Page 389 - Congress

'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

Ghulam Nabi Azad reaches Jammu; likely to launch his party next week

Veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who ended his more than five-decade-long association with the Congress last month, is likely to launch his party in the next couple of days. "I am inviting the media tomorrow (Monday) before the launch of the party. I am here to meet workers and leaders," Azad told reporters in a brief interaction at his residence here upon his arrival from Delhi. A close aide of the former J&K chief minister has confirmed the news. "He is having two back to back separate meetings with senior and second rung leaders later today," he said, adding Azad is visiting Srinagar on September 27. He said the name and the flag of the new party have been finalised and it is now a matter of a day or two before the new party becomes a reality on the political landscape of Jammu and Kashmir. Azad, 73, quit Congress on August 26, terming the party "comprehensively destroyed". He also lashed out at Rahul Gandhi for "demolishing" the party's entire consultative ...

Congress pushes to make 'corruption' a key political narrative in Karnataka

In poll-bound Karnataka, the Congress has mounted an aggressive pitch with the 'PayCM' QR code campaign seeking to put the ruling BJP on the mat as it pushes to make corruption a central theme of the state's political narrative. The campaign targeting Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has rattled the BJP which is preparing to launch a similar offensive against the Congress. Bommai has termed the campaign as 'dirty politics' of the Congress in Karnataka, where Assembly elections are due in about seven months. "The Congress is under illusion that it can come to power through its dirty politics of misleading people. This will never be possible in Karnataka," the Chief Minister said. According to a BJP insider, the party is planning a QR code campaign of vast scale to counter the Congress and expose its "wrongdoings in the past". The BJP was taken by surprise as the Congress-sponsored 'PayCM' posters dotted many public walls in prime areas of the city last week. Resembling payment plat

Senior Congress leader, eight-time legislator Aryadan Mohammed dies

Senior Congress leader and eight-time legislator Aryadan Mohammed died here on Sunday, his family said. The 87-year-old Mohammed, a three-time minister, was undergoing treatment at a private hospital here for the past one week. He represented Nilambur constituency eight times from 1977 to 2011. Mohammed was a minister in the first E K Nayanar ministry. He also became a minister in the A K Antony cabinet and the Oommen Chandy government. "The body will be taken to Nilambur Sunday where the public can pay respects. He was admitted in the ICU for the past one week," his son Aryadan Shoukath reporters. The funeral will be held on Monday at 9 AM, he said.

Congress party prepares for first non-Gandhi president after 1998

The coming week Congress leaders will be filing nomination papers for the presidential poll

Manoj Yadav appointed AICC Joint Secretary, in-charge of J-K, Ladakh

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday appointed Manoj Yadav as Joint Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) with immediate effect.Along with this, he has been made Congress in-charge in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh."Congress President has appointed Manoj Yadav as Joint Secretary, AICC, attached to the AICC-in-charge of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh with immediate effect," AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said in a statement.Ghulam Nabi Azad left Congress on August 26. Earlier, Azad declined to accept the post of chairman of the Congress's campaign committee and a member of the political affairs committee in the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit.Earlier on Saturday, the filing of nominations for the post of Congress president began with a contest between Ashok Gehlot and former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor on the cards.The nominations will be filed till September 30 and results declaring the new Congress chief will be announced on October 19.This ...

CLP meeting at CM Gehlot's residence today amid leadership change buzz

The Congress has called a meeting of its legislature party in Rajasthan at Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's Jaipur residence at 7 pm on Sunday, amid the leadership change buzz following the announcement that he will contest the party president poll. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has appointed Mallikarjun Kharge as observer along with general secretary in-charge Rajasthan Ajay Maken. They will attend the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, AICC general secretary organisation K C Venugopal said on Saturday. Earlier in the day, Maken met Sonia Gandhi and discussed issues related to Rajasthan in detail. This is the second CLP meeting within a week. The last meeting was held on September 20. Sources said the leadership of the government going forward, if Gehlot is elected as party chief, is likely to be on the meeting agenda. Gehlot became the first person to announce his candidature for the AICC presidential poll on Friday and said for

Bharat Jodo Yatra will provide oxygen to Congress: Jairam Ramesh

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party's ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra will provide much-needed oxygen to the party

Amid Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra, JP Nadda to visit Kerala for 2 days

BJP national President JP Nadda will in Kerala on a two-day visit starting today

BJP spreading hate, violence to distract people from major issues: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the rise in fuel and cooking gas prices in the country, and said the BJP and RSS were spreading hate and violence to distract the people from such burning issues. Addressing a massive crowd at the famed Thekkinkadu ground here as part of concluding the evening leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra for the day, Gandhi said the Government of India was running in the interest of five or six of the richest people in the country. Gandhi said the Prime Minister was asking what the Congress has done for the country in the last 70 years. "Mr Narendra Modi, we never gave India the level of unemployment that you have given it. We never gave India the highest prices for essential items ever. The gas cylinder used to cost Rs 400 when the UPA government was in power. The Prime Minister went on complaining about the Rs 400 for gas cylinders. But today he doesn't say a word about Rs 1,000 for gas ...

LIVE news updates: India committed to strengthen ties with UN, says EAM

Live news updates: The world in our view is one family today, said EAM Dr S Jasihankar

Congress slams Delhi govt's education model, terms it model of fraud

The Congress on Saturday alleged the education model being promoted by the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi is a "model of fraud" and, if applied in other states, the entire education system will be "ruined". Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit said it is important to expose the "so-called education model" of the Aam Aadmi Party, so that the education system running in other states does not get ruined by their "bluff". "This is not a model of education, but a model of fraud, a model of modeling," the former MP alleged. Citing statistics, Dikshit also claimed if Kejriwal's "so-called education model" is adopted in other states, the entire education system will be ruined. Dikshit said when the Congress government was formed in Delhi in 1998, 64 per cent of the children of class 12 used to pass in government schools. In 2013-14, when the Congress went out of power, 89 percent of the children passed, he said at a press conference at the AICC headquarters here. "Now 96 percent of .

BJP and RSS are nervous due to Bharat Jodo Yatra, says Jairam Ramesh

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday claimed that Rahul Gandhi's ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' has made the BJP and RSS nervous and forced the RSS chief to reach out to various sections of society. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat visited a mosque in Delhi two days ago. "Both BJP and RSS are nervous ever since Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra commenced. Bhagwat is also meeting people from different walks of life. This is the effect of our initiative," said Ramesh, Congress's general secretary in-charge of communication, at a press conference here. Bhagwat earlier this week also held discussions with the chief of the All India Imam Organisation, Umer Ahmed Ilyasi. "Bhagwat's visit was nothing but a publicity stunt. Though he visited the mosque, his intentions were not good. This was just pretence, because he remains silent on real issues," Ramesh said. When asked why Rahul Gandhi's Yatra (foot-march) across India would not pass through the BJP-ruled Gujarat wher

Shashi Tharoor gets nomination form collected, likely to file on Sep 30

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday got the nomination form for the AICC presidential poll collected from the party headquarters here with sources saying he is likely to file his papers on September 30. Tharoor's close aide Aalim Javeri collected the forms from the office of the party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry on the first day of the start of the nomination process, all but confirming an electoral face-off for the top party post with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The nomination form is likely to be filed by Tharoor on the last day of the nomination process on September 30 as the idea is to collect nomination-endorsing signatures from across the country, sources told PTI. A total of 10 Pradesh Congress Committee delegates are needed to endorse a candidate. After over two decades, the Congress is set to see a contest for the post of party chief with Gehlot, who has announced his candidature, expected to take on Tharoor. Tharoor on

Congress will not retain its Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, says CM Vijayan

The Congress will not be able to retain the Lok Sabha seats it had won during the 2019 Parliamentary elections in the state as MPs including, Rahul Gandhi, have 'failed' to resist the BJP in the national polity, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said. The Chief Minister also taunted the Congress party over the inclusion of V D Savarkar's photo among the 20 Indian freedom fighters in a banner erected for welcoming the ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' led by Rahul Gandhi. Addressing a massive crowd here as part of the 50th Martyrdom day of Left leader Azheekodan Raghavan, Vijayan said that people of his state have realised that electing Gandhi to Lok Sabha from Kerala was a mistake. "When Rahul Gandhi contested here, our people thought that he was going to become the Prime Minister. But the people now know that it was a mistake. That trick of the Congress will not work here again. The UDF MPs from Kerala are not even resisting the BJP at the national level. They failed to raise an

PayCM row: Karnataka CM Bommai says Congress is playing dirty politics

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday accused the opposition Congress of playing "dirty politics" in connection with its PayCM campaign in the state

Ashok Gehlot announces his candidature for AICC presidential polls

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot became the first person to announce his candidature for the AICC presidential poll on Friday, a day before the nomination process begins, and said Rahul Gandhi has told him that no one from the Gandhi family should become the next party chief. He also said the call on his successor to head the Rajasthan government will be taken by the party's interim president, Sonia Gandhi, and the Congress's Rajasthan in-charge, Ajay Maken. Gehlot's remarks came a day after former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi batted for the "one-man, one-post" concept in the party, in line with the Chintan Shivir reforms earlier this year. With Shashi Tharoor likely to be the second contender and the names of several others also doing the rounds for joining the fray, Gehlot said the aim should be that all Congress members work together after the poll to strengthen the party. Talking to reporters in Kochi, the 71-year-old leader said, "I will fix the date (to submit the nominat

Govt should compensate farmers for damage caused by rainfall: Hooda

Senior Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda demanded on Friday that the state government pay compensation to farmers whose crops were damaged due to incessant rain in the past two days. "Every farmer has suffered a loss of thousands of rupees due to the destruction of standing paddy crop. Due to waterlogging, all crops, including paddy, have been damaged. In such a situation, the government should immediately get the 'girdawari' (survey) done and give compensation to the farmers, he said. Hooda said the rain has exposed the government's claims of development. "Today everything from the farmer's field to the modern city of Gurugram is submerged. Farmers and common people are feeling helpless. The government should make arrangements for drainage at the earliest, he stated. Hooda said farmers had suffered losses due to bad weather earlier as well. "But till now they have not been compensated for the damage caused due to heavy rains, hailstorm and ..

DMK is playing petty politics, not following cooperative federalism: Nadda

BJP national chief J P Nadda on Friday mounted a scathing attack on the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu accusing it of indulging in petty politics, legitimising corruption and not working in the spirit of cooperative federalism. It was a sorry state of affairs that the leaders of this Dravidian party are playing the blame game whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and his BJP believed in development and upliftment of all sections of people, he claimed. The BJP chief lashed out at DMK's ally, the Congress, saying the party which has been representing Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency (now represented by Karti P Chidambaram) for long, has done precious little for development. Addressing reporters here, Nadda said people from different political parties besides large number of women, youth and from other sections were joining the BJP in support of pro-development policies of the Prime Minister who has a special place in his heart for Tamil Nadu. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi belie

Congress intensifies PayCM campaign in Karnataka, party stalwart arrested

The Congress on Friday intensified its campaign targeting Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai with the top party leaders putting up 'PayCM posters' at public places ignoring state government's direction to investigate the matter. The Chief Minister hit back saying that the Congress has no moral right to speak about corruption. Former chief minister Siddaramaiah, state Congress chief D K Shivakumar, All India Congress Committee general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala and several senior MLAs and others participated in the campaign. They put up the PayCM poster on the Race Course wall in the city opposite the Volvo office. Later, the Congress leaders were arrested and the posters were removed from the public place. Congress leaders such as B K Hariprasad and others pasted the posters on the bus which police had brought to take away the leaders to the police station. The Congress state chief Shivakumar alleged the police did not take action against th