Page 209 - Congress

Won't contest 2024 Lok Sabha polls, says Congress leader Navjot Sidhu

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu Saturday said he will not contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Congress leader, however, refrained from saying if his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu will contest the general elections. Sidhu, a former MP, had lost the 2022 assembly elections from Amritsar East seat. "Sidhu is not contesting Lok Sabha (polls)," the former Punjab Congress chief told reporters in Bhatinda. When asked if his wife was going to contest next year's elections, the former cricketer said only she could answer that question. Attacking the AAP government in Punjab over rising debt, law and order, Sidhu accused the Bhagwant Mann government of deviating from burning issues of the state. Sidhu said contractual workers have been holding 'dharnas' demanding the regularisation of their services while government employees are protesting seeking the implementation of the old pension scheme. More than a year has passed since the notification on the OPS has been issued, but the government h

Will move with positive agenda: INC discusses LS poll preparedness in Guj

The top leadership of the Congress Saturday discussed the party's preparations in Gujarat for next year's Lok Sabha elections, with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge saying they will move forward with a positive agenda to strengthen the organisation. Kharge chaired a meeting of Gujarat Congress leaders at the AICC headquarters here. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders of the party were also present. Discussions were held on challenges the party faces in Gujarat and ways to highlight the BJP's "misgovernance" before the people. This was part of a series of meetings organised by the party to strengthen the organisation in every state and prepare itself for the general elections next year. "Due to the continuous misgovernance of the BJP government in Gujarat, the issues remain the same unemployment, inflation, economic inequality, atrocities against Dalits and tribals, fraud and immense corruption," Kharge said in Hindi on 'X' after the meeting. "Today, we discu

Congress to launch 'Donate for Desh' crowdfunding campaign on December 18

The Congress on Saturday announced the launch of its nationwide 'Donate for Desh' crowdfunding campaign for generating resources for the party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The campaign will be launched on December 18 by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi. During a press conference at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal and Treasurer Ajay Maken said Indians above the age of 18 can donate a minimum of Rs 138 or in multiples such as Rs 1,380, Rs 13,800 and so on to the campaign. Venugopal said the initiative was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's historic 'Tilak Swaraj Fund', which was launched more than a hundred years ago in 1920-21. He said the initiative aims to empower the party in creating an India that is rich in equal resource distribution and opportunities. "Our inaugural campaign -- 'Donate for Behtar Bharat' -- commemorates the 138-year journey of the Indian National Congress. Embracing ou

LIVE: PM Modi to interact with beneficiaries of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra

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Congress to launch 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign from Nagpur on Dec 28

Finalising second leg of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi interacts with Harvard University students

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi interacted with Harvard University students from across the world on Friday and asserted that he is determined to ensure that every Indian student gets the exposure and opportunity needed to become global ambassadors. "Had a wonderful and engaging chat with a diverse community of Harvard students from across the world. "The students were curious about a wide range of topics -- about India, the rise of authoritarianism and challenges to democratic politics, geopolitical challenges posed by China, and new technology such as AI," Gandhi said on X after the meeting. The interaction with the visiting students of the Harvard University took place in Delhi on Friday. The former Congress chief also shared pictures of his interaction with the students on X. "I explained my views, especially on democratic production model, the power of listening, and India's philosophical and spiritual traditions," he said. "Listening to these bright, confident minds made me mo

I-T raid on Dhiraj Sahu: Take a look at India's biggest raids in history

The Income Tax Department recently made headlines with a record-breaking seizure of Rs 353 crore in cash following a raid on Odisha-based Boudh Distillery Private Limited, owned Dhiraj Sahu

Veteran Congress leader K P Viswanathan dies at age of 83 in Kerala

Veteran Congress leader and former Kerala Minister K P Viswanathan died at a private hospital in Thrissur on Friday while undergoing treatment for age-related ailments, party sources said. He was 83. During his six-decade-long political career, Viswanathan represented Kunnamkulam and Kodakara seats in the State Assembly as a Congress member. He entered politics through the Youth Congress and served as president of Thrissur district Youth Congress from 1967 to 1970. He became an active member of KPCC since 1972. Viswanathan was elected to the Kerala Assembly in 1977 and 1980 from Kunnamkulam constituency and subsequently in 1987, 1991, 1996, and 2001 from Kodakara segment. He served as Minister for Forest from July 1991 to November 1994 in the ministry headed by K Karunakaran and from September 2004 to February 2005 in the ministry headed by Oommen Chandy. Kerala Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer condoled Viswanathan's demise.

US keeps funding Ukraine's military even as it says it's out of money

The White House has been increasingly pressuring Congress to pass stalled legislation to support Ukraine's war against Russia, saying that funding has run out. On Tuesday, however, President Joe Biden touted a new military aid package worth $200 million for Ukraine. Money is dwindling. But the announcement of more weapons being sent to Kyiv just underscores the complexity of the funding. So has the money run out? Or are there still a few billion dollars floating around? It's complicated. Store credit ... In a Nov. 4 letter to Congress, White House budget director Shalanda Young said flatly: We are out of money to support Ukraine in this fight. This isn't a next year problem. The time to help a democratic Ukraine fight against Russian aggression is right now. Since then, the U.S. has announced three more aid packages totaling $475 million. That may seem contradictory, but it's due to the complex programs used to send aid to Ukraine. There are two pots of money for weapons and sec

LIVE: Delhi police produce four accused before court seeking 15-day custody

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253 of 678 winning candidates have declared criminal cases, says ADR report

As many as 146 winning candidates in the Assembly elections of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana have declared serious criminal cases against themselves

BJP takes note of 3 legislators attending Cong dinner, to seek explanation

Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Thursday termed as a "serious matter" three of his party legislators attending a dinner hosted by the Congress after its Legislature Party meeting here and said he would seek explanation from them. State Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the legislators did not participate in any meeting, but only attended the dinner on Wednesday night, on his invitation. The three are: MLAs -- S T Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar -- and MLC H Vishwanath. The three legislators, who are former Ministers, attending the dinner raised eyebrows and added to speculations that they might be contemplating to join the ruling Congress ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls. They had made no secret of their disenchantment with the BJP and its internal affairs, ever since the party lost the May Assembly polls. The three were among the 17 Congress-JD(S) legislators who defected to BJP in 2019, which had led to the collapse of the H D Kumaraswamy-led

Security breach: Cong stages protest against BJP MP Simha demanding arrest

A protesting Congress worker said, "We demand his arrest and immediate disqualification. We have seen he is linked with the intruders and he provided them with the pass

Parliament security breach: Congress to stage protest against BJP MP Simha

Earlier, Congress workers demonstrated in front of BJP MP Pratap Simha's office in Karnataka's Mysuru, following the incident of a security breach in Lok Sabha

BJP IT cell trying to divert attention from parl security breach: Congress

The Congress on Thursday accused the BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya of seeking to divert attention from the Parliament security breach, and said the intruders were given access to the House by a BJP MP. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said this after Malviya shared pictures in which a woman arrested in connection with Wednesday's incident is seen purportedly campaigning for the Congress. In a post on 'X', Ramesh said, "BJP IT Cell desperately wants to divert attention from 2 facts: 1. There was a very serious breach in the security of Parliament. 2. The intruders who breached Lok Sabha security in a shocking manner had been given access to the Parliament by Pratap Simha, BJP MP from Mysuru." Sharing the pictures on 'X', Malviya earlier said, "Regime change is a phrase Congress leaders often use." "Meet Neelam Azad, the lady who breached Parliament's security today. She is an active Congress/I.N.D.I Alliance supporter. She is an Andolanjeevi, who has been seen at ...

Biden considers border restrictions as he tries to reach Ukraine aid deal

Top Biden administration officials laboured Wednesday to try to reach a last-minute deal for wartime aid for Ukraine by agreeing to Senate Republican demands to bolster US-Mexico border policies, with urgency setting in as Congress prepared to depart Washington with the impasse unresolved. The White House was racing to lock in a deal in principle with key Senate negotiators, according to two people familiar with the plans who demanded anonymity to discuss them. A core negotiating group, which has included Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, departed the Capitol Wednesday evening after making progress but without the principles of a deal finalized. As details of the plan emerged, advocates for immigrants and members of President Joe Biden's own Democratic Party fretted about the policies under discussion. Some demonstrated at the Capitol, warning of a return to the hardline border and immigration policies of the Trump era. Congress has little time to reach an agreement on

Probe China's role in violence against protesters on US soil: Congress

A congressional commission is asking the Justice Department to investigate the role of Beijing after protesters claimed they were beaten and harassed by Chinese government agents in November in San Francisco during an official visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The protesters, who were defending the rights of Hong Kong, Tibet and ethnic Uyghurs, said their attackers' attire, coordination and strong reaction to anti-Communist Party rhetoric indicated official Chinese involvement. They provided no definitive evidence, but US officials have previously accused Chinese operatives of targeting people in the United States. Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican who chairs the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said Tuesday it was demanding a thorough investigation to find out why all of these wonderful people who were peacefully protesting were hit with poles, have scars that now you know will not go away. The Chinese Embassy denied any involvement and instead accused the

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Lok Sabha security breach highlights: High-level investigation underway

The two men were overpowered by MPs and detained. Today, December 13, also marks the 22nd anniversary of the attack on the Parliament House in New Delhi

Lok Sabha elections: Will Modi govt return to power in 2024? Fitch answers

Lok Sabha elections 2024: The agency said that the size of the majority in the next Indian Parliament could influence the ambitiousness of the administration's reform agenda