Page 185 - Congress

Talks between AAP, Congress on LS seat sharing in Delhi in final stages

Talks between the AAP and the Congress over seat sharing in Delhi for the Lok Sabha polls are in final stages and the two sides are likely to announce their tie-up soon, sources said on Thursday. Both sides have agreed on the seats to be contested by each party. The AAP will field candidates from the South Delhi, West Delhi, North West Delhi and New Delhi seats, while the Congress will contest from the Chandni Chowk, East Delhi and North East Delhi constituencies, the sources in the Aam Aadmi Party said. All the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital are currently held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday that the talks over the alliance were delayed and hinted at fresh developments in the next one or two days. The Lok Sabha polls are likely to be held in April-May.

Assam Min lashes out at Cong, AIUDF for walking out together from Assembly

'My question is whether both parties are against each other or in alliance,' Assam's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika said

INDIA bloc seals first seat-sharing agreement as SP, Congress join hands

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will share the stage with Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad and CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury at a rally in Patna on March 3

Highlights of the day: Govt approves Rs 1,179.7 cr for women safety scheme

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SP, Congress announce tie-up for Lok Sabha polls in UP, Cong gets 17 seats

INDIA bloc partners Samajwadi Party and Congress on Wednesday announced a tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, with the state's main opposition party leaving 17 out of the 80 seats for the Congress. The announcement was made at a joint press conference by SP state chief Naresh Uttam Patel, SP national general secretary Rajendra Chaudhary, Congress state president Ajay Rai and AICC in-charge for UP Avinash Pande. Pande said the Congress will contest on 17 seats, while on the rest of the 63 seats in the state SP and other alliance partners will contest.

Man-animal conflict: Bhupender Yadav calls for sympathetic, tech approach

Wayanad has witnessed several incidents of wild elephant attacks, including the recent death of a forest department watcher

I-T dept has withdrawn Rs 65 cr from banks 'undemocratically', alleges Cong

The Congress on Wednesday alleged that the Income Tax department has "withdrawn" a sum of Rs 65 crore from its accounts in different banks "undemocratically" even when the case pertaining to their return for previous years is sub judice. Party treasurer Ajay Maken has claimed that "democracy will be over if the action of probe agencies goes unchecked" and said the Congress has full faith in the judiciary. "The Income Tax department had written to various banks to withdraw a sum of Rs 65 crore from different bank accounts of the Congress and Indian Youth Congress in view of the demand raised by the Income Tax authorities earlier, despite the appellate authorities hearing the case," Maken told PTI. He said even when the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, which the Congress had moved against the Income Tax department's claim of Rs 210 crore as recovery for "discrepancies" in previous tax returns has been stayed and a lien has been marked, the tax authorities have resorted to "undemocratic

Ashok Chavan's exit from Cong prompted by Adarsh scam: Sharad Pawar

Former Union minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday claimed the mention of Adarsh housing scam in a white paper tabled in Parliament was kind of a "threat", prompting Ashok Chavan's exit from the Congress. Chavan, who joined the BJP last week, has denied such claims. He is an accused in the Adarsh housing society scam wherein a 31-storey posh building in south Mumbai was constructed allegedly on land owned by the Defence Ministry without getting the requisite permissions and clearances. The scandal led to Chavan's resignation as the Maharashtra's chief minister in 2010. Asked about Chavan's exit from the Congress, Pawar told reporters in Kolhapur that though the development was surprising for everyone, he was not surprised personally. "The reason is that the BJP had tabled a white paper on their last 10 years of performance and their opinions about the opposition. In that white paper, there was a mention of the Adarsh society and Ashok Chavan. After that mention, we assumed that it co

'We are with them', says Mallikarjun Kharge on ongoing farmers' protest

Earlier on February 20, Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the BJp for not implementing the recomendations of the MS Swaminathan report

Baba Siddique's son Zeeshan removed as Mumbai Youth Congress President

Congress has appointed Akhilesh Yadav to be the new President of Mumbai Youth Congress in place of Zeeshan Siddique days after his father joined the NCP

PM Modi, Rahul, Kharge condole death of legal doyen Fali S Nariman

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday condoled legal doyen Fali S Nariman's death and said he had devoted his life to making justice accessible to common citizens. Legal doyen and veteran advocate Nariman died here on Wednesday at the age of 95. He was suffering from multiple ailments, including cardiac issues. In a post on X, Modi said: "Shri Fali Nariman Ji was among the most outstanding legal minds and intellectuals. He devoted his life to making justice accessible to common citizens." "I am pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and admirers. May his soul rest in peace," the prime minister said. In his long and illustrious legal career, Nariman argued in several landmark cases, including the famous case of the National Judicial Appointments Commission, which was struck down by the Supreme Court. Born on January 10, 1929, Nariman served as the additional solicitor general between 1972 and 1975. He resigned from the post during Emergency. Nariman receiv

Modi govt established 'politics of performance': Amit Shah slams Congress

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the Modi government has freed the country from parivarvad, corruption, appeasement and casteism, and established the "politics of performance". He also targeted the Congress, calling it a "dynastic" and "directionless" party that cannot develop the country or work for the welfare of the poor. Shah arrived at Rajasthan's Bikaner on a daylong visit to the state. He held a meeting of the BJP's state election committee in Bikaner in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. From Bikaner, the Union home minister went to Udaipur where he addressed a party workers' meeting. Later in the evening, Shah met with prominent citizens in state capital Jaipur. "Four sores -- parivarvad, corruption, appeasement, and casteism had afflicted country's democracy. Within 10 years, Modi ji ended them and established the politics of performance," Shah said addressing a gathering of intellectuals here. "The people of the INDIA bloc want to make only their sons, .

Highlights of the day: Zee denies reports on reviving Sony-Zee merger talks

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Sandeshkhali violence: Supreme Court pauses Parliament panel probe against officers

Sandeshkhali violence: Supreme Court has paused Parliament panel probe against key officers in West Bengal. Watch the video to know about the latest updates

Cong leader Sonia Gandhi elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi was elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan on Tuesday, officials said. Bharatiya Janata Party's Chunnilal Garasiya and Madan Rathore were also elected unopposed to the Upper House from the state, Assembly Secretary Mahaveer Prasad Sharma said. Tuesday was the last day for withdrawing nominations. As no other candidates were contesting, the three leaders were elected to Rajya Sabha unopposed, the officer said. The tenure of Rajya Sabha members Manmohan Singh (Congress) and Bhupendra Yadav (BJP) is ending on April 3. The third seat fell vacant after the BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena resigned from the House in December after being elected MLA. The BJP has 115 members and the Congress 70 in the 200-member assembly. There are 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan. After the results, Congress has six members and the BJP four.

Farmers rejected offer as they understood govt's mischief: Congress

The Congress on Tuesday claimed that protesting farmers have rejected another "false offer" as they have understood the government's "mischief" and asserted it is committed to providing legal guarantee of the MSP and take other necessary steps to provide justice to the tillers. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the legal guarantee for MSP will not make the Indian farmers a burden on the budget but ensure they become the drivers of GDP growth. He claimed that "lies" are being spread that the MSP guarantee is not feasible under the government's budget. In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi claimed that ever since the Congress resolved to provide legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP), "Modi's propaganda machinery and media friendly to him have spread a barrage of lies on MSP". "Lie -- It is not feasible to provide legal guarantee for MSP in the budget of the government of India. Fact -- According to CRISIL, giving MSP to farmers in 2022-23 would have resulted in an additional

Cong hails SC's forest definition order, says INDIA to protect environment

The Congress on Tuesday hailed the Supreme Court's interim order asking the states and Union Territories to act as per the definition of "forest" laid down by the top court in a 1996 judgment and said it is committed to protecting forests and environment when an INDIA bloc government is formed. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said that after the "electoral bonds scam", the Supreme Court has stopped another set of "blatantly illegal and disastrous" Modi government schemes. Former environment minister Ramesh also tagged a media report on the Supreme Court directing that the dictionary meaning of "forest" be applied. He also shared another media report on the amnesty window opened for just six months in March 2017 to clear projects in a novel "violation category" that became routine through a Union Environment Ministry notification in July 2021, and provided ex-post facto approval to over 100 projects till the Supreme Court stayed the notification in January this year. "The .

Speculation of Kamal Nath's switch creation of media and BJP: Cong leader

Congress general secretary Bhanwar Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said there is no truth in the speculation of senior party leader Kamal Nath joining the BJP and claimed such talks were a creation of the media and the saffron party. Singh, the AICC in-charge of Madhya Pradesh, arrived in Bhopal on Tuesday in the backdrop of suspense over former CM Kamal Nath's next move and escalating tension within the state Congress. There has been intense speculation over future moves by Congress veteran Kamal Nath, despite repeated assurances from his associates on Monday that there are no plans for him to leave the party and cross over to the ruling BJP. Asked about the speculation over Nath's next political move, Singh told reporters, "All these things are raised by the media and the BJP. There is no truth in it." He arrived here to attend a Congress meeting to review preparations ahead of the entry of party leader Rahul Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' in Madhya Pradesh. On the reason behind

Thousands of wetlands under severe threat, their protection vital: Jairam

Congress leader and former environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said thousands of wetlands across the country are under severe threat daily and asserted that their protection is vital as they are of great ecological significance. In a post on X, Ramesh said the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was signed in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the Caspian Sea in February 1971. The then prime minister Indira Gandhi had sent India's greatest ornithologist, Salim Ali, as India's delegate. "How this happened has been described in my book, 'Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature'. It was Salim Ali who, more than anybody else, awakened the nation's conscience to the protection of wetlands," Ramesh said. There are now 80 Ramsar sites across the country, with the maximum of 16 in Tamil Nadu and 10 in Uttar Pradesh, he pointed out. Chilika in Odisha was the first wetland to be designated as a Ramsar site on October 1, 1981, he noted. Ramesh said the pause of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on Tuesday

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi granted bail in 2018 defamation case

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered its 38th day on Tuesday. The yatra will start from Fursantganj in Amethi district and will move towards Raebareli and Lucknow today