Page 384 - Congress

Govt must fix accountability: Anand Sharma on 'cough syrups-linked' deaths

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma on Friday hit out at the Centre over the deaths of children in Gambia allegedly due to the consumption of cough syrups manufactured by an Indian firm, and asked the government to fix accountability. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday warned that four "contaminated" and "substandard" cough syrups allegedly produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited based in Haryana's Sonepat could be the reason for the deaths in the West African nation. India's drug regulator Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has already initiated a probe and sought further details from the WHO. In a statement on the issue, former commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia "due to consumption of Cough syrup made by an Indian company Maiden Phamaceuticals has shocked the word". "This is a monumental tragedy that raises serious concerns as conveyed by WHO and also questions which, must be answered. The bland ...

'Real' Rahul Gandhi emerging out of Bharat Jodo Yatra: Jairam Ramesh

The "real" Rahul Gandhi is emerging out of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which completed a month on Friday, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said. In an interview to PTI during the yatra in Mandya district, Ramesh described the foot march as the longest-ever undertaken by anyone and said it will help the Congress strengthen itself psychologically. He also described the Congress president's election as a "side show" and the yatra as the main show. "It's a transformation of the Congress party and it shows the real Rahul Gandhi coming out. I would not say it is the new Rahul Gandhi but the real Rahul Gandhi that is being seen," Ramesh said. He said Gandhi's interactions with civil society, party workers and his super fitness are what comprises the "real Mr Rahul Gandhi". "The biggest achievement is psychological. It's all in the mind. I think what the yatra has done is to show to the Congress party that we can do it. "We are on the roads, on the streets, we are fighting the BJP. We

UP: Portion of Purvanchal Expressway caves in, Congress lashes out

Four people were injured after a portion of the newly constructed Purvanchal Expressway caved in following heavy rain here, officials said. The expressway, connecting Lucknow to Ghazipur district in eastern Uttar Pradesh, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2021, ahead of the Assembly elections in February-March. Four people travelling in a car suffered injuries in the accident, officials said. They have been hospitalised. Officials of the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) first stopped traffic on the highway before diverting it. District Magistrate Raveesh Gupta said, "A part of the expressway in Haliyapur police station limits caved in on Thursday night. The UPEIDA security officer reached the spot and set up a diversion. "Most of the repair and maintenance work was completed by Friday morning." Reacting to the expressway caving in, the Congress tweeted in Hindi, "UP's Purvanchal Expressway has caved in. Thousands of cro

National Herald case: ED questions Karnataka Cong president in Delhi

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday questioned Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar in the National Herald money laundering case, officials said. Shivakumar, 60, told reporters here before stepping into the agency office at A P J Abdul Kalam Road that he was a "law-abiding citizen" and hence he was deposing before the agency despite not knowing why was he exactly called. "I am a law-abiding citizen...I have respect for the law...I had requested for a time (deferring October 7 summons) but they said no you have to come. I have come today...let me see, let me hear them, let me answer whatever I know...," he said. The senior Congress leader said he reached Delhi after leaving the Bharat Jodo Yatra traversing through Karnataka in the middle. Shivakumar had walked along with party leaders Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi on Thursday during the yatra. Shivakumar had appeared before the ED last on September 19 in Delhi where he was questioned with regard to another money ...

BJP UP chief takes jibe at Rahul, tells him to start 'Congress Jodo Yatra'

Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, president of the BJP's Uttar Pradesh unit, on Friday advised Rahul Gandhi to undertake a 'Congress Jodo Yatra'. Speaking to reporters here, Chaudhary said Gandhi should have started his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Peshawar, Karachi or Islamabad (in Pakistan). "...it was during the Congress government that Partition of the country took place. After that, there has been no division," he said. The Congress' 3,570-km long Bharat Jodo Yatra began from Kanyakumari on September 8. With the Yatra, the Congress said it wanted to combat the alleged divisive politics of the BJP-led central government. Intensifying his attack on the Congress leader, Chaudhary said, "After the commencement of Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi should start a Congress Jodo Yatra seeing the self-contradiction in the Congress in Rajasthan and other states." On the question of a possible tie-up with Om Prakash Rajbhar-led Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, Chaudhary said the BJP's central leadershi

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Simply not EC's business: Congress on poll watchdog's freebies letter

The Congress on Thursday said the Election Commission's recent proposal to change the model code goes against the spirit of competitive politics and will be "yet another nail in the coffin of democracy". The EC has asked all recognised national and state political parties to provide authentic information to voters on the financial viability of their poll promises, saying inadequate disclosures have far-reaching ramifications. The EC has asked parties to submit their views by October 19. Asked about the development, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said it was simply not the business of the Election Commission. "It goes against the very essence and the spirit of competitive politics and will be yet another nail in the coffin of democracy in India," he said. None of the welfare and social development schemes that have been transformational over the decades would ever have become a reality if such a bureaucratic approach had been in place, Ramesh

Want Congress to be party of young India, says MP Shashi Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, in the race for the top position in the party, on Thursday said he wanted to change Congress into the party of young India and that support for his presidential candidature is swelling by the day. The Thiruvananthapuram MP, on a brief campaign in Chennai, said how his party viewed Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra and the presidential poll, mattered most and not what others outside felt. "It's what the Congress party looks at the Bharat Jodo Yatra and its presidency that matters and not the opposition criticism... It is a challenging election for the delegates because there's only one physical location to hold the election, that's PCC headquarters. I am still confident that we will see a good turnout," he said. Speaking to reporters after paying floral tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Kamaraj here, Tharoor said he was getting enormous amount of feedback from ordinary party workers, especially the ...

Bharat Jodo: Chasing the yatra magic

Political yatras are not an end in themselves. Rahul Gandhi will need a clear purpose if his yatra is to be judged successful

Priyanka Gandhi to start Congresss poll campaign in Himachal on October 10

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will start the election campaign from Solan in Himachal Pradesh from October 10 and will address a rally in the state

In major rejig, Cong loses chairmanship of parliamentary panel on Home, IT

Opposition parties have not been given the chairmanship of any of the four key parliamentary panels including the committee on Home Affairs and Information Technology, which were with the Congress, in the latest rejig announced on Tuesday. With this, the chair of six major parliamentary committees -- Home, IT, Defence, External Affairs, Finance and Health -- all are with the BJP and its allies. Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi has been replaced by BJP MP and retired IPS officer Brij Lal as the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing committee on Home Affairs. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is contesting the party's presidential polls, has been replaced by Prataprao Jadhav, a Shiv Sena MP from the Shinde faction, as the head of the Parliamentary Panel on Information Technology. The Trinamool Congress, which had the chair of the Parliamentary Panel on Food and Consumer Affairs, has not been given the chairmanship of any parliamentary committee after the reshuffle. "TMC is the third

BS Number Wise: Old scheme puts burden of employee pension on the states

Some governments are seeking short-term benefits to finance their bills, risking their financial security

Rahul was asked to request me to withdraw from Cong prez poll: Tharoor

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was asked by some party leaders to seek withdrawal of Shashi Tharoor's candidature, the Thiruvananthapuram MP, who has made an aggressive bid to its top post, claimed here on Tuesday. Tharoor, who is in Kerala as part of the poll campaign, told reporters here that Gandhi said he will not ask the former to withdraw as a contest would benefit the grand old party. "He reminded me that he has been saying so for the past 10 years that there should be a contest for the party chief's post. "He also told me that some persons have asked him to request me to withdraw my candidature. He told me he will not do so. He said I should not withdraw and that I should contest in the election," the Thiruvananthapuram MP said. Earlier in the day, he said that he never expected big leaders to support him and does not expect it even now, but at the same time he needs everyone's backing. The statement came in the wake of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) preside

Tharoor picks 'Reinvent Cong' slogan, rules out differences with Kharge

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday asserted that a reimagined party is needed to take on the BJP, while seeking support from party electors for his candidacy to the post of party chief. Tharoor, who is canvassing for his candidature among party delegates, ruled out ideological difference with veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also in the presidential race. "Let me make clear that I agree with @kharge ji that all of us in @incIndia wish to take on the BJP rather than each other. There is no ideological difference between us. The choice for our voting colleagues Oct 17 is only on how to do it most effectively," Tharoor said in a tweet. His remarks comes a day after Kharge said he conveyed to Tharoor that a consensus candidate would be better, but the Lok Sabha MP insisted on a contest for the "sake of democracy". Tharoor, who is in Hyderabad in connection with his campaign for Congress presidential poll, said he has "enormous" respect for his rival Kharge. "I believe we

Rahul turns heat on BJP in Karnataka, Yatra gets festive response in Mysuru

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday dubbed the BJP government in Karnataka as the "most corrupt" in the country and said "'complaints of commission" have been sent to the prime minister but no action has been taken. Gandhi started the 26th day of his Bharat Jodo Yatra at the crack of dawn and walked through the streets of the old Mysuru town, which was decked up for the famous 10-day Dasara celebrations, and reached Mandya. People lined up on both sides of the road to welcome Gandhi and chanted slogans hailing the Congress leader during the yatra that has covered over 600 km in its Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala legs. In Mysuru, the yatra moved as a colourful procession amid beating of drums, with artistes in traditional costumes walking with Congress leaders and workers to match the town's festive spirit. After covering a distance of 22 km, readily shaking hands and clicking pictures with eager supporters on the way, Gandhi addressed a public gathering at Pandavapura bus stat

Punjab: Bhagwant Mann govt wins confidence motion; Cong, BJP abstain

The Punjab Assembly on Monday "unanimously" passed the confidence motion moved by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on September 27, even as Congress members staged a walkout. The BJP members have already announced to boycott the assembly session. After a lengthy discussion on the confidence motion, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan put it to vote. He asked MLAs to raise hands who were in support, and then asked those who were against the motion of confidence. Announcing the results, Sandhwan said 91 AAP MLAs supported the motion. He also said one of the three SAD MLAs who was present in the House and a lone BSP MLA did not oppose the motion. No Congress, BJP or lone Independent MLA was present in the House at the time of voting. AAP has 92 MLAs, including the Speaker, in the House. "So, 93 MLAs have supported the motion and none is against it. Thus, the motion is unanimously passed," the Speaker said. In the 117-member Punjab Assembly, the AAP has 92 members, Congress 18, SAD 3, BJP 2,

Lakhimpur farmers yet to get justice, say Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the BJP of protecting criminals saying the farmers killed in Lakhimpur Kheri last year were yet to get justice. "One year has passed, but the martyr farmers of Lakhimpur Kheri have not received justice. Reason is the same -- BJP, as always, has been protecting criminals," Gandhi said on Twitter. Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Misra's son Ashish Misra was arrested in the case after four farmers were crushed under the wheels of a convoy of cars, and four others, including two BJP workers, were killed in apparently retaliatory violence. Gandhi said the farmers' agitation was a big inspiration for the Congress behind the decision to undertake Bharat Jodo Yatra. "This struggle will not end without ensuring justice to the farmers," he said. AICC General Secretary Vadra said the Lakhimpur Kheri farmer massacre has exposed the anti-farmer face of the BJP government. "Even after a year, the minister continues

Don't know if Shiv Sena wanted to ditch BJP, ally with Cong in 2017: Pawar

Throwing cold water on Ashok Chavan's recent claims, NCP President Sharad Pawar said he was not aware whether the Shiv Sena wanted to dump the and ally with the Congress-NCP to form a govt in 2017

Tharoor highlights need for 'renewed, reinvigorated' Cong to take on BJP

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that with two consecutive losses in the LS elections, there is a need for a "renewed and reinvigorated" party to take on the challenge of the ruling BJP at Centre

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