Page 162 - Congress

'PM crossed all limits of cowardice': Congress on Modi's Newsweek interview

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had an opportunity to send a strong message to China, but his weak response will encourage China further

LS polls highlights: Lok Sabha results are clearly visible in Karuli today, says PM at Rajasthan rally

General Elections 2024 highlights: Catch all the news updates of the announcements related to Lok Sabha polls here

Lok Sabha polls: Former Congress spokesperson Rohan Gupta joins BJP

Former Congress spokesperson Rohan Gupta joined the BJP on Thursday, marking the defection of yet another visible opposition face to the ruling party in the election season. Gupta, along with some other leaders, joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and its national general secretary Vinod Tawde. He had resigned from the Congress last month after withdrawing his candidature from Ahmedabad East Lok Sabha constituency. Gupta had blamed his "constant humiliation and character assassination by a leader connected with communication department" of the Congress for his decision. Recently, another former Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh had also joined the BJP.

PM Modi's response on China 'ineffective, feeble', says Jairam Ramesh

The Congress on Thursday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "ineffective and feeble" response to China for its border transgressions, and demanded that he apologises to 140 crore Indians for his June 2020 statement that no one has entered India nor has anyone occupied any post. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that in his interview to Newsweek magazine, "the Prime Minister was at his cowardly worst". In a post on X, he said the PM's only comment on China's repeated infringements on Indian sovereignty was that the India-China border situation needs to be addressed urgently to resolve the "abnormality" in the bilateral interactions. "The prime minister had a chance to send a powerful message to China. However, his ineffective and feeble response is likely to only encourage China further in asserting its claim on Indian territory," Ramesh said. "The prime minister's reaction to the China issue is not only disgraceful but also disrespectful to our martyrs who ma

Fumio Kishida to address Congress amid scepticism about US role abroad

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will head to Capitol Hill on Thursday for an address to US lawmakers meant to underscore the importance of keeping a strong partnership between the two countries at a time of tension in the Asia-Pacific and scepticism in Congress about US involvement abroad. Kishida was in Washington this week visiting President Joe Biden as the White House completed hosting each leader of the Quad an informal partnership between the US Japan, Australia and India that is seen as important to countering China's growing military strength in the region. Kishida is expected to talk about the future of the relationship between Japan and the US. He will be addressing many Republicans who have pushed for the US to take a less active role in global affairs as they follow the America First" ethos of Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. The Republican-controlled House has sat for months on a USD 95 billion package that would send wartime fundin

Kharge writes to President Murmu against 'privatisation' of Sainik schools

Indian democracy has conventionally kept armed forces away from any partisan politics, but the central government has "broken" this well-enshrined convention, Kharge added

BJP has done in 10 yrs what Cong could not do in 60 yrs: Chhattisgarh CM

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Wednesday said what the Congress could not achieve in 60 years of its rule in the country has been accomplished in just a decade by the Narendra Modi government. He said the BJP has made a tribal and common party worker like him the CM of Chhattisgarh. Sai, who assumed office in December last year, is a member of the Baiga tribe and the first adivasi CM of his state. "What the Congress has not done in 60 years of its rule, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done more than that in just 10 years. I belong to the Baiga community and the Congress has always treated tribals as just a vote-bank. On the other hand, the BJP has made a common worker like me the chief minister to honour the entire Baiga community," Sai said. The Chhattisgarh chief minister was addressing an election meeting in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh in support of BJP candidate and Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste. He said by making Droupadi Murmu the President of th

BJP's historic pursuit: Targeting 370 seats in 2024 LS polls challenge

For the past three decades, political parties with regional footprints accounted for 200 or more seats, and nearly half the votes polled in the Lok Sabha elections

LS elections: Neeraj Shekhar to contest from Ballia; Kher and Joshi axed

From Chandigarh, the BJP has fielded its Chandigarh unit chief Sanjay Tandon. From UP's Ghazipur, the BJP has fielded Paras Nath Rai against the SP's Afzal Ansari

Highlights of the day: ED moves court for NBW against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan

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Lok Sabha polls highlights: DMK never focused on Tamil Nadu's development, says PM Modi

General Elections 2024 Highlights : Catch all the updates of the announcements related to Lok Sabha polls here

Forests rights key issue in 103 BJP represented seats: Vasundhara report

BJP MPs represent 103 of the 153 Lok Sabha seats in the country where the implementation of the Forest Rights Act 2006 is a major issue, according to a recent report. The Congress, which enacted the FRA, and the Biju Janata Dal represent 11 seats each, Shiv Sena 6, Telangana Rashtra Samithi and YSRCP 5 each, and the National Congress Party 4, the analysis by independent organisation Vasundhara found. Considered a milestone in redressing the historical injustice done to Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers, the Forest Rights Act 2006 aims to recognise forest rights of such communities living in forests for generations. According to the analysis, there are 86 Lok Sabha seats where people demanding forest rights account for over 30 per cent of the electorate. Similarly, there are 45 seats where FRA eligible voters comprise over 40 per cent of the electorate. These include the Khunti Lok Sabha seat where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has repeated Tribal Affairs ...

LS polls: Rahul slams BJP, says history doesn't change by 'spewing lies'

Amid the BJP's repeated 'Muslim League imprint' barb over the Congress manifesto, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said history is witness as to who joined hands with the forces that wanted to divide the country and asserted that history does not change by "spewing lies" from political platforms. Gandhi said that the 2024 Lok Sabha polls are a fight between two ideologies, with the Congress, which has always united India, on one side and those who have always tried to divide people on the other side. "This election is a fight between two ideologies! On one side there is the Congress, which has always united India, and on the other side there are those who have always tried to divide people," the former Congress chief said in a post in Hindi. History is witness as to who joined hands with the forces that wanted to divide the country and strengthened them and who fought for the unity and independence of the country, Gandhi said. "Who stood with the British during the 'Quit India Movement'?

Congress stands committed to unity, BJP wants artificial uniformity: Jairam

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said that the party is committed to "unity" while the BJP wants "artificial uniformity". Addressing media persons here at Congress Bhavan in Dimapur, the AICC general secretary, who arrived in the state during the day to campaign for Congress candidate S Supongmeren Jamir, said the 2024 elections will be the most important one for the people of the country as it will be a "battle between unity and uniformity". The Congress wants to strengthen unity by celebrating the country's diversity while the BJP and its allies want to impose artificial uniformity, he said. Article 371 (A) was included in the Constitution of India in 1963 when the state of Nagaland was formed, he said, adding that the Article that provides special provisions for Nagaland will "come under attack as the BJP had removed Article 370 from the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The framework agreement was signed between the Government of India a

Highlights of the day: 'No fire at Delhi's Aiims Hospital'; DFS chief confirms receiving call, but turned out to be false alarm

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In Maharashtra deal, Uddhav's Sena gets lion's share, Cong takes back seat

Congress stepping back and allowing the Sena (UBT) to take the lead in the Lok Sabha fight was a sign of the national party's enlightened self-interest

Plea against use of INDIA acronym politically motivated: Congress to HC

The Congress on Tuesday opposed in the Delhi High Court a petition against the use of acronym INDIA, saying it is a "politically motivated" plea and shall be dismissed with exemplary costs. The Congress said the petitioner has failed to establish the very basis of the petition, that the name of the alliance has caused confusion amongst the voters and misled them into voting for the alliance solely on the basis of the acronym and "as a matter of national duty". "The petitioner has also failed to provide any evidence with respect to use of 'I.N.D.I.A' as an acronym for an alliance as 'diminishing goodwill' of the nation in global politics," the Congress said in its reply filed to the petition. The reply was filed in a public interest litigation which alleged that by using the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) acronym, the parties were taking "undue advantage in the name of our country". A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet P S Arora is .

Lok Sabha polls highlights: 'Sea of saffron' gathered at MP rally shows what LS results will be, says PM

General Elections 2024 highlights: Catch all the highlights of the announcements related to General Elections 2024 here

Ex-Union minister Birender Singh, ex-MLA wife Prem Lata join Congress

Former Union minister Birender Singh and his ex-MLA wife Prem Lata joined the Congress on Tuesday, a decade after quitting the party. Their joining comes a month after their son Brijendra Singh joined the party after quitting the Congress. Birender Singh (78) is the maternal grandson of the farmer leader Sir Chhotu Ram and had quit the Congress in 2014 to join the BJP. He was Union minister for steel in the first government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also held the charge of rural development, panchayati raj, and drinking water and sanitation. On his return to the Congress, Birender Singh said, "It is not just my 'ghar wapsi' but also 'vichar wapsi'." Welcoming Birender Singh and Prem Lata into the Congress, party leader Mukul Wasnik said, "With their joining, I am sure the Congress will be strengthened in Haryana and help form the Congress government in the state." Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, "With his (Birender Singh) rejoining, he has

EC asks CBDT to verify Rajeev Chandrasekhar's poll affidavit details

The Election Commission on Tuesday directed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to verify any mismatch in affidavit details submitted by Union minister and BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat Rajeev Chandrasekhar, sources said. The Congress had moved the poll panel claiming a mismatch in actual and declared assets in the affidavit filed by Chandrasekhar, who is in the fray against former UN diplomat Shashi Tharoor. According to procedure, the EC has directed the CBDT to verify any mismatch in affidavit details submitted by Chandrasekhar, the sources said. Any mismatch and falsification of affidavit is dealt with under Section 125 A of the Representation of the People Act 1951, they said. As per the law, concealing any information in nomination papers or affidavit is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with a fine, or both.