Page 204 - Congress

Y S Sharmila, founder of YSR Telangana Party, likely to join Cong on 4 Jan

Y S Sharmila, founder of YSR Telangana Party, is likely to join the Congress here Thursday morning, sources said. Sharmila arrived here on Wednesday night. The Congress said a "very eminent personality" will join the party at 10.30 AM, Thursday at AICC headquarters here. Asked whether she is joining the Congress on January 4, Sharmila told reporters upon her arrival at the Delhi airport, "Yes, looks like it". On what role she would play in the party, she said "we will know tomorrow". After chairing her party meeting on Tuesday in Hyderabad, Sharmila had said she and other leaders will meet the top leadership of the Congress including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi and make a "crucial" announcement in Delhi. Sharmila is the daughter of former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, and younger sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. She could be given a post in the Congress at the national level after

Ideals were ignored in NCP as focus was on power, says Jayant Patil

Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party's Maharashtra unit chief Jayant Patil on Wednesday said since the party was in power for a long time, little emphasis was given to the principles on which it was built as the focus was on power. Addressing party workers on the first day of the NCP's two-day conclave at Shirdi in Ahmednagar district, Patil said the party is firmly grounded on the ideals of social reformers Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Dr B R Ambedkar. "Pawar saheb built this party based on ideals, but since we were in power for a long time, we ignored the ideals and focused on power," he said. "When we were in power, we gave little emphasis to the thought of focusing on ideals which is why some people got attracted to different principles without giving any thought to it," Patil said, in an apparent dig at the Ajit Pawar-led group of the NCP. He said 2024 will be a year of struggle and urged party workers to fight this ideological battle. Founded b

Cong MP criticises Sebi's lackadaisical attitude in Adani-Hindenburg row

Raising concerns on the delay, Tewari pointed out that the Hindenburg report came out a year ago and alleged that SEBI has been delaying it since then

Cong collects over Rs 10 cr donation amount under Donate for Desh campaign

Earlier in December, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge launched the crowdfunding campaign 'Donate for Desh' for the party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls

Lost all intellectual honesty: Congress' Jairam Ramesh slams EAM Jaishankar

This response came after Jaishankar, in an exclusive interview with ANI, highlighted the first Prime Minister's decision to reject the US proposal to join the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

US national debt hits record $34 trn as Congress gears up for funding fight

The federal government's gross national debt has surpassed USD 34 trillion, a record high that foreshadows the coming political and economic challenges to improve America's balance sheet in the coming years. The US Treasury Department issued a report on Tuesday logging US finances, which have become a source of tension in a politically divided Washington that could possibly see parts of the government shut down without an annual budget in place. Republican lawmakers and the White House agreed last June to temporarily lift the nation's debt limit, staving off the risk of what would be a historic default. That agreement lasts until January 2025. Here are some answers to questions about the new record national debt. HOW DID THE NATIONAL DEBT HIT USD 34 TRILLION? The national debt eclipsed USD 34 trillion several years sooner than pre-pandemic projections. The Congressional Budget Office's January 2020 projections had gross federal debt eclipsing USD 34 trillion in fiscal year 2029. B

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar may become INDIA convenor with Congress help

Has Congress' backing for appointment as bloc's convenor

Merger with Congress: YS Sharmila to meet AICC leadership in Delhi on Jan 3

Y S Sharmila, founder of YSR Telangana party, will travel to Delhi on Wednesday to finalise the merger of her party with the Congress, sources here said on Tuesday. Sharmila, who chaired her party meeting today, said she and other leaders will meet the top leadership of the Congress including AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi and make a "crucial" announcement in Delhi tomorrow. Sharmila is the daughter of former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, and younger sister of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. Sources told PTI that Sharmila will be given a post in Congress at the national level and is likely to be made in-charge of elections for Southern states after the merger of YSRTP with Congress. Everything will be clear in one or two days. Please be patient, she told reporters after the meeting, when asked. The Congress leadership assured Sharmila that her colleagues in Telangana will be suitably placed, the

Have been saying since 2003, I don't trust EVMs: Congress' Digvijaya Singh

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh again raised questions over EVMs on Sunday and demanded that voters be handed over VVPAT slips that can then be put in ballot boxes. Responding to a video raising questions about the use of EVMs in elections, Singh stated that he has been saying since 2003 that he does not trust EVMs. "To whom I want to cast my vote, I don't even know where my vote has been cast. There is no such machine in the world in which a chip is inserted which cannot be hacked. Because the chip will follow the orders of the software embedded in it. You will type 'A' the software will say 'A' and only 'A' will be printed," he said. "If you press 'panja (Congress' poll symbol)' on EVM, what will be printed if the software says 'lotus'? Panja or lotus? Now the matter comes to this that the VVPAT machine showed you 'panja' for 7 seconds, we went away happy but 'lotus' (BJP's election symbol) will be printed! You can watch this game on Rahul Mehta's video," Singh said in his

Let's remember people in Gaza facing most unjust assault: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday urged people to remember "our brothers and sisters" in Gaza and slammed "the so-called leaders of the world" for watching in silence and moving on "unperturbed in their quest for power and greed". In a post on X on new year's eve, the Congress general secretary said that while our children celebrate, the children of the people in Gaza are being "murdered mercilessly". "As we celebrate the beginning of a new year and wish each other that love, peace, laughter and goodness should fill our lives, let us remember our brothers and sisters in Gaza who are facing the most unjust and inhuman assault on their right to life, dignity and freedom," Priyanka Gandhi said. "While our children celebrate, their children are being murdered mercilessly. The so-called leaders of the world watch in silence and move on unperturbed in their quest for power and greed," she said. Yet there are millions of ordinary people who are raising their voices demanding

Cong should think upon till when they will run as family shop: Poonawalla

Poonawalla interpreted Singh's remarks as indicative of the growing skepticism within the Congress party's internal ranks

In position, but not ready: Karnataka's political turmoil ahead of LS Polls

The incipient revolt against two recent appointments by a section of leaders indicated that the BJP may have to get its act together before challenging the Congress

After setback in assembly polls, Cong braces for make-or-break in 2024

Fresh from the setbacks in the assembly elections of Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the Congress is bracing for a make-or-break 2024, the year of the 18th Lok Sabha election. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi hopes to equal Jawaharlal Nehru's record of returning to the PMO thrice in a row, the new year is also being seen by many as one of the toughest periods for the Congress in its 138-year journey. It will also mark 40 years since Congress scaled its electoral peak in 1984 winning a record 414 Lok Sabha seats. With just 48 seats in the Lower House of Parliament now, the party has experienced a steady decline in the last 10 years. In 2024, as Congress hopes to arrest this slide, it will face multiple challenges, the topmost being finalizing seat-sharing deals with constituents of the anti-BJP INDIA bloc which is yet to make any electoral impact. The Congress will begin these negotiations on a weak footing, having lost the Hindi heartland states

Rahul an ordinary MP, don't highlight him so much: Cong's Lakshman Singh

Former Congress MP Lakshman Singh has said Rahul Gandhi is an ordinary party worker and parliamentarian and he should not be highlighted so much. Lakshman Singh, the younger brother of Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh, was speaking to reporters at the Congress office in MP's Guna city on Saturday. When reporters claimed that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's face is shown less on TV when he makes a statement in the Lok Sabha, Lakshman Singh said, "Rahul Gandhi is an MP, he is not the (party) president and is a Congress worker. Apart from this Rahul Gandhi is nothing." "You (media) people should not highlight Rahul Gandhi so much and neither should we," he said. Rahul Gandhi is only an MP and he is equal to the rest of the party's parliamentarians, said Lakshman Singh, who has been a five-time MP and three-term MLA. "One does not become (big) by birth but by one's actions. Don't consider Rahul Gandhi such a big leader, I don't. He is an ordinary MP. It doesn't matter whether you highlight

BJP's lies are strongest: Kharge as he slams PM on doubling farmers' income

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the promises made by him to double farmers' income by 2022, alleging that the "BJP's lies are the strongest". In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge said, "Narendra Modi ji, Today is the last day of 2023. You said that till 2022'Every farmer's income will double. Every Indian will have a house and 24x7 electricity. The economy will become USD 5 Trillion." "All this did not happen'but every Indian knows that BJP's lies are the strongest!" Kharge said. The Congress has been attacking the government over its handling of the economy and its policies regarding farmers. Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh attacked the government over not conducting the decennial census. Responding to a post on the delay in holding the census, Ramesh said, "The inordinate delay in conducting the decennial Census last due for 2021 raises several questions. It is not just related to the Covid ...

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Congress National Alliance Committee meet with UP leaders begins in Delhi

The committee coordinator and members Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Baghel, and Salman Khurshid are present in the meeting

Cong, AAP seek action against Sunburn fest organiser for hurting sentiments

The Congress and Aam Aadmi Party have demanded action against the organisers of the Sunburn EDM festival here claiming that they insulted Lord Shiva. While Congress leader Vijay Bhike filed a police complaint at Mapusa on Friday night against the organisers of Sunburn, AAP Goa chief Amit Palekar said the state government should take action against them for hurting Sanatan Dharma. Sunburn EDM, a popular electronic dance music festival, started on December 28 at Vagator in North Goa and will wind up on Saturday, December 30. We saw that Lord Shankar's image was used during the festival. It was flashed on the LED screen when people were drunk and dancing, Palekar told reporters on Friday. The AAP leader said they have demanded from the government that action be taken as the sanctity of our Sanatan Dharma was compromised. The use of our God for the purpose of the EDM festival where alcohol is served is not right. We have called up the director general of police demanding registration

Biden admin bypasses Congress on an emergency weapons sale to Israel

For the second time this month the Biden administration is bypassing Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel as Israel continues to prosecute its war against Hamas in Gaza under increasing international criticism. The State Department said Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had told Congress that he had made a second emergency determination covering a USD 147.5 million sale for equipment, including fuses, chargers and primers, that is needed to make the 155 mm shells that Israel has already purchased function. Given the urgency of Israel's defensive needs, the secretary notified Congress that he had exercised his delegated authority to determine an emergency existed necessitating the immediate approval of the transfer, the department said. The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against the threats it faces, it said. The emergency determination means the .

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