Page 16 - Indian National Congress

Delhi Assembly elections: 19.95 per cent voter turnout recorded till 11 am

A voter turnout of over 19 per cent was recorded in the first four hours of the Delhi Assembly elections on Wednesday. Polling began at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm. According to Election Commission data, 19.95 per cent voters cast their votes till 11 am. The highest voter turnout was recorded in the North East district at 24.87 per cent and Babarpur was leading among constituencies at 31.30 per cent. Central Delhi district recorded the lowest voter turnout at 16.46 per cent with only 11 per cent voters exercising their franchise in Karol Bagh constituency. East Delhi district recorded 20.03 per cent polling, New Delhi 16.80 per cent, North 18.63 per cent, Northwest 19.75 per cent, Shahdara 23.30 per cent, South 19.75 per cent, South East 19.66 per cent, South West 21.90 per cent and West 17.67 per cent, according to the data. There are around 1.56 crore eligible voters in Delhi. Polling is underway at 13,766 stations across all of Delhi's 70 assembly constituencies to deci

Remember those behind polluted air, dirty water in Delhi: Rahul Gandhi

In a swipe at the AAP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged people of Delhi to remember while voting who committed the biggest scam in Delhi by talking about practising clean politics. The former Congress president said people's vote for his party will protect their rights, strengthen the Constitution and put Delhi back on the path of progress. Gandhi cast his ballot in the morning in the New Delhi constituency at the Nirman Bhawan polling centre. With voting underway for the Delhi Assembly polls, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha issued an appeal to voters on X. "My dear brothers and sisters of Delhi. I appeal to all of you to go and vote today. Your every vote for the Congress will protect your rights, strengthen the Constitution and put Delhi back on the path of progress," he said in his post in Hindi. "While voting, remember who is responsible for polluted air, dirty water, and broken roads. Who committed the biggest scam in Delhi by talking about practising

Delhi Assembly elections: 33.31% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm

A turnout of 8.10 per cent was recorded in the Delhi Assembly polls till 9 am on Wednesday with President Droupadi Murmu, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Union minister S Jaishankar among the early voters. Around 1.56 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes. Polling began at 7 am and will conclude at 6 pm. According to Election Commission data, 8.10 per cent of voters had cast their votes till 9 am. North East district recorded the highest voter turnout of 10.7 per cent. Mustafabad was leading among constituencies with 12.43 per cent polling, the data showed. Polling is underway at 13,766 stations across all of Delhi's 70 assembly constituencies to decide the fate of 699 candidates in a contest that could reshape the political landscape of the capital. While AAP is eyeing a third consecutive term, BJP and Congress are hoping for a resurgence in Delhi. In the 2020 assembly polls, Delhi recorded a voter turnout of 62.59 per cent while only 56 per cent of voters participated

Rahul made 'false' claim, lowered dignity of PM's post: BJP on LoP's speech

The BJP on Monday slammed Rahul Gandhi for making "false and objectionable" claims in the Lok Sabha and said the Leader of Opposition displayed his love for China by taking the name of the country 35 times in his speech. It also hit out at former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and hoped that the Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar will take cognizance of the breach of privilege notice given by the tribal BJP members against her on Monday for using using "derogatory and slanderous" words against President Droupadi Murmu recently in the Parliament complex. Speaking during a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, Gandhi said an INDIA bloc government would not have sent its foreign minister to the US to seek an invite for the prime minister to attend the American president's "coronation." His remarks evoked a sharp response from the BJP which accused him of resorting to "falsehood." During his speech, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha also claimed that Pr

Delhi polls: Cong attacks AAP and BJP, promises to restore city's glory

The Congress launched a sharp attack on the BJP and ruling AAP on the final day of campaigning for the Delhi Assembly elections, presenting itself as the only viable alternative and pledging to restore Delhi's glory witnessed under the late Sheila Dikshit's leadership. Senior Congress leaders made a last-ditch effort to woo voters, holding a press conference where they attacked the Kejriwal-led government over alleged governance failures, mismanagement of funds and corruption. They also accused the BJP of suppressing opposition-ruled states and neglecting the concerns of Delhi's marginalised communities. Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav emphasised the election was about reclaiming the developmental legacy of the late party leader and former chief minister Sheila Dikshit. He accused the AAP of allowing the city to deteriorate, arguing infrastructure has crumbled, water quality worsened, and public services neglected. "This election is about bringing back the Delhi that Sheila ..

Kejriwal's only trick is to give freebies, says Cong's Sandeep Dikshit

The people of Delhi look towards Congress for the things that they are agonising for as Kejriwal only knows one trick- to give freebies, he added

Time to free Delhi of AAP's 'extremely poor' governance: Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said the time has come to free Delhi from the group of Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP which has provided extremely poor governance in the national capital. Campaigning door-to-door in the Panckuian Road locality in New Delhi, Vaishnaw urged voters to come out in large numbers to exercise their franchise in the February 5 assembly elections in Delhi. We are at a crucial stage. Everyone has seen how Kejriwal, with his extremely poor governance, has pushed this beautiful city of Delhi into serious problems. Now, the time has come to free ourselves from this and take Delhi forward, Vaishnaw, the Information and Broadcasting Minister said. It is essential that on election day (Feb 5), everyone remembers to step out by 8 am and also encourage others to go out and vote, the bureaucrat-turned-politician said. The BJP has asked several of its Union ministers and chief ministers to campaign for the Delhi polls. Chief Ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam),

Kejriwal betrayed Delhi voters, city's progress was under Cong: Kharge

Kharge alleged that Kejriwal, who once championed the fight against corruption, has failed to uphold his promises and misled the public for political gains

Delhi elections LIVE: Kejriwal alleges BJP bribing slum dwellers with Rs 3,000 for fake votes

Delhi Assembly elections LIVE: Catch all the major news developments related to the Delhi elections here

Congress MP claims his dissent note was 'redacted' in Waqf Bill report

Taking to social media platform X on Saturday, Hussain expressed strong disapproval over what he described as an attempt to suppress Opposition voices

Zakia Jafri, widow of Cong MP killed in Gujarat riots, dies in Ahmedabad

Her husband, Ehsan Jafri, was among 69 people killed during the violence at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002

Rahul Gandhi criticises Union Budget as 'band-aid for bullet wounds'

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed the Union Budget as a "band-aid for bullet wounds," saying that the Centre was "bankrupt of ideas". He said solving the economic crisis demanded a paradigm shift. "A band-aid for bullet wounds! Amid global uncertainty, solving our economic crisis demanded a paradigm shift," Gandhi said in a post on X The Congress earlier criticised the Union Budget as bereft of cure to "illnesses" of stagnant real wages, lack of buoyancy in mass consumption, sluggish rates of private investment, and a complicated GST system that the economy is suffering from. It also accused the Narendra Modi government of appearing to offer "bonanza" to Bihar, governed by NDA ally Nitish Kumar, and "cruelly" ignoring Andhra Pradesh, another pillar of the same alliance.

Budget 2025: Jairam Ramesh slams FM Sitharaman for excluding basic schemes

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech announced an increase in the money allocated to Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 scheme, in her 8th Budget presentation

Bihar appears to have got bonanza, why was Andhra ignored: Cong on Budget

Taking a swipe at the Modi government over its budget announcements, the Congress on Saturday said Bihar appears to have got a bonanza and asked why the other pillar of the NDA, Andhra Pradesh, has been so "cruelly ignored". Bihar remained in focus in the presentation of the Union Budget for the fiscal 2025-26 with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman making several announcements for the state, including setting up of a Makhana Board, financial support for western Kosi canal and support for enhancing capacity of IIT Patna. Presenting her record eighth Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, the finance minister also announced that the Centre will establish a National Institute of Food Technology, entrepreneurship and management in Bihar and also facilitate greenfield airports there to meet the future needs of the state. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said Bihar appears to have got a bonanza of announcements. "It is natural since elections are due there late

Priyank Kharge slams 'Modinomics', says Budget unlikely to bring relief

Priyank Kharge stated that the Centre's policies have led to high unemployment, closure of Small and Medium Enterprises and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and farmers' protests

Sonia Gandhi calling President as 'poor thing' demeans high office: BJP

The BJP on Friday latched on to former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's reaction to President Droupadi Murmu's address to both Houses of Parliament, alleging the Congress leader referring to the President as a "poor thing" demeans the high office and reflects her feudal mindset. Soon after the President delivered her address to the joint sitting, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were seen discussing the speech. "The poor lady, the President, was getting very tired by the end...she could hardly speak poor thing," Sonia Gandhi was purportedly heard saying in a video doing the rounds on social media. Latching on to the remark, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said on X, "Sonia Gandhi referring to the President as a 'poor thing' demeans the high office and reflects her feudal mindset. This is not the first time the Congress has ridiculed the first tribal woman to hold the highest constitutional office in the country." "Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition,

Incumbent upon PM to expose foreign interference: Cong's Karti Chidambaram

The remark came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that this is the first Parliament session in which he has witnessed 'no foreign interference' since 2014

BJP wins the Chandigarh mayoral election, defeats AAP-Congress alliance

Harpreet Kaur Babla, the BJP candidate, defeated Prem Lata from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)

Congress promises caste census, permanent jobs in Delhi election manifesto

In the first part of its manifesto, Congress had already announced five guarantees, including Rs 2,500 per month under the Pyari Didi Yojana, Rs 25 lakh health insurance for all

BJP richest party with Rs 7,113 cr fund, Congress has Rs 857 cr: EC data

The BJP, which claims itself as the biggest political party in the world, has a whopping cash and bank balance of Rs 7,113.80 crore against the principal opposition Congress party's Rs 857.15 crore as on March 31, 2024, according to figures provided to the Election Commission. The BJP spent as much as 1,754.06 crore during 2023-24 when Lok Sabha elections were announced, a whopping 60 per cent rise than Rs 1,092 crore spent in 2022-23. In comparison, the Congress spent as much as Rs 619.67 crore during 2023-24, against Rs 192.56 crore in 2022-23. The Lok Sabha elections were announced on March 16, 2024. According to the figures provided to the EC in their annual audit reports, the BJP has received voluntary contributions through the now banned electoral bonds of Rs 1,685.69 crore during 2023-24, against Rs 1294.15 crore in the previous year. The ruling party has also shown having received other contributions to the tune of Rs 2,042.75 crore during the year, against Rs 648.42 crore