Page 186 - Congress

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

Legal guarantee for MSP will make farmers drivers of GDP growth: Rahul

Legal guarantee for MSP will not make Indian farmers a burden on the budget but ensure that they become drivers of GDP growth, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday as 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 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 burden of Rs 21,000 crore on the government, which is only 0.4 per cent of the total budget," Gandhi said in his post. In a country where bank loans worth Rs 14 lakh crore have been waived and corporate tax exemption of Rs 1.8 lakh crore given, why is even a little expenditure

Rahul Gandhi gets bail in 2018 defamation case linked to Amit Shah

The matter pertains to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi allegedly calling Union Home Minister Amit Shah a murderer in his speech in 2018

Nyay Yatra will not be derailed: Jairam on Rahul's appearance before court

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

Highlights of the day: Cong dismisses Kamal Nath's BJP switch speculation

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

Congress dismisses speculation of former MP CM Kamal Nath switching to BJP

The Congress on Monday dismissed as "misinformation" the speculation over party leader Kamal Nath's possible switch to the BJP and asserted that the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister will participate in the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the state. The assertion by Congress general secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh Jitendra Singh came amid speculation that Kamal Nath and his son Nakul Nath, a Lok Sabha MP, may cross over to the ruling BJP. "Kamal Nath ji is a senior leader of our party. All these speculations have been made by the BJP and the media. I spoke to him yesterday and the day before yesterday also and we discussed the preparations of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra," Singh told reporters at the Congress headquarters here. "I am going to Bhopal tomorrow and meetings are taking place with MLAs, various committees and MPs. Kamal Nath ji will also join those meetings and his suggestions for the yatra's passage will be taken note of. Kamal Nath will prominently .

Bihar Congress stages protest over freezing of party's bank accounts

Congress workers in Bihar on Monday staged a protest here against freezing of the party's bank accounts by the Income Tax Department, a move they blamed on the ruling BJP at the Centre. Congress activists led by legislature party leader Shakil Ahmed Khan held the demonstration at the Income Tax roundabout in the city, carrying placards and raising slogans against the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. Talking to reporters on the occasion, Khan alleged that the BJP is "trying to squeeze the finances of opponents while ensuring that its own coffers overflowed, thanks to opaque things like electoral bonds". Notably, electoral bonds, through which a lion's share of funds is said to have gone to the BJP, were struck down by the Supreme Court last week. Khan also asked, "Why is it that only our accounts are being examined and no questions are being posed to the BJP, which has spent crores in the last five years on setting up offices in districts across the country? Its new headquart

Remain committed to INDIA bloc: PDP amid reports of party quitting alliance

The PDP on Monday rubbished reports about the party considering leaving the opposition INDIA bloc and said it remains committed to the unity of the alliance. In a post on its official handle on X, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) said, "Disregard the fabricated news about @jkpdp considering breaking ties with the INDIA alliance. We stand firm in our commitment to unity and our alliance. Don't be misled by this malicious misinformation!" The party's reaction came after reports in a section of the media claimed that the PDP had left the INDIA bloc and decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections on its own. A similar controversy broke out last week when National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said the party would contest the Lok Sabha polls on its own. However, Omar Abdullah -- Farooq Abdullah's son and the party vice-president -- hurriedly convened a press conference to dismiss the suggestions, saying the National Conference remained committed to the INDIA bloc. He, however, rul

Will not join Rahul's Yatra till seat sharing is finalised: Akhilesh Yadav

Lok Sabha elections: Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party withholds participation in Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra pending seat-sharing agreement

Rahul to appear before court on Feb 20; Yatra to be paused: Jairam Ramesh

The complaint was filed by the then BJP District Vice President, Vijay Mishra

From Scindia to Ashok Chavan: Big leaders who have quit the Congress since 2020

Take a look at the prominent leaders of the Grand Old Party who have left to join the BJP or other parties since 2020, including former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan, who resigned from Congress to join

Choking election funds for the Congress

While the Congress party has been allowed to operate its account, the ITAT has put a lien of Rs 115 crore on its accounts. It has been allowed to spend only from the remainder

Cong leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' resumes from Pratapgarh

Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh on Monday said that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally in Babuganj

SP chief Akhilesh likely to join Rahul's Yatra in Amethi: Jairam Ramesh

'I expect that he will join the Yatra tomorrow. Earlier, Apna Dal leader Pallavi Patel also joined the yatra,' Congress leader Ramesh said

Owaisi targets Cong over Ashok Chavan's exit: 'Which is real B team of BJP?

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday said Congress leader Ashok Chavan joining the BJP sheds light on the "real team of RSS and the B team of BJP". Addressing a public meeting in Akola city of Maharashtra, the Hyderabad MP also referred to the speculation over Congress veteran Kamal Nath jumping ship to join the BJP. He said Muslims in India are duty-bound to protect mosques and they should think that the Babri masjid "still exists". Targeting the RSS, Owaisi said Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was not "anti-Muslim" but the Sangh tries to portray him as "anti-Islam". "Ashok Chavan quit Congress to join BJP. I heard Kamal Nath may follow suit. AIMIM was once called the B team of BJP. Now tell me, which is the real team of the RSS? Which is the real team of the BJP?" he asked. We should recognise the snakes in our society who are threatening us in the name of secularism, he added. He also took potshots at NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. "I have heard that he (Ajit

Several Cong MLAs loyal to Kamal Nath reach Delhi amid talk of joining BJP

Around half a dozen Madhya Pradesh MLAs loyal to senior Congress leader Kamal Nath reached Delhi on Sunday amid speculation that he and his MP son Nakul Nath are set to join the ruling BJP. Three of these MLAs are from Chhindwara, while another three from the region are set to leave for Delhi, sources close to the veteran leader said. Nath, a nine-time MP from Chhindwara and currently MLA from the seat, is a former chief minister who was removed as the party's state president following the Congress' dismal performance in the November Assembly polls. These MLAs were not answering calls, with some Congress insiders claiming Nath loyalist and former state minister Lakhan Ghangoriya was also camping with them in Delhi. Deepak Saxena, former MP minister and Nath loyalist told reporters in Chhindwara he was hurt by the way the latter was removed as state unit chief following the Assembly debacle. "We want out leader to be accorded all respect. Whatever decision he takes, we will be with

OBC, SC, ST are 73%, but none among top 200 firms owned by them: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Sunday said the OBC, Dalit and tribal constitute 73 per cent of the population but not even one of the top 200 companies in India is owned by them. Addressing a gathering during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra here, he said a caste census is an X-ray of the country which would "reveal everything". "Caste census is your (youth's) weapon and you have to find out what is your population," he told the gathering as he came of the Swaraj Bhawan, at Lakshmi Talkies intersection near Allahabad University. "Secondly, you have to find out what is your share in the country's wealth." "How much wealth do the 73 per cent castes have in this country? Caste census is the X-ray of the country. This will reveal everything," he said. Gandhi called a student from the crowd to his vehicle and asked him, "Which class do you belong to?" The student replied that he was from the OBC category. On this, Gandhi said, "The OBC class in the country is 50 per cent, Dalits are 15 per cent

JMM-led alliance 'strong', no threat to coalition govt: Jharkhand CM Soren

The JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand is "strong" and there is no threat to the coalition government in the state, Chief Minister Champai Soren said on Sunday amid reports of resentment brewing among a section of Congress legislators over the induction of four party MLAs as ministers. Soren, who is in the national capital, will hold talks with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. State Congress president Rajesh Thakur has already reached Delhi "There's no issue, our alliance is strong," Champai Soren told reporters here in response to media queries on the turmoil between the JMM and the Congress over portfolio distribution. On being asked about disgruntled Congress MLAs reaching Delhi, he said, "This is an internal matter of the Congress party, they will resolve it. I have nothing to say about that. There is no conflict between JMM and Congress and everything is absolutely fine." As many as 12 MLAs of the grand-old party have threatened to boycott the upcoming state assembly session