Page 181 - Congress

Double-engine govt guarantees 'jungle raj' in UP, says Rahul Gandhi

The truth of the double-engine government in Uttar Pradesh is that it is a "guarantee of jungle raj", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday while announcing a statewide protest by party workers against the law and order situation. "The law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh is the biggest example of how the BJP and Modi media together are indulging in the 'business of lies'," he alleged in a post in Hindi on X. Highlighting several recent cases of crimes against women, he said the bodies of minor sisters are found hanging from trees at some places. "Somewhere the audacity of gang rape by BJP members in IIT-BHU campus, and somewhere a woman judge was forced to commit suicide for not getting justice. "This is the condition of that state whose law and order system is being praised tirelessly," Gandhi said. He also mentioned the recent murder of a Dalit student returning after taking her Class 10 exams in Rampur. "It is time to come out of the false image created by Modi medi

Number of candidates contesting LS polls rose 4-fold between 1952 and 2019

The number of candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls has seen a rise of over four times from 1,874 in 1952 to 8,039 in 2019, according to official data. The average number of candidates per constituency has jumped from 4.67 to 14.8 in the same period, the data showed. With the Lok Sabha polls nearing, the battleground is set but it is yet to be seen how many candidates are in the fray even as the proportion of candidates contesting has seen a rise since 1952 when the first elections were held. On an average, there used to be only around three to five contestants per Lok Sabha seat until the sixth Lok Sabha elections in 1977 but in the last elections 14.8 candidates on average contested from per constituency across the country. According to an analysis by non-profit organisation PRS Legislative Research, there were 8,039 candidates contesting from 542 Parliamentary constituency seats in the 2019 general assembly elections. A closer look at the last Lok Sabha polls in 2019 show t

Highlights: Himachal LoP criticises CM for inviting back disqualified MLAs

Himachal Pradesh news highlights: Catch all the latest updates on the disqualification of the Congress MLAs in Himachal assembly here

Congress slams govt over 'surge' in rejection rates of EPF final settlement

The Congress on Friday slammed the government over the reported surge in rejection rates of Employees Provident Fund final settlement and claimed the defining feature of the "anyay kaal" of last 10 years has been that no community could to get their full due. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X which claimed the rejection rates of EPF final settlement have been surging, up from around 13 per cent in 2017-18 to nearly 34 per cent in 2022-23. "The defining feature of the 'Anyay-kaal' of the last 10 years has been that no community is able to get its full due: Women are left out of the job market, the youth are unable to seek employment and the farmers are unable to get adequate prices," he alleged. "Even the 'shramik', the worker who earns his living through wages, is unable to access his/her own earnings. The EPFO, the government-run organization that administers the Provident Fund for India's workers, has seen a sharp rise in

Highlights of the day: Govt hikes windfall tax on petroleum crude

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

Himachal crisis: 6 rebel Congress MLAs disqualified by Speaker, to move SC

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Thursday disqualified six Congress MLAs, who had cross-voted in the recent Rajya Sabha polls, for abstaining from voting on the Budget in the assembly. One of the disqualified MLAs said they will appeal against the Speaker's order in the Supreme Court. The six rebel Congress MLAs had abstained from voting on cut motion and finance bill (Budget) in the assembly, defying a party whip to vote in favour of the government. The ruling Congress had sought their disqualification on this ground. The disqualified MLAs are Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto. A notification in this regard was issued on Thursday evening which further said that these six MLAs ceased to be members of Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly with effect from February 29. "Consequent upon this, the seat of assembly constituencies Dharamshala, Lahaul and Spiti, Sujanpur, Barsar, Gagret an

Demolishing houses of poor is truth of BJP's 'anyay kaal': Priyanka Gandhi

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday attacked the BJP over the razing of the house of a rat-hole miner who was part of the Silkyara tunnel rescue operation, saying demolishing the houses of the poor and humiliating them is the truth of the BJP's "anyay kaal". Several houses, including that of Wakeel Hassan, feted for saving with his team of rat-hole miners 41 workers trapped in Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel in November last year, were razed in a demolition drive carried out by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in Khajoori Khas area on Wednesday. In a post on X, Vadra shared a video of Hassan's wife in which she is heard saying that her husband was the hero of Uttarkashi whom everyone respected and in exchange for that honour, "they took away my house". Vadra said Hassan risked his life to save the workers trapped inside the Uttarkashi tunnel. "Then, for their publicity, big leaders of the BJP had gotten photographs clicked with him. Now when the publicity is over, .

Six Congress MLAs disqualified by Himachal Pradesh's Assembly speaker

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Thursday disqualified six Congress MLAs who had cross-voted in the recent Rajya Sabha polls for the lone seat in the state. They had also abstained from voting on the Budget in the assembly, defying a party whip to vote in favour of the government on the Finance Bill, which led to their disqualification. The disqualified MLAs are Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur and Chetanya Sharma. Addressing reporters here, Pathania, who had reserved his verdict on the disqualification of the MLAs on Wednesday, said the legislators attracted the anti-defection law by defying the Congress whip as they were elected on the party's tickets. "These six MLAs are disqualified and cease to be members of Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly with immediate effect," the Speaker said. These MLAs had cross-voted in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha elections on Tuesday. La

BJP raises allegations of pro-Pakistan slogans in Karnataka Vidhana Soudha

Rajya Sabha member Syed Nasir Hussain has denied the allegations, clarifying that his supporters were chanting "Nazir saab zindabad" not "Pakistan zindabad"

Sitharaman flays Cong MP on demand for separate nation for southern states

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has decried Congress MP D K Suresh's statement that the southern states will be forced to demand for a separate nation due to the alleged injustice in the release of central grants to them. Insisting that "the central government has no role to play except for obeying the Finance Commission, Sitharaman said the states must sit with the Commission and highlight the weightage that will help them get the grants." "If southern states...I don't want to club them as southern states...each one has its own strengths and it is also now getting into those very, very dangerous threshold of 'Southern states together'. We will have '...' (separate nation)," the finance minister said during an interactive event - 'The Indian Express Adda'- here on Wednesday. Earlier this month, the Bengaluru Rural MP Suresh said the southern states will be forced to demand for a separate nation if the alleged 'injustice' was not rectified. He had claimed that taxes collec

Clamour for CM Sukhu's resignation gains momentum post defeat in RS polls

According to sources, at least half of the Congress' 40 legislators conveyed their unhappiness with Sukhu for not heeding their concerns

BJP accounted 76% of total income of all national parties in FY22-23: ADR

The ADR analysed the total declared income and expenditure of six 'national parties' for FY 2022-23 as submitted by them to the Election Commission in their annual audit reports

Highlights of the day: No breakthrough on agri, fisheries subsidies at WTO

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

Congress to contest 16 seats in Kerala in upcoming Lok Sabha elections

The Congress Party will contest 16 seats in Kerala in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said here on Wednesday. The allocation of seats within the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) for the Lok Sabha elections has been finalised, he said. Like in the previous polls, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the second largest coalition partner in UDF, would contest in two seats, the LoP said while addressing a press conference here. Of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, the Congress will contest in 16 seats, IUML- 2, KCJ (J) - 1 and RSP-1. The IUML leadership recently admitted that they had demanded one more Lok Sabha seat this time and said they won't backtrack from their decision. Satheesan, however, said issues were sorted through discussions. He also indicated that the IUML would be allotted a Rajya Sabha seat instead of the Lok Sabha seat they had demanded.

Himachal Speaker reserves order on Cong's plea to disqualify 6 rebel MLAs

Himachal Pradesh Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Wednesday reserved his order on a Congress petition seeking disqualification of six party MLAs who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha election. The six MLAs also face the possibility of disqualification on another count. Speaking in the assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said a whip was issued to the party MLAs to be present in the House during voting Wednesday on budget. But these MLAs defied it by staying away, he added. The minister asked the Speaker to take note of it. The Speaker said the matter is in his knowledge and he will take cognisance of it. The MLAs had cross-voted for BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan during the Rajya Sabha elections on Tuesday, leading to the defeat of their party candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The Congress has accused the six MLAs of defying the earlier whip on the Rajya Sabha polls. Senior advocate Satya Pal Jain, who represented the six MLAs before the Speaker on Wednesday, h

Himachal Pradesh crisis highlights: Will keep fighting, says CM Sukhu

Himachal Pradesh highlights: Catch all the news highlights on the crisis surrounding Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's government here

Himachal Vidhan Sabha adjourned sine die after passing budget for 2024-25

Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha was on Wednesday adjourned sine die after the passing of budget for 2024-25 and related Appropriation Bill authorising the government to spend Rs 6,24,21.73 crore from the consolidated fund. The Budget was passed in the absence of BJP members as 15 of them were suspended and the remaining ten staged a walk out in protest. The Vidhan Sabha was adjourned a day ahead of schedule as political scenario changed dramatically after defeat of Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi in Rajya Sabha elections on Tuesday and announcement of resignation by Public works minister Vikramaditya Singh from Sukhu cabinet. The budget was presented on February 17, 2024 by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who also holds the finance portfolio. Discussions on the budget were held for four days from February 19 to 22.

INLD leader Nafe Singh Rathee killed,12 detained: Here's what we know so far

In a shocking incident, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) state president Nafe Singh Rathee was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Jhajjar district. Watch the video to know more

Assam Congress leader Rana Goswami resigns, likely to meet BJP's Nadda

Congress leader Rana Goswami resigned from the party on Wednesday, and headed to New Delhi where he is likely to join BJP. Goswami, who resigned as the working president of the state Congress recently, is the former MLA of Jorhat. Soon after sending the resignation letter to Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, he went to New Delhi where he is likely to meet BJP president JP Nadda and join the party. Asked about the speculations of Goswami switching sides, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said he had no information about it, but "he is a powerful leader of the Congress and if he joins the BJP, I will welcome it". Earlier this month, Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha resigned as state Congress working president and along with another party legislator, Basanta Das, expressed support for the BJP-led government's "development agenda".

Cong's Vikramaditya Singh quits as Himachal minister, says MLAs humiliated

Vikramaditya Singh, son of Pratibha Singh and former CM Virbhadra Singh, said the govt was formed with everyone's contribution but the MLAs were overlooked and attempts were made to stifle their voice