed the state to "go up in flames" and said he travels all over the globe engaging in "huglomacy" but cannot find time to visit the violence-hit state. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said democracy is a tall order and the rule of law itself has fallen apart in the state. "Here is the non-biological PM telling the people of Manipur that he will do in 15 months what the Congress couldn't do in 15 years," Ramesh said and shared a video of the prime minister speaking at a rally. "Indeed. Within 15 months of getting a decisive mandate from all sections of Manipur's society, he allowed the state to go up in flames," Ramesh said. "It is still burning with no respite in sight. The Supreme Court has declared that there is a breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the state. Yet Mr Narendra Modi is unmoved," he said in a post on X. The prime minister

Haryana, J-K Assembly elections updates: BJP releases second list of 21 candidates for Haryana polls

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Congress conspiring for years to 'end reservation', claims Mayawati

Latching on to Rahul Gandhi's remarks on the issue of reservation, BSP chief Mayawati on Tuesday claimed that the Congress is conspiring to end reservation and asked people belonging to the deprived sections to be cautious in the wake of his "dangerous" statement. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister was reacting to Gandhi's remarks that Congress will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place, which is not the case right now. The BSP chief said the Congress never implemented OBC reservation nor conducted caste census when it was in power. "Now it is dreaming of coming to power under its cover (of doing caste census). Beware of this drama of theirs (Congress), which will never be able to conduct caste census in the future," she said on X. "Now also beware of this drama of the supreme leader of the Congress party, Shri Rahul Gandhi, in which he has said abroad that when India will be in a better condition, they will end the reservation of SC, ST and OBC. It is cle

Vinesh shouldn't have joined politics now, aimed for gold in 2028: Mahavir

Olympian Vinesh Phogat's uncle and celebrated wrestling coach Mahavir Phogat said her niece should not have joined politics at this stage and aimed for an Olympic gold in 2028, days after the Congress fielded her from Julana for the October 5 Haryana assembly polls. Mahavir, whose Olympian daughter Babita Phogat joined the BJP ahead of the 2019 assembly elections, exuded confidence that the party will retain power in Haryana for a third time in a row. Babita, a Commonwealth Games medal-winner freestyle wrestler who inspired the Bollywood film 'Dangal', contested the 2019 polls unsuccessfully from Dadri. Asked about Vinesh taking the political plunge by joining the Congress, Mahavir, a Dronacharya awardee, told PTI over phone that "it is her decision...these days children take their own decisions." He also claimed that when he spoke with Vinesh recently she had no intentions of joining politics. Vinesh and Olympian wrestler Bajrang Punia, who were at the forefront of the wrestlers'

SC stays proceedings against Shashi Tharoor over remarks against PM Modi

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed proceedings before a trial court against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in a defamation case lodged against him for his alleged "scorpion on Shivling" remarks targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and R Mahadevan issued notice to the Delhi government and the complainant in the case. The notice is returnable in four weeks. Tharoor has moved the top court against Delhi High Court order which refused to quash defamation proceedings against him on August 29. The Congress leader had sought setting aside of the trial court's April 27, 2019 order summoning him as an accused in the criminal defamation complaint filed by Rajiv Babbar as also the November 2, 2018 complaint. The criminal complaint was filed against Tharoor in the trial court by Babbar, who claimed that his religious sentiments were hurt by the Congress leader's statement. In October 2018, Tharoor had claimed that an unnamed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor highlights India's growing global influence

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor emphasised India's importance as a global economic and political power during a conversation here at Rice University's Baker Institute. India matters, Tharoor said, stressing that what happens in India affects a sixth of humanity. The Thiruvananthapuram Member of Parliament explained that India, now the third-largest economy in purchasing power parity, can no longer be ignored or underestimated on the world stage. Delivering a compelling talk on India's global influence, moderated by David Satterfield, the institute's director and former US ambassador to Lebanon and Turkiye, Tharoor highlighted how India's rise as the world's most populous nation and fastest-growing major economy positions it as a significant player in world affairs. Tharoor, who was visiting Houston as a prominent author and speaker at the seventh edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival from September 6-8, also addressed the geopolitical challenges faced by India, particularly its ...

RSS believes some religions, languages inferior, claims Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the RSS of considering some religions, languages and communities of being inferior to others and said that the fight in India is about this and not about politics. The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha was addressing a gathering of several hundred Indian Americans in Herndon, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC, on Monday. First of all, you have to understand what the fight is about. The fight is not about politics. That is superficial, Gandhi said as he asked one of the Sikh attendees in the front rows to give his name. What is your name, brother with the turban, he asked. The fight is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or a kada in India. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to Gurdwara. That's what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions, said the Congress leader. Gandhi is currently on a four-day visit to the United States. His first stop was in Dallas which began on Saturday

No one should retire in politics, should serve till last breath: Kharge

There is no retirement in politics, said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday as the 82-year-old encouraged politicians to work till their last breath in the service of the people and the country. Speaking at the launch of senior Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde's memoir, "Five Decades in Politics", written with journalist author Rasheed Kidwai, here in the capital, Kharge said the 83-year-old leader shouldn't see himself as a retired man as he still has a crucial role to play in strengthening the Congress party and spreading its ideology to the masses. "You are 82-83 only.. Look at Morarji Desai. I believe no one should retire in politics. Those who have faith in their ideology, want to serve the nation, want to serve their community, then you have to work till your last breath and awaken the people of your country," Kharge said. Morarji Desai became India's oldest prime minister at the age of 81 in 1977. Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, clarified

News updates: Mumbai Police registers FIR against 3 Religare Enterprise senior officers

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Congress leaders more confident that Siddaramaiah will resign: BJP

Amid the speculation, several leaders from Karnataka also expressed their interest in the race for the Chief Minister post

PM Modi's 'abject failure' in Manipur unforgivable: Cong chief Kharge

Amid escalation in violence in Manipur, the Congress on Monday demanded that Chief Minister N Biren Singh be immediately dismissed and the Union government take full responsibility of the sensitive security situation. It also said the Supreme Court-mandated Manipur Commission of Inquiry must expedite its probe. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "abject failure" in Manipur is "unforgivable". The opposition party's assertions come amid fresh violence in which at least five people were killed in the state's Jiribam district on Saturday. According to police, militants entered the house of a person and shot him dead in his sleep. Following the murder, there was a heavy exchange of fire between members of the warring communities, leading to the deaths of four armed men. Ethnically diverse Jiribam, which was earlier largely untouched by the ethnic clashes in Imphal Valley and adjoining hills, erupted in violence after a 59-year-old man ...

Railways accepts Phogat, Bajrang Punia's resignation effective immediately

The Railways on Monday accepted the resignations of wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, officials said. In separate notices issued on Monday, the Northern Railway said their resignations tendered on September 6 were "accepted by the competent authority with immediate effect." Both Punia and Phogat joined the Congress recently. Phogat has been given a party ticket to contest the Haryana assembly polls from the Julana constituency. The Northern Railway relaxed the provision of three-month notice period in their cases. Speculations were rife that Phogat might not be able to contest the elections in view of the notice period norm. According to election rules, she needed to get officially relieved from the Railways to be eligible to contest the October 5 polls. Now, since the Railways has relieved the two Olympians from their service, Phogat can contest the elections. The NR had earlier issued show cause notices to them after they met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi before joining

Haryana polls: AAP releases candidate-list after talks with Congress fail

Haryana Assembly elections: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) released its first list of 20 candidates after talks with Congress over seat-sharing failed

News highlights: Congress releases second list of nine candidates for Haryana polls

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Haryana Assembly polls: Congress declares names of 9 more candidates

The Congress on Sunday released a list of nine candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls, fielding Brijendra Singh from Uchana Kalan and Mohit Grover from Gurugram. With this list, the Congress has declared a total of 41 candidates for polls to the 90-member assembly. Besides Brijendra Singh and Grover, the Congress fielded Ashok Arora from Thanesar, Kuldeep Sharma from Ganaur, Paramvir Singh from Tohana, Anirudh Chaudhary from Tosham, Balram Dangi from Meham, Manju Choudhary from Nangal Chaudhary and Vardhan Yadav from Badshahpur. The Congress on Friday declared 32 candidates for the polls, fielding former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, state unit chief Udai Bhan from Hodal and wrestler Vinesh Phogat from Julana. The party had first released a list of 31 candidates and a little later, in a statement, said the CEC had approved the candidature of Balbir Singh from the Israna (reserved for the Scheduled Castes) constituency. Singh is the incumbent MLA

Days after joining Cong, Bajrang Punia gets threat message; probe underway

Olympic wrestler Bajrang Punia, who joined the Congress, has received a threat message over WhatsApp warning him with dire consequences, police said on Sunday. Punia has filed a complaint at Bahalgarh police station in Sonipat. A police official said they received a complaint from Punia after which they launched an investigation. When asked that some reports say that in the threat message Punia was asked to quit Congress or be prepared to face dire consequences, Bahalgarh police station SHO Madan Singh said over the phone, "The matter is under investigation..." Olympians Punia and Vinesh Phogat entered the political arena on Friday by joining the Congress. The party later fielded Phogat from Julana seat for the Haryana Assembly polls while Punia was appointed as working chairman of All India Kisan Congress. Punia won bronze in the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Polling for 90 seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and the votes counted on October 8.

Ex-Assam Congress chief Ripun Bora returns to party from TMC after 2 years

Former Assam Congress chief Ripun Bora, who had recently resigned as the state Trinamool Congress president, returned to the grand old party on Sunday. AICC general secretary in-charge of the state, Jitendra Singh, welcomed Bora back into the party fold at the beginning of an Extended Executive Committee meeting at Charaideo. Besides Singh, state Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah, Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia and other leaders were present on the occasion. "On behalf of AICC, I welcome Ripun Bora back into the party. It is a 'ghar wapsi' (returning home) for him," Singh said. He maintained that though Bora may have joined TMC and became its state president, Congress is in his DNA. "We are happy that he has returned without any condition. He is with us as a party member," Singh added. Bora, expressing happiness on returning to the Congress, said, "For whatever reasons, I had left Congress for two-and-a-half-years. But it is the demand of the state and country that BJP

Can't forecast what will follow J&K polls: Karra on National Conference CM

Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra on Sunday said the assembly polls are not just about forming a government or adjusting leaders in the dispensation but about "restoration of statehood and powers of the assembly" as well as "our lost dignity". Karra was also non-committal on whether the chief minister would be from the National Conference (NC) in case the Congress-NC alliance wins the polls, saying "we can't forecast things that have to follow after the elections". In an interview with PTI, Karra exuded confidence that the Congress-NC combine would form the government crossing the magic mark in the 90-member assembly and the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP would not be able to hamper their chances much. The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief also asserted that the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) is a "closed case" and "doesn't have a future". "I have been on record to say that as far as DPAP is concerned, it is a closed case no

Haryana polls: No final decision yet on AAP-Congress alliance, say sources

The Congress and AAP have finalised a seat-sharing arrangement for the October 5 Haryana Assembly polls with the latter agreeing to contest on five seats, party sources said on Sunday. Sources in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said the alliance might be forged on Monday. "Talks between Congress' Deepak Babaria and AAP leader Raghav Chadha have been progressing in a positive direction. There are chances that the alliance might be finalised by tomorrow. AAP has agreed on contesting five seats in the state," said an AAP source. Earlier in the day, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha said both Congress and his party are trying to forge an alliance for the Haryana elections by keeping aside their individual aspirations. Chadha said while the parties are yet to reach a consensus on the alliance, the talks are progressing in a "positive" direction and they are hopeful of a good outcome. He, however, added that the AAP will not proceed with the alliance "if there is no win-win situation". "The t