Page 260 - Congress

Cong seeking refuge behind Freedom of Speech: Himanta on Sanatan Dharma row

The Assam CM accused the Congress of being "a key conspirator in the 'Annihilation of Sanatan Dharma' gang"

Sanatan Dharma remark: BJP demands apology, Udhayanidhi says will repeat it

Unfazed by attacks from various leaders, Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin on Monday said that he would repeat the same thing again

BJP saw 21% increase in assets, Cong at top in liabilities: ADR data

The liabilities declared by the eight national parties during FY21 was Rs 103.55 crore, which decreased to Rs 62.67 crore in FY22

1st meeting of newly-constituted CWC convened on Sep 16 in Hyderabad: Cong

The first meeting of the newly-constituted Congress Working Committee under party chief Mallikarjun Kharge will be held in Hyderabad on September 16 and will be followed by an election rally near the state capital the next day in poll-bound Telangana. Announcing this at a press conference held at the All India Congress Committee headquarters here, Congress general secretary organisation K C Venugopal said an extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting will be held on September 17 that will include all Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chiefs. The meeting will discuss the political situation in the country and review the party's poll preparedness in five states where elections are due this year. A political resolution will also be passed at the meeting. The CWC is the top decision-making body of the Congress, and Kharge had reconstituted it in August, 10 months after he took charge as the Congress president. With the Congress seeking to consolidate its hold in the poll-bound ..

Mizoram polls 2023: Ex-Chief Secretary L Chuaungo appointed Cong unit VP

Chuaungo's unveiling as vice president was seen by political observers as a move to revamp the MPCC ahead of the assembly polls

Ahead of Chhattisgarh elections, CM Baghel scraps stipend for govt staffers

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced scrapping of stipend under which government staffers appointed through the direct recruitment process were getting full salaries after fourth year of employment

INDIA's win must or country will turn into Manipur, Haryana: TN CM Stalin

Warning that "nobody can save India if this is not stopped now", Stalin said that the INDIA bloc was created to fight for social justice, federalism, secularism, and social harmony

Uttarakhand: Straight contest likely in Bageshwar assembly bypoll

Five candidates are in the fray in the bypoll to Uttarakhand's Bageshwar assembly seat on Tuesday, with the main contest likely between the BJP and the Congress. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of sitting BJP MLA and cabinet minister Chandan Ram Das in April this year. Das had been winning the seat for four consecutive polls since 2007. The seat has witnessed straight contests between traditional rivals BJP and Congress in successive elections since the creation of the state in 2000. There are five candidates in the fray but the main contest in the constituency is likely to remain between the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress, poll observers feel. The BJP has fielded the late MLA's wife Parvati Das from the seat hoping to capitalise on sympathy votes to retain the seat while the Congress has pitted Basant Kumar against her. Kumar had contested the 2022 assembly polls from Bageshwar as an Aam Aadmi Party candidate. He quit the AAP to join the Congress just

Rajasthan elections: Brahmin community seeks 70 tickets from Congress, BJP

During the Brahmin Mahasangam, the Brahmin community sought 14% quota in education and job opportunities, stating that voting will depend on which party satisfies their demands

Former Indian Hockey captain Prabodh Tirkey joins Congress in Odisha

Former Indian hockey captain Prabodh Tirkey on Monday joined the Congress at the party's Odisha unit headquarters here and expressed his desire to contest the assembly elections next year. He joined the party in the presence of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Pattanayak, its state in-charge A Chella Kumar and other senior leaders. The former hockey player has expressed his desire to contest the next assembly elections from the Talsara segment in the tribal-dominated Sundergarh district. Tirkey said he decided to join the party as the "work of Rahul Gandhi deeply influenced" him and asserted that his family has a "long association with the Congress". Claiming that the people in the Talsara area are "neglected", he said the "tribals do not get any benefit from government schemes". Tirkey made his debut in the Junior Asia Cup in 2000. He was the national captain of sub-junior, junior and India-A teams and finally became the India senior team captain. He played 135

Cong chief convenes meeting of newly constituted CWC on Sep 16 in Hyderabad

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has convened a meeting of the newly constituted CWC on September 16 in Hyderabad, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal announced on Monday. Addressing a press conference at the All India Congress Committee headquarters here, Venugopal said on September 17, an extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting will be held and it will include all Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs. On the evening of September 17, a rally will be held near Hyderabad where the party will announce its guarantees for the upcoming assembly polls in Telangana, Venugopal said with general secretary Jairam Ramesh beside him. Congress chief Kharge had on August 20 reconstituted the CWC, retaining the old guard, giving space to the young and including prominent G23 group leaders such as Shashi Tharoor and Anand Sharma, in the 84-member top decision-making body of the party. The all-important CWC, formed 10 months after Kharge took charge, has 39 regular members, 32 permanen

Sonia Gandhi calls Congress Parliamentary Strategy group meeting tomorrow

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also called a meeting of MPs of the INDIA alliance to discuss the strategy for the special parliamentary session

4-months after ethnic violence, Manipur lies 'forgotten' by Centre: Cong

The Congress on Monday attacked the Centre over its handling of the situation in Manipur, alleging that four months after ethnic violence broke out, the state lies "forgotten" by the Modi government. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that in the last four months, the world has witnessed "how the prime minister (Narendra Modi) has failed Manipur during its worst crisis". In a post on X, Ramesh alleged that "while the prime minister and his drum-beaters are obsessed with G20, four months after ethnic violence broke out on May 3rd, Manipur lies forgotten by the Modi government". The chief minister (N Biren Singh) has ensured that the Manipuri society is more divided today than ever before, he said. "The Union home minister (Amit Shah) has failed to put an end to the violence and ensure the recovery of arms and ammunition. Instead, many more armed groups have entered the conflict," Ramesh said. The prime minister "refuses" to visit Manipur, or lead an all-party delegation,

7th NAM summit took place in 1983 without self-serving publicity : Cong

The Congress on Sunday took a swipe at the government, saying the 7th Non-Aligned Summit took place in 1983 "without much hype and self-serving publicity" in New Delhi. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also shared a video clip of former prime minister Indira Gandhi receiving world leaders at the summit. The Congress has accused the government of running an "election campaign" using the upcoming G20 meeting in India and using it to divert people's attention from real issues. Ramesh said, "The 7th Non-Aligned Summit took place without much hype and self-serving publicity in New Delhi for five days in March 1983." "Incidentally, this was the Summit to which Fidel Castro brought along Gabriel Garcia Marquez as part of the Cuban delegation. Now, of course, the self-styled Vishwaguru refers to these countries as the Global South," he said. The G20 Leaders' Summit is scheduled to be held at the Bharat Mandapam International Exhibition-Convention Centre here on ...

One nation, one election an attack on our Constitution: Digvijaya Singh

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday said the idea of one nation, one election is an attack on the Indian Constitution and said the need of the hour is to have the "one nation, one income" plan to reduce the income gap between the poor and rich. The Union government has formed a high-level committee under former President Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of conducting simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies. When asked in this regard, Singh told reporters in Indore that this is an "insult of the former president who is given such work of lesser importance". Queried whether all elections should be held simultaneously, Singh said, This is an attack on our Constitution. Tejashwi Yadav (Deputy CM of Bihar) has given a very good statement that instead of 'One Nation, One Election' there should be 'One Nation, One Income'. Reduce the gap between poor and rich. In reply to a question about DMK leader and Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi

Infra projects granted to BJP's close friends: Cong targets govt on CAG rpt

The Congress on Sunday targeted the Modi government over a recent CAG report on Bharatmala project, alleging that infrastructure projects have been granted to "close friends" and donors of the BJP and asserted that only a JPC probe can unravel the truth. In a statement, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said the Bharatmala Pariyojana is aimed at developing 35,000 km of national highways to make freight movement across the country more efficient. "Yet, the most remarkable feature of the project has been the efficiency with which costs have been inflated and projects handed over to the Prime Minister's close friends and his party's electoral bond donors, as shown in a recent CAG report covering the period 2017-21," he alleged. The Congress leader said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) awarded a 250 km four-lane project between Suryapet and Khammam in Telangana to a consortium in which Adani Transport was the dominant partner with a 74 per cent wor

Delhi court gives 'no-objection' for renewal of Naveen Jindal's passport

A Delhi court has given its 'no-objection' for the renewal of the passport of Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal, accused 'in a coal scam case. Special Judge Arun Bharadwaj, meanwhile, said that the order was only for no-objection, and not any direction to any authority for the renewal of the passport of Jindal. Having considered various judgments relied upon by the counsel for the applicant, this court deems it appropriate to grant no objection of this court for the renewal of passport of the accused with validity for its full term of ten years, the judge said in an order passed on September 2. Jindal is an accused in a case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand. Both the CBI and the ED did not oppose the application. His passport is about to expire in May next year.

Cong to hold district-level yatras to mark Bharat Jodo Yatra's anniversary

The Congress is set to hold yatras at the district level to commemorate the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, which was launched on September 7 last year, sources said on Sunday. The party is planning to mark in a big way the beginning of the cross-country march that saw Rahul Gandhi, along with several party leaders, traverse over 4,000 kilometres and interact with a cross-section of society. The sources said yatras will be held at the district level to mark the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Bharat Jodo Yatra on September 7 last year. They said the modalities of how long the yatras will be and other details are being worked out. Gandhi launched the yatra on September 7, 2022, in Kanyakumari. It ended on January 30 this year as Gandhi capped his ambitious 145-day journey in Srinagar. "I have not done this (yatra) for myself or for the Congress but for the people of the country. Our aim is to stand against the ideology that wants to destroy the foundation of

Idea of 'one nation, one election' attack on Indian Union: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday alleged that the idea of "one nation, one election" is an attack on the Indian Union and all its states. In a post on X, Gandhi said, "INDIA, that is Bharat, is a Union of States." "The idea of 'one nation, one election' is an attack on the Union and all its States," Gandhi said. Gandhi's attack comes after the government set up a high-level committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind on the possibility of holding simultaneous elections. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has already declined to be part of the committee. He has also lamented the exclusion of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge from the committee. The government has included in the committee Ghulam Nabi Azad, the former leader of the opposition, instead of Kharge. The government on Saturday notified the eight-member committee to examine and make recommendations at the earliest on the issue of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha,

After 20 yrs, left inches towards pre-poll pact with Congress in Telangana

After a gap of 20 years, the CPI and CPM in Telangana are now inching towards a per-poll alliance with the Congress in the state for the upcoming Assembly polls. The development comes days after Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led BRS announced the candidates list of 115 seats out of the total 119, dashing the hopes of the Left parties that were looking to form a pre poll alliance with the ruling party. The communist parties supported the BRS candidate in the Munugode by-election held in November last year. After his party's victory, Rao thanked the CPI and CPM for the association, and said the friendship will continue, in order to keep the surging BJP at bay. Assembly polls in Telangana are scheduled to be held towards the end of the calendar year. According to CPM Telangana secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram, the party has received a call from Manikrao Thakare Congress' Telangana in-charge for discussion on the subject. However, a formal round of talks is yet to take place. Th