Page 56 - Indian National Congress

Rahul Gandhi must publicly explain Congress' stand on CAA: HM Amit Shah

The Ministry of Home Affairs on March 11 notified CAA Rules, 2024, removing legal barriers to rehabilitation and citizenship to such persons, and will give a dignified life to refugees who have suffer

Cong organises dharna in front of Kerala Raj Bhavan against CAA enforcement

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee on Wednesday organised a dharna in front of the Raj Bhavan here to protest against the Central government's decision to enforce the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. Addressing the dharna, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, V D Satheesan, alleged that the BJP-led government issued the CAA notification to divide the people along communal lines. "When the Congress was in power at the Centre, we brought several legislations to uplift the lives of the poor. But when the BJP came to power, they enacted laws to divide the people for political purposes," the Congress leader alleged. He said that the Congress will fight the law and there will be no compromise on it. Several leaders of the party, including UDF convenor and senior party leader M M Hassan, CWC member and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, and Attingal MP Adoor Prakash, attended the function.

Unemployment, inflation, 'bhagidari' crucial issues for country: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said unemployment, inflation and "bhagidari" were crucial issues that the country was facing, and accused the Centre of diverting the attention of people from the real problems. Interacting with people at Dondaicha village in Dhule district of Maharashtra during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi said conducting a caste census will be a historic and revolutionary step. Gandhi and the Congress have been repeatedly assuring that if his party forms a government at the Centre, it would carry out a caste census. "Economic and financial survey will be the next step and I will do it. Dalits, poor people from the general category, minorities and tribals will know where they stand. Unemployment, inflation and 'bhagidari' (share) are crucial issues that the country is facing," he said. Gandhi claimed that media, the Election Commission, bureaucracy, private hospitals, educational institutions have no representation from the poor from general ...

Delhi HC to pass order today on Congress' plea in Rs 100 cr tax demand case

The Delhi High Court will pronounce its verdict on Wednesday on a petition by the Congress challenging an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal which refused to stay a notice issued by the Income Tax department for recovery of outstanding dues of more than Rs 100 crore. A bench of Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav is scheduled to deliver the order at 2:15 PM. The bench had reserved its order on Tuesday after hearing the submissions on behalf of the Congress and the I-T department. The Congress approached the high court after the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on March 8 dismissed the party's application seeking a stay on the February 13 notice of the I-T department initiating recovery proceedings against it. The assessing officer had raised a tax demand of more than Rs 100 crore for the assessment year 2018-19 when the income was assessed to be more than Rs 199 crore. The counsel for the Congress had urged the court to grant it some protection otherw

Main contest in North India will be between BJP, Congress: Sachin Pilot

On Rajasthan MP Rahul Kaswan jumping ship and joining the Congress ahead of elections, Pilot said it is a good thing that current BJP MPs have joined their party

BJP, BRS conspiring to oust Congress govt, says Telangana CM Revanth Reddy

Addressing a public meeting in Manuguru on Monday, the Chief Minister said that the implementation of 'Abhaya Hastam' programmes has sent 'shivers' to the opposition parties

Congress' CEC finalises about 40 more candidates for LS elections

Top Congress leadership on Monday discussed over 60 seats in five states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Assam and finalised the names of about 40 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Sources said the party has decided to field former chief minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath once again from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara and Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav from Jalore in Rajasthan. Speculation was rife about both Kamal Nath and his son Nakul switching over to the BJP ahead of the polls. Both Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot are unlikely to contest, with the former's son entering the poll fray and the latter having responsibility of Chhattisgarh as AICC general secretary, the sources added. The Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC), chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, met at the party headquarters to finalise candidates, days after the party released its first list of 39 candidates for the polls. Among the seats that were discussed at the meeting ..

LS polls: Cong CEC meet to finalise candidates for remaining seats today

Earlier, Congress released its first list of candidates for 39 Lok Sabha constituencies on March 8

Will prevent few billionaires from controlling all wealth: Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi said, earlier weapons were manufactured in the ordnance factory of the government and now it will be done by Adani

Highlights of the day: Naidu-Pawan Kalyan seal alliance with BJP

From govt's decision to cut LPG cylinder prices to Rahul Gandhi's poll promises, catch all the latest news from around the world here

PM Modi accuses Congress of ignoring development of Northeast for decades

Asserting that the Northeast's development is crucial to fulfil the objective of 'Viksit Bharat', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Congress of ignoring the region for decades. Addressing a public meeting at Meleng Meteli Pothar here, after unveiling projects worth Rs 17, 500 crore in Assam, he said heritage and development was the "mantra of double-engine government". He also alleged that the Congress government's "insensitive and unplanned conservation strategy" led to poaching in the Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Around 27 rhinos were killed in 2013 but the number of such poaching incidents came down to zero in 2022 due to the NDA government's policies, he said.

BJP following 'vinash' model, stamping out Oppn, toppling govts: Kejriwal

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the AAP government in Delhi was pursuing a model of 'vikas' or development while the BJP was following a model of 'vinash' or destruction with its stamping out of opposition parties and toppling of governments. Speaking in the Delhi Assembly over the 2024-25 budget of the AAP government tabled in the House recently, Kejriwal said it was such a good budget that people are now saying that the AAP-Congress combine will win all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. The chief minister said every woman in a family will receive Rs 1,000 each under the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojna announced in the budget. Kejriwal also remembered former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, presently in jail in an excise policy-related case. "I hope next year he will present the budget in the Assembly," he said. He also lauded Finance Minister Atishi for presenting a "magnificent" budget that took care of every section of the Society. Kejriwal lashed out at

Can PM promise LPG prices will not rise if BJP wins? asks Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram said on Saturday that he welcomed the Centre's announcement to reduce the LPG cylinder price by Rs 100 but said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should assure that the price will not be increased if his party comes to power again. Also, he sought to know if there was any budgetary provision for over Rs 5.90 lakh crore projects including Rs 17,300 crore projects for Tamil Nadu announced by the prime minister in a fortnight's time from February 22. Speaking to reporters at Satyamurthy Bhavan, the Congress state headquarters here, Chidambaram said his party leader Rahul Gandhi has given five guarantees to the nation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, and that these will translate into poll assurances in the party's election manifesto. The guarantees include: An assurance on recruitment to eliminate the unemployment problem in the country by filling up nearly 30 lakh vacancies in the Central government, Right to Apprenticeship Law fo

Caste census, economic mapping will 'uproot' 50% reservation cap: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday underlined his party's resolve to conduct a caste census if voted to power, asserting that based on this right step along with economic mapping, the 50 per cent cap on reservation would be "uprooted". Gandhi said the Congress' slogan is "count" because that would be the first step towards justice. In a post in Hindi on X, the former Congress president said, "Have we ever wondered who is poor? How many are there and in what condition? Is it not necessary to count all this?" The caste survey conducted in Bihar revealed that 88 per cent of the poor population comes from Dalit, tribal, backward and minority communities, Gandhi said. "The figures from Bihar are just a small glimpse of the real picture of the country, we do not even have an idea in what condition the poor population of the country is living in," he said. "That is why we are going to take two historic steps -- caste census, economic mapping -- on the basis of which we will uproot

Cong played key role in developing country's infrastructure: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that although his party was instrumental in developing the country's infrastructure, the ruling BJP was trying to take credit for it. He also said the Congress can be strong at the national level only if it is strengthened in Mumbai, and added that the city unit has an enormous task of rebuilding the organisation. He was speaking after inaugurating via video link a day-long convention of Mumbai Congress workers. "It is the responsibility of each and every party worker in Mumbai to strengthen the Congress. Mumbai and Congress have an old relationship as the party was founded here on December 28, 1885. Several decisions like the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) were conceived in the state by the Congress before being adopted at the national level in the form of legislation," he said. "If you forget history, then you can't do anything in future. It is the responsibility of the Congress to tell the new generation about what it did

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh praises strong first list for Lok Sabha polls

Congress released its first list of 39 candidates for Lok Sabha elections on Friday with party General Secretary KC Venugopal asserting that his party's priority is to win maximum number of seats

What's stopping PM Modi from visiting strife-torn Manipur, asks Cong

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Assam's Kaziranga National Park, the Congress on Saturday attacked the Centre over the "increasingly disturbed" situation in different parts of the Northeast, and asked why the PM had not found time to visit the violence-hit Manipur yet. Prime Minister Modi took the elephant and jeep safari inside Assam's Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve on Saturday morning In a swipe at Modi, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "We're glad that the Prime Minister has found time amidst his various travels to spend today morning in Kaziranga, an iconic national park which owes much to the great interest shown both by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi." However, beyond Kaziranga, there are four questions for him on the "increasingly disturbed" situation in different parts of the Northeast of India, he said. "On June 19th, 2020, at the all-party meet on China, the Prime Minister declared that not a single Chinese ...

BJP discusses seat sharing agreement for Maharashtra with Sena, NCP

Union Home Minister Amit Shah held discussions for seat sharing in Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with coalition partners Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and NCP president Ajit Pawar. Shinde and Pawar -- chief minister and deputy chief minister of Maharashtra -- held talks with Shah here late Friday. Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present in the meeting. Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Pawar-led NCP and the BJP will contest the Lok Sabha elections in alliance in Maharashtra which sends 48 members to the lower house of Parliament. BJP had won 23 of the 25 seats it had contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, while its then alliance partner -- undivided Shiv Sena -- won 18 seats of the 23 seats it had contested. The undivided NCP, as part of the opposition alliance, had contested 19 seats and managed to win four. The Shiv Sena, which had joined hands with the Congress and the NCP to form a coalition government after the ...

Congress would need 20 yrs to do what we did in 5 yrs in Northeast: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the kind of work done by his government in the last five years in the Northeast, the Congress would have taken 20 years to do it. The PM was addressing a public meeting in Arunachal Pradesh's Itanagar after unveiling development projects worth Rs 55,600 crore in the region. "The Northeast is going to become a strong link in India's trade, tourism and other relations with South Asia and East Asia. Today, projects worth over Rs 55,000 crore have been unveiled here," he said. "Congress would have taken 20 years to do what we have done in the last five years in the Northeast," he added. The prime minister said that one can clearly see what "Modi's guarantee" is if he visits Arunachal Pradesh. "The entire Northeast is watching how Modi's guarantee is working," he said. The PM also said that as he was working for the development of the country, leaders of the opposition bloc INDIA were attacking him.

Cong leader Suresh Pachouri, ex-MP Rajukhedi to join BJP ahead of LS polls

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Suresh Pachouri and ex-MP Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday morning, party sources said. Pachouri, who was close to the Gandhi family, was Union minister of state for defence (defence production and supplies), and also served as a four-time Rajya Sabha member of the grand old party. Rajukhedi, a prominent tribal leader, was elected as an MP from Dhar (Scheduled Tribes) seat on the Congress ticket for three terms. In 1990, he was elected as a BJP MLA, but later joined the Congress, the sources said.