Page 132 - Congress

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Modi govt 3.0 highlights: Mohan Charan Majhi to be the new CM of Odisha

Modi Cabinet updates: The new Cabinet has retained several BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, and Nirmala Sitharaman, who continue to hold critical portfolios

Congress criticises PM Modi's choice for parliamentary affairs minister

The Congress on Tuesday said the allocation of the Parliamentary Affairs portfolio inspires no confidence whatsoever that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants Parliament to function any differently than how he has run it over the past decade. The opposition party asserted the INDIA bloc is more than determined to reflect the will and mandate of the people in both Houses of Parliament most effectively. While Kiren Rijiju has been appointed as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Arjun Ram Meghwal would be the Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The allocation of the Parliamentary Affairs portfolios inspires no confidence whatsoever that the 'one-third' Pradhan Mantri wants Parliament to function any differently than the manner in which he has run it over the past decade." "However, whatever be the 'divine' signals, the INDIA Janbandhan is more than determined to reflect the will and mandate of

Oppn takes potshots at Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar over ministerial berths

Leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi opposition alliance on Monday took potshots at CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar over their share in the new Union ministry led by PM Narendra Modi. At the swearing in ceremony on Sunday, Prataprao Jadhav of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena was sworn in as MoS with independent charge, while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP declined a minister of state berth, insisting on a cabinet post. Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Monday said the minuscule representation to the two parties in the Modi cabinet has proved that the BJP has shown them their place. This is what you get when you decide to be someone's slaves, Raut told reporters. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said if the Ajit Pawar-led NCP doesn't accept the MoS post, they should forget any cabinet berth in future. Ajit Pawar must have realised albeit late that the BJP has a use and throw policy for its allies, said Wadettiwar, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly. Baramati Lok

Uddhav worked hard in elections but Congress, NCP (SP) benefitted more: BJP

BJP leader Chandrakant Patil on Tuesday said though Uddhav Thackeray took a great deal of efforts during the Lok Sabha elections campaign, the allies Congress and NCP (SP) seem to have benefitted more than his own party. Thackeray was not keeping well but he still campaigned hard, said Patil, a senior Maharashtra minister, at an event here. "Uddhav Thackeray's health was not in good condition, still he took a lot of efforts. I was worried about his health. However, the outcome indicates that NCP (SP) and Congress benefitted more from his efforts than his own party. "When Thackeray was with BJP, his party had won 18 Lok Sabha seats. With Congress and NCP (SP), he ended up winning nine seats. He needs to introspect," Patil further said. Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) contested 21 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, but won only nine. Congress, on the other hand, contested 17 and won 13. Congress leader and rebel candidate in Sangli Lok Sabha constituency also won and later extended

Modi to 'avoid' Manipur, try to 'bend' Constitution: Cong's Gaurav Gogoi

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not expected to pay attention to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's words on the prevailing situation in violence-hit Manipur and he will "avoid" the northeastern state, "misuse law enforcement agencies and try to bend the Indian Constitution". The RSS chief on Monday expressed concern over peace eluding Manipur even after one year and said the situation in the strife-torn state must be considered with priority. "I do not expect Prime Minister Modi to pay any attention to the words of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Prime Minister Modi will avoid Manipur, misuse law enforcement agencies and try to bend the Indian Constitution. "Thankfully, the people have chosen the INDIA alliance to speak up on its behalf and defend the Indian Parliament and the constitution," Gogoi wrote on 'X'. The young Congress MP was elected to Lok Sabha from Assam's Jorhat constituency after he defeated his nearest BJP rival by a margin of over 1.4

Lack of Muslim representation in Modi govt undemocratic: Sudhakaran

KPCC chief K Sudhakaran on Tuesday criticised the lack of Muslim representation in the third government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed that this was "extremely undemocratic". In a statement, the senior Congress leader said, "It was extremely undemocratic that the country's Muslim population was completely excluded when the third Modi government came to power, with not a single MP from the BJP being from that community." Criticising Modi, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president said representation for all is a common thing in a democratic system. Referring to Modi's controversial remarks during the LS poll campaign, the Lok Sabha member from Kannur alleged that he came to power by making hate speeches. Stating that today there is a strong opposition in the country, Sudhakaran further said that the INDIA Front and the Congress, which is leading it, will move forward by bringing together all people.

Govt's tax devolution to states for June 'third-rate PR', says Congress

The Congress slammed the Centre on Monday after it authorised the release of tax devolution to states for June and said this is "third-rate PR" trying to pass off what is legitimately due to states as some "prasad" being distributed. The Centre on Monday authorised the release of tax devolution of Rs 1,39,750 crore to states for June. It was decided that apart from the regular release of the devolution amount for the month of June 2024, one additional instalment will be released, the finance ministry said in a statement. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The finance ministry has just announced what is being billed as a major tax devolution to states. Undoubtedly this has been done at the behest of the 'one-third' PM." "Tax devolutions to states are no special favours being done by men of non-biological origin. They are Constitutional entitlements determined by the finance commission," Ramesh said in a post on X. "This is third-rate PR trying to pass off what is ...

Modi govt 3.0 highlights: Safeguarding border will remain topmost priority, says Rajnath Singh

Cabinet ministers Updates: From PM addressing the PMO staff to the formulation of the new Lok Sabha, here are the latest updates

Highlights of the day: Centre releases Rs 1.39 trn installment of tax devolution to states

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Nehru's idealism, Ambedkar's social justice: Yogendra Yadav on Rahul Gandhi

Political commentator Yogendra Yadav analyses the Congress' performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, noting that Rahul Gandhi believes in 'socialist principles of economic equality'

Not surprised that Ajit Pawar-led NCP didn't get berth in new cabinet: Sule

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule on Monday said she was not surprised that the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) did not get a berth in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new cabinet. Speaking to reporters here on the 25th foundation day of the NCP, founded by her father, the Baramati MP said as the NDA holds its first cabinet meeting, it should grant full loan waiver for farmers.. "During the UPA regime, the NCP worked as an ally in the Manmohan Singh government. Manmohan ji showed trust and love towards Pawar saheb, and he got two and a half cabinet berths although the party had only eight or nine MPs at the time," she said. The Congress did not think about numbers and respected the party as its ally, she said. "In the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government also, everyone treated each other with respect. We did not stick to any formula. Our relationship was based on mutual respect and merit," Sule said. The MP said she was not surprised that the NCP did not get a

Cong to face consequences in state poll for opposing Marathas: Jarange

Quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday claimed the Congress was speaking against the interests of the Maratha community and would face consequences in the Maharashtra assembly polls due later this year. Speaking to reporters on the third day of his indefinite fast at Antarwali Sarathi village in Jalna, Jarange reiterated his demand for implementation of the draft notification that recognises Kunbis as "sage soyare" (blood relatives) of Maratha community members and sought a law to identify Kunbis as Marathas. Newly-elected Congress MP from Jalna, Kalyan Kale, visited the village and met Jarange on Monday. Kunbi, an agrarian group, falls under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, and Jarange has been demanding that Kunbi certificates be issued to all Marathas, thus making them eligible for quota benefits. In February this year, the Maharashtra legislature unanimously passed a bill providing 10 per cent reservation for the Marathas in education and government jobs under a separat

Tharoor responds to Chandrasekhar's post about ending his public life

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor faced a tough contest from BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar. However, Tharoor has responded to Chandrasekhar's announcement on Sunday about stepping down from public life after 18 years. Chandrasekhar, who was a Minister of State in the previous Narendra Modi-led government, had initially posted on X about ending his public life but later clarified that he meant his tenure as a Member of Parliament and Minister of State had concluded. He promptly deleted his initial post--"Today curtains down on my 18-year stint in public service, of which three years I had the privilege to serve with PM @narendramodi ji's TeamModi2.0. I certainly didn't intend to end my 18 years of public service as a candidate who lost an election, but that's how it's turned out." Shortly thereafter, Chandrasekhar deleted the post and issued a new one saying that the earlier one was by an intern and it "created some confusion among a section of people ab

No census in 2021, at least 140 mn deprived of NFSA benefits: Congress

The Congress on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to tell the country soon when the updated census will be conducted and demanded that it must also provide data on the population of communities categorised as OBCs to give "true meaning" to social justice enshrined in the Constitution. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said a comprehensive census essential for socioeconomic development is carried out by the Union government every 10 years. The last census was to be completed in 2021. "But Mr Modi didn't get it done. One immediate consequence of not having census 2021 conducted is that at least 14 crore Indians are being deprived of benefits under the National Food Security Act, 2013, repackaged as PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana," he said. "The 'one-third' prime minister has to tell the country soon when the updated census will be conducted," the Congress general secretary said. The decennial Census has since 1951 provided data on the population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled

PM raising Katchatheevu issue during LS polls highly irresponsible: Cong

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for raising the Katchatheevu issue during the Lok Sabha polls campaign, the Congress on Monday said it threatened to derail India's relationship with Sri Lanka and asked if he and his colleagues would apologise for having created this "huge scare" with a neighbouring country. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also said raking up of the issue was "highly irresponsible" and a "severe distortion of history". In the run-up to the polls in Tamil Nadu, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had claimed that former prime ministers of the Congress displayed indifference to the Katchatheevu island and gave away Indian fishermen's rights despite legal views to the contrary. Jaishankar made the remarks at a press conference after Modi cited a media report to assert new facts revealed that the Congress "callously" gave away the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka. In a post on X, Ramesh noted Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was present during ...

Sonia Gandhi re-elected as chairperson of Congress Parliamentary Party

At a meeting of party MPs, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge proposed Sonia Gandhi's name as the chairperson of the parliamentary party

Modi will be 'weak prime minister' in his third term: Congress' Alka Lamba

Narendra Modi will be a "weak prime minister" in his third term as the BJP did not get the majority on its own in the Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Alka Lamba said on Sunday. "A weak prime minister is taking oath, this PM does not have the majority. The autocrat is falling weak. He was asking for 400 seats to change the Constitution. He did not even get the majority," Lamba, who was here to interact with the Mahila Congress leaders and workers, told PTI Videos. She claimed the opposition achieved a "victory" in saving democracy in the country. "He (PM Modi) won't be able to crush democracy. He won't be able to deny the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the country. This is our victory," Lamba added. Asked about the results on five Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, Lamba said it was satisfactory as the INDIA bloc won two seats. "In Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP won two seats, INDIA won two seats while an Independent won one seat. If we talk about Kashmir, BJP di

'Narendra Destructive Alliance': Cong's swipe at PM Modi before swearing-in

Taking a swipe at Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi, the Congress on Sunday said he will get himself sworn-in this evening as "the leader of the Narendra Destructive Alliance (NDA)" even though he lacks all legitimacy. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Remember May 28th, 2023? It was the day that Narendra Modi walked into the new Parliament building with the Sengol for which a August 15th 1947 history was fabricated 'to not only justify Modi's pretensions of being Samrat but also to appeal to the Tamil electorate." "That day itself, I had exposed Modi's fakery using archival material," he said. "We now know the outcome of that drama. The Sengol remains a respected symbol of Tamil history but the Tamil electorate and indeed India's electorate has rejected Mr. Modi's pretensions," Ramesh said. The Congress leader claimed that Modi has suffered a huge personal, political, and moral defeat. Modi has been forced to bow to the Constitution that he has subverted in the

AAP, Cong slam Centre over irregularities in NEET exam, demand probe

Congress leader and former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) Kanhaiya Kumar hoped for a strict law to prevent frequent paper leaks