Page 49 - Indian National Congress

Ghulam Nabi Azad welcomes EC decision to postpone polls in Anantnag-Rajouri

Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairperson Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday welcomed the Election Commission's decision to postpone polls in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency and said this has relieved several political parties. Azad emphasized the importance of the assembly elections over parliamentary elections stating it is very important to have a legislative assembly and legislators put in place through polls. "It is never too late. The decision of the Election Commission of India has relieved us. I thank the ECI for taking this right decision. All political parties will benefit from the decision. Actually, all parties are happy," he told reporters here. Azad, who is on campaign trial in Rajouri for his party's candidate Mohammad Saleem pitted in triangular contest with PDP's Mehbooba Mufti and NC's Mian Altaf on Anantnag-Rajouri seat, pointed out that the Election Commission should have scheduled polling in this constituency for the sixth or seventh phase. He explained

LS polls: BRS Supremo KCR critiques EC for inaction on CM Revanth Reddy

BRS president K Chandrashekar Rao, who has been barred by the Election Commission from campaigning for 48 hours, on Wednesday said that no action was taken against Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy though he made objectionable comments on him. Rao, who addressed an election rally in the Mahabubabad Lok Sabha constituency, referred to the 48-hour ban on him and said that lakhs of BRS activists would work tirelessly for "about 96 hours". Referring to certain comments allegedly made against him by the chief minister, he said the Election Commission has not imposed any ban on Revanth Reddy. Chandrashekar Rao's son and BRS working president K T Rama Rao said on X: "You can ban him temporarily, you can't kill the truth that he wants Telangana to know. Remember, the only people who are scared of you for speaking the hard truths are those who are living a Lie Jai Telangana." The Election Commission on Wednesday reprimanded Chandrashekar Rao and barred him from campaigning for 48 hou

Congress tried to defame Indian culture, civilisation: UP CM Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday attacked the Congress, saying after it became "directionless" post-Independence, it has now become "leaderless" as well and accused the party's leaders of attempting to defame Indian civilisation and culture. "Unfortunately, the country's oldest political party (Congress) went directionless after Independence and today it has become leaderless too. The Congress leaders have constantly tried to abuse the Indian culture and humiliate the 'sanatan dharma'," Adityanath told reporters here. "During the UPA government, a senior leader of the Congress and the then Union Home Minister had tried to insult India's 'sanatan' culture in the name of saffron terror," he said. The priest CM blamed the Congress's policies for the problem of terrorism and Naxalism in the country. He claimed that the central government has controlled the militancy in the Naxal-affected areas and pacified the restive northeast. "Every person knows that the ...

Congress, TMC critique EC over delay in sharing phase 1, 2 voting data

The Congress, CPI(M) and the TMC on Tuesday criticised the Election Commission over the delay in publishing the final voter turnout figures for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha polls. The commission in the evening made public the voter turnout of the first and second phases of polling held on April 19 and April 26. Voting for the general elections is being held in seven phases, the remaining are on May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. Counting of votes will be taken up on June 4. "Finally, ECI (Election Commission of India) has put out the final voter turnout figures for the first two phases which are substantially, not marginally as is normal, higher than the initial figures," Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said on X. "But why are the absolute numbers of voters in each parliamentary constituency not put out? Percentages are meaningless unless this figure is known," he said. Yechury alleged that apprehensions of manipulation of resul

Cong Chief Kharge appoints Devender Yadav as interim chief of Delhi unit

Congress leader Ajay Maken took to X, formerly Twitter, and said that Yadav is the right choice for post

Congress has tried to strangle Constitution since beginning: UP CM Yogi

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in a scathing attack on the Congress, on Tuesday alleged that the grand old party has tried to strangle the Constitution drawn up by Babasaheb Ambedkar since the beginning. Adityanath's reaction came amid claims by the opposition parties, including the Congress, that the BJP's "400-paar" slogan is aimed at changing the Constitution and ending the reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward classes. Adityanath told PTI Video that there cannot be a bigger lie than these claims by the opposition. "Everyone knows the history of the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the parties associated with the INDIA bloc," he said. "The Congress' history has been to strangle the Constitution drawn up by Babasaheb Ambedkar. The Constitution came into force in 1950 and the Congress continuously worked to trample the freedom of expression. Even after that, there were continuous efforts to use the Constitution in its (Congress') own way," he

Highlights of day: Modi govt used privatisation to weaken reservations, says Congress

From PM Modi's election rallies in Karnataka to BJD leaders joining the BJP in Odisha, catch all the latest updates from around the world here

LS polls: BJP will win more than 10 seats in T'gana, claims party leader

The BJP will win more than 10 of the total 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana on the back of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity and his development agenda and corruption-free governance, BJP Rajya Sabha member K Laxman said. It is going to be a landslide victory for the BJP in Telangana in the Lok Sabha elections, Laxman, a member of BJP's parliamentary board, said. The BJP won four seats in Telangana in the 2019 general elections. "People from every nook and corner of the state are looking towards PM Modi, his development agenda and welfare schemes for the poor and his achievements during the last 10 years," he told PTI here. In the Assembly polls held last year, people might have voted for the local issues, but they are definitely going to vote for Modi as their choice for PM in the Parliament elections, he said. The Congress had won the Assembly elections, defeating the BRS which was in power since 2014 when Telangana was formed. Asked what are the factors that will contri

Cong attacks BJP on 2G spectrum, says BJP's 'hypocrisy knows no bounds'

The Congress on Saturday said the BJP's "hypocrisy knows no bounds" and alleged that while it called the administrative allocation of 2G spectrum under the UPA a "scam", the Narendra Modi government was now seeking permission from the Supreme Court to "give away spectrum" without an auction. The opposition party's attack came after the Centre on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking modification of its verdict in the 2G spectrum case which said the State was duty bound to adopt the auction route while transferring or alienating the country's natural resources. A top source, however, later said the government is not seeking to change the 2012 Supreme Court judgement that backed auction as the preferred mode of allocating telecom spectrum except for narrowly defined sectors such as satellite communication and defence where auction is not feasible. Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The hypocrisy of the 'Modi Sarkar' and 'Bhrash

Cong accuses CPI(M) of hijacking poll machinery to discourage voters

A day after polling concluded for the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, the Congress on Saturday alleged that voters were harassed and the election machinery was hijacked by the ruling CPI(M) in the state with an aim to bring down the turnout percentage. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said the alleged hijacking of the election machinery by the ruling CPI(M) was one of the reasons for the decrease in polling percentage this year as compared to the turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Despite heightened political fervour and anticipation about the general elections for the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, the process concluded with a notable decrease in voter turnout, as the figure stood at 70.22 per cent at 8pm yesterday. This figure, while significant, was quite a drop from the polling percentage of 77.84 per cent registered in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Venugopal claimed that there were glitches in electronic voting machines (EVMs) in three to five per cent of the polling booths in

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Some of the most keenly watched contests

The once-in-five-year festival of democracy in the world's most populous nation has actors, sport stars and millionaires battling it out alongside the career politicians

Cong will continue the campaign on greater use of VVPATs: Jairam Ramesh

The Congress will continue with its political campaign on greater use of VVPATs to increase public trust in the electoral process, the party said on Friday after the Supreme Court rejected pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs. The Congress was not a party, directly or indirectly, to the petition on VVPATs rejected by the Supreme Court today, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said. "We have taken note of the verdict of the 2-judge bench and our political campaign on the greater use of VVPATs to increase public trust in the electoral process will continue," Ramesh said in a post on X. The Supreme Court has rejected pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and said "blindly distrusting" any aspect of the system can breed unwarranted scepticism. Maintaining that "democracy is all about striving to build harmony and trust between all institutions", a bench of Justices Sanjiv Kha

LS polls Highlights: Nearly 61% turnout recorded in 2nd phase of elections

Eighty-eight Lok Sabha seats (including parts of the outer Manipur seat), across 13 states and Union Territories, are set to vote today

Cong conspiring to transfer OBC, SC, ST rights to Muslims: Keshav Maurya

The Congress has "conspired" to snatch the rights of OBCs, SCs and STs, who are in "majority" in the country, and give these to Muslims, senior BJP leader Keshav Prasad Maurya alleged on Friday. The Congress' "dangerous thinking" of taking away the rights of Dalits, the backwards and adivasis (tribals) and hand them over to "intruders" is clear from its Lok Sabha poll manifesto, Maurya told a press conference at the BJP headquarters here. "They (the Congress) have clearly said in their manifesto that if given a chance, they will finish majoritarianism (in the country). The OBCs (Other Backward Classes), SCs (Scheduled Castes) and STs (Scheduled Tribes) are majority in the country," the Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister said. The Congress will be punished in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections for the "social injustice" it has done with the country's Dalits, backwards and adivasis for 70 years, he said. Maurya said the Congress has "conspired to snatch the rights of ?OBCs, SCs and STs ?a

Cong seeks to give Muslims quota meant for SCs, OBCs: BJP Chief Nadda

BJP president J P Nadda on Friday accused the Congress of seeking to snatch the rights of SCs, STs and OBCs to benefit Muslims, alleging that it is the hidden agenda of the opposition party. Continuing with the BJP's attempts to project the Congress as a party championing interests of Muslims at the cost of traditionally deprived Hindu groups, Nadda said the opposition party has long been making the grounds for the minority community to be declared as SCs and give them reservation. He issued a video statement as the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls got underway. Nadda cited the then prime minister Manmohan Singh's 2006 statement of minorities, especially Muslims, having the first rights on the country's resources and added that he made similar comments in April 2009. The Congress has accused the BJP of selectively quoting Singh and claimed that the ruling party has resorted to spreading falsehoods and communal division for polarisation during the elections due to a lack of publi

Decoded: The history and political relevance of inheritance tax in India

The BJP is attempting to corner the Congress on wealth redistribution after Sam Pitroda's statement, yet veteran party leader Arun Jaitley had also hinted at supporting an inheritance tax in 2017

Cong will steal from OBC quota to give religion-based reservation: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said his government was working to end "appeasement" while charging that the Congress was determined to steal from the OBC quota to provide reservation based on religion. Addressing an election rally in Uttar Pradesh's Agra, Modi also targeted the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance in the state, saying it was based on "politics of appeasement". "They have their eyes on women's property, I am here as the chowkidar' (watchman)," Modi said. "Indian Constitution doesn't allow reservation on the basis of religion but the Congress insults the constitution by advocating this. The Congress is determined to steal from the OBC quota to provide reservation based on religion," Modi said. "The policy of appeasement divided the country but we are ending 'tushtikaran' (appeasement) and working for 'santushtikaran' (satisfying people)," he added. "The friendship between two boys in UP is based on politics of appeasement," the prime minister said attacking t

LS polls: Elections have slipped out of Modi's hands, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed the difference between his party's guarantees and 'Modi Ki Guarantee' is clear and added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi knows that the elections have "slipped out of his hands". In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said the Congress guarantees a "government of Indians". Listing some promises made by the Congress, Gandhi said women will get Rs 8,500 per month, youth will get a job that pays Rs 1 lakh per year, recruitment will be carried out for 30 lakh vacancies and legal MSP will be provided to farmers. "Modi's guarantee: Adanis' government - The country's wealth in the pockets of billionaires; donation business extortion gang; Constitution and democracy are over; farmers facing a paucity of finances; the difference is clear!" the former Congress chief said. "Congress will create crores of millionaires in India and Modi ji knows that the election has slipped out of his hands," he said. Addressing a rally in Amravati, Gandhi on Wedne

LS polls: Rahul, Tharoor in fray; Hema Malini, Om Birla seek hat-trick

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor, and actor-turned-politician Arun Govil are among the key candidates in the fray for the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls with BJP's Hema Malini, Om Birla and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat seeking a hat-trick of wins from their respective constituencies. Staggered over seven stages, the first phase of the elections held last Friday for 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories saw a voter turnout of around 65.5 per cent. In the second phase of Lok Sabha polls on Friday, polling is scheduled in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, seven in Madhya Pradesh, five each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir. Gandhi is the sitting MP from Wayanad in Kerala and is seeking re-election. He is pitted against CPI's Annie Raja and BJP's K Surendran. In the 201

Cong, BJP lock horns again within a year as stage set for voting in K'taka

The Congress and BJP will lock horns on the electoral battleground again, in less than a year, in Karnataka as the stage is set for voting in the first phase in 14 Lok Sabha seats on Friday. It's going to be a straight fight between the ruling Congress and the BJP-JD(S) combine unlike the Assembly elections in May last year which witnessed a triangular contest among the three parties. The state has a total of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies. The second phase of polling in the remaining 14 seats is on May seven. A total of 247 candidates -- 226 men and 21 women -- are in the fray for the first phase in most of the southern and coastal districts. More than 2.88 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in 30,602 polling stations where polling will take place between 7 am to 6 pm. While the Congress is contesting in all 14 seats, BJP has fielded nominees in 11 and its alliance partner JD(S), which joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in three -- Hassan, Mandya and ..