Page 290 - Congress

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on 3-day tour, set to visit different districts

Gehlot will be on a tour of Bundi and Kota districts on Wednesday, will participate in various programs, and will address public meetings

Opposition unity: Is well begun, half done?

Previous experiments with Opposition unity have shown that forming an alliance does not ensure electoral victory by itself. Public perception of the incumbent leader and the govt also has to change

Oppn wants to protect families instead of helping people: Bhupendra Yadav

Union minister Bhupendra Yadav on Sunday claimed the agenda of the parties that came forward in the name of protecting democracy is to save their families but they will bite the dust in Bihar and other states in elections. Yadav was referring to the meeting of the Opposition parties, including Congress, held in Patna on Friday. The Minister of State for Environment spoke at a public function organised in Mumbai by the Bharatiya Janata Party to condemn the 48th anniversary of the Emergency imposed by then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. He alleged these family-centric parties want to protect their families first instead of helping people. "Those people who are hatching a conspiracy against democracy and trying to protect their families first will not only lose general elections in various states but will be wiped out also in Bihar, which has always been a contributor to our democratic processes, the minister said. He claimed these parties have come forward in the name of ...

Adhir Ranjan requests security for media during Bengal panchayat polls

Choudhury reminded the Governor that in the past, many media persons wore injured and killed in the incidents of violence

Cong imposed Emergency, now accusing BJP of suppressing democracy: Rajnath

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said the Congress which imposed the Emergency was now falsely accusing the BJP government of suppressing democracy. Singh addressed two rallies in Agra in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday and trained his gun on the Congress. Describing the Emergency, which was imposed on this day in 1975 by the Indira Gandhi government, as "the dark phase of Indian democracy", the senior BJP leader said, "I was jailed for 16 months and kept in isolation for about two-and-half months during the Emergency.... Many innocents were kept in jails." "But today the Congress party is falsely accusing the BJP government of suppressing democracy...if the BJP was strangulating democracy then how was it possible for the Congress to form governments in states like Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan," he said. He said the Congress and other opposition parties are coming together with the singular motive of defeating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and grabbing ...

Greed for power characteristic of Congress: Piyush Goyal on Emergency

Union minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday recalled the imposition of Emergency by the then Indira Gandhi government, saying greed for power is a characteristic of the Congress party. Goyal, who interacted with a group of intellectuals here, said the Emergency was imposed as the court declared the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government a corrupt one and said that she could not hold any post for six years. He claimed the Congress always wants to remain in power and this greed for power is a characteristic of the party. On June 25, 1975, the Indira Gandhi government imposed Emergency, which lasted for the next 21 months, during which fundamental rights of the people were provisionally suspended and curbs were put on the press. The commerce and industries minister was here as part of the BJP's campaign for highlighting the nine-year rule of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. Talking about the Emergency era, he said the day is observed as a black day in independent India. He said

Will continue as KPCC chief, file defamation case on Govindan: Sudhakaran

KPCC chief K Sudhakaran on Sunday said he would continue to lead the state Congress unit as desired by the party's senior leadership and high command. In the wake of his arrest in a cheating case, in which controversial self styled antiques dealer Monson Mavunkal is the prime accused, Sudhakaran had offered to quit as the president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). Addressing reporters here today, he said both the party's senior leadership and the high command rejected his offer and said that he should continue in the position. "Hence, I have decided to abide by their wishes," he said. After being arrested on Friday, he was released on bail the same day in accordance with orders of the Kerala High Court. Sudhakaran also said that he would be filing defamation cases against CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan and the Left party's mouthpiece Deshabhimani for the allegations by them against him in connection with a POCSO case in which Mavunkal was sentenced to life in

Oppn meet attendees disagree with AAP's charge against Cong on ordinance

The Aam Aadmi Party's shrill indictment of the Congress over alleged apathy towards the central ordinance issue seemed to have few takers among those present at the recent opposition meeting in Patna. At least five leaders, who represented their respective parties at Friday's meeting hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, appeared unimpressed with the AAP going into a sulk over the ordinance, which seeks to curtail the powers of the Delhi government. It is very unfortunate that the AAP seems to be looking at the issue through the prism of rivalry with Congress in Delhi and Punjab, said CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar. He asserted that it was wrong on AAP's part to say in an official statement that the Congress refused to oppose the ordinance at the meeting, despite being asked to do so by many parties. All parties were unanimous in the condemnation of the ordinance. But the AAP leadership must place the issue in a broader context. It is about the attacks on the

Wolves hunt in packs but they can't hunt lion: Smriti Irani on Oppn meeting

Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani on Saturday took a jibe at the meeting of opposition parties held in Patna, saying wolves hunt in packs but they do not know that they cannot hunt a lion. She also alleged that the target of Friday's opposition conclave was not Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "but the people of the country and the exchequer". "As soon as I came to Indore, the media asked me what my reaction was to the Opposition's gathering in Patna yesterday," Irani said addressing a public gathering organised here to mark the completion of the Modi government's nine years in power. There is a saying in English that wolves hunt in packs but they do not know that they can't hunt a lion," Irani said. She also spoke at an event organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party to mark the completion of nine years of the Modi government. Prominent women from Indore were invited to this programme. "There has been a gathering (of Opposition parties), but its target was not Modi, but you

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Even God not spared in MP, says Digvijaya as Congress holds protests

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday said corruption was rampant in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, and even God has not been spared. During the day, the Congress staged protests in 51 districts of the state against corruption, highlighting the May 28 incident where six idols installed at Ujjain's Mahakal Lok Corridor collapsed due to the high winds, the June 12 fire at Satpura Bhawan in Bhopal where government offices are housed, and rising inflation. We could not hold protest in two districts -- Indore and Jhabua -- due to inclement weather, chairman of the MP Congress media cell K K Mishra told PTI. Elections are due in MP by year-end. When Kamal Nath was chief minister, he had sanctioned Rs 300-350 crore for the renovation of the Mahakaleshwar temple at Ujjain. A contractor from Gujarat assured that the idols installed there would remain intact for a century. But they tumbled in the light wind within just one year," Singh said at the meeting here. They are not sparing .

Congress let Kartarpur Sahib go, PM Modi reunited it: Rajnath Singh

Singh was in Chandigarh to attend Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) public outreach 'Sampark Se Samarthan' to mark the completion of nine years of the Modi government at the Centre

People want restoration of dignity: Cong dubs Shah's visit to J-K cosmetic

The Jammu and Kashmir Congress on Saturday termed as cosmetic the two-day visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to the Union Territory and said people want "restoration of their honour" and holding of the much-delayed assembly polls. J-K Congress working president Raman Bhalla said the frequent visits of central ministers to the region is a futile exercise and claimed that not a single public demand has been fulfilled even as the Jammu and Kashmir administration is directly working on the directions of the BJP. The home minister's visit (to Jammu and Kashmir) is cosmetic as he refuses to acknowledge the ground realities. These visits are an eyewash and a strategy to divert public attention from the government's failure, he said while addressing a function to welcome new entrants into the party fold at Bishna near here. The central government should send its ministers with some funds in hand so that they can redress the public issues in a real sense. This public outreach campaign ..

Siddaramaiah uses 'inauspicious' south door of his office in Vidhana Soudha

For years, the 'inauspicious' south door of the Chief Minister's office in Vidhana Soudha remained shut but on Saturday Chief Minister Siddaramaiah got the door opened as he decided to make an entry and exit from there. The 'rational' Chief Minister, who arrived at the Vidhana Soudha to hold a meeting with senior officials regarding Anna Bhagya scheme, noticed the south door closed. When he inquired with the officials about it never being opened, they told him that south door was considered inauspicious and hence it was never ever opened. Siddaramaiah stood right in front of the door for a while and then directed the officials open it. After entering his office, he explained his interpretation of 'Vaastu.' "A good Vaastu is the one where you get a healthy mind, clean heart and concern for people. It should have natural light and fresh air coming in," the Chief Minister said. According to an official, no other Chief Minister in the past had ever dared opening the south door. "To m

Peace not possible under him: Cong demands immediate removal of Manipur CM

The Congress on Saturday said peace in violence-hit Manipur is not possible under Chief Minister N Biren Singh and demanded that the prime minister replaces him immediately. Presenting an eight-point charter of demands on behalf of the Congress at an all-party meeting convened by Home Minister Amit Shah in Parliament building, former chief minister of Manipur Okram Ibobi Singh said it was unfortunate that he was not allowed more time to put across his views towards the end of the meeting. Singh, who represented the Congress, said the meeting should have been chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi "who has not said a single word on Manipur in the past 50 days". "This all-party meeting would have been better had it been chaired by the prime minister and held in Imphal. This would have sent a clear message to the people of Manipur that their pain and distress are also a matter of national anguish," he said, while demanding that all rebel groups must be disarmed immediately without any

Kerala Cong observes black day, holds protest against Sudhakaran's arrest

Congress Party workers also staged protest marches across the state on Friday night against the arrest

Former CM Okram Ibobi to represent Congress at Manipur all-party meet

Former Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh will represent the Congress at the all-party meeting convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday. The Congress has been demanding the prime minister to call an all party meeting in Manipur to broker peace in the violence-hit state. The Congress has been seeking a meeting with the prime minister since June 10 before he left for the US tour. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said 52 days after Manipur started burning the Home Minister has finally seen it fit to call an all-party meeting on Manipur at 3 pm today. "This meeting should actually have been chaired by the PM who has kept silent all this while. It should have been held in Imphal as a demonstration of national anguish. The BJP has failed the people of Manipur miserably," Ramesh said in Twitter. "Even so the man who brought Manipur back on the path of peace and development as Chief Minister for three terms between 2002 and 2017 Okram Ibobi Singh ji will represe

Kerala Cong chief arrested, out on bail in cheating case; party protests

KPCC chief K Sudhakaran was on Friday arrested by the Crime Branch in a cheating case in which the prime accused is controversial antique dealer Monson Mavunkal, and later released on bail. Sudhakaran later told reporters that he was arrested after several hours of questioning by the Crime Branch. "They questioned me. After that, they recorded my arrest and then I was released on bail. I have faith in judiciary. I will face the case in court," he told reporters here. Following his arrest, the national leadership of Congress came down heavily on Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by equating him with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. AICC general secretary in-charge, communications, Jairam Ramesh said while the rest of the opposition in the country was on one track, Vijayan was acting as "Mundu Modi". "Rest of the Opposition is on one track nationally, while Pinarayi Vijayan is busy proving what has all along been known that he is Mundu Modi. This unwarranted harassment of Kerala P

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It'll be BJP vs 15 in 2024 LS polls: Oppn parties resolve to stay united

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he attended the meeting without "memory" of past likes or dislikes and prejudices