Page 10 - Indian National Congress

Congress demands MSP for tomato as prices plummet in Madhya Pradesh

The Congress on Friday demanded that the Madhya Pradesh government declare a minimum support price (MSP) for tomato as the wholesale price of the kitchen staple has fallen to as low as Rs 3 per kg. "The Centre and state government talk about doubling the income of farmers, but the wholesale price of tomato in Chhatarpur market has fallen to Rs 3 per kg," Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jeetu Patwari said here. Farmers are unable to recover even their production cost, and some have been forced to stop irrigating the crop in the fields to save on costs, he claimed, adding that in some places, farmers are feeding their crop to cattle. The BJP government in the state should declare an MSP and open procurement centers in every district, Patwari demanded. He also sought a relief package for farmers who are in trouble due to the fall in tomato prices. Experts blamed the price crash on the arrival of excess crop in wholesale markets, saying the cultivation of tomato is proving to be a ...

Kapil Sibal urges PM Modi to pass resolution to express national sentiment

Sibal further suggested sending a delegation of ruling and Opposition MPS to countries such as Africa, the US, Europe, and other countries to raise awareness about the situation

'Cowardly' Pahalgam attack by Pakistan a direct assault on republic: CWC

The Congress on Thursday said the "cowardly" Pahalgam attack has been masterminded by Pakistan and is a direct assault on the "values of our republic", even as it accused the BJP of exploiting the tragedy to promote discord and polarisation at a time when unity is most needed. The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party, adopted a resolution expressing its deepest shock and condemnation of the heinous terrorist attack, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent tourists and left more than 20 others grievously injured. "The Congress Working Committee extends its deepest condolences to the bereaved families. It stands with them wholeheartedly in this moment of profound anguish. "This cowardly and calculated act of terror, masterminded by Pakistan, is a direct assault on the values of our republic. The deliberate targeting of Hindus was done to inflame passions across the country," the party's resolution said. "We appeal for calm in the face of this

Pahalgam attack: Congress holds emergency CWC meet, pays tribute to victims

Top Congress leaders on Thursday held an emergency meeting of the party's working committee to deliberate on the Pahalgam terror attack and are expected to pass a resolution condemning it. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, general secretaries K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among others, attended the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting here at the party's 24, Akbar Road office. The meeting started with leaders paying homage to the victims of the attack by observing a moment of silence in their memory. Rahul Gandhi had cut short his visit to the United States to attend the CWC meeting. The Congress is expecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be chairing an all-party meeting on the attack later this evening, to take all political parties into confidence as well as build a collective resolve. Earlier, Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had spoken with Home Minister Amit Shah, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minist

Rahul Gandhi returns to Delhi, cuts short US visit after Pahalgam attack

As many as least 26 people were killed in the dastardly attack by terrorists on tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday

J&K terror attack: Cong seeks govt accountability, calls for all-party meet

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday condemned the terror attack on innocent tourists in Pahalgam, saying it is a blot on humanity. He also said the country's national security is paramount and urged the central government to take corrective measures. "I strongly condemn the cowardly terror attack on innocent tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir. The entire nation is united in fighting the scourge of cross-border terrorism. "These dastardly targeted attacks are a blot on humanity. News reports indicate that precious lives have been lost. On behalf of the Congress party, my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims. Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured," the Congress president said in a post on X. "India's National Security is paramount and we urge the GOI to take corrective measures to ensure the same," Kharge said. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also denounced the attack as a highly condemnable and shameful act, and said the ...

Cong accuses Mahayuti of spending ₹150 cr on cabinet meet; govt cites error

Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the ruling Mahayuti coalition, accusing it of spending a whopping Rs 150 crore on preparations for a cabinet meeting in Ahilyanagar district. The BJP-led government, however, clarified it had given an advertisement for a tender of works worth Rs 1.5 crore for the proposed cabinet meeting, but the amount was published "incorrectly" as Rs 150 crore. In a post on X, Sapkal attached a tender notice published in newspapers stating that Rs 150 crore will be spent on mandaps (a temporary platform), staging, green rooms, toilets, barricading, sound, air conditioners, electricity, fire brigade and CCTV set up for the meeting. The notice states an e-tender will be floated on April 24. A cabinet meeting is scheduled on April 29 in Chondi, the birthplace of the legendary 18th century Malwa queen Ahilyabai Holkar, whose 300th birth anniversary year is being observed. Last year, the western Maharashtra .

Former Congress MLA Sangram Thopte joins BJP with supporters in Pune

Former Congress MLA Sangram Thopte on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with his supporters from Bhor taluka in Pune district. Maharashtra BJP chief and state Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and the party's working president Ravindra Chavan welcomed Thopte into the fold. Thopte, who had represented the Bhor constituency in Pune district three times, was defeated by NCP candidate Shankar Mandekar in the 2024 assembly polls. His family is rooted in Congress tradition. Thopte is the son of party veteran Anantrao Thopte, who had represented Bhor six times and was an archrival of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar. Thopte resigned from the party last week. Speaking on the occasion, Thopte said, "I was a hardcore Congressman. I worked for the party and the Maha Vikas Aghadi. But my work and loyalty weren't recognised. My father and I struggled for the party to ensure the Congress ideology reaches the grassroots." He said he had been a Congress loyalist, but the party f

'Election Commission in India compromised': LoP Rahul Gandhi in Boston

Rahul Gandhi is currently on a US tour where he addressed the Indian diaspora in Boston. He will also address a gathering at Brown University on Monday

Cong to hold pressers in 57 cities to counter BJP on National Herald case

Top Congress leaders will fan out across the country to hold press conferences between April 21 and 24 to "expose the BJP's lies" in the National Herald case, its media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said on Sunday. He described the National Herald publication as a "living monument of the freedom struggle". The opposition party has been ramping up efforts to blunt the BJP's mounting attack against it in the wake of the Enforcement Directorate naming former Congress chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in its chargesheet in the National Herald case of alleged money laundering. Congress workers across the country held protests over the issue in the past week. Its general secretaries and in-charges in various states met in Delhi on Saturday to chalk out strategy to counter the "politically motivated" charges. Asserting that no crime has been committed by the Congress leadership in the case, the party said on Saturday that it would hold press conferences across the country f

Cong seeks special Parliament session, white paper on inflation rise

The Congress on Tuesday targeted the Centre over the hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel and the rise in LPG cylinder prices, demanding the government call a special session of Parliament to discuss inflation and issue a 'white paper' on the matter. Its women's wing chief Alka Lamba urged the government to immediately reduce the prices of LPG, petrol and diesel, bring a strict policy to tame the prices of essential commodities and announce a special relief package for women and the poor. "The government has turned its back on inflation. Their only goal is to fill the coffers of the government and private companies. The common person of the country is bearing the brunt of this inflation," she said at a press conference here. Lamba also compared the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) dispensation and the Narendra Modi government. "In 2014, the price of petrol was Rs 72 per litre. But today, it is Rs 98 to Rs 100 per litre. In the Congres

100% smells of revenge: Warring questions Punjab govt's FIR against Bajwa

Punjab LoP Partap Singh Bajwa under fire for claiming 50 bombs have reached the state, with 18 already exploded and 32 yet to go off

Tejashwi arrives in Delhi for meeting Cong prez Kharge over Bihar polls

With the Bihar Assembly elections expected to take place in roughly six months, all the political parties have ramped up preparations

Cong turned SCs, STs, OBCs to second-class citizens: PM on Ambedkar Jayanti

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Congress on the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar, accusing the party of turning Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs into "second-class citizens" while in power. Addressing a gathering after flagging off the first commercial flight from the Maharaja Agrasen airport here to Ayodhya and laying the foundation stone of a new terminal building at the airport, he alleged the Congress has become the destroyer of the Constitution framed by Ambedkar. The Congress "crushed" the Constitution whenever its government faced danger, Modi alleged and pointed to the 1975-77 Emergency to reinforce his claim. "The spirit of the Constitution is to have a uniform civil code, which I call a secular civil code. But the Congress never implemented it." He referred to the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code by the BJP government in Uttarakhand to say, "See the misfortune of this country. Those who carry a copy of the ...

Cong files police complaint over BJP leader's threat to MLA Mamkootathil

The row over naming a skill development centre for disabled persons after RSS founder K B Hedgewar has escalated with the Congress on Saturday lodging a complaint with the police against BJP's Palakkad district president over his allegedly threatening remarks against MLA Rahul Mamkootathil a day ago. The Congress, Youth Congress and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activists had on Friday disrupted the skill development centre's foundation stone laying ceremony organised by the BJP-ruled Palakkad municipality. Following the disruption, the saffron party's district president Prasanth Sivan, on the same day, said Palakkad MLA Mamkootathil will not be allowed to set foot in the district. It is against this remark that the Congress has given a complaint to the police, a party source said. Responding to reporters' queries regarding the BJP leader's remarks, Mamkootathil on Saturday said as long as he has legs, he will stand firmly on them to speak against the RSS. "If they c

Congress must talk about status of INDIA bloc, says Shiv Sena (UBT)

The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday said the Congress must talk about the status of the INDIA bloc and should have addressed questions about the opposition alliance in the party's recent meeting in Ahmedabad. In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Sena (UBT) pointed out that the Congress only spoke about itself in the Ahmedabad meet, and INDIA or Bharat was nowhere in the discussion. "Questions are being raised about where the INDIA bloc stands after the Lok Sabha election. The Congress needed to address this in its Ahmedabad session," the editorial said. "What happened to the alliance? Did it get buried in the ground or vanish into thin air? The responsibility to answer this question lies with the Congress president," it said. The Congress held its session on April 8-9 in Gujarat, where it has been out of power for two decades. Senior Congress leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, addressed party workers. The Sena

BJP's Bhandari accuses Cong of pro-terror stance after Rana's extradition

BJP leader Pradeep Bhandari said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's close aide, Kanhaiya, mocked the development, which he claimed exposes the party's sympathies towards those accused of terrorism

Rahul vows to 'break the wall of 50% reservation'; slams PM over US tariffs

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the Waqf (Amendment) Act is anti-Constitution and an attack on the freedom of religion, as he warned that the BJP-RSS will soon go after the rights of other minorities such as Christians and Sikhs. Addressing the AICC session on the banks of the Sabarmati river, Gandhi also said that an economic storm is approaching and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of succumbing to pressure from US President Donald Trump on the imposition of tariffs. Did you see the photograph of PM Modi hugging Trump? This time he ordered Modi ji that we will not hug but will impose new tariffs'. PM Modi did not say a word. To divert attention from this they ran a drama in Parliament for two days, he said, adding, Where is the PM hiding? Referring to PM Modi's recent meeting with Bangladesh's Chief Advisor Mohammad Yunus, Gandhi said the Bangladeshi leader "gives adverse remarks and he is sitting with him". Where is the 56-inch chest, Gandhi asked in a swipe a

Kharge alleges EVM fraud, demands return to ballot paper in elections

Alleging that the BJP won the Maharashtra assembly polls through a fraud like never before, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday made a strong pitch for having elections on ballot paper. Addressing the AICC session here, Kharge also accused the Modi government of selling off government assets to benefit crony capitalists and finishing democracy slowly. The whole world is moving from EVMs to ballot paper but we are using EVMs. This is all fraud. They ask us to prove it. You have devised such techniques that benefit the ruling party and put the opposition at a disadvantage, Kharge said. But the youngsters of this country will rise and say we want ballot paper, he said in his inaugural address at the session being held here on the banks of the Sabarmati river. What happened in Maharashtra. We raised the issue everywhere, Rahul Gandhi raised the issue strongly. What kind of voter list they madeMaharashtra election was a fraud. The same thing happened in Haryana, the Congr

Rahul Gandhi joins 'Palayan roko, naukri do' padyatra in Bihar's Begusarai

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that he would visit Begusarai in Bihar, where he would hold the Yatra