Page 174 - Congress

LS polls: Country fervently demanding change, says Kharge at CWC meet

Asserting that the country is seeking a change, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said the 'guarantees' touted by the present government would meet the same fate as the 'India Shining' slogan of 2004. Addressing the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's top decision-making body, to discuss and approve the party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, he urged all party leaders and workers to take every issue raised in the party manifesto to every village and town and to every household across the country. "The country is fervently demanding a change. The guarantees currently being touted by the present government would have the same fate as that of the 'India Shining' slogan of 2004," he said in his address at the CWC meet. "All of us have a responsibility to ensure that our manifesto gets the widest publicity in different states and our commitments are taken to every household across the country and people at large," he added. Kharge also sai

Markets pricing NDA win in LS polls; eyeing budget proposals now: Analysts

The NDA, experts believe, already had a big boost ahead of the 2024 national elections in Dec 2023, winning assembly elections in three key states (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh)

Highlights of the day: India, Cabo Verde hold Foreign Office consultations

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

Lok Sabha polls highlights: PM Modi holds road show in Coimbatore

Lok Sabha elections 2024 latest news: Catch all the latest updates on the announcements related to General Elections here

Cong raises questions over PM CARES Fund, asks about 'lack of transparency'

The Congress on Monday raised questions about the PM CARES Fund, saying that four years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is still not clear why it was set up, who its donors are and why its administrative structure is so "lacking in transparency". Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that given the history of the Modi government, as shown by the "electoral bond scam", one can only speculate that the lack of transparency was deliberately engineered to give the prime minister an unsupervised pool of funds to spend as he wishes. In a post on X, Ramesh said, "Now that the corruption, extortion and intimidation of the Modi Sarkar through the electoral bond scam is getting revealed in all its shocking detail, let us not forget another route the Government opened for companies to curry favour: the self-glorifyingly named PMCARES." "The total amount of funds PMCARES received and the names of the donors have never been officially reported. Media reports suggest that i

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Congress, DMK finalise seat-sharing in Tamil Nadu

DMK will contest in 22 seats; Congress 9 seats; VC, CPI and CPIM will contest 2 seats each, while MDMK and IUML will contest 1 seat each

This is fight between 'Asuri Shakti', 'Daivik Shakti': Congress slams PM

The Congress on Monday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remark that the INDIA bloc's manifesto talks about finishing 'Shakti', saying the elections will decide whether the country would be run by 'Asuri Shakti' (demonic power) or 'Daivik Shakti' (divine power). A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, at a rally in Mumbai, commented that the "fight against Modi is not on a personal level since Modi is a 'mask' who works for a 'Shakti' (power)", the prime minister asserted that the fight is between those who want to destroy 'Shakti' and those who worship it. Prime Minister Modi, referring to the opposition rally in Mumbai's Shivaji Park, said, "They announced their manifesto... and said their fight was against 'Shakti'. For me, every mother and every daughter is a form of 'Shakti'. Mothers and sisters, I worship you as 'Shakti'. I am Bharat Maa's pujari." In retaliation, the Congress likened the BJP to 'Asuri Shakti' and alleged that the nation has seen atrocities .

Model Code of Conduct kicks in as election schedule announced: What is it?

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Here are the key things allowed, not allowed during Model Code of Conduct

Cong's Satheesan accuses CM Vijayan of 'creating space' for BJP in state

As the campaign for the Lok Sabha polls intensified, Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, on Monday accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of attempting to create "a space" for the BJP in the southern state. Speaking to reporters in Attingal near here, Satheesan also asserted that the saffron party would not secure a foothold in the state during the Lok Sabha polls. Referring to LDF convener E P Jayarajan's earlier statement that the BJP would come second in many constituencies in Kerala and that many candidates of the saffron party were good, Satheesan said what the CPI(M) leader stated was not echoed by BJP state chief K Surendran or his party. He alleged that Vijayan was influencing Jayarajan, "a poor man," to make such statements to "appease the BJP" at the Centre. Vijayan, who is apprehensive about investigations in various cases, "is trying to create space for the BJP," he alleged. Neither the CPI(M) nor the chief minister have

Ahead of LS polls, Kamal Nath's close aide, other functionaries join BJP

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, a close associate of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and some other functionaries of the opposition Congress joined the ruling BJP on Monday. The Bahujan Samaj Party's state in-charge also joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Syed Zafar, a former Congress spokesperson, joined the BJP in Bhopal in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and the party's state head VD Sharma. Zafar, a native of Chhindwara, was considered a close associate of Congress veteran and former chief minister Kamal Nath. As per his profile on X, he was currently holding the post of MP Congress general secretary. However, state Congress media department chairman K K Mishra said Zafar was not holding any post in the party at present. Earlier this month, there were speculations that Nath might switch over to the BJP, but he refuted such reports as "creation of media." Besides Zafar, MP Congress general secretary Maneesha Dubey, some other party leaders and B

Remembering 'Shakti': Why PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi are talking about it

Stating that he considers every mother, daughter, and sister, as well as 'Bharat Mata' as 'Shakti', Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he accepts Congress' challenge

'Pradhan Mantri Hafta Vasuli Yojana': Cong's swipe over electoral bonds

Stepping up its attack on the Centre over the electoral bonds issue, the Congress on Monday accused the Modi government of "hafta vasuli" (extortion) and claimed that a total of 21 firms which have faced investigations from the CBI, ED, or IT, have donated through electoral bonds. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that with each passing day, more examples emerge on the true depths of the "electoral bond scam". "Today, we zoom in on the 'Pradhan Mantri Hafta Vasuli Yojana', the second of the four channels of corruption in the Electoral Bond Scam: 1.Chanda Do, Dhandha Lo 2.Hafta Vasuli," Ramesh said in a post on X. On November 10, 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested P Sarath Chandra Reddy, the director of Aurobindo Pharma, in connection with its money laundering case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the Delhi government's liquor policy and five days later, on November 15, Aurobindo Pharma donated electoral bonds worth Rs 5 crore, he claimed. "Navayuga .

Influencer show: How important are social media personalities in elections?

The evolving relation between social media personalities and the political landscape continues to intrigue and challenge the norms of electoral engagement, Aditi Phadnis explains

2024 Lok Sabha polls: Women to overseas voters, here's what numbers say

The seven phases in the 2024 polls are scheduled for April 19 (102 seats), April 26 (89 seats), May 7 (94 seats), May 13 (96 seats), May 20 (49 seats), May 25 (57 seats) and June 1 (57 seats)

Black money routed to BJP's accounts through electoral bonds, alleges Cong

The Congress on Sunday charged the government with engaging in "quid pro quo" for receiving electoral bonds and "conspiring" to route black money into the BJP's accounts through the scheme. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were answerable on the electoral bond "scam". He also accused the ruling party of indulging in "tax terrorism" and "surgical strikes" on the Congress after its accounts were frozen by the Income Tax authorities ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The opposition party also hoped the Election Commission would maintain "total impartiality and neutrality" during polls and would live up to its constitutional duties as expected by the people from it. Addressing a press conference, Ramesh alleged that the electoral bonds scheme introduced in 2018 was the "biggest extortion racket" ever run by the government, after it was revealed that the BJP garnered around Rs 6,800 crore through electoral bonds while

Plea seeks details of electoral bonds sold from Mar 1, 2018 to Apr 11, 2019

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking disclosure of the details of electoral bonds sold from March 1, 2018, to April 11, 2019, saying voters are entitled to know funding to political parties for the entire period since the start of the scheme. In a landmark verdict last month, the top court scrapped the Centre's electoral bonds scheme that allowed anonymous political funding calling it "unconstitutional" and ordered the State Bank of India (SBI), the authorised financial institution under the scheme, to submit the details of the bonds purchased from April 12, 2019 to February 15, 2024 to the Election Commission of India (ECI). A new application, filed by Citizen's Rights Trust, has submitted that 9,159 bonds worth Rs 4,002 crore have been sold between March 2018 to April 2019 which should also be disclosed. The petition seeks a direction to the SBI to share the details of electoral bonds sold and redeemed from March 1, 2018, to April 11, 2019, including the alphanumeric

Rahul Gandhi a liability for INDIA bloc: BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi feels Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is the biggest liability of the opposition bloc and warned that several opposition parties could risk losing recognition from the Election Commission after defeat at the hands of the Narendra Modi-led BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The former Union minority affairs minister tried to dispel fears revolving around the implementation of CAA by saying, "Not a single Indian citizen, including Muslims, would be affected by the new legislation" and accused the opposition of trying to create communal conflict and confusion across the country. In an interview to PTI, Naqvi predicted a decisive victory for the BJP government for a third consecutive term, citing a widespread loss of faith among the populace in opposition parties, particularly the Congress. He criticised opposition bloc INDIA, saying it lacks coherent leadership and policies, with internal conflicts and ambitions hindering its effectiveness. "INDIA

Lok Sabha polls: Development, jobs key focus of parties in Madhya Pradesh

The BJP dominated all the six regions of Madhya Pradesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when it won 28 out of the 29 parliamentary seats in the state and will seek to repeat its performance this time as well. The saffron party will also try to wrest Chhindwara, the lone seat won by the Congress in the 2019 polls in the home turf of former chief minister Kamal Nath. Development and issues pertaining to employment have been the key focus areas of the BJP and Congress in the six regions of the state. The BJP has declared its candidates in all 29 seats, while the Congress has so far announced names of its candidates for 10 seats. Out of the 29 seats, five are reserved for the Scheduled Tribe and four for Scheduled Caste candidates. In the 2019 polls, all these seats were won by the BJP. The state broadly has six regions - Gwalior-Chambal, Central MP (Bhopal), Malwa-Nimar, Mahakoshal, Vindhya and Bundelkhand. The Malwa-Nimar region has the highest number of eight Lok Sabha seats. 1. ...

BJP targets Congress LS candidates in Chhattisgarh through cartoons

The ruling BJP in Chhattisgarh has come up with a set of cartoons on social media to target the opposition Congress' Lok Sabha poll candidates, including former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, over politics of appeasement and other issues. While the BJP said it has only portrayed some incidents which happened during the previous Congress regime through the cartoons which are not meant to hurt anyone, the grand old party accused it of releasing such illustrations out of frustration. The 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh will see polling in three phases on April 19, April 26 and May 7 as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India. The cartoon posters were released over the last one week. One such poster targeting former CM Baghel, who has been fielded by the Congress from Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat, was posted with the comment "Rajnandgaon or Jihadgaon...selection is yours". The post shows a caricature of Baghel leading a queue, holding a green flag with "jihadi

LS polls: Reluctance of ministers to enter fray puts Karnataka Cong in spot

Reluctance of some ministers and lawmakers in Karnataka to contest the Lok Sabha polls seems to have put the Congress scouting for "winnable" candidates in a spot of bother in finalising contestants for bulk of the seats. It has been ten days since the Congress announced its candidates for seven segments while the process to pick nominees for the remaining 21 seats is on. The Congress' first list released on March eight did not have names of any of the ministers and legislators. According to party sources, the Congress leadership has been making efforts to convince some ministers and lawmakers to contest, as they have faced problems in identifying winnable candidates in several segments. Senior Congress leader and Home Minister G Parameshwara had recently said there are discussions in the party to field seven to eight ministers. Some ministers instead of themselves contesting, are said to be pushing for the candidature of their family members and, according to sources, the party .