Page 188 - Congress

Cong appeals to judiciary to 'save' multi-party system, calls for agitation

"That is why, I have said that there won't be any elections in the future. We appeal to the Judiciary to save the multi-party system in this country and protect India's Democracy," Congress chief said

Relief for Congress as frozen bank accounts by I-T dept now operational

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said that the move to freeze the accounts just before the Lok Sabha elections is a deep assault on Indian democracy

Cong allots Rs 200 cr for Christians, Rs 100 cr to develop Wakf properties

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced an allocation of Rs 100 crore for the development of Wakf properties and Rs 200 crore for the development of Christian community in the 2024-2025 budget he presented in the Assembly. Further, a provision of Rs 50 crore will be made for the development of major pilgrimage destinations of Jains. A development grant of Rs one crore has been earmarked for Shri Nanak Jhira Sahib Gurudwara in Bidar. Siddaramaiah said Rs 20 crore would be granted to provide basic facilities at major pilgrimage destinations in the state. The Chief Minister said 50 Morarji Desai Residential Schools, 100 post-matric boys/girls hostels will be started with a capacity of 100 students each and 100 new Maulana Azad Schools will be opened in the state. Also, pre-university colleges will be started in 25 schools, which have their own buildings. The Chief Minister said 'Tripitaka', the sacred texts of the Buddhist community, will be translated into Kannada

BJP, Cong teams to visit West Bengal's violence-hit Sandeshkhali today

West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, which has been rocked by protests over alleged atrocities on villagers by TMC leaders, continued to remain tense on Friday even as a BJP central team and a Congress delegation are scheduled to visit the area during the day. The police have been patrolling the area and have put up barricades to stop the visit of political leaders to the area, apprehending that it might worsen the situation. Six BJP MPs, including five women, are scheduled to visit Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district this afternoon and they alleged that the law and order there was "non-existent". BJP president J P Nadda has constituted the six-member committee of party MPs to visit Sandeshkhali where women have been protesting against alleged atrocities by local TMC leaders. Union ministers Pratima Bhoumik, Annapurna Devi, who is the committee's convener, Sunita Duggal, Kavita Patidar, Sangeeta Yadav and Brij Lal, a former Uttar Pradesh DGP, are members of the panel. "We hope the .

Tejashwi Yadav joins Rahul Gandhi's 'Nyay Yatra' in Bihar's Sasaram

This will be the first time the RJD leader will be seen sharing the stage with Gandhi in Bihar since state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar severed his ties with INDIA bloc

Highlights of the day: Lok Sabha's fifteenth session ends today

News updates: Catch all the latest updates from around the world here

'My heart is with you': Sonia Gandhi's letter to people of Rae Bareli

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said in the letter that she will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections due to health and age issues

SC's electoral bond ruling will reinforce power of votes over notes: Cong

The Congress on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict striking down the electoral bond scheme, and said it will reinforce the power of votes over notes. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, The Supreme Court has held the much-touted Electoral Bonds scheme of the Modi Sarkar as violative of both laws passed by Parliament as well as the Constitution of India. The long-awaited verdict is hugely welcome and will reinforce the power of votes over notes, he said. The Modi Sarkar has been inflicting ANYAY upon ANYAY on the Annadatas while privileging the Chandadatas, Ramesh said. We also hope that the Supreme Court will take note that Election Commission has been consistently refusing to even meet political parties on the issue of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). If everything is transparent in the voting process then why this obstinacy? he said. The Supreme Court struck down the electoral bond scheme, saying it violates the right to information

Gandhi family will no longer formally associate with UP: Shehzad Poonawala

Earlier, Rajasthan BJP spokesperson, Laxmikant Bhardwaj launched a scathing attack at the Congress party

Cong leader Rahul launches fresh attack on PM Modi amid farmers' protest

"BJP government means guarantee of lies and injustice, Congress will do justice to the dreams of the country," he alleged

Congress announces candidates from 3 states for Rajya Sabha elections

Earlier today, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha election from Rajasthan

Manmohan Singh to end 33 yrs stint in RS on Apr 3; Sonia to begin first

Former prime minister and Congress leader Manmohan Singh will end his 33-year-long parliamentary innings in the Rajya Sabha in early April, just as former party chief Sonia Gandhi enters the Upper House of Parliament for the first time. Singh, who is known for ushering in several bold reforms in the economy, became a member of the House for the first time in October 1991. He was finance minister in the Narasimha Rao government from 1991 to 1996 and the prime minister from 2004 to 2014. Sonia Gandhi will enter the upper house for the first time from Rajasthan, filling the seat that will fall vacant after 91-year-old Singh completes his tenure on April 3. The Congress leader filed filed her nomination papers in Jaipur on Wednesday. She will be the second member of the Gandhi family to enter the Rajya Sabha after former prime minister and her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi, who had a two-and-a-half-year tenure (from August 1964 to February 1967) as a member of the House. Sonia Gandhi ha

Grandson of former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri resigns from Congress, joins BJP

Vibhakar Shastri, Congress leader and grandson of former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri, resigned from the party on Wednesday

Why Modi govt running away from giving legal guarantee of MSP: Congress

Hitting out at the Centre over the farmers' protests, the Congress on Wednesday asked why it is "running away" from giving legal guarantee on MSP despite repeated promises and claimed the farmers have "lost faith" in the Modi government. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also spoke with a farmer injured in police action during a protest march and accused the Modi government of having a "dictatorial attitude" towards the country's food providers. In a post in Hindi on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asked why the Modi government is "running away" from giving legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price for crops despite repeated promises. "In 2011, Narendra Modi, as Gujarat chief minister and chairman of a working group, had submitted a report to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which said that 'In order to protect the interest of the farmers, we must ensure through legal provisions that no transaction between farmer and trader should be done below MSP'," he said. In many

Final decision on South Goa LS seat candidate after INDIA bloc meet: Cong

A day after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced its MLA as the INDIA alliance nominee for the South Goa Lok Sabha seat, the Congress on Thursday said a final decision on the candidate will be taken after the opposition bloc's meeting in Delhi. The AAP and Congress have been on a collision course over the sharing of seats for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party on Tuesday deciding to field Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas from South Goa and seeking to blame the Congress for the apparent delay in picking a candidate. South Goa is one of the two Lok Sabha seats in Goa currently represented by Francisco Sardinha of the Congress. Asked about AAP's announcement of the South Goa Lok Sabha seat candidate, state Congress president Amit Patkar on Wednesday said the opposition INDIA alliance is yet to decide the candidate. "We have eight aspirants each for the North Goa and South Goa seats from the Congress party itself. The AAP has shortlisted Venzy Viegas. The final ..

Rajya Sabha elections: Congress fields Sonia Gandhi, Singhvi in first list

The Congress has released the names of four candidates, one each for Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Bihar, for Rajya Sabha biennial elections, slated for Feb 27

Centre giving tax benefits to few chosen big corporates: Jairam Ramesh

The Congress on Wednesday accused the central government of giving tax benefits to a few chosen big corporate conglomerates and doing "anyay" (injustice) to the poor and common people of the country. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the money generated from personal income tax is higher than corporate tax and alleged this is a direct result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving corporate tax cut to his chosen friends while the poor are reeling under the onslaught of price rise and high taxes. "For the first time in over three decades (excluding the 2020-21 pandemic), the Union government is generating more money from personal income tax (Rs 10 lakh crore) than it is from corporate tax (Rs 9 lakh crore). "This is the direct result of PM Modi giving his close friends a Rs 1.84 lakh crore handout in the form of the September 2019 corporate tax cut just before he left for Houston's Howdy Modi event to boost Trump's re-election campaign," he said in a post on X. "This ...

Rajya Sabha elections: BJP fields Vaishnaw from Odisha; BJD extends support

The Bharatiya Janata Party has released names of four candidates for Madhya Pradesh and one for Odisha for Rajya Sabha biennial elections, slated for February 27

Not allowing for 100% VVPATs is 'terrible anyay' on Indian voter: Congress

Calling for greater accountability in using technology in conduct of polls, the Congress Wednesday questioned the Election Commission's "reluctance" to engage with INDIA parties over their demand that the number of VVPATs prescribed be steadily increased towards 100 per cent. The opposition party also said that not allowing for 100 per cent VVPATs is a "terrible injustice" on the Indian voter. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties have been requesting for an appointment to meet the Election Commission since June 2023 on the issue of the greater use of VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) in the election process. "Not allowing for 100% VVPATs is a terrible ANYAY on the Indian voter," he said. On April 8, 2019, the Supreme Court had requested the EC to increase the number of election booths that undergo VVPAT slip matching, he noted. "The case is N. Chandrababu Naidu vs Union of India

Maharashtra politics: Congress, MVA eye stronger comeback ahead of LS polls

Ashok Chavan on Tuesday announced his decision to join the Bharatiya Janata Party asserting to work for the "constructive development of Maharashtra"