Page 50 - Congress

Trump signs bill funding government for 6 months, avoiding shutdown

President Donald Trump has signed into law legislation funding the government through the end of September, ending the threat of a partial government shutdown and capping off a struggle in Congress that deeply divided Democrats. Harrison Fields, White House principal deputy press secretary, said in a post on X that Trump signed the continuing resolution Saturday. The bill largely keeps government funding at levels set during Joe Biden's presidency, though with changes. It trims non-defence spending by about USD 13 billion from the previous year and increases defence spending by about USD 6 billion, which are marginal changes when talking about a topline spending level of nearly USD 1.7 trillion. The Senate cleared the legislation on Friday in a 54-46 party line vote, with 10 members of the Senate Democratic caucus helping the bill advance to passage despite opposition from within their party most vocally from colleagues in the House, who exhorted them to reject the bill out of ...

Assam Congress leader held for post; CM Himanta backs police action

Assam Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh was arrested on Saturday for a social media post enquiring about the status of cases against three senior BJP leaders, including two serving MLAs one of whom is a former state party chief. He was arrested at his home in Guwahati by a team from Lakhimpur district police, with assistance from Guwahati Police. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also holds the Home portfolio, in a post on X said the case pertains to a caste-based insult directed at a Dalit woman. Sarma responded to criticism from Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, asserting, "If you justify calling the husband of a Dalit woman a rapist as a 'perfectly reasonable' social media post, it speaks volumes about the direction in which you people have taken the Congress party." "But, just waitthe big revelation is yet to come - The nexus of your senior leader with ISI and Pakistan will be exposed by September," Sarma added, referring to the police case against Pakistani ...

Telangana CM slams KCR for atteending assembly only twice in 15 months

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday criticised opposition BRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao for attending assembly sessions only twice in the past 15 months and challenged him to a debate on the loss suffered by the state in utilising Krishna waters. In a marathon reply to the motion of thanks to the Governor's address to the legislature, he said since December 2023, when the Congress government assumed office, Rao had drawn a salary of over Rs 57 lakh as an MLA and opposition leader. "The opposition leader, who takes a government salary, has left the people to their fate," he said. Revanth Reddy also criticised the BRS for objecting to his frequent visits to Delhi and stated that he believes in maintaining cordial relations between the Centre and the states, as envisaged in the Constitution. "The Centre is a union of states, and the country's Prime Minister is indeed like an elder brother to any Chief Minister," he said. Reddy stated that his visits to Delhi are aim

Cong flagging threats to economy, when will PM listen: Jairam Ramesh

The Congress on Saturday said it has flagged a decade-long real income stagnation, a consumption boom entirely driven by the expansion of credit and deepening inequality as the three threats to the economy, and wondered what will it take for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hear them. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh cited the remarks of Chief Investment Officer of Marcellus Investments, Saurabh Mukherjea, to press his argument. "In a podcast interview, Chief Investment Officer of Marcellus Investments, the well-known Saurabh Mukherjea has identified three threats to the Indian economy which the Congress has been flagging for months," Ramesh said in a post on X. He said Mukherjea has identified "a pernicious, decade long real income stagnation for the majority of India's working people" and a "consumption boom which is entirely driven by the expansion of credit and is therefore highly unsustainable". The Congress leader said that Mukherjea had also .

Congress didn't allow peace in Assam, PM Modi restored it: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday alleged that the Congress did not allow peace to prevail in Assam, but PM Narendra Modi restored it, developed infrastructure and ensured employment for the youth of the northeastern state. Shah was speaking after inaugurating the revamped Lachit Barphukan Police Academy here. Over 10,000 youths have laid down arms and joined the mainstream in Assam, with peace returning to the state during the last 10 years, he said. The Narendra Modi-led government will bring in Rs 3 lakh crore infrastructure projects in Assam in addition to the Rs 5 lakh crore proposed investment at a recent business summit in the state, Shah said. Policing in Assam was earlier for fighting terrorists, but now it is people-centric, and this has led to the increase in conviction rate from 5 per cent to 25 per cent in the last three years. It will cross the national average soon, the home minister asserted. Shah, who is on a three-day visit to Assam and Mizoram, also said

Drug menace: Congress demands disbanding of SFI, targets Pinarayi Vijayan

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday alleged that SFI is mainly responsible for the widespread drug distribution and consumption in colleges and hostels in Kerala and CM Vijayan is "encouraging" them. He also demanded the disbanding of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the student organisation of ruling CPI(M). The Congress's sharp reaction came in the wake of police seizing two kilograms of ganja from the men's hostel of a Government Polytechnic College in Kalamassery in Kochi on Thursday night and arresting two students. CPI(M) strongly rejected the charges saying that there is an agenda to eliminate SFI. The incident triggered a blame game among student outfit leaders, including those from the Kerala Students Union (KSU) and the SFI, over the alleged involvement of their activists in the crime. The Congress leadership has been alleging that SFI leaders were involved in the ganja seizure case and the left outfit is playing a key role in the spread of drug

Highlights: Mark Carney sworn in as Canada's new PM as country deals with Trump's trade war

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Highlights: Tamil Nadu govt replaces ₹ symbol with Tamil symbol in state Budget documents

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Congress questions Starlink agreement, says PM Modi orchestrated deal

Elon Musk's SpaceX has entered into an agreement with telecom provider Airtel to introduce Starlink services in India. A day after Airtel, a deal was signed between Reliance's Jio Platforms and SpaceX

Rahul slams BJP over paper leaks, says students' future at risk in 6 states

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said examination paper leaks were a "systematic failure" and asserted that the "serious problem" would be eradicated only when all political parties and governments forget their differences to take strict steps together. The former Congress chief said the future of 85 lakh children in six states is at risk as paper leak has become the most dangerous "padmavyuh" for our youth. "Paper leaks put hardworking students and their families into uncertainty and stress, taking away the fruits of their hard work. It also sends the wrong message to the next generation that dishonesty can be better than hard work, which is completely unacceptable," he said in a post in Hindi on X. "It has not even been a year since the NEET paper leak shook the country.After our protest, the Modi government hid behind a new law and called it a solution, but so many recent leaks have proven that to be a failure as well," he said. This serious problem is a systematic

Highlights: BJP's mayoral candidates in the lead, party set to sweep Haryana civic polls

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Cong, DMK protest in Lok Sabha over renewable project near Indo-Pak border

Opposition members, mainly from the Congress and the DMK, on Wednesday staged a protest in the Lok Sabha over clearance granted to a renewable energy project near the India-Pakistan border and staged a walk out after "not getting a satisfactory reply" from the government. Asking a supplementary during Question Hour, Manish Tewari of the Congress said national security and energy security have to go hand in hand. He claimed the mixed renewable energy project will run up to one kilometer of the International Border (IB) and noted that as per security protocol, any big infrastructure project should be at least 10 km away from the IB. He asked whether any relaxation was granted to the proposed project. The government asserted that nods and licences to any proposal are granted after obtaining clearances from the Centre, the state and relevant agencies. New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi said the government is keen to produce renewable energy in the country. He said cleara

Highlights: Will increase tariffs on cars entering US if Canada doesn't lift tariffs, warns Trump

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'I apologise, it was about govt policies': Kharge after row in Rajya Sabha

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge apologised in Rajya Sabha, clarifying that his remark was about government policies, after BJP objected to a 'derogatory' term used in his speech

Delay in NEET-PG admissions unacceptable, why is this happening: Congress

The Congress on Tuesday hit out at the government over admissions for NEET-PG having still not been completed despite results being declared in August last year, and said the delay was "unacceptable". The opposition party questioned Union Health Minister JP Nadda over the issue. "Results of the NEET-PG exams were announced on August 23, 2024. Today is March 11, 2025 and admissions have still NOT been completed. 80,000 aspiring medical post-graduates are suffering," Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. "This delay is unacceptable @JPNadda. Why is this happening?" the Congress leader said.

LIVE news: Rajya Sabha clears Railways (Amendment) Bill 2024 by voice vote

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ED found Rs 32-33 lakh cash in my house; not a big thing: Bhupesh Baghel

Senior Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday said the ED raid at his premises was the outcome of the BJP's frustration. Baghel claimed ED found Rs 32-33 lakh cash in his house where he lives with his wife, three daughters, a son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. "It is not a big thing as I have a big family and we do farming on 140 acres and have other sources of income. We will provide its details," he said. Baghel claimed the ED hasn't found anything except some documents related to cases concerning BJP leaders. He alleged that the raids were aimed at discouraging him after he was made Congress's in-charge for Punjab. The Enforcement Directorate raided the premises of Baghel in Bhilai town of Durg district as part of a money laundering investigation against his son, Chaitanya Baghel, in the alleged liquor scam case, official sources said. The premises of an alleged close associate of Chaitanya, Laxmi Narayan Bansal alias Pappu Bansal,

Gold smuggling case: Actor Ranya Rao remanded to 14-day judicial custody

Kannada actor Ranya Rao was caught at Bengaluru airport with 14.8 kg of gold, as the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence uncovered the smuggling operation just before she cleared security

Was asked not to talk speak against RSS in Gujarat, says Digvijaya

Congress MP Digvijaya Singh has claimed he was asked not to speak against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) while campaigning in Gujarat, when he was the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, for fear of "angering Hindus". In a post on X on Sunday, Singh also hailed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's tough talk in Gujarat on Saturday about those in the party helping the ruling BJP. Addressing Congress workers in Ahmedabad on Saturday, Gandhi said the party's first job was to separate two groups of Congress workers and leaders ones who carry the party ideology in their hearts and stand with the public and the others who were cut off from the public, "half of whom are with the BJP". The Lok Sabha member had underlined the need to filter out such leaders and workers and warned of strict action, even removals. Singh congratulated Gandhi for his statement and said, "I remember when I went to Gujarat to campaign as the Chief Minister of MP, I was instructed not to speak against the RSS. Hindus

BJP and Akali Dal brought drugs to Punjab, says Minister Harpal Cheema

He further stated that over 872 FIRS had been filed in the last 1.5 weeks and about 1200 crore people had been arrested