Page 164 - Congress

Poll promises

Congress could have offered a more progressive agenda

LS polls: Rahul Gandhi asks people to share feedback on Congress manifesto

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi Sunday said his party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls has been hailed by many as revolutionary, and urged people to share their feedback on the document through social media. Gandhi posted a video on Instagram in which he made the appeal. "I made this video last night at 12:30am, but my team thought it was too late to post. So I'm posting it now because the message is still relevant," Gandhi said in the post accompanying the video which was released around 10 am. "The Congress manifesto is the voice of every Indian, share your thoughts on social media," he said. In the video, Gandhi says he made the video after coming back from the rally in Telangana and many people told him that it is a "revolutionary" manifesto. He thanked people for their suggestions which he said helped shape the manifesto. Gandhi asked them to share feedback with him on the manifesto and tell him what they liked about it and what they did not. The Congress on Friday

LS polls: INDIA alliance wants to save corrupt people, says BJP's Nadda

BJP national president J P Nadda on Sunday charged that the INDI Alliance leaders, who are either on bail or in jail, were keen on protecting the corrupt people whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi was striving hard to end corruption in the country. Those leaders such as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, were in prison while Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul were on bail, Nadda said and claimed the opposition leaders presented a contrasting picture compared to the Prime Minister who is an epitome of development and determined to end corruption. Prime Minister Narendra Modi says I will finish corruption, but the INDI alliance leaders say save the corrupt people. That is their working style. In Tamil Nadu, the DMK, which stands for Dynasty Money Swindling and Katta Panchayat and its ally the Congress are corrupt. All of them are trying to save their families and dynasties and themselves from their corruption, Nadda said addressing a rally here. The oppositi

Khajuraho LS seat candidates being pressured to withdraw from poll: Cong

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari on Sunday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was pressuring some of the candidates in the Khajuraho Lok Sabha seat to withdraw from the poll fray. The BJP, however, termed the allegations as baseless and said such claims were a cover-up for the internal conspiracies of the opposition INDIA bloc. The Congress has given the Khajuraho Lok Sabha seat to the Samajwadi Party (SP) as part of the seat-sharing agreement among the INDIA alliance constituents. The nomination form of SP candidate Meera Yadav, however, was rejected by the Returning Officer on Friday as she had failed to sign at one place and also submitted an old voters' list copy. After the scrutiny, 14 candidates are in fray in this seat, including sitting MP and BJP state president VD Sharma. Talking to reporters on Sunday, Patwari claimed the All India Forward Bloc candidate RB Prajapati, a former government officer, met him and said he is being pressured through differ

Fully confident Himachal will support us, truth will prevail, says Priyanka

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and assembly bypolls to be held simultaneously in Himachal Pradesh, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday expressed confidence that people of the state will support her party and truth will prevail. She said on the one hand, there is the BJP's pursuit of power by using money and agencies, destroying democracy in the process, and on the other there is the Congress' resolve to work tirelessly for the people with truth, courage and patience. In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said, "I met all leaders of the Congress Party in Himachal Pradesh. I am proud of their unity, hard work, courage to contest elections strongly and their dedication towards the people." "On the one hand, there is the BJP's empire of fear, greed and lies. The pursuit of power through money power and agencies is a politics that destroys democracy. On the other hand, Congress has the resolve to work tirelessly for the people with truth, courage and patience,

Congress indulged in corruption, did not carry out water works: Shekhawat

Union minister and BJP candidate Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has claimed that he got budget worth thousands of crores sanctioned by the Centre for water works in Rajasthan but the previous Congress government in the state failed to utilise it. While trashing Congress candidate Karan Singh Uchiyarda's reported remarks that he could not get water for the region despite being the Jal Shakti minister, the BJP leader said he was saddened by the endorsement of the same by BJP workers. "I allocated thousands of crores of budget to the Rajasthan government for water, but if the government didn't work, what can I do? Even the Central Government has its limitations; water is a state government matter, and it was their responsibility to work on it, but they didn't and indulged in corruption", he said. Addressing a rally in Ajasar village in Pokhran on Saturday, Shekhawat said his own people were throwing mud on his face. "Congress candidate is saying that despite being the Minister of Water, ...

Congress' manifesto takes up competition issues in retail, media, ports

The party said it aims to create a level playing field for all businesses

LS polls: BJP's governance in Bihar left much to be desired, says Congress

The Congress on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to answer on key issues his government should have focused on in Bihar, saying while the BJP has "excelled" at forcing its way into power, its governance has left much to be desired. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions to the prime minister on Bihar ahead of his rally in Nawada. "Today, the Prime Minister heads to Nawada in Bihar - the state where the BJP orchestrated its latest government collapse. While they have excelled at forcing their way into power, the BJP's governance has left much to be desired," Ramesh said. He hoped the PM can answer three questions about the issues his government should have focused on. When the PM visited Nawada before the 2014 election, he raised the issue of the Warisaliganj Sugar Mill, asking why it had remained defunct for so many years, Ramesh noted. "This raised the hopes of thousands of locals, as in its heyday, the mill directly employed 1,200 workers and additiona

Women candidates of BJP, Cong heat up LS poll campaign in Guj's Banaskantha

Banaskantha is the only Lok Sabha constituency in Gujarat where both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Congress have fielded women candidates. Two-term MLA Geniben Thakor of the Congress will take on BJP's Rekha Chaudhary, an engineering professor making her poll debut, in the upcoming parliamentary polls. Thakor defeated the then Gujarat minister and senior BJP leader Shankar Chaudhary in the 2017 assembly polls and Swarupji Thakor of the saffron party in 2022. Known for advocacy of women's rights, Thakor had in 2020 said "rapists must be burnt alive rather than being handed over to police," after the alleged rape of a 14-month-old girl in Gujarat. She was one of the 17 Congress candidates who managed to bag seats in the 2022 Gujarat assembly polls, which were won by the BJP with a record mandate. Rekha Chaudhary's grandfather Galbabhai Chaudhary founded the Banas Dairy, which procures milk from 4.5 lakh farmers every day, an initiative which has ope

Congress manifesto, troubles for BJP & more | This week in elections | Lok Sabha Elections 2024

Welcome to Chessboard with BS - Business Standard's podcast covering the latest in the world of politics and power. Ankur Bhardwaj and Archis Mohan discuss the week’s political developments.

Opposition, activists express solidarity with Newsclick founder Purkayastha

The opposition leaders and activists on Saturday expressed solidarity with Newsclick founder Prabir Purkayastha and accused the ruling BJP of crushing dissent. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, party leader Brinda Karat, CPI general secretary D Raja, AAP leader Gopal Rai, former IAS officer and activist Harsh Mander, and senior journalist P Sainath were among those who expressed solidarity with Purkayastha, who was arrested in October 2023, following raids on Newsclick. Yechury said that his friendship with Purkayastha goes back to his days in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and recalled he was also arrested during emergency. "We are not just here to express solidarity with a person... he has played an important role in all people's movements," Yechury said. "In my last speech in the Parliament, I said it's our responsibility not to make India a Hindu Pakistan. We have to save ourselves. Voices like Prabir are needed to ensure that," he added. Yechury said arrests ar

LS polls 'not fair' but despite that, INDIA bloc will get majority: Ramesh

The Lok Sabha polls are "not fair" with opposition parties being targeted but despite that, the INDIA bloc will get a clear majority in the elections due to the public response to its "five nyay, 25 guarantees", senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Saturday. He also said the people of the country will "decisively reject" all attempts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make the elections "unfree and unfair". There is a strong undercurrent of "enough of das saal anyay kaal" (10 years of injustice), the Congress general secretary said. Ramesh also hit out at Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over their recent remarks about the country being a "new India", which strikes inside enemy territory, saying these are "diversionary tactics" aimed at taking the focus away from the Congress' "real narrative" of "paanch nyay, pachees guarantees" and the manifesto. Asked about the fairness of the polls, Ramesh said, "This election is not fair with action being taken against opposition

Singhvi moves HC challenging his defeat in RS poll through draw of lots

Weeks after he lost the Rajya Sabha election from Himachal Pradesh, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Saturday filed an application in the high court challenging the interpretation of draw of lots rules by the poll officer after there was a tie in the poll. BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan won the February 27 election through draw of lots after both candidates secured 34 votes each. "There is nothing in the law, neither in the act nor in the rules which compels an interpretation which requires that the person whose name is drawn in the draw of lots is a loser," Singhvi told reporters after filing his petition in the Himachal Pradesh High Court. In spite of the fact that the Congress had a strength of 40 members and the support of three Independents in the assembly, both the candidates polled 34 votes each as nine legislators -- six Congress rebels and three Independents -- voted in favour of BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan. The winner was announced by a draw of lots and under the procedu

Congress manifesto bears imprint of Muslim League, says PM; Cong replies

Addressing an election rally in Saharanpur, PM Modi said people of the country feel that the Congress which fought for the country's independence was finished decades back

Congress manifesto 'bears Muslim league imprint': PM Modi in Saharanpur

Prime Minister says the Congress party is cut off from the hopes and aspirations of today's India, is dominated by leftists

Job creation, MSP law: Congress manifesto vows to reset economic policy

The party omitted mentioning its promise of restoring the old pension scheme (OPS) in the manifesto

Highlights of the day: Zee to layoff 15% of workforce in a bid to cut costs

Latest news updates: Catch all the news updates from around the world here

Will do a caste census and scrap Agnipath scheme: Congress in manifesto

Lok Sabha elections 2024: The Congress party promises to regularise employment, raise 50% cap on reservation, end 'cess raj'

Congress rebel Sudhir Sharma sends defamation notice to Himachal CM Sukhu

A day after Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu claimed six Congress rebels and three independents were sold for Rs 15 crore each, one of them, Sudhir Sharma, Friday sent a defamation notice to him asking for a Rs 5-crore compensation. Sharma is one of the Congress rebels. During a rally in Himachal's Una district, Sukhu had on Thursday alleged that the Congress rebels are corrupt and will go behind bars. He had said "we do not have money but we have honesty, morality and support of the people" and alleged that the six Congress rebels and three independents were sold for Rs 15 crore each. "We have proof as the facts have started unfolding in the police investigation and time has come to teach them a lesson," he had added. The CM had made the remarks against the nine legislators including six Congress rebels and three independents who had voted in favour of BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha polls held on February 27. These MLA had later joined the BJP

From jobs to MSP, what has changed in Congress' manifesto from 2019

Lok Sabha elections 2024: The manifesto pledged to conduct a nationwide Socio-Economic and Caste Census to assess caste and sub-caste demographics along with their socio-economic status