Page 14 - Indian National Congress

Rahul Gandhi urges Cong workers in Raebareily to set for UP elections 2027

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday urged party workers to strengthen the organisation and begin preparations for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. Party workers met Gandhi at his parliamentary residence in Bhuemau and apprised him of various issues, particularly those concerning Dalits. Sunil Kumar Gautam, president of the Congress Scheduled Caste wing in Rae Bareli, said a 12-member delegation from the community met Gandhi at his Bhuemau residence. "We discussed issues concerning the Scheduled Caste community and informed him about the difficulties faced since the BJP government came to power in the state. A major concern is that sanitation workers from the Valmiki community, employed in municipal bodies, are still forced to work without protective gear, which is a violation of Supreme Court directives," Gautam told PTI Videos. He added that Gandhi motivated them and emphasised the need to prepare vigorously for the 2027 elections while strengthening the party ...

Cong party not weakened, course correction soon: Harshwardhan Sapkal

Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal has said it would be wrong to conclude that his party has weakened after its worst-ever performance in the recent Maharashtra assembly polls. Calling the present scenario a do-or-die situation, Sapkal, who recently took charge as the Maharashtra Congress chief, said he has accepted the challenge to revitalise the state unit. It is a wrong perception that the cadre is demoralised... election results were shocking and the cadre is eager for a course correction. We won only 16 seats but that doesn't mean we have become weak. You will see their enthusiasm once we get into the action mode, Sapkal told PTI in an interview. The Congress, a partner of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) bloc, won just 16 of the 288 assembly seats in last year's Maharashtra polls despite fielding candidates in 101 constituencies. Sapkal accused the BJP-led government of not wanting to hold local body elections, saying

Raebareli: Posters seek apology from Rahul Gandhi after remarks on Mayawati

This comes after Rahul Gandhi on Thursday indicated that if Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati had fought the recent parliamentary elections with the Congress, they would have won

Siddaramaiah gets clean chit in Muda case, police find no evidence

The Lokayukta police failed to prove charges against the chief minister and his wife Parvathi in the absence of evidence against the couple

BJP demands white paper on Karnataka's financial health ahead of budget

The Assembly session in Karnataka is scheduled to begin on March 3, and this will be Siddaramaiah's 16th budget presentation

Kharge tells his top party leaders they will be accountable for results

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday told top party leaders that they would be held accountable for election results in the future and warned them against turncoats, remarks that came in the backdrop of the party's Delhi poll debacle. Addressing the new office-bearers at a meeting held at the party's headquarters at Indira Bhawan, he urged party leaders to work at the grassroots level and strengthen the party from the booth level and promote such people who are ideologically committed to the organisation. Kharge also hinted at some more changes in the organisation, saying some changes have already taken place and some more are in the offing. "I want to talk to you about the most important thing of accountability. You all will be held accountable for revamping the organisations in states and for all future election results," he told the office-bearers. The party recently brought in new office bearers in the revamped organisation. Among those who attended the meeting

Cong slams Trump's threat to GST, questions Modi's stance on tariffs

The Congress on Wednesday claimed that the talk of reciprocal tariffs by US President Donald Trump is calling into question a consumption tax like GST, and wondered whether his "good friend in New Delhi" would stand up to it when national sovereignty is at stake. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said his party has long been calling for a GST 2.0 that will make GST a truly Good and Simple Tax, as it was intended to be. It has called for the barest minimum of rates and vastly reformed compliance rules, he said in a post on X. "Now President Trump is threatening the very existence of GST. By its very structure, GST is applicable to imports but not on exports. This has never been disputed," he said. Now all this talk of reciprocal tariffs by the US President is calling into question a consumption tax like GST, Ramesh claimed. "WTO apart, national sovereignty is at stake here. Will President Trump's good friend in New Delhi, who keeps trumpeting that he

Telangana govt eases work timings for Muslim during Ramzan, BJP is unhappy

Throughout the month, the Muslim employees will be able to leave their offices and workplaces at 4 pm instead of the usual 5 pm

Akash Anand demands Cong leader Udit Raj's arrest over remarks on Mayawati

Calling former Lok Sabha MP Udit Raj a "sycophant" of the Congress and the BJP, BSP leader Akash Anand called for strict action against his threats to "strangle" Mayawati. In a post on X, Anand said, "He is threatening to "strangle" respected sister Miss Mayawati ji. I want to clearly tell @uppolice that these criminals should be arrested within 24 hours and strict action should be taken under the law, otherwise the Bahujan youth of the country is not going to sit quiet, I know very well how to teach them a lesson." This comes after Udit Raj on Monday launched a scathing attack on BSP chief Mayawati and said that she has "strangled the social movement" and now the time has come to strangle her. Anand, in his post said, Today in Lucknow, some old associates of Honorable Kanshiram Saheb and sometimes BJP and sometimes Congress sycophant Udit Raj have given a lot of knowledge on Saheb's mission." He accused Udit Raj of "looking for opportunities in other parties for his own selfish .

Haste decision taken to avoid SC's scrutiny: Cong on CEC's appointment

Soon after the Centre notified the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the chief election commissioner on Monday, the Congress said the hastily-taken decision shows that the government is keen on circumventing the Supreme Court's scrutiny and getting the appointment done before a clear order kicks in. Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said in a hasty midnight move, the government has notified the appointment of the new CEC. "This goes against the spirit of our Constitution, and what has been reiterated by the Supreme Court in many cases -- for the electoral process to have sanctity, the CEC must be an impartial stakeholder," Venugopal said in a post on X. The amended law dealing with the appointment of election commissioners has removed the chief justice of India (CJI) from the CEC selection panel and the government ought to have waited until the apex court's hearing in the matter on Wednesday (February 19) before selecting the officer, he said. "Their decision to hastily hold t

Cong claims centre wants to control EC, asks govt to hold CEC appointment

The Congress on Monday asked the government to defer its decision on the new chief election commissioner till the Supreme Court hearing on a petition challenging the constitution of the selection panel. The Congress' side was put forth by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during the meeting of the selection panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said. The meeting took place at the South Block office of the prime minister. Home Minister Amit Shah is the third member of the selection panel. Addressing a press conference soon after the meeting, Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said that by removing the chief justice of India from the selection committee, the government has made it clear it wants control and not to preserve the credibility of the Election Commission. Singhvi did not disclose anything on what transpired in the meeting apart from saying that Gandhi attended it. The selection committee is learnt to have recommended the name of the next CEC to

Cong asks Assam CM's info source on allegations against Gaurav Gogoi's wife

Congress leader Rashid Alvi further stated that the level of politics should not stoop so 'low' and there was a limit to everything

AAP, Cong criticise Haryana govt for using 'prison buses' for deportees

The AAP and the Congress on Sunday slammed the BJP-led Haryana government for allegedly sending buses meant for prisoners to the Amritsar airport to take back the deportees hailing from the state. A US military aircraft carrying 116 illegal Indian immigrants from the US landed at the Amritsar International Airport late on Saturday night. The fresh batch of deportees included 65 immigrants from Punjab and 33 from Haryana. Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and Power Minister Harbhajan Singh received the Indian deportees at the airport on Saturday night. Taking a dig at neighbouring Haryana, Dhaliwal, an AAP leader, said that like last time (February 5), the state again sent two buses used to transport prisoners to take back its citizens. "I request Anil Vij, who is the transport minister, that they should not send buses used for prisoners..," Dhaliwal said. On February 5, the US had deported 104 illegal Indian immigrants to Amritsar. Of them, 33 each were from Harya

India has talent, needs clear vision to produce new tech: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said while India has the talent, it needs a strong production base, and not empty words, to build industrial prowess in new technology to give its youth jobs. In a post on X, Gandhi highlighted how China has started producing drones which are revolutionising warfare across the world, saying India needs to develop a strategy to become competitive in this area. "Drones have revolutionised warfare, combining batteries, motors and optics to manoeuver and communicate on the battlefield in unprecedented ways. But drones are not just one technology -- they are bottom-up innovations produced by a strong industrial system. "Unfortunately, PM Modi has failed to grasp this. While he delivers 'teleprompter' speeches on AI, our competitors are mastering new technologies. India needs a strong production base not empty words," he said in the post, taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "India has immense talent, scale and drive. We must have a cle

A test for Indian diplomacy: Chidambaram on 2nd round of deportees from US

Earlier, Chidambaram had alleged that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) 'crumbled badly' in handling the deportation of Indian nationals from the United States.

Ahmed Patel's son Faisal quits Cong; says felt 'marginalised, neglected'

Congress stalwart Ahmed Patel's son Faisal quits Congress; cites feeling marginalised and neglectedIn an emotional post on X on Thursday Faisal Patel shared that his journey with Congress had been challenging, stating that despite his efforts to follow in his father's footsteps, he often felt sidelined."With great pain & anguish, I have decided to stop working for @INCIndia. It's been a tough journey for many, many http://years.My late father @ahmedpatel gave his entire life working for the country, party & the #Gandhi family. I tried following his footsteps but was denied every step of the way," he posted on X.Despite this, he reaffirmed his emotional connection to the party, expressing gratitude to its leaders, workers, and supporters. Faisal will continue to work for the betterment of society in other ways."I will continue to work for mankind in any way possible. The congress party will remain my family as It has always been. I want to thank all the congress leaders, ...

Congress undertakes extensive reshuffle across key state-level roles

In a major organisational revamp, the Congress on Friday appointed former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel as general secretary in-charge of Punjab and Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain as general secretary for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Overall, the party replaced six general secretaries and in-charges, including heavyweights Sipak Babaria and Mohan Prakash and appointed two new general secretaries and nine in-charges. Senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Rajani Patil was made the in-charge of party affairs in Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, and Karnataka Congress veteran was appointed the in-charge of Haryana, while former Rajasthan minister Harish Chaudhary was appointed the in-charge for Madhya Pradesh. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's confidante Krishna Alla Varu, K Raju and Meenakshi Natarajan have been appointed AICC in-charges for election-bound Bihar, Jharkhand and Telangana respectively. Former Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu will ..

Kapil Sibal asks INDIA bloc to 'sit and work things out' after Delhi mess

As the BJP has clinched victory in recent Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana assembly elections, Sibal pointed out that the BJP has advantage that they fight elections under single command

Will comment after meeting: J&K CM on INDIA bloc's unity after Delhi polls

On February 8, when the Delhi poll results were announced, Abdullah took a jibe at the two INDIA bloc members, decrying the 'fighting' between Congress and AAP

Need to convey message delicately: Tharoor on US' treatment of deportees

The way a batch of Indians were deported from the US has naturally caused a great deal of anxiety, resentment and anger in India and New Delhi will have to "delicately" convey a message to Washington behind closed doors on this, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Monday. The MP from Thiruvananthapuram made the remarks in response to a question during an interaction at an event here on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a two-nation tour with the US being in the second leg of his visit. The interaction was hosted at the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) on the occasion of the launch of the book 'Indian Parliament: Shaping Foreign Policy' by veteran journalist and scholar K V Prasad. PM Modi, during the two-day working visit to the United States from February 12, will hold a bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump and interact with business leaders and members of the Indian community. At the book launch event, after his speech as the chair of the session, Tharo