Page 301 - Congress

Karnataka may keep additional expenditure on 5 poll promises fiscal neutral

The implementation of these promises may cost the exchequer an additional sum in the range of Rs 45,000-50,000 crore

Ordinance row: Congress leaders from Delhi, Punjab meet Kharge, Gandhi

Congress leaders from Delhi and Punjab met the party leadership here in separate meetings on Monday, and suggested them not to support the Aam Aadmi Party on the Delhi services Ordinance issue, sources said. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had convened a meeting of leaders from both states on seeking their opinion on the matter. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was also present during the meetings. The sources said a majority of the leaders told the leadership to have no truck with Arvind Kejriwal, calling him a "B-team" of the BJP and claiming he harmed the Congress' interests not only in Delhi and Punjab but other states as well. Sources said the meeting comes in the wake of Kejriwal requesting a meeting with Kharge and Gandhi to seek their support against an Ordinance brought by the Centre which effectively nullified a Supreme Court order that gave to the Delhi government the power of transfer bureaucrats in the city. Kharge has reportedly conveyed to Kejriwal he wil

No tradition in Congress to offer posts to pacify leaders: CM Ashok Gehlot

Amid infighting in the Rajasthan Congress, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday said the party high command is strong and it will never offer any position to any leader or worker to pacify him. His remarks came ahead of a strategy meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on the upcoming polls in the state. Kharge is scheduled to hold separate meetings with Gehlot and his bete noire Sachin Pilot on Monday here to bring them on one platform ahead of the assembly elections, which are due later this year. The meeting comes close on the heels of Pilot's "ultimatum" that if three demands he made from the state government were not met by the end of this month, he would launch a state-wide agitation. Pilot has asked for a high-level inquiry into the alleged scams that took place during the tenure of the former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje government, as one of his demands. Speaking to reporters, Gehlot said there is no such tradition in the party to offer posts to any leader i

Cong, CPI(M) question invite to Trinamool for June 12 Oppn meet in Patna

"In times of crisis, Trinamool Congress has always provided clandestine support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi," said CPI(M)

Cong MLA's plaint against Kerala House marshals: ethics committee refered

Kerala Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer has directed the Ethics and Privileges Committee to conduct an inquiry into senior Congress MLA Ramesh Chennithala's complaint that a few House marshals and a police officer made false allegations against Opposition MLAs who participated in a protest in front of the Speaker's office in March. In his breach of privilege notice, Chennithala had alleged that police registered a case against seven MLAs from the Congress-led UDF under non-bailable sections of the IPC on the basis of a false statement given by a female watch and ward officer that she suffered a fracture in her hand due to the violent attack of the opposition legislators. The watch-and-ward staff, also known as house marshals, oversee the security of the State Assembly and work under the control of the Speaker and the Secretary to the Legislature. Chennithala claimed that there were reports that the medical examination had proved the officer's allegation wrong. The senior Congress ...

Congress leaders from MP meet party chief Kharge over poll preparedness

Top Congress leaders from Madhya Pradesh on Monday met party chief Mallikarjun Kharge at the AICC headquarters here over the preparedness for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. Sources said the meeting was attended by Rahul Gandhi, former chief minister Kamal Nath, among others. Kharge will also hold deliberations with party leaders from Rajasthan where Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot will be in attendance. Gehlot has already reached the national capital for the meet. These interactions will be attended by state unit chiefs as well as party in-charges of both the poll-bound states. These are also part of the Congress' efforts to activate party cadres and prepare the ground for the assembly polls slated later this year.

Cong sets up panel for probe into 6 idols collapse at Mahakal Lok corridor

The opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh has constituted a committee to conduct a probe into the collapse of six idols installed at Ujjain's Mahakal Lok corridor due to strong winds, a party leader said on Monday. After the incident on Sunday, the Congress had hit out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state, alleging corruption in the project and demanded a probe into the "sub-standard" quality of construction. Six out of the seven idols of 'Saptarishis' installed at the Mahakal Lok corridor, developed on the Mahakaleshwar temple premises in Ujjain city, collapsed on Sunday and suffered damages due to gusty winds, officials earlier said. No person was injured in the incident, they said. Piyush Babele, media advisor of MP Congress chief Kamal Nath, told PTI that a seven-member committee, including five party legislators, has been constituted to conduct a probe into the collapse of idols at the Mahakal Lok corridor. After the probe, the panel will submit

No truck with AAP in 2024, no support over ordinance too: Delhi Congress

Several Congress leaders from Delhi and Punjab have opposed supporting Kejriwal over the issue

Nine years of Modi govt: Cong Prez Kharge accuses BJP of 'looting' people

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday took a dig at the government over the completion of nine years in office, accusing it of "looting" people's earnings through "deadly inflation" while making "arrogant claims" about it. The BJP-led government at the Centre completed nine years in office on May 26. It has highlighted the achievements of nine years of the NDA government and said the country has witnessed "all-round development and inclusive growth" under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Attacking the government in a tweet in Hindi, Kharge said, "With deadly inflation in nine years, BJP looted the public's earnings! GST impacted everything important, spoiled the budget, made life difficult!" "Arrogant claims -- 'inflation is not visible' or 'we do not eat this expensive thing at all'. Journey from 'Acche Din' to 'Amrit Kaal', due to inflation, the amount of public loot has increased!" Kharge said. With Prime Minister Modi completing nine years in office, th

Decision will be taken in party's interest: Cong Prez on Gehlot, Pilot

Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot have been engaged in a power tussle since 2020

Complete breakdown of law: Jairam Ramesh slams Centre on Manipur violence

The Congress General Secretary in charge of Communications, Jairam Ramesh on Monday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central Government over the violence in Manipur.He said a that delegation led by the Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will be calling on President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday in connection with the unfolding of violence in Manipur while slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not issuing a single appeal for peace.Taking to his personal Twitter handle, the congress leader lashed out at the BJP for what he termed as the "complete breakdown of law and order" in Manipur since violence broke three weeks ago."25 days after Manipur started burning, things have turned from bad to worse on the eve of the long-awaited visit of the Union Home Minister to Imphal. Despite Article 355 being imposed there's a total and complete breakdown of law & order and administration in the state," tweeted Jairam Ramesh.According to officials, Home Minister Amit Shah will visit ...

Manipur violence: Kharge-led delegation to meet Prez Tuesday; Cong slams PM

The Congress on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the recent violence in Manipur, saying a horrific tragedy is unfolding there while the PM is obsessed about his "self-coronation". A delegation led by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will be calling on President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday morning regarding the situation in the state, according to party general secretary Jairam Ramesh. He said 25 days after Manipur started burning, things turned from bad to worse on the eve of the long-awaited visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Imphal. "Despite Article 355 being imposed, there's a total and complete breakdown of law and order and administration in the state," Ramesh said on Twitter. "It's a horrific tragedy unfolding while the prime minister is obsessed about his self-coronation. Not a single appeal of peace issued by him nor has there been a genuine outreach to rebuild trust between communities," he said in an apparent reference to th

After Karnataka win, Congress plans to take on the same opponent in MP

Corruption, price rise, unemployment, and crimes against women will be major factors for the party in the Assembly polls, due in December. Among these, corruption may be highlighted more than the rest

Congress chief Kharge to meet Gehlot, Pilot separately in Delhi on Monday

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will hold separate meetings with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his bete noire Sachin Pilot on Monday in Delhi, a senior party leader familiar with the development said. The chief minister's office has also released Gehlot's programme confirming his visit to Delhi, where he will also lay foundation stone of the Rajasthan House. The proposed meeting comes close on the heels of Pilot's "ultimatum" that if three demands he made from the state government were not met by the end of this month, he would launch a state-wide agitation. Pilot has asked for a high-level inquiry into the alleged scams that took place during the tenure of the former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje government, as one of his demands. According to the senior leader, a meeting of the Congress top brass with all the state leaders was scheduled on May 26 but was later postponed. He said that now the high command will meet Gehlot and Pilot separately to bring them on on

Congress will 'compel' Centre to implement old pension scheme: Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday said the Congress will "compel" the Centre to implement the old pension scheme (OPS) in the entire country, asserting that the committee on the new pension scheme (NPS) was constituted under pressure mounted by his party. Gehlot also announced to increase old age pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 if the Congress government retains power in Rajasthan. Under the chairmanship of finance secretary, the Centre has formed a committee to find out a way forward for what can be done after combining OPS and NPS. They formed the committee after we mounted pressure, he said. The chief minister was addressing a 'Kisan Mahasammelan' in Maulasar of Nagaur district on the sidelines of inflation relief camp review. On April 6, the Union Finance Ministry set up a committee under Finance Secretary T V Somanathan to review the pension system for government employees. The committee would suggest whether in the light of the existing framework and structure

Congress cannot tolerate good things...: Pralhad Joshi slams Oppn parties

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi slammed the Opposition parties' boycott of the new Parliament building inauguration and said that Congress cannot tolerate good things happening

Twitter war: Cong shows PM Modi in miniature before Nehru, BJP hits back

In a Twitter war, when the Congress posted an image of PM Modi in miniature before a large image of first PM Nehru, the BJP put up an image showing that Nehru's stature in real life was much smaller

Protests in J'khand for 'no invite' to Prez at new Parliament building

The Jharkhand unit of Congress, CPI and some tribal organisations on Sunday staged demonstrations here to protest against the Centre for "not inviting" President Droupadi Murmu to the inauguration of the new Parliament building. State Congress president Rajesh Thakur said that "no invite" to the President for the inauguration was "disrespect to the Constitution". Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building in New Delhi and expressed hope that it would become a cradle of empowerment, igniting dreams and nurturing them into reality. Congress workers assembled near the statue of Birsa Munda in Ranchi's Birsa Chowk, holding placards with slogans such as Rashtrapati Ke Samman Mein, Congress Hai Maidan Mein' (In honour of the President, Congress is on roads) written on these. "The new parliament building was inaugurated today, which is indeed a matter of pride for the country. But, the President was not invited to the event. We believe that 'n

Democracy not about buildings but functions with people's voice: Kharge

After his party boycotted the inauguration of the new Parliament building, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said democracy is not just about buildings but functions with the voice of people. He also attacked the government over the "forcible" removal and "manhandling" of wrestlers protesting at the Jantar Mantar when they were trying to march towards Parliament. "The right to inaugurate the new Parliament was snatched from the President. Women players were beaten up on the streets with dictatorial force," he alleged in a tweet in Hindi. "The three lies of BJP-RSS rulers now stand exposed before the country - Democracy, Nationalism and Save Daughter. "Remember Modi ji, democracy is not just about buildings but functions with the voice of the public," Kharge said. Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia were detained along with other protesters after a scuffle broke out between protestors and Delhi Police at Jantar Mantar.

Congress' Rahul Gandhi gets new passport, set to travel to US tomorrow

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi received a new ordinary passport on Sunday, two days after a local court granted its no objection to the issuance of the same, sources said. They said the passport office had assured Gandhi in the morning that the passport would be issued to him on Sunday and he got it in the afternoon. The former Congress president is set to travel to San Francisco in the United States on Monday evening where he will start his three-city tour. He had applied for an ordinary passport after surrendering the old diplomatic passport issued to him when he was a member of parliament. Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as an MP following his conviction and two-year sentence by a Gujarat court in a defamation case over his Modi surname remark. Starting with San Francisco where he is scheduled to interact with students at the prestigious Stanford University, Gandhi will also address a press conference and have meetings with the lawmakers and think tanks in Washington DC. The Congre