Page 107 - Indian National Congress

'Bharat Jodo Yatra' decisive moment for country's politics: Jairam Ramesh

'Bharat Jodo Yatra' is a "booster dose" for the Congress and a "decisive and transformational moment" for the politics of the country, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said here on Friday. The 3570-km 'padyatra' is being undertaken by Rahul Gandhi from Kanyakumari to Kashmir over five-and-a-half months to galvanise Congress cadres and strengthen the organisation, giving it new energy, Ramesh along with his Rajya Sabha colleague Digvijay Singh said at a press conference. "The yatra is a booster dose for the Congress and a decisive and transformational moment for the politics of the country. Workers will reach out to people at block, district and state level, thus enhancing the organisational strength of the Congress," he said. Hitting out at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over his remark that India was already united and there was no need to reunite it by undertaking a yatra, Ramesh said, "I want to tell him that the country is breaking for three reasons primarily -- ...

Gujarat polls: Cong announces several pre-poll 'guarantees' for fishermen

The Congress on Friday promised Rs 3 lakh financial assistance and Rs 400 daily allowance to the families of fishermen from Gujarat languishing in Pakistani jails, besides a Rs 50 lakh package to the owners of boats seized by the neighbouring country if the part is voted to power in the state. State Congress president Jagdish Thakor and senior leader Arjun Modhwadia made the announcement in a press conference here while accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government of acting against the interests of the fishing community by cutting down the subsidy and not taking concrete steps for the release of the fishermen apprehended by Pakistan. Apart from providing higher subsidies on petrol and diesel used in fishing boats, the Congress government will also put in place a cooperative system for boat building and priority will be given to traditional fishing communities for prawn farming and fishing in inland water bodies, the leaders said. Assembly elections in the BJP-ruled Gujarat are

Cong promises Rs 50 lakh package to fishing community in poll-bound Gujarat

In the run-up to the Assembly elections, Gujarat Congress made a host of promises to the fishing community which has dominance on 32 seats in the state

Congress plans second phase of Bharat Jodo Yatra from Gujarat to Arunachal

As Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its eighth day, party leaders led by Rahul Gandhi started the march from Kollam on Friday

Bharat Jodo Yatra resumes from Kollam district in Kerala after a day's halt

Accompanied by hundreds of party workers and senior party leaders, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday resumed his party's Bharat Jodo yatra, a 150-day-long foot march, after a day's rest from Polayathodu in Kollam district of Kerala. Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, V D Satheesan, AICC general secretary in charge of Organisation, K C Venugopal, senior Congress leaders, Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan, RSP leader N K Premachandran among others were seen walking besides Gandhi. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said Gandhi will interact with the chase workers, entrepreneurs, and the party allies during the halt of the yatra at Neendakara in the district. "After a day of well-earned rest, #BharatJodoYatra resumed from Kollam today at 6:45 am. Itll cover 13 km this morning and halt at Neendakara on the seashore. Interactions with cashew workers, cashew entrepreneurs, trade union and leaders of RSP & Forward Block in the afternoon," Ramesh tweeted. The foot march .

Congress presidential polls process transparent, says Madhusudan Mistry

Chairman of the Congress' Central Election Authority (CEA) Madhusudan Mistry said that the entire process of the election of the party president is "open" as the party has nothing to hide

Krishnamurthy Acharya appointed coordinator for Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra

Krishnamurthy Acharya, Congress leader in Udupi, has been appointed KPCC coordinator for the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' led by Rahul Gandhi. He has been selected on the recommendation of KPCC president D K Shivakumar and chosen by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, a party release here said. The 3,570km 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' led by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi which commenced in Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, entered Kerala on September 10 evening and will traverse through the state covering 450 km, touching seven districts over a period of 19 days before entering Karnataka on October 1.

Congress MLAs joined the ruling party BJP without any condition: Goa CM

He also said that two MLAs of MGP are with the BJP and they will remain with them. MGP MLA Sudin Dhavalikar is presently the Power Minister in the BJP-led government

Congress Chhodo yatra has started from Goa, says CM Pramod Sawant

His remarks come after eight Congress MLA switched to the BJP earlier in the day

When will govt restore status quo ante: Congress on border row with China

The Congress on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ceding 1,000 sq kms of Indian territory to China "without a fight" and asked when will the government restore status quo ante of April 2020. The opposition party's attack came after Indian and Chinese armies carried out a joint verification of the disengagement process at Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in eastern Ladakh after withdrawing their troops and dismantling temporary infrastructure from the friction point. Both sides completed the disengagement in a phased and coordinated manner, according to people familiar with the development. Attacking the government, Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "China has refused to accept India's demand of restoring status quo of April 2020. PM has given 1,000 sq kms of territory to China without a fight." "Can the government of India explain how this territory will be retrieved?" he asked. Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress spokesperson

Jairam Ramesh seeks Nehru-Gandhi family's prominence in Congress Prez poll

With the process for electing the new Congress president round the corner, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh has batted for "consensus" in selecting the new AICC chief and sought to uphold the "prominence" of the Nehru-Gandhi family in the organisational matters in any sort of emerging situation. Ramesh, the AICC general secretary in-charge Communication, Publicity and Media, said even if somebody else is elected as the party chief in the October 17 polls, Sonia Gandhi will continue to be a person "everybody looks up to" and insisted Rahul Gandhi will be the "ideological compass" of the grand old organisation. He rejected the suggestion the Wayanad MP will do "backseat driving" in the event of somebody else being a Congress president, hailing the Gandhi scion as a very accommodative and democratic person. A party without a 'high command' would be 'anarchy,' he said. In an interview to PTI, the former Union Minister also opposed a section of Congress leaders' argument against its hi

Rahul Gandhi visits Sivagiri Mutt ahead of Yatra's fourth day in Kerala

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday visited Sivagiri mutt here to pay respects to renowned social reformer Sree Narayana Guru before commencing the fourth day of the Kerala leg of the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra. At Sivagiri Mutt, Gandhi met the swamis there and offered prayers to the saint reformer. The yatra, which began after 7.30 am from Navaikulam junction here, continued to witness an encouraging turn out and will enter the Kollam district of the state during the day after spending the last three days in Thiruvananthapuram district. On Tuesday, after that day's yatra ended at Kallambalam junction here, Gandhi had questioned how a party which calls itself a representative of Hindus was allegedly spreading 'ashanti' in the country when the first words taught in Hinduism is 'om shanti'. "Wherever they are going they are destroying harmony, they are attacking people, they are dividing people, abusing them," he had said. The third day of the Kerala leg of the yatra had gone a

Gandhi family famous for dividing India, says Rajyavardhan Rathore

Taking a jibe at Ashok Gehlot, Rajyavardhan Rathore said that the Rajasthan Congress has no other responsibility than backing a family all the time

Cong MLAs dump garlic outside MP Assembly for govt's apathy towards farmers

Congress legislators on Tuesday dumped loads of garlic at a gate of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on the opening day of the monsoon session, accusing the state BJP government of being apathetic towards farmers who were not getting adequate prices for their crops. Some videos had surfaced in the last few days on social media showing farmers throwing sacks full of garlic on roads and in rivers and drains in Madhya Pradesh, apparently after getting low prices for their produce. One of the farmers had claimed they were being offered just Re one per kg for their garlic produce. On the first day of the MP Assembly's monsoon session on Tuesday, Congress MLAs Sachin Yadav, Jitu Patwari, Kunal Choudhary, P C Sharma and others carried bags full of garlic on their shoulders and dumped key kitchen staple in front of gate number 3 of the Assembly. The farmers are not getting even the input cost of their garlic produce. They are forced to sell it at just Re one per kg and therefore, have been ...

Feet blisters will not stop us, we will unite India, says Rahul Gandhi

Amid intermittent rains and swelling public turnout, Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra entered the third day in Kerala on Tuesday, with the Congress leader and scores of supporters marching along the streets without umbrella when it rained. Gandhi, who has embarked on the 3,500 km Kanyakumari-Kashmir footmarch, said though the participants suffered from blisters on their feet, the campaign would go on. Scores of people lined up on the roadsides despite rains in the city, to greet Gandhi and the other padayatris. The Congress leaders, including Gandhi, walked along the streets without umbrella when it was raining. In a Facebook post, Gandhi said, "even though the feet have blisters, We are out to unite the country, We are not going to stop. #BharatJodoYatra," and uploaded a related video clip. The third day of the yatra, which commenced around 7.15 am from Kaniyapuram near Kazhakootam, saw an encouraging turnout of people like the previous two days of the Kerala leg of the foot ma

Bharat Jodo Yatra: Third day of Kerala leg begins amid encouraging turnout

The third day of the Kerala leg of Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra commenced on Tuesday from Kaniyapuram near Kazhakootam here where the yatra ended on the previous day. The third day of the yatra, which commenced around 7.15 am, also saw an encouraging turnout of people like the previous two days of the Kerala leg of the foot march which is set to cover 3,570 kilometres from Kanyakumari to Kashmir over a 150-day period. When the yatra ended on Monday evening it had covered 100 kilometres. Addressing a large crowd at Kazhakootam, where the yatra had ended for the day, Gandhi had said that elections can be won with hatred, violence and anger, but this cannot solve the socio-economic problems facing the country. Buoyed by the encouraging turnout of people, whose numbers had increased as the march progressed during the day, Gandhi -- who is also the MP from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat from Kerala -- had attacked the BJP by alleging that the saffron party has proved that hatred can be used ...

BJP calls Congress' tweet on burning khakhi shorts instigation for violence

The Congress on Monday tweeted a picture of a khakhi shorts -- a part of the RSS uniform earlier -- on fire, drawing sharp reaction from the BJP which dubbed it as an "instigation for violence". The Congress tweeted along with the picture, "To free the country from shackles of hate and undo the damage done by BJP-RSS. Step by step, we will reach our goal." 145 days more to go, it said of the party's ongoing "Bharat Jodo Yatra". The BJP lashed out at the Congress for its "promotion of violence" and dubbed its yatra as "Bharat Todo Yatra". Noting that many RSS, the Hindutva organisation considered the BJP's ideological mentor, members have been killed in Kerala where the Congress yatra is going presently, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the opposition party has signalled to "terrorists" in the southern state to target their functionaries. Patra asked the Congress to immediately take down the post, saying there is no room for violence in India's constitutional scheme of ...

Second day of Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kerala attracts huge turnout

The second day of the Kerala leg of Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra also witnessed a huge turnout as party leader Rahul Gandhi commenced his walk from Vellayani junction here Monday morning. Besides those turning up to join the yatra, hundreds lined up on both sides of the road to witness the padayatra' led by Gandhi, who is also the MP from Wayanad in the state. On Sunday, when the day's yatra ended at Nemom here, he had said that Kerala respects everyone and does not allow itself to be divided or hatred to spread, and that the Bharat Jodo Yatra, in a sense, was an extension of these ideas. "Standing together, working together in harmony is natural and normal for the people of Kerala and you have shown this to the rest of the country. "Kerala respects everyone in Kerala. It does not allow itself to be divided nor does it allow hatred to spread in the state. So in a sense, Bharat Jodo Yatra is just an extension of the ideas that prevail in Kerala," he had said. The first day of Congre

Cong's padyatra is 'Gandhi Family Bachao Yatra,' says Assam BJP MLA Kalita

Assam BJP MLA Diganta Kalita took a swipe at Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra, saying that the Yatra is actually Gandhi Family Bachao Yatra

BJP still entrapped in 'khaki shorts': Baghel on Rahul Gandhi's T-shirt row

Hitting back at BJP over its 'T-shirt' jibe at Rahul Gandhi, Chhattisgarh CM said Congress is engaged in uniting the country while the ruling party is still entrapped in T-shirts and khaki shorts.