Page 92 - Congress

Will long-delayed census be used for allocation of seats in LS: Congress

The Congress on Monday asked whether the long-delayed census would be used for allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha and said the success of South Indian states in family planning should not end up reducing their political representation in Parliament. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the South Indian states should not be be penalised for their success in family planning and suitable formulae should be worked out to ensure that this does not happen. He said South Indian states were pioneers in family planning. First to reach replacement levels of fertility was Kerala in 1988, followed by Tamil Nadu in 1993, Andhra Pradesh in 2001 and Karnataka in 2005, he pointed out. However, there have been concerns voiced for quite some time now that these successes could end up reducing the political representation of these states in Parliament, Ramesh said. "That is why in 2001 the Vajpayee Govt amended the Constitution (Article 82) to make the readjustmen

Act of violence won't deter India in building projects in J-K: Cong

The Congress on Monday condemned the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal and said this "inhumane and despicable act" of targeted violence will not deter India in building key infrastructure projects in Jammu and Kashmir. A doctor and six labourers were killed when terrorists struck a tunnel-construction site on the Srinagar-Leh national highway in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district on Sunday, officials said. The unidentified terrorists carried out the attack when the labourers and other staff working on the tunnel project at Gund in Ganderbal had returned to their camp late in the evening, the officials said. In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "We strongly condemn the cowardly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal where several construction workers and a doctor have been killed." "This inhumane and despicable act of targeted violence shall not deter India in building key infrastructure projects in Jammu and Kashmir. As a nation, we a

Cong announces candidates for Assam, Madhya Pradesh Assembly bypolls

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge approved the proposals to nominate candidates for two assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh and four seats in Assam

Critics frown at freebies by Mahayuti but states' finances remain robust

Mahayuti govt faces scrutiny as schemes like Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana strain fiscal resources amid rising unemployment and prices of food items

Highlights: BJP releases first list for Maharashtra polls; fields Fadnavis from Nagpur South West

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Wayanad just second seat for Gandhi family, alleges NDA candidate

The NDA candidate for Wayanad Lok Sabha polls, Navya Haridas, on Sunday said the Gandhi family is considering the hill constituency as a mere "choice" or "second" seat" and people of the segment have realised this now. A two-time councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation, Haridas said what the voters of Wayanad want is a leader who stands up for them and resolves their problems. Addressing reporters in Kozhikode, the young leader said, as far as India is concerned, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is not a new face, but for Wayanad, she is a newcomer. "Priyanka is coming as a representative of the Gandhi family who had failed to raise the issues of Wayanad in the Parliament," she alleged. A techie-turned politician, Haridas, further criticised the Congress party for giving seats to Gandhi family members. She said people of Wayanad had given a mandate to Rahul Gandhi with the belief that he would be with them for the next five years. But when he got a chance to keep Raebareli, the Gandhi scion

Congress hits out at CM Vijayan over silence on Kannur ADM's death

The opposition Congress in Kerala has slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by questioning his silence on the alleged suicide of former Kannur ADM Naveen Babu following corruption allegations levelled against him by CPI(M) leader P P Divya. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan both questioned why the CM was silent on the matter as he did not even convey his condolences to the bereaved family. Terming Babu as an honest and good officer, Sudhakaran alleged that the government was dragging its feet on investigating the matter. Similar allegations were made by Satheesan who claimed that Vijayan and his office were trying to save the culprits behind the alleged suicide of Babu. He also contended that the CPI(M) created a fake document to show Babu was corrupt and save Divya, the former Kannur District Panchayat President. Satheesan also sought to know why District Collector Arun K Vijayan kept silent

RJD expresses disappointment over seats offered in J'khand by Cong, JMM

Fissures surfaced among INDIA bloc partners ahead of the Jharkhand assembly elections as the RJD on Saturday expressed disappointment over the announcement of JMM and Congress contesting 70 of 81 seats in the state. The RJD said the decision on seat sharing by the two INDIA bloc constituents was "unilateral". It also made it clear that "all options were open" to the party. The assembly polls will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20 and counting will take place on November 23. "We express our disappointment over the offer of seats to us. The decision is unilateral," Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) spokesperson Manoj Kumar Jha said. Earlier in the day, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced that the JMM and the Congress would contest 70 seats in the upcoming assembly elections. Jha claimed, "We were not consulted. All options are open to us." He said that the RJD has identified "at least 15 to 18 seats" in Jharkhand where it has the potential to defeat the BJP on its .

Modi govt anti-farmer, adequate procurement not happening: Congress

The Congress on Saturday accused the Narendra Modi government of being "anti-farmer" and alleged that neither is adequate procurement being done nor are farmers getting fair price for their produce. AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh, in a post of X, alleged that the policies of the "non-biological prime minister" have been anti-farmer since he assumed power in 2014. "Neither is adequate procurement taking place nor are farmers getting fair prices, nor is there any legal guarantee of MSP (minimum support price)," Ramesh said, alleging that the "deception, fraud and cheating" done by this government with the farmers stand exposed. Congress' media coordinator Abhay Dubey alleged that the way the Modi government has "mistreated" farmers in the last 10 years, this has made it clear that "Narendra Modi is anti-farmer". "Our demand -- farmers should get legal guarantee of MSP. The support price for soybean crops of farmers of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh should be fixed at least at R

Cong's Manish Tewari urges parliamentary oversight of intelligence agencies

Congress leader Manish Tewari has favoured the regulation of Indian intelligence agencies through parliamentary oversight, remarks that come in the backdrop of the recent allegations emanating from the US and Canada. The Lok Sabha MP from Chandigarh has already submitted a private bill in this regard and also called for a National Intelligence Tribunal to investigate complaints against these agencies. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went public this week with allegations that Indian diplomats were targeting Sikh separatists in Canada by sharing information about them with their government back home. The relations between India and Canada came under severe strain following Prime Minister Trudeau's allegations in September last year of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India, in Canada. India has rejected the charges as absurd and denied any involvement of its ...

If Sanjay Raut is controlling Uddhav, that's their issue: Maha Cong chief

Patole also said that Sanjay Raut was the leader of Uddhav Thackeray and Patole's leaders were Malikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi and the leader of NCP (SCP) was Sharad Pawar

Cong's Chennithala meets Uddhav amid seat-sharing issues, downplays visit

Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala met Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday amid a stalemate among Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents over seat-sharing for the upcoming Maharastra polls. The AICC in-charge, however, downplayed the visit, saying he met Thackeray to inquire about his health. The MVA and the ruling Mahayuti are yet to declare their much-awaited seat-sharing pact. The elections to the 288-member state assembly will be held on November 20, and votes will be counted on November 23. Earlier on Friday, MPCC president Patole said there was a stalemate in the MVA over 25 to 30 assembly seats and maintained the party's state unit would abide by any decision its high command takes. Speaking to reporters after the meeting at Thackeray's residence 'Matoshree' in Bandra, Chennithala downplayed his visit, saying he had come to meet Thackeray to inquire about his health as the Sena (UBT) leader had been hospitalised a few days ago. Chennithala was accompanied by ..

Sena (UBT), NCP (SP) conclude seat-sharing talks as issues resolved: Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said the seat-sharing talks between his party and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) have concluded as these two parties are driven by a desire and mindset to resolve issues. His remark is apparently targeted at the third Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partner Congress again, a day after he expressed disappointment over the delay in the seat-sharing talks in the alliance and accused the Maharashtra Congress leaders of being incapable of making decisions. Talking to reporters, Raut said the current national politics is being driven by regional parties and his party's stand is that they must get space in their respective states. He said Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of the country with the help of regional parties like Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) (JD-U). There is a majority of regional parties in the INDIA bloc, he added. The Rajya Sabha member also said that Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav spoke to Shiv Sena

Updates: Interest rate cut at this stage will be premature and very very risky, says RBI Governor

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Maharashtra polls: UBT Shiv Sena's Bandra (E) candidate choice upsets Cong

Maharashtra Assembly polls: Maharashtra is set to hold its Assembly elections in a single phase on November 20, with the vote counting taking place on November 23

Pralhad Joshi's brother, sister booked; Congress demands dismissal

The Bengaluru police have filed an FIR against Union Minister Pralhad Joshi's brother and sister based on a complaint of cheating lodged by a former JD(S) MLA's wife. His brother Gopal Joshi and sister Vijayalakshmi were booked by Basaweshwaranagar police. Gopal's son Ajay Joshi has also been named in the FIR, police sources said on Friday. The complaint was filed by Sunita Chavan, wife of former Nagthana MLA Devavand Phool Singh Chavan, who lost the 2023 Assembly election. She alleged that Gopal promised her to get a ticket to contest the May Lok Sabha elections when she approached him at his Hubballi residence in north Karnataka in March and later delivered Rs 25 lakh at Vijayalakshmi's house at Basaveshwaranagar here on his instruction. When she did not get a ticket, Sunita alleged, she again approached Gopal, who told her that he was about to get a Rs 200 crore project and he would return her amount. He asked her to pay him Rs 1.75 crore, which she did, the complainant ...

Mahayuti govt favoured firms in return for campaign finance donations: Cong

The Congress on Friday alleged that the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra privileged certain companies in infra tenders in return for campaign finance donations, costing the taxpayer at least Rs 10,903 crore. The opposition party asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will be made answerable on this. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Mahayuti Sarkar in Maharashtra privileged certain companies in infra tenders in return for campaign finance donations, costing the taxpayer at least Rs 10,903 crore. He said this was akin to "pre-paid chanda, post-paid dhandha". Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "The entire nation is aware that BJP brought the Electoral Bonds Scheme to tunnel funds. We have time and again highlighted how certain firms who donated to the BJP through the illegal and unconstitutional Electoral Bonds Scheme were given hug

Omar Abdullah-led J&K Cabinet passes resolution to restore statehood

The National Conference, having won 42 seats in the recent J&K Assembly elections, drafted the resolution, which Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will present to Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi

News updates: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu confirms death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar

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Don't politicise issue, family needs justice, says Baba Siddique's MLA son

Congress MLA Zeeshan Siddique on Thursday said the killing of his father and NCP leader Baba Siddique should not be politicised and asserted his family needs justice. Baba Siddique (66) was shot at in Nirmal Nagar in Mumbai's Bandra area on October 12 by three persons. He succumbed to injuries at nearby Lilavati Hospital soon after. In a post on X, Zeeshan Siddique said his father lost his life protecting and saving the lives and homes of poor innocent people. "Today, my family is broken but his death must not be politicised and definitely not go in vain. I NEED JUSTICE, MY FAMILY NEEDS JUSTICE!" the Bandra East MLA said in his social media post. Baba Siddique, a former state minister, had joined the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party from the Congress recently.