Page 388 - Congress

Only request to PM Modi is to stop rupee from scoring century: Congress

?? The Congress on Tuesday attacked the Centre over the depreciating value of the rupee against the dollar and said the only request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to stop the rupee from scoring a century. The rupee appreciated 37 paise to 81.30 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday while consolidating in a narrow range and settling 9 paise higher at 81.58 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said for the first time in history, the rupee is racing fast towards 82 against the dollar. "With Modi Ji's blessings, the rupee has become the weakest in history and he who claimed (before coming to power) the fall in the value of rupee is directly linked to fall in prime minister's credibility must realise his own credibility is in a bottomless pit," Shrinate said. Exactly a year ago, in September 2021, the value of the rupee was 73 against USD 1, which has now increa

Congress leader Sachin Pilot arrives in Delhi, reason not disclosed

Amid the ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday reached Delhi from Jaipur, but the reason for his arrival has not yet been disclosed

Kharge emerging as top candidate for Cong Prez, Gehlot in race: Report

LoP Mallikarjun Kharge is said to have emerged top choice for the party President's post but the game is still on and Congress sources said that leaders have been called for nomination on Thursday

Shashi Tharoor to file nomination for post of Cong prez on Sept 30

Amid suspense over who could take on Shashi Tharoor in the Congress president polls, party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry on Tuesday said AICC treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal has got nomination forms collected, adding that it may be for someone else. Mistry also said a representative of Tharoor has informed his office that he will file nomination for the post of president on September 30 at 11 AM. Speaking with reporters at his office at the AICC headquarters here, Mistry said he met party chief Sonia Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence on Tuesday and handed over her voter's ID card. He also briefed Gandhi about the process so far as to how many people have collected the nomination forms and about the delegates. Mistry said Bansal got the nomination forms collected from his office on Monday and it may be "as a supporter" of someone. When pressed further as to whether Bansal may have collected the forms for himself or someone else, Mistry said he cannot say for

Give 'reasoned and speaking order' in pension scam case: HC tells MP govt

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed Congress leader K K Mishra, the complainant in a case of an alleged pension scam at Indore Municipal Corporation, to file a fresh application for getting the prosecution sanction against then mayor Kaliash Vijayvargiya and others. A high court bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar, in its order passed on September 23, also directed the state chief secretary to pass a reasoned and speaking order in the matter within three months. A special court here had last month closed the 2005 case of alleged pension scam at the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) as the MP government did not give sanction to prosecute BJP general secretary Vijayvargiya and others for 17 years. Complainant Mishra, who is chairman of the MP Congress's media department, had moved the HC against the delay in the grant of sanction. The HC gave its directive on September 23 on a petition filed by Mishra. A copy of the order was made available on Monday. It disposed of the petiti

Shivakumar rejects allegations of Cong targeting Bommai as he is Lingayat

Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar on Monday rejected allegations that his party was targeting Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai with the 'PayCM' campaign, because the latter is a Lingayat. He said the Chief Minister is targeted, as he is the head of the government and will have to bear responsibility for its deeds. "Has he (Bommai) become the Chief Minister on the basis of his Lingayat caste? He is in power as per the Constitution. We are targeting the government and he is the head of the government," Shivakumar told reporters. He was responding to Health Minister K Sudhakar's claims that Congress was targeting Bommai because the Chief Minister is a Lingayat. Quoting past instances, Sudhakar has alleged that it is the "constant approach" of the Congress to target the chief ministers who are from the dominant community. "They (Congress) did the same thing when Veerendra Patil (Lingayat) was the CM. Those who are good administrators, that too chief ministers from the promine

Sonia seeks report on Jaipur rebellion, Gehlot less likely to be Cong Prez

Congress observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken briefed president Sonia Gandhi on Monday regarding the developments in Rajasthan and will submit a written report about the crisis in the party's state unit by tonight or tomorrow. Talking to reporters after a nearly hour-long meeting with Gandhi, AICC in-charge for Rajasthan Ajay Maken said they apprised the party president of the developments in the state after which she sought a detailed report on it. He said it was "unfortunate" that the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) could not be held and termed the move of pro-Gehlot loyalist MLAs and ministers as "indiscipline". He added that the CLP meet was kept after Gehlot's consent and the place and time were set as per his request. He said the MLAs and ministers loyal to Chief minister Gehlot cannot pose conditions to the party leadership as they amount to a "conflict of interest". "Kharge ji and I have apprised the Congress president of the CLP meeting in Rajasthan. The Congress

Kamal Nath says he's not interested in becoming Congress President

Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath said that he doesn't want to become the party President and wants to continue to work for the party in Madhya Pradesh

Ghulam Nabi Azad avoids comment on developments in Rajasthan Congress

Democratic Azad Party (DAP) leader and former J-K chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday tactfully avoided a question on the developments in Rajasthan Congress and said there is no need to take the name of the village which you had left. Azad, 73, ended his over five-decade long association with Congress on August 26 and exactly after a month launched his own party here. "There is no need to take the name of the village which you have left. Let them see and bear. We have suffered a lot, let others go through it now," Azad told reporters here on being asked about the Rajasthan development during the launch of his new party. The political drama in Rajasthan over leadership change continued on Monday with MLAs loyal to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot remaining non-committal on holding a meeting with Congress observers, who are likely to return to Delhi to apprise the high command about the developments. Sachin Pilot, who is seen to be the main contender for the chief minister's post if

High command sends team to resolve Ashok Gehlot-Sachin Pilot standoff

Protesting MLAs demand that no one from the Pilot camp should be appointed CM

Kamal Nath called to Delhi amid Rajasthan crisis; may meet Sonia: Report

The Congress high command has summoned senior leader Kamal Nath to Delhi and he is likely to meet party chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday, sources said. The visit of Kamal Nath, the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee chief, to Delhi comes amid a political drama in Rajasthan over leadership change following Ashok Gehlot's announcement that he would contest the AICC president polls. Kamal Nath is known to have close ties with the Rajasthan chief minister and could be asked to broker a truce, sources said. While legislators loyal to Gehlot have been vocal about their issues, MLAs in the Sachin Pilot camp refrained from commenting. MLAs loyal to Gehlot have said they have put forth demands before the observers that any decision on the chief ministerial face should be taken after the party president election on October 19 and in consultation with Gehlot. AICC observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Rajasthan in-charge Ajay Maken, who had waited in vain for all legislators to arrive for the Congress

Parallel meeting of Gehlot loyalist MLAs amounts to indiscipline: Maken

Congress in-charge for Rajasthan Ajay Maken on Monday slammed the MLAs loyal to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for setting conditions for a party resolution, terming it a "conflict of interest", and said their decision to hold a parallel meeting amounted to indiscipline. The MLAs loyal to Gehlot had on Sunday night submitted their resignation letters over a possible move to appoint Sachin Pilot as the chief minister and also kept away from the legislature party meeting called by central party observers -- Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge. "In the 75 years of Congress history, there has never been a conditional resolution. Resolution is one-line only. Everything is told to the Congress president and then a decision is taken," Maken told reporters here before leaving for New Delhi. "Resolution should not have any conflict of interest. Those who are contesting elections and tomorrow become party president, they get to decide on the resolution and this is a conflict of interest. So,

Congress asks Gehlot to ensure 'discipline' in party amid MLAs' revolt

The Gehlot loyalists want someone from their own camp to be chosen as the next Chief Minister, instead of Pilot, who, according to them, had revolted against his own party back in 2020

LIVE: Ghulam Nabi announces new party, names it 'Democratic Azad Party'

MLAs loyal to the Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, who is set to contest for the post of Congress president, reached the assembly speaker's residence to submit their resignation on Sunday

Bharat Jodo Yatra: Cong protests with cutouts of gas cylinders in Kerala

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday attacked the BJP and the RSS over rising fuel and cooking gas prices in the country, as the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra' completed its journey through this district and concluded at Cheruthuruthy here in Kerala. Gandhi addressed a crowd of party workers after covering around 11.5 kms. He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were attacking the idea of Kerala. "What is the idea of Kerala? The people. While I am walking on these streets, people are flowing like a river on both sides. There is no Hindu, Muslim or Sikh person. They are all the same. Not a single person is disrespecting another. If a Hindu woman falls down, a Muslim or Christian brother helps her up. If a Muslim child falls down, a Hindu or Christian picks him up. This is the idea of Kerala," he said. The former Congress chief said the idea of Kerala was taught by social reformer Sree Narayana Guru. "However, the RSS comes here, talks about

Gehlot loyalists plunge Rajasthan Cong in crisis, give resignation letters

The Congress in Rajasthan plunged into a crisis Sunday as several MLAs loyal to Ashok Gehlot submitted resignation letters over a possible move to appoint Sachin Pilot as the next CM, their rebellion erupting just ahead of a Congress Legislature Party meeting. The loyalists headed to Speaker C P Joshi's home after a long meeting in the evening at minister Shanti Dhariwal's residence, saying they were resigning as MLAs. All this while, at the chief minister's home, Gehlot and Congress observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken waited for all legislators to arrive for the CLP meeting. Pilot and his supporters came but the meeting was a washout. Gehlot loyalists claimed that over 90 MLAs went to Joshi's home, but the number could not be verified independently. The Congress has 108 MLAs in the House of 200. There was no word from the Speaker's office on the resignation letters. Late at night, there were efforts by Kharge and Maken to persuade Gehlot loyalists to meet them one on one

Crisis in Rajasthan Congress as Gehlot-loyalist MLAs threaten to resign

High drama unfolded in Rajasthan Sunday evening as a group of Congress MLAs loyal to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot headed to the assembly speaker's residence to submit their resignation ahead of a legislature party meeting which was likely to pick his successor. The development suggested a worsening power struggle between the chief minister and Sachin Pilot who was tipped to be Gehlot's replacement after he declared his candidature for the Congress president's post. Congress observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken, along with Gehlot, reached the chief minister's residence where the Congress Legislature Party meeting was to be held. Pilot reached there separately. About 25 legislators were present there, sources said. However, a large group of MLAs loyal to the chief minister who held a meeting at Minister Shanti Dhariwal's residence decided to go to Speaker C P Joshi's residence to submit their resignation. "We are going to the speaker's residence in a bus and will submit our ...

Nitish Kumar calls for Congress-comprised 'main front' to oust BJP

At the rally, Nitish Kumar even called for the inclusion of the Congress as the main Opposition party. However, the rally organiser INLD and its ally SAD do not share cordial relations with Congress

Gehlot loyalists meet ahead of CLP meeting, want him to remain CM

Ahead of the Congress Legislature Party meeting on Sunday evening, MLAs considered close to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met under the leadership of Cabinet Minister Shanti Dhariwal in what is seen as a message to the high command to pick a Gehlot loyalist as his successor. Gehlot is expected to quit as the chief minister of Rajasthan if he wins the election to the post of the Congress national president, as the party has a 'one-man one-post' policy. The meeting is also seen as an attempt to thwart the possibility of senior party leader Sachin Pilot being made the next chief minister. Some participants said Gehlot's successor should be someone who was instrumental in saving the government during the political crisis in 2020 and not someone who was involved in toppling it, a veiled reference to Pilot. Gehlot and Pilot were at loggerheads for the chief minister's post soon after the Congress won the Assembly elections in December 2018. The high command then chose Gehlot as the chief .

'New generation should get chance now': Gehlot fuels leadership change buzz

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday said he has held constitutional posts for 40 years and the new generation should get a chance now, virtually admitting an imminent change of guard in the state. Gehlot, who has announced contesting for the post of Congress president, made the remarks during to a visit to Jaisalmer to offer prayer at the Tanot Mata Temple, in an indication that the Congress may choose Sachin Pilot as his successor in the state. Later in the day, a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party is scheduled to be held at his residence in Jaipur. "I have said it earlier as well. No post is important to me. I am doing politics for last 50 years. I have remained on some constitutional post or other for 40 years. What more I can get and want. So, it is in my mind that the new generation should get a chance and we all will together give a leadership in the country," Gehlot told reporters in Jaisalmer. Gehlot said the media reported that he did not want to leave t