Page 12 - Indian National Congress

Sonia, Rahul to attend CWC meet in Ahmedabad on 8 April: Gujarat Cong chief

Senior Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will attend the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting here on April 8, the party's Gujarat unit chief Shaktisinh Gohil said on Friday. The CWC meeting will be followed by a session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on April 9, said Gohil, who is also a party spokesperson. The meeting of the CWC, the highest decision-making body of the Congress, will be held at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial complex in Shahibaug area at 11:30 am on April 8, he said. "The meeting will be attended by several key leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge. Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states as well as the party's state presidents will also attend this meeting," said Gohil. A CWC meeting had been held at the same venue in 2019 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. After the April 8 meeting, party leaders will visit the Sabarmati Ashram in the city in the evening to pay

Cong demands speaker, state BJP chief resign after U'khand FM's exit

Former Uttarakhand Assembly speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal on Friday said the resignation of cabinet minister Premchand Agarwal was not enough and demanded the resignations of incumbent Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan and state BJP president Mahendra Bhatt also from their posts for not being fair to the hill people despite representing the hills themselves. Agarwal, who held key portfolios like finance and parliamentary affairs in the Pushkar Singh Dhami cabinet, resigned after his "unparliamentary" remarks against the hill people during the Budget Session created a major controversy. Kunjwal accused Speaker Bhushan of behaving in the House in a partisan manner like a political party leader despite occupying a constitutional post when the Agarwal episode was going on. Daughter of former chief minister B C Khanduri, the Speaker is an MLA from Kotdwar. "The Chair is supposed to be neutral. But her conduct was obviously partisan. "She should have asked Agarwal to immediately take back hi

Sitting or retired HC judge must inquire Colonel assault case: Cong leader

Punjab Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Friday demanded that a sitting or retired high court judge should inquire the complaint by an Army Colonel that he and his son were thrashed by 12 state police officials. "We demand an inquiry by a sitting or retired high court judge into the incident," Bajwa told reporters in Chandigarh, ahead of the opening day of the budget session of Punjab Assembly. Calling it a serious incident, the Congress leader said all the "erring" Punjab police officials should be arrested and dismissed from service. "Recently, (AAP national convener) Arvind Kejriwal was in Punjab, but neither he nor Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann have uttered a word about the incident," he said. Bajwa, who is Leader of Opposition in Punjab, also slammed the Bhagwant Mann government over the "deceitful" detention of several farmer leaders. He said the heavy barricades at the protest sites in Shambhu and Khanauri border were not put up by Punjab farmers, but the Haryana

'Caste census is necessary to reveal inequality to light': Rahul Gandhi

During a recent interview, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Mahad Satyagraha and said it was "not just a fight for access to water but a struggle for equality and dignity"

Court issues notice to Rahul over his 'Fight against Indian state' remark

On January 15, Rahul Gandhi, during the inauguration of Congress' 'Indira Bhawan,' criticized the BJP, claiming that Congress and opposition parties were not just fighting the BJP but the Indian state

Cong to prioritise district units, all presidents to meet in Delhi

The Congress will hold meetings with its district unit presidents from across the country for three days, ahead of its AICC session, to deliberate on how to empower the district units and make them the focal point of the organisation. The District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents will meet on March 27, 28 and April 3 in three batches at the Indira Gandhi Bhawan here, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh told reporters after party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi met party general secretaries and in-charges of various states. The party's top brass deliberated on ways to strengthen the organisation and review the preparations for the AICC session set to take place on April 8 and 9 in Ahmedabad. This will be the fourth AICC session in Gujarat with the 1907 session in Surat, the 1938 session in Haripura and the 1961 session in Bhavnagar. "The meeting on March 27, 28 and April 3 will focus on how to bring the party's district units at the cen

Congress attacks PM Modi over giving 'clean chit' to China on podcast

Jairam Ramesh played purportedly a clip of PM Modi from 2020, where in the video the PM is heard saying "no one has crossed our borders, or any of our posts are captured by someone else"

Karnataka minister defends 4% minority quota amid BJP's 'appeasement' jibe

The Karnataka cabinet has approved changes to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act to include the 4 per cent reservation for minorities

Delimitation based on population unfair to southern states, says Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said that if the delimitation exercise is based on population, it will be an injustice to the southern states as it would reduce their representation in the Lok Sabha and urged people to unite against this "injustice." Speaking at the centenary celebrations of the late K H Patil, a former minister, he also criticised the central government, expressing concern over the alleged lack of emphasis on education and the large number of vacancies in educational institutions. "The central government talks about cooperative federalism. If there is cooperative federalism, why are people not receiving the funds they are entitled to? Are cooperatives in Karnataka getting the money they should from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)? It has decreased by 58 per cent," Kharge said. Addressing the gathering, he urged the people of Karnataka to unite and fight against the injustice being done to them. "When the issue conce

CEC Gyanesh Kumar takes bold steps to resolve long-pending election issues

For the first time in decades, ECI has officially invited suggestions from all National and State-recognized political parties within the legal framework by April 30, 2025

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

Former Cong MLA Bamber Thakur shot by assailiants in Himachal's Bilaspur

Former Congress MLA Bamber Thakur was allegedly shot at by unidentified assailants at his home in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur, police said on Friday and added a manhunt had been launched to nab the accused. Thakur and his personal security officer were injured in the attack. Thakur, who suffered a bullet injury in his leg, was referred to the Indira Gandhi Medical College in Shimla while his personal security officer was admitted to AIIMS, Bilaspur. Taking serious note of the attack, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said in a video statement, "I spoke to Bamber Thakur and urged him to go to AIIMS but he wished to be treated at the Indira Gandhi Medical College The deputy commissioner has been instructed to do the needful." Directions have been issued to erect road barricades to nab the accused, he added. Thakur and several others were sitting in the courtyard of his wife's government accommodation when four people came in and opened fire. According to a witness, the attacker

Oppn alleges energy projects along Indo-Pak border compromise security

Opposition members, mainly from the Congress and DMK, on Wednesday held a noisy protest in the Lok Sabha over clearance granted to a renewable energy project near the India-Pakistan border. 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 clearances are sought from the central, state government and relevant agencies before lic

Congress MP files motion in LS on manufacturing crisis, China trade deficit

Manickam Tagore sharply criticized the government's flagship initiative, Make in India, which was intended to boost domestic manufacturing and employment opportunities

'Country can be called Bharat, India or Hindustan': CM Omar Abdullah to RSS

Abdullah also noted that both 'Bharat' and 'India' are written on the Prime Minister's plane and highlighted the names of the armed forces

Matter related to duplicate voter card numbers a 'legacy issue': EC sources

The poll body had recently clarified that irrespective of the EPIC number, an elector can cast a vote only at their designated polling station

'Unfortunate to reduce tariffs on US under Trump's pressure': Manish Tewari

Tiwari criticised the NDA-led government, saying that India has a history and a tradition of never buckling under any pressure and suggested that government should've accepted reciprocal tariffs

'He came as a youtuber': Shiv Sena criticises Rahul Gandhi's Dharavi visit

Sanjay Nirupam criticised the priorities of the Congress leader, alleging that the Congress' Mumbai unit has been "bankrupt" by votes and money alike, but Rahul Gandhi still could not meet them

Congress slams EC's response on duplicate voter IDs as 'duplicitous'

The Congress on Friday termed as "duplicitous" the Election Commission's explanation on duplicate voter ID numbers and asked the poll body to come clean on the issue. Amid allegations of a cover-up over duplicate voter identity card numbers, the poll panel earlier in the day said it would address the "decades-long" matter in the next three months. "The Congress party rejects this feeble and duplicitous explanation by the ECI and reiterates its demands to come clean on the sanctity of voter lists in India," the Congress' Empowered Action Group of Leaders and Experts (EAGLE) said in a statement. The group said the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a duplicitous response on the issue of the same voter IDs being allotted to multiple voters. "The ECI, in its response, hides behind its processes to offer a feeble explanation. Shockingly but not surprisingly, the ECI has been forced to admit that its voter lists are flawed and not trustworthy," it said. The EC, in a letter is