Page 17 - Congress

PM suffering from 'acronym-itis': Congress after passage of G RAM G Bill

A day after Parliament passed the VB-G RAM G Bill that seeks to replace the 20-year-old MGNREGA, the Congress on Friday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he is suffering from a "case of acute acronym-itis". Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh posted on X a cartoon representation on X which read: "All new A.C.R.O.N.Y.M MANTRALAYA - Administrative Commission for Renaming Old Schemes -- New Yet Meaningless". "The PM is suffering from a case of acute acronym-itis," Ramesh said in his post accompanying the cartoon. His dig came a day after the passage of two bills in Parliament with catchy acronyms -- Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill and the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill. The VB-G RAM G Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote, hours after the Lok Sabha cleared it on Thursday, amid strong protests by the opposition

Karnataka power tussle: CM Siddaramaiah attends Satish Jarkiholi's dinner

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with a group of Ministers and legislators, attended a dinner hosted by senior Minister Satish Jarkiholi here on December 18, official sources said. The dinner meeting held at the residence of Jarkiholi, who is considered close to Siddaramaiah, has sparked speculations amid the ongoing power tussle within the ruling Congress over the CM post. According to sources, the attendees included Ministers G Parameshwara, H C Mahadevappa, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, M C Sudhakar, and MLA A S Ponnanna. All of them are considered close to Siddaramaiah. The gathering followed a dinner the previous night, where Jarkiholi hosted over thirty like-minded legislators at a hotel here. While Siddaramaiah skipped it, his son and MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah, confidant and MLA K N Rajanna, were among those who were present. The dinner meetings come a week after over 30 Congress legislators, including some Ministers, met for dinner along with Deputy Chief Minister D

West Bengal draft electoral rolls out: 5.8 mn voters deleted in SIR | TMC | Congress | BJP |Voter ID

The Election Commission has published West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls after a Special Intensive Revision. Around 5.8 million voter names have been deleted, but officials say the process is not fin

National Herald case still in court, Congress misleading public: BJP

The BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress of running misleading propaganda over the trial court's decision in the National Herald case and said the court refused to take cognisance of the complaint but did not set aside the case. The case is still pending trial in the Delhi High Court, and the trial court in its order on Tuesday said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can continue its investigation, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia asserted. "The court yesterday (Tuesday) said that since it is a private complaint and no FIR has been lodged, it will not take cognizance of it. It's a technical matter. The court also said that ED can continue its investigation further. The court did not set it aside," Bhatia told a press conference at the BJP headquarters here "Its trial is still going on. Sonia Gandhi is still Accused Number-1 and Rahul Gandhi Accused Number-2," the BJP spokesperson said, alleging, "The Gandhi family thrives on deceit, deception, and propaganda.

Modi govt creating monopolies, reins of economy must return to MSMEs: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the Modi government of creating a "monopoly or duopoly" in every sector and called for putting the reins of India's economy back into the hands of MSMEs. Gandhi said that during the Winter Session of Parliament, he met a delegation of small and medium ice cream manufacturers, and by listening to their problems, it became clear that the government is determined to destroy small businesses for the benefit of its favoured industrialists. "Monopoly or duopoly is a curse for India and the Modi government has been doing exactly this in every sector, every industry," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said in a post in Hindi on his WhatsApp channel. "During the Jan Sansad (People's Parliament), I met with a delegation of small and medium-sized ice cream manufacturers. Talking to them and listening to their problems made it clear that the government is determined to destroy small businesses for the benefit of its favoured ...

PM Modi, Shah must resign: Congress after relief in National Herald case

The Congress on Wednesday demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation after a Delhi court refused to take cognisance of the ED's money laundering charge against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. The opposition party also vowed to expose the "vendetta politics" against its leadership, asserting that the Congress cadre is agitated and is going to show its strength against the "misuse of agencies." "We will keep fighting them both inside and outside Parliament and teach them a lesson," party president Mallikarjun Kharge said at a press conference. In a relief to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and five others, a Delhi court on Tuesday refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's money laundering charge against them in the National Herald case, holding that the agency's probe stemmed from a private complaint and not an FIR. "I want to say that after this judgement Modi and Shah should resign because it is like

MGNREGA to Nirmal Bharat: A look at welfare schemes renamed since 2014

The Centre has proposed renaming MGNREGA to VB-G RaM G, raising workdays to 125; the move adds to a long list of UPA-era welfare schemes renamed since 2014

Congress seeks apology after govt says 'no Nehru papers missing from PMML'

The Congress on Tuesday took a swipe at the government over its reply to a question in the Lok Sabha that no documents related to Jawaharlal Nehru were missing from the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) during its annual inspection, asking if there would be an apology forthcoming. In September, Rizwan Kadri, a member of the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) Society, had said he had written to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi to allow physical or digital access to private papers related to former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru that are in her possession. Sharing the reply of the government in the Lok Sabha, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The truth was finally revealed in the Lok Sabha yesterday. Will there be an apology forthcoming?" The government informed Parliament on Monday that no documents related to the first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, have been found missing from PMML during its annual inspection this year. Union

Hindi words in English Bills an affront to non-Hindi speakers: Chidambaram

The Congress leader highlighted that the practice was to write the title of the Bill in English words in the English version and in Hindi words in the Hindi version

Elections 2025: Big wins for BJP, allies across board, opposition decimated

The NDA tightened its political grip in 2025, winning decisively in Delhi and sweeping Bihar, marking a year of clear consolidation for the alliance

Vote chori issue raised by Cong, INDIA bloc has nothing to do with it: Omar

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday distanced himself from the "vote chori" issue raised by the Congress and said the "INDIA bloc has got nothing to do with it". His remarks came a day after top Congress leaders attacked the BJP and the election commissioners at a 'Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod' rally in the national capital, alleging that "vote chori" is in the ruling party's DNA and its leaders were "gaddar" who were conspiring to take away voting rights of people and should be removed from power. Abdullah's National Conference is a constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc. The Congress is the largest party in the coalition in terms of the number of opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha. Asked to comment on the issue of "vote chori" and alleged electoral irregularities being highlighted by the Congress, Abdullah said, "The INDIA bloc has got nothing to do with it. Every political party is at liberty to set its own agenda. The Congress has made 'vote chori' and SIR as its ma

Rijiju seeks apology from Rahul, Kharge over alleged 'threat' to PM Modi

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday sought an apology from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for their party workers' alleged threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's life. At a hurriedly called press conference here, Rijiju alleged that at Sunday's Congress rally in the national capital, some party workers had threatened to dig the grave of the Prime Minister, which was the "most unfortunate and tragic" thing to happen in Indian democracy. "Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi should tender an apology for the Congress workers' threat to the life of the Prime Minister. They should tender the apology on the floor of both Houses of Parliament. It is most unfortunate and tragic that Congress workers openly declared to dig the grave of Prime Minister Modi," he said. The parliamentary affairs minister said the workers and leaders of the Congress and the BJP are political rivals, not enemies. "

India cannot afford to pollute its way to prosperity, says Congress

Asserting that India simply cannot afford to pollute its way to prosperity, the Congress on Monday said increased pollution need not and must not be the price the people are compelled to pay for faster growth. The opposition party also stressed that the Graded Response Action Plans (GRAPs) cannot remain the dominant focus of clean-air action. In a statement, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said these plans are essentially reactive, with the emphasis being on crisis management and not crisis avoidance. "We need tough multi-sectoral actions with scale and speed round the year and not just in the winter October-December months," Ramesh said. On December 9, 2025, the Modi Government declared in the Rajya Sabha that "there is no conclusive data available in the country to establish direct correlation of death/disease exclusively due to air pollution", he said. "This is the second time that it has shown shocking insensitivity by denying that air polluti

Congress expels ex-Odisha MLA who flagged Rahul Gandhi's 'inaccessibility'

An official notice issued by the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) informed about the decision taken by the party's central leadership

Semi-final shock for Left in Kerala local body polls as rivals gain

Months before Assembly elections, Congress sees resurgence and BJP continues making inroads.

'Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod' rally aimed at protecting infiltrators: BJP MP

Ahead of the Congress' rally over the "vote theft" issue, the BJP on Sunday alleged that the main opposition party was holding the event in its bid to "protect infiltrators" from being removed from the electoral rolls. The ruling BJP asserted that the Congress will not succeed in its design of misleading people as well as "insulting and defaming" constitutional institutions, because the entire world knows that India's democracy is "very robust". Stepping up its campaign against the alleged "vote theft" by the BJP in elections, the Congress has organised a rally at the Ramlila Maidan here on Sunday that will be attended by the party's top leaders, including general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, and Sachin Pilot. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi are expected to address the gathering. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi is also likely to be present at the event. Ahead of the event, BJP national spokesperson

Congress gears up for 'Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod' rally in Delhi today

The rally comes amid heightened political activity surrounding the Congress's campaign against alleged electoral irregularities

Opposition slams plan to rename MGNREGA, says Centre erasing history

Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh said the move reflected a larger pattern. The Indian government is changing the entire history

Modi govt weakening Constitution, reversing social justice gains: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused the Modi government of weakening the Constitution whose foundation is social justice and said its policies have reversed previous Congress governments' initiatives on education and jobs for Dalits. Addressing the Congress party's first meeting of its Scheduled Castes (SC) Advisory Committee, he said the BJP government has weakened reservations, does not promote equality, instead justifies discrimination. "We will not allow Baba Saheb (Ambedkar)'s Constitution to be weakened at any cost," Kharge said. He said the Congress, even before Independence, pledged to mitigate the discrimination prevalent in society and recognised that the state's role in eradicating it. It was with this thinking that two major laws were enacted: the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, which made untouchability and all its forms punishable offences, and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, Kharge said. The government of Rajiv Gandhi enac

Congress downplays BJP's Thiruvananthapuram win, claims UDF wave in Kerala

The Congress on Saturday downplayed the victory of the BJP in the Thiruvananthapuram municipal corporation, saying no amount of spin can take away from the reality that there is a UDF wave in Kerala and it will be decisively repeated in the 2026 Assembly polls. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, who hails from Kerala, termed the BJP's claim of its surge in Kerala as "laughable". Interestingly, his remarks came after Congress Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor congratulated the BJP for the "historic performance" in the city corporation and said "the people's verdict must be respected, whether for the UDF overall or for the BJP in my constituency". In a post on X, Tharoor said he campaigned for a change from 45 years of the LDF "misrule", but the voters have ultimately rewarded another party that also sought a clear change in governance. "That is the beauty of democracy. The people's verdict must be respected, whether for the UDF overall or for the BJP in my ...