Page 302 - Congress

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

Just to remind him, he holds metaphoric Sengol: Chidambaram's dig at Modi

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the recent violence in Manipur, saying that the PM has "not uttered a word" on the matter and just to remind him, he holds the "metaphoric Sengol" in his hand. Clashes broke out in Manipur after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations. In a tweet, Chidambaram said it is more than three weeks since violence broke out in Manipur and at least 75 people are dead. "The Hon'ble PM has not uttered a word so far. Nor has he made an appeal for peace and harmony. Just to remind him, he holds the metaphoric Sengol in his hand," the former home minister said. His remarks come amid a war of words between the Congress and the BJP over the .

Self-glorifying authoritarian PM: Congress on new Parliament inauguration

Congress once again took a swipe at the BJP government after PM Modi inaugurated the new Parliament by saying that a self-glorifying authoritarian PM with utter disdain for Parliamentary procedures

Indian Overseas Congress workers plan huge welcome for Rahul Gandhi in US

Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) workers are planning a huge welcome for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the US.Rahul will embark on his US visit on Sunday. He will be attending a program at Stanford University and meeting the Indian diaspora from May 29-30.Secretary of Indian Overseas Congress, Virender Vashishth, told ANI: "Under the leadership of Sam Pitroda, we Indian Overseas Congress workers are planning a huge welcome of our beloved leader Rahul Gandhi in the USA, President of USA Wing of IOC Mohinder Singh Gilzian and George Ibrahim are motivating Indian Diaspora also with IOC team."Vashishth further said that Congress MP Reventh Reddy, Dr Kota Nilima, Raja Warring, Dr Arti, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda and many more senior party leaders of the Party are also coming for preparations of a series of events in the US.Meanwhile, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Saturday took a jibe at the former Wayanad MP, saying he visits abroad 60 times in a year and every time "tears .

LIVE updates: Security beefed up near new Parliament building in Delhi

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Naveen Patnaik close to Modi, Shah: Former Union Minister Jitendra Singh

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Jitendra Singh Saturday claimed Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik remained close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Dubbing BJD as the B-Team of the BJP, Singh said the Odisha government is being remote controlled by officers who he alluded were in the chief minister's office. Singh, who was here to address a press conference, said: "It is a matter of grave concern that the BJD president Naveen Ji has been 'sitting in the laps' of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. It is not that he is abiding by Modi and Shah now, it has been happening since a long time." He went on to claim that the state was being run by a coterie of powerful officers and not by its political leadership. "I feel pity for the Odisha ministers, MPs and MLAs who are found sitting outside the chambers of these officers. Their condition is precarious in the state," Singh said. Referring to the inaugural function of new Parliament building

BJP urges Congress govt to fulfil election guarantees in Karnataka

The BJP will hold statewide agitations if the Congress government in Karnataka fails to fulfil its five guarantees to the people, party state president Nalin Kumar Kateel said on Saturday. Addressing reporters here, Kateel said the guarantees should be implemented within a month and warned that the government will face a series of protests if there is any delay in this regard. He said government officials are bearing the brunt of people's fury who refuse to pay electricity bills and other charges citing the Congress promises. Kateel, also Dakshina Kannada MP, alleged that the new dispensation is practising revenge politics and booking cases against BJP MLAs and party workers. Cases have been booked against MLAs Harish Poonja and C N Ashwath Narayan, while Congress workers are indulging in violence, he added. The BJP state chief dared the Congress to probe the charges made by them against the previous BJP government. The government should also allow an impartial probe into the ...

Congress questions govt on country's economic health, national security

Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken on Saturday accused the Narendra Modi government of compromising on national security, using politics of hatred for electoral gains, and weakening constitutional values and democratic institutions. The Congress on Friday had said it would hold press conferences, titled 'Nau Saal, Nau Sawaal' (nine years, nine questions), in 35 cities over the next few days to highlight the "failures" of the Central government in the last nine years. Accusing Modi of not addressing important issues, the grand old party asserted that it will continue to play the role of a responsible opposition and hold the government accountable for its actions. Addressing a press conference here, Maken said, As the Modi government completes nine years in power, the Congress has nine questions and we want to know their response. We know that they don't want to address serious issues like unemployment, price rise and will rather try to divert attention to frivolous matters. With .

Know your minister: A look at 24 MLAs sworn-in to Karnataka cabinet today

Within a week of assuming power, the Congress government in Karnataka has expanded its cabinet on Saturday, filling all posts. Among those who got ministerial posts include sons of two former chief ministers -- R Gundu Rao's son Dinesh Gundu Rao and S Bangarappa's son Madhu Bangarappa. The party also gave a chance to several former ministers and veteran Congress leaders in its second list. Here is a brief description of the 24 ministers who took the oath of office and secrecy on Saturday: * H K Patil is a staunch Congress man and a seasoned politician. The 69-year-old MLA was elected from Gadag constituency. He has held portfolios of textile, water resources, agriculture, law and parliamentary affairs as well as rural development and panchayat raj. He comes from a political family; his father K H Patil was also an MLA from the same constituency. * Krishna Byre Gowda is a five-time MLA twice from Vemgal in Kolar and thrice from Byatarayanapura in Bengaluru city. The 50-year-old ..

Cong Prez Kharge calls meeting to discuss 'ordinance' issue in Delhi

After the request from the AAP leader, report citing Congress sources on Friday said that the party is still considering his request

ORR Toll Scam is thousand times bigger than Delhi liquor scam: TPCC Chief

Reddy further mentioned that the Delhi liquor scam is very small compared to ORR scams as the ORR tenders are related to one trillion

K'taka Cong govt withdraws appointment order of Praveen Nettaru's wife

The report said that when governments change, temporary staff are generally asked to leave and no special consideration has been made for Nutan Kumari

Kejriwal should realise his mistake: Delhi Cong chief over ordinance row

His remarks came in the wake of Kejriwal seeking time from Congress president and Rahul Gandhi demanding support against the Centre's ordinance on control of administrative services in Delhi

Gandhi family kept 'Sengol' in dark corner as Nehru's stick: Irani jibes

"Gandhi family provoking like-minded people for not attending the inauguration of new Parliament building doesn't surprise us," Irani added

K'taka Cong accommodates 6 Lingayat, 4 Vokkaligas, Shettar, Savadi miss out

The party has accommodated Madhu Bangarappa from Shivamogga in the view of making the roots of the party strong in the home turf of former CM BS Yediyurappa

BJP sabotaging Parliamentary convention, Constitution, says Congress

Pointing out the traditions of Parliament, the Congress leader said "the President of India is the part and parcel of the Parliamentary system and the Parliament"

All MPs should welcome construction of new Parliament building: Azad

Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chief Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday said all parliamentarians should welcome the construction of a new Parliament building. The former Congress leader, however, added that the idea of the construction of a new Parliament building was first mooted during the time of the P V Narasimha Rao government, but was later sent to the cold storage. "It (the construction of a new Parliament building) is a good thing. It is a good Parliament (house). It was proposed during the Narasimha Rao government but it could not be done. Now that it has been constructed, all parliamentarians should welcome it," Azad told reporters here. "I have no opposition to it," he added. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said people are facing problems due to the absence of a legislative setup in the Union Territory. "Seats of MLAs are vacant. Restoration of this setup can mitigate the problems of the people," he said. Azad stressed the need for the restoration of the

K'taka cabinet expansion: 24 legislators to be sworn in as ministers on Sat

A week after assuming power in Karnataka, the Congress on Friday released the list of 24 legislators who will be sworn-in as ministers to fill up all the vacant ministerial positions. The cabinet expansion will take place on Saturday noon with their swearing-in ceremony, according to Congress leaders. The Karnataka government can have 34 ministers. While 10 of them including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar were sworn-in on March 20, the rest will be inducted on Saturday. Senior MLA H K Patil, Krishna Byregowda, N Cheluvarayaswamy, K Venkatesh, Dr H C Mahadevappa, Congress working president Eshwar Khandre and former Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao are among those who will take the oath on Saturday. Others who will make it to the Karnataka cabinet are Kyathasandra N Rajanna,Sharanabasappa Darshanapur, Shivanand Patil, Ramappa Balappa Timmapur, S S Mallikarjun, Shivaraj Sangappa Tangadagi, Dr Sharanaprakash Rudrappa Patil, Mankal Vaidya, Laxmi Hebbalkar,

Basavaraj Bommai dares Congress govt to ban RSS, Bajrang Dal in Karnataka

Senior BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai on Friday challenged the Congress government in Karnataka to impose a ban on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bajrang Dal. Alleging that the Congress was pursuing 'politics of vengeance', he said those who ever tried to ban RSS were sent home packing. Bommai was reacting to Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge's purported statement that the government will not hesitate to ban RSS and Bajrang Dal if they disturb peace in the state. Keeping aside all its promises, the Congress has started pursuing the politics of vengeance. It appears that politics of vengeance is more on the agenda than the development of the state, the former CM told reporters here. They are talking about banning RSS and Bajrang Dal. Whom are they telling this? Please try it. I am challenging them. They don't have powers to ban any organisation. It's the prerogative of the Centre, which does it after seeking the opinion of all the states, Bommai pointed out. On the one hand, the Cong

SC stays imposition of Rs 25 lakh on Abhishek Banerjee by Calcutta HC

From staying the imposition of Rs 25 lakh on TMC's Abhishek Banerjee to granting an interim bail to Satyendar Jain on medical grounds, here are important cases that the apex court heard today