Page 254 - Congress

Congress leaders call for delaying seat-sharing talks with INDIA bloc

Expressing confidence about the party faring well in the upcoming assembly polls in five states, some Congress leaders on Sunday called for delaying the seat-sharing talks with INDIA bloc partners for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections till November so as to do it from a position of strength, sources said. The call from a section of leaders, particularly those from states where the Congress is directly in contest with some INDIA bloc partners, came while the top party leadership pitched for strengthening the Congress as well as the opposition bloc. Sources said several leaders supported the call to strengthen the Congress organisation and the opposition INDIA alliance during the two-day brainstorming session of the Congress Working Committee, but they asserted that the party should not rush into seat-sharing arrangements with like-minded parties. During the two-day parleys, Sonia Gandhi called for strengthening the INDIA alliance, while Rahul Gandhi said both the Congress party and the ..

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My dream to see Cong in Telangana, will work for all sections: Sonia Gandhi

Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Sunday said it is her dream to see the party's government in Telangana that will work for all sections of society, and appealed to people to support the Congress. Addressing a rally in Tukkuguda near here, Gandhi said that "we are announcing six guarantees and we are committed to fulfil each one of them". "Under Mahalakshmi, Rs 2,500 per month financial assistance will be given to women in Telangana, gas cylinders at Rs 500, and free travel for women in buses across the state," she said explaining some of the guarantees. "I along with my colleagues had the opportunity to be a part of the birth of this great state, Telangana. Now, it is our duty to elevate the state to new heights," Gandhi said. "It is my dream to see a Congress government in Telangana that will work for all sections of the society. Are you going to support us," she said at the rally.

Facing economic slowdown, PM not worried about unemployment: Youth Congress

The country is facing an economic slowdown but the prime minister is "not worried about employment for the youth", the Indian Youth Congress alleged on Sunday. Srinivas BV, the organisation's national president who led a protest at the Indian Youth Congress' office in central Delhi, said, "We mark this day -- September 17 -- as 'national unemployment day.' Scores of youngsters are unemployed across the country and yet the Centre and the prime minister refuse to acknowledge the problem." September 17 is the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who turned 73 this year. Srinivas further alleged that crores of people applied for central government jobs in the past nine years and "yet, a large number of youngsters are unemployed". "Every sixth graduate of the country is unemployed, 22 crore people applied for central government jobs in nine years. We appeal to Prime Minister Modi to pay some attention to the unemployed youngsters of the country and take some concrete steps for thei

Watch | Modi govt's 'tentative agenda' for Parliament's special session

The Centre released a 'tentative list' of the agenda for Parliament's special session from September 18 to 22 which included two bills to be taken up in the Lok Sabha and two others to be discussed

CWC meet: Rahul stresses on ideological clarity, focus on people's issues

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has asked party leaders at the CWC meeting to focus on people's issues and maintain ideological clarity, while cautioning them against "walking into traps of the BJP". Addressing a press conference on the second day of deliberations of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), party's media and publicity department chief Pawan Khera said Gandhi spoke on Saturday during the first meeting of the reconstituted CWC and called on leaders to heed the voice of 'Bharat Mata' to raise people's issues. "He (Gandhi) laid specific stress on the need to have ideological clarity. All of us emerged from that hall of the CWC in deep thought with absolute clarity. He warned us against walking into irrelevant traps of the BJP. These are not issues of the common man or woman or to any of us," Khera said. The former Congress chief also asked party leaders to remain focussed on the actual reason why the Congress and each one of them were in politics to ensure that they heed th

Congress govt in Karnataka in deep slumber, says former CM Yediyurappa

Alleging that the Congress government in Karnataka was in deep slumber over the drought situation, veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa on Sunday said his party will tour the state highlighting its 'failures,' and to strengthen the saffron party ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Taking exception to the style of functioning of the Siddaramaiah-led government, the former Chief Minister accused the administration of releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu under pressure from the neighbouring state. Yediyurappa and several other BJP leaders today visited Kurudumale's lord Ganesha temple here and offered prayers to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday and ahead of the party's state wide tour. Greeting Modi on his birthday, Yediyurappa said, "To pray to god that he becomes PM once again, I have come here with other party leaders." Noting that there was severe drought in the state, he said the government here has completely forgotten the public interest and is in a deep slumber. This ...

Unite and overthrow 'dictatorial' govt to save democracy: Kharge to leaders

Batting for unity and organisational discipline, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday asked party leaders to prioritise the success of the party putting aside personal differences and take on adversaries with full might in the upcoming state and Lok Sabha elections. Addressing the extended CWC meeting on the second day of deliberations, Kharge said the party's goal must be to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and work diligently to form an alternative government in the country. In a scathing attack on the Modi government, Kharge accused it of playing politics and distracting and diverting people from basic issues by bringing new ones. "Recently, during the Mumbai meeting of INDIA alliance, Modi government formed a committee on 'One Nation, One Election'. In contravention of all conventions, it also included a former President to fulfil its agenda," Kharge said. He noted that elections in five states are scheduled in the next two to three months, while the Lo

Congress' top brass deliberates on polls strategy at extended CWC meeting

The Congress top brass deliberated on formulating a strategy for the upcoming Assembly and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as well as ways to strengthen the organization for a second day at an extended CWC meeting here on Sunday. The first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) took place on Saturday. Besides regular members, permanent invitees and special invitees, the extended meeting of the apex decision-making body of the party included state party chiefs, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leaders, parliamentary party office-bearers and its Central Election Committee members. The Congress will hold a mega rally in Tukkuguda near Hyderabad later in the day as the state celebrates Telangana National Integration Day, to mark the day on which the princely State of Hyderabad merged with the Indian Union in 1948. At the rally, the party will announce six guarantees for the Telangana assembly elections. While the Congress MPs would return to Delhi for the special sessi

Centre allotted Rs 862 cr: Thakur's swipe at HP govt over funds claim

Thakur also hit out at the ruling Congress government in the state for cribbing over funds crunch

Seems like Cong has given Northeast to China: Assam CM Sarma slams party

A video shared by the Congress on its official handle on X, formerly Twitter, allegedly showed a distorted map of India, with the entire Northeast region missing

Congress leaders call for adopting cautious approach on Sanatan Dharma row

Amid a raging row over DMK leaders' remarks on Sanatan Dharma, some Congress leaders on Saturday called for a cautious approach on the matter and the party not getting drawn into the BJP's agenda. Sources said some leaders, including Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh, said at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting that the party should stay away from such issues and not be drawn into it. Rahul Gandhi said that instead of getting involved in the Sanatan Dharma row, the leaders should focus on the poor and their issues as they have been the party's traditional vote bank, the sources said. He said the party should raise the issues of the poor, irrespective of their caste, according to sources. The sources said that during the CWC meeting, both Baghel and Singh pointed out that speaking on the Sanatan Dharma row would hurt the party and will help the BJP. When asked about the matter at a party briefing, senior par

Parl panels reconstituted; Rahul remains member of Committee on Defence

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was reinstated as an MP after losing his membership of the Lok Sabha following his conviction in a criminal defamation case, remains a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence while fellow party colleague and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh continues as the chairperson of the Committee on Science & Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, a month after hinting at resignation. A Lok Sabha bulletin on the members of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee was released on Saturday, two days ahead of the Special Session of Parliament from September 18 to 22.The newly formed department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee came into effect from September 13.According to the bulletin, the chairs of six major parliamentary committees - Home, IT, Defence, External Affairs, Finance and Health - are all with the BJP or its allies.Meanwhile, from the opposition, Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress has been ...

Not feasible for me to attend flag-hoisting in new parl building: Kharge

Congress President further said that in advance, meetings of the newly constructed CWC were scheduled for September 16 and 17 at Hyderabad

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Cong bats for increasing existing upper limit of reservations for SC, ST

The Congress on Saturday called for increasing the existing upper limit of reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBCs. In a resolution adopted at its first meeting after being reconstituted, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) also called for the conducting of a caste census. The Congress' top decision-making body expressed grave concern at "increasing unemployment and continuous rise in prices, especially of essential commodities". "The prime minister's so-called Rozgar Melas are a hoax to cover up the abject failure to create, as promised, two crore jobs a year. The failure to conduct the decennial Census, due in 2021, is a national and an international shame," the resolution said. It said one of the consequences is that an estimated 14 crore of the poorest Indians are denied their entitlement to food rations since ration cards are issued on the basis of the 2011 census. "The CWC also underlines the stubborn refusal of the Modi government to conduct a caste ..

CWC passes condolence resolutions on loss of lives in Manipur, Himachal

The Congress Working Committee on Saturday passed condolence resolutions over the loss of lives in the ethnic violence in Manipur and the natural disaster in Himachal Pradesh. The Congress' top decision-making body, holding its first meeting since its reconstitution, also passed a resolution condoling the demise of veteran leader and former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy. In the resolution on Manipur, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) expressed its profound sense of loss and anguish at the ongoing situation of ethnic violence in the state. "The people of Manipur have witnessed extreme devastation and are facing innumerable hardships. More than 200 lives have been lost, over 500 injured and more than 5,000 houses gutted in arson-related incidents. A staggering number of over 60,000 people are displaced and continue to live in dire conditions in relief camps across the state," the resolution stated. Schools and colleges were closed for nearly three months, adversely affecting

Cong rejects 'One Nation, One Election', calls it assault on Constitution

The Congress on Saturday rejected the 'One Nation, One Election' idea, calling it an assault on the Constitution and federalism. Addressing a briefing on the deliberations of the first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) here, party leader P Chidambaram said the BJP does not have the numbers to pass the required constitutional amendments for holding simultaneous polls. "One Nation, One Election is an assault on the Constitution... it is an attack on federalism," he said when asked about the issue. It will require at least five constitutional amendments and the BJP knows that it does not have the numbers to pass these, the senior Congress leader said. "Yet, if it (BJP) puts forward this mirage of 'One Nation, One Election' it is only to divert attention from the pressing issues and to create a false narrative. We reject this 'One Nation, One Election' idea," Chidambaram said. His remarks come days after the government set up an eight-member high-level ...

CWC meet: Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 from east to west 'under consideration'

The Congress on Saturday said Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 is "under consideration" with some CWC members requesting that it be undertaken from the eastern part of the country to the west. Addressing a briefing on the deliberations of the first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) here, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said members of the party's top decision-making body have requested to organise a "Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 from east to west". "That matter is under consideration," he said in response to a question about organising the second edition of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had undertaken the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir from September 7, 2022, to January 30 this year. The Congress leaders have said the 136-day march, covering 4,081 kilometres in 12 states and two Union territories, 75 districts and 76 Lok Sabha constituencies, left an indelible impression on people's minds. During the course of the yatra

'INDIA' bloc's October rally in Bhopal cancelled, says Congess' Nath

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath on Saturday said the proposed rally of the opposition bloc INDIA in Bhopal in October has been cancelled, a move which Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan claimed was due to the "public anger" over remarks made by DMK leaders against Sanatan Dharma. Earlier this week, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, which includes the Congress and more than 25 other parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party, had said it would hold a rally in Bhopal. "It is not going to happen. It has been cancelled," Nath told reporters on Saturday when asked about the rally. In reply to a question, All India Congress Committee general secretary in charge Randeep Singh Surjewala also said the party chief has yet not taken a decision about INDIA bloc rally in Bhopal. "We will confirm once a decision is taken," Surjewala added. After the meeting earlier this week at the residence of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar, the ...