Page 7 - Indian National Congress

Cong slams Modi govt over rise in per capita debt of individual borrowers

The Congress on Wednesday slammed the Centre over the rise in the per capita debt of individual borrowers and said the government is constantly trying to hide the real shortcomings by taking the help of statistics and experts, but the debt burden on the country is at its peak in "Modi Raj". Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared screenshots of media reports to attack the government. One media report stated that the average debt of every person in the country has increased by Rs 90,000 in the last two years and the per capita debt of individual borrowers increased to Rs 4.8 lakh in March 2025 from Rs 3.9 lakh in March 2023. The other report shared by Ramesh said 25.7 per cent of the common man's disposable income is going towards paying EMIs of loans which are non-productive for him in the future. "Debt of 'Achhe Din'! The Modi government has ruined the country's economy in the last eleven years. No effort was made to improve the lives of the people

Banks not supporting Centre's loan schemes for entrepreneurs: Shivakumar

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday claimed that banks were not cooperating with the Central government's schemes aimed at supporting entrepreneurs, particularly those offering loans without guarantees or collateral. Speaking at the inauguration of the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association's (KASSIA) Centre of Excellence and Innovation in Bengaluru, Shivakumar underlined the importance of giving the younger generation opportunities to grow. "KASSIA will succeed only if it exerts more pressure on the government than the large industries," he remarked. He criticised the banks for failing to support the Centre's annoucements. "The Central government makes grand announcements like providing loans without guarantees or collateral, but banks do not comply. They prefer lending to those with a proven track record and are hesitant to support emerging entrepreneurs," the Deputy CM said. He urged KASSIA office-bearers to actively work towards empowering the next

Investment depression result of Modi govt's policies of suppression: Cong

The Congress on Saturday said the country's economic and investment growth is sluggish due to the Narendra Modi government's "policies of suppression and oppression". In a post on X, Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said India's economic growth "stubbornly refuses" to accelerate at the desired and perfectly feasible rate. The most important reason for this failure, he said, is that private corporate investment continues to remain sluggish in spite of the generous tax cuts in September 2019 and the PLI (production-linked incentive) cash handouts. Ramesh said the Modi Government's own survey indicates that private sector capital expenditure may well be 25 per cent lower in 2025-26 as compared to the previous year. "Informed analysts have opined that while banks are willing to lend, companies are unwilling to borrow since the investment environment is not seen to be conducive to expansion. "Growing demand creates a climate for investment. There are undoubtedl

Trump used trade deal as instrument for India-Pak ceasefire: Jairam Ramesh

With US President Donald Trump announcing that a "very big" trade deal is on the cards with India, the Congress on Friday took a swipe at the government and said it seems that India gets to know decisions of great importance to it from the White House. The opposition party's swipe at the government came after President Donald Trump said a "very big" trade deal is on the cards with India, hinting at significant progress in the negotiation process of a long-awaited bilateral trade agreement between the two countries. "We are having some great deals. We have one coming up, maybe with India. Very big one. Where we're going to open up India," said Trump while speaking at the 'Big Beautiful Bill' event at the White House. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that "after repeating 16 times" that he used a trade deal as an instrument to bring about a ceasefire between India & Pakistan, Trump has now announced that the India-US trade agreement is going to .

Cong slams RSS over calls for reviewing 'socialist', 'secular' in Preamble

Slamming the RSS for calling for reviewing the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble of the Constitution, the Congress on Friday alleged that the RSS has "never accepted" Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution and that their demand was part of the conspiracy to destroy it. The RSS on Thursday called for reviewing the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble of the Constitution, saying they were included during the Emergency and were never part of the Constitution drafted by B R Ambedkar. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the RSS has "never accepted" the Constitution of India. "It attacked Dr Ambedkar, Nehru, and others involved in its framing from November 30, 1949 onwards. In RSS' own words, the Constitution was not inspired by Manusmriti," he said in a post on X. "The RSS and the BJP have repeatedly given the call for a new Constitution. "This was Mr (Narendra) Modi's campaign cry during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The people o

Rahul Gandhi claims Fadnavis seat voter list grew by 8% in just 5 months

In a post on X, Gandhi shared a news article, demanding the immediate release of machine-readable digital voter rolls and CCTV footage

Cong slams BJP, says Modi govt left no stones unturned in ruining economy

The Congress on Tuesday attacked the Centre over interest rates on savings accounts reportedly reaching the lowest level in 25 years, alleging that the Modi government has in the last 11 years left no stone unturned in "ruining" the country's rapidly growing economy. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X which claimed that the 1% cut in repo rate by the RBI has forced banks to reduce their deposit rates, pushing savings account interest rates to a 25-year low. "In the last 11 years, the Modi government has left no stone unturned in ruining the country's rapidly growing economy. Starting with demonetization, new experiments are being conducted on the people of the country every year, they are being tortured in new ways everyday," Ramesh said in a post on X in Hindi. The interest rates on savings accounts have reached the lowest level in 25 years, which is directly hitting the pockets of the elderly and the common citizens, he ...

Govt using tech to deny social welfare to vulnerable sections: Congress

The Congress on Monday attacked the Modi government over the Women and Child Development Ministry ordering face recognition authentication to be made mandatory for anganwadi beneficiaries, alleging that it is systematically using technology to exclude the most vulnerable sections of society from social welfare entitlements. The opposition party also said Digital India must enable, not disempower, and it must not remain a "Preach Inclusion Practice Exclusion (PIPE) dream". The ministry has directed all states and Union territories to implement a mandatory face recognition system for take-home ration distribution and child attendance monitoring at anganwadi centres. According to a letter issued by the ministry last month, the face recognition feature will now be accessible within the beneficiary profiles on the Poshan tracker application. Beneficiaries will also have the option to self-register using the citizen module of the tracker for e-KYC and photo capture. Reacting to the ...

PM Modi has mastered 'art of slogans', not solutions: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has mastered the "art of slogans" but offers no solutions, and claimed that India's manufacturing was at a record low despite the 'Make in India' initiative. "'Make in India' promised a factory boom. So why is manufacturing at record lows, youth unemployment at record highs, and why have imports from China more than doubled? "Modi ji has mastered the art of slogans, not solutions. Since 2014, manufacturing has fallen to 14 per cent of our economy," he said in a post on X. Gandhi, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, said Modi has "no new ideas" and has "surrendered". "Even the much-hyped PLI scheme is now being quietly rolled back," he alleged. Gandhi said India needs a fundamental shift, one that empowers lakhs of producers through honest reforms and financial support. "We must stop being a market for others. If we don't build here, we'll keep buying from those who do. The clock is ticking," he said. G

Sonia slams govt's silence on Gaza, Iran, calls it 'surrender of values'

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday strongly criticised India's silence on Israel's devastation in Gaza and Iran as "not just a loss of its voice, but also a surrender of values". In an article - "It is still not too late for India's voice to be heard", she accused the Narendra Modi government of abandoning India's long-standing and principled commitment to a peaceful two-nation solution envisioning an independent Palestine along with Israel. Gandhi, in the article, was also critical of US President Donald Trump for following a "destructive path" in West Asia, after having spoken against America's endless wars. "New Delhi's silence on the devastation in Gaza and now on the unprovoked escalation against Iran reflects a disturbing departure from our moral and diplomatic traditions. This represents not just a loss of voice but also a surrender of values," the Congress leader said in her article in 'The Hindu'. "It is still not too late. India must speak .

Congress favours Hindi, but English opens new avenues: Ashok Gehlot

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said Congress is in favour of Hindi but English opens new avenues in the world for everyone. Gehlot's comments came a day after Home Minister Amit Shah's reported remarks on English. "Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi and all of us are also in favour of Hindi but English is an international language which opens new avenues in the world for everyone," Gehlot said in a post on X. "Home Minister Shah and many people of BJP-RSS are against English although the people of the country know that the children of most of the Union ministers are studying abroad and they confuse the people here," the Congress leader said. During childhood, we also used to oppose English but it has become the need of the hour, so we also changed our 'approach', he said. Today, in the era of computers, internet, Artificial Intelligence, the young generation can be completely successful in life through English, Gehlot said. The previous Congress government in ..

PM Modi targets RJD, Congress at rally in Bihar, credits NDA for progress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) at a public rally in Siwan, accusing them of pushing Bihar into poverty and lawlessness during their rule. Addressing the public meeting, the PM said the people of Bihar have ended the jungle raj created by the Congress-RJD combine. Modi also slammed the RJD for allegedly insulting Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar and said the people of the state would not tolerate the insult to the Dalit icon. The RJD and the Congress are responsible for the large-scale migration of labourers from Bihar and for the persistent poverty that plagued the state for decades, Modi alleged. He claimed that the RJD-Congress governance model was focused on "enriching their own families while ignoring the needs of the people". During the Congress's licence raj, their leaders became rich, but the public remained poor, he added. The RJD insulted Babasaheb and the people of Bihar will never forgive

MVA constituents will deliberate on contesting civic polls together: Pawar

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said that the constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will deliberate on contesting the upcoming civic elections in Maharashtra together. As the Supreme Court has directed that municipal elections be conducted in the state, the process will begin soon, Pawar told reporters in Baramati. Though we have not yet held discussions with the Congress, our party, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), the Shetkari Kamgar Paksh, and other parties will come together and explore the possibility of contesting the polls together. A final decision will be taken, as we wish to fight the polls together, he said. Asked whether the MVA would jointly contest the civic polls in Mumbai, he said no such discussion has taken place so far. Among us, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has a strong base in Mumbai, and their opinion will be taken into consideration, he added. The Bal Thackeray-founded undivided Shiv Sena had controlled the cash-rich Brihanmum

Will demand for removal of 50% cap on quota during Monsoon session: Cong

The Congress on Friday reiterated its demand of making the Bihar reservations law a part of the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, amending the Constitution to overcome the 50 per cent ceiling for reservations and implementing Article 15(5) which enables reservations for SCs, STs, OBCs, and EBCs in private educational institutions. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said most definitely the party will take up these three issues of fundamental importance to social justice and empowerment in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament. "The PM is in Bihar today. On the basis of the caste survey conducted by the erstwhile INDIA bloc Government in Bihar, the Bihar Government had proposed 65% reservation for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, OBCs, and EBCs. This is under challenge in the Courts," Ramesh said on X. The double engine government in Bihar has all but given up, he said. But there are three ways out that the Congress has been demanding for lon

Rahul Gandhi's new official address: Bungalow No 5, Sunehri Bagh Road

Bungalow No. 5, Sunehri Bagh Road, will be Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's new address and he has started the process of shifting on the occasion of his birthday on Thursday but will start living there before the next Parliament session, party sources said. Gandhi has agreed to have 5, Sunehri Bagh Road as his official residence, they said. He started shifting his belongings from Thursday to the new accommodation, the sources said. Gandhi will start living in that bungalow in a few days from now before the Monsoon Session of Parliament begins on July 21, they said. Last year, parliamentary sources had said Gandhi had been offered the bungalow and a response is awaited from his end. Since Gandhi became an MP, his residence had been 12, Tughlaq Lane. However, he had vacated that house after he was disqualified from Lok Sabha in 2023, following his conviction in a defamation case. Gandhi then moved into the 10, Janpath residence of his mother Sonia Gandhi and has been living th

Hope PM will agree to debate on China during Monsoon Session: Congress

The Congress on Thursday said it has been calling for a detailed debate on China for the last five years and hopes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will finally agree to such a discussion in the forthcoming Monsoon session of Parliament. The opposition party also said it is important to collectively work towards a national consensus on vital national security and economic challenges posed by China's emergence as the world's dominant manufacturing power and as the world's second-largest economy. Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Today is the fifth anniversary of PM Modi's infamous clean chit to China, when he said 'Na koi hamari seema mein ghus aaya hai, na hi koi ghusa hua hai' only four days after 20 of our brave soldiers gave their lives for the nation in Galwan on 15 June, 2020." This sorry episode concluded with a withdrawal agreement on October 21, 2024, under which Indian patrols require Chinese concurrence to reach their patrolling .

Cong takes a swipe at PM Modi, says Indian diplomacy is being shattered

The Congress on Wednesday took a swipe at the Modi government over reports that Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asim Munir would be having lunch with US President Donald Trump, and said Indian diplomacy is being "shattered" and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "totally silent". Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also said President Trump himself has "trumpeted" 14 times that he brought about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, meaning he ended Operation Sindoor. "Field Marshal Asim Munir, the man whose inflammatory, incendiary and provocative remarks were linked directly to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attacks, is having lunch today with President Trump in the White House," Ramesh said. Is this why President Trump abandoned the G7 Summit a day early denying Mr. Narendra Modi a "huge hug", he asked. "Gen. Michael Kurilla, the US Central Command Chief calls Pakistan a 'phenomenal' partner in counter-terrorism operations. This is triple jhatka to Howdy Modi

ED summons D K Suresh in Aishwarya Gowda 'fraud' case; deposition on Thurs

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Congress leader D K Suresh, younger brother of Karnataka deputy CM D K Shivakumar, for questioning in an alleged cheating case linked to a money laundering probe against a local woman, official sources said on Tuesday. Suresh, a former MP, has been asked to depose on June 19 and get his statement recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. The federal probe agency had arrested the local woman -- 33-year-old Aishwarya Gowda -- in April following searches against her and Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni. The ED had then said in a statement that the woman claimed proximity with various "high-profile" politicians and cheated people by promising them high returns against gold, cash and bank deposits. She is alleged to have used the name of Suresh and claimed to be his sister. Suresh had also lodged a complaint with the Bengaluru Police, saying his name was being "misused". The ED is understood to have recorded the

Instead of 'acche din', 'days of debt' have arrived: Cong dig at Modi govt

Taking a swipe at the Centre, the Congress on Tuesday claimed that the economic condition of the common people in India is "very worrying" and that instead of the 'acche din' promised by the Modi government, days of debt have arrived. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh cited a media report which claimed that despite the increase in the income of the people in the country and inflation being under control, household savings have decreased for the third consecutive year. "People's savings in the country are decreasing, debt is increasing! This clearly means that on one hand inflation is increasing, on the other hand people's income is decreasing. As a result, people are either withdrawing their savings or are forced to survive by taking loans," Ramesh said in a post in Hindi on X. "The bottom line is that the economic condition of the common people in India is very worrying, but the Modi government is completely careless!" he alleged. "It is clear that

Cong to campaign against RSS-BJP 'hurdles' in Ambedkar statue installation

Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders on Tuesday said the party will launch a campaign against "hurdles" being created by the RSS-BJP in the installation of Dr BR Ambedkar's statue at the Gwalior bench complex of the MP High Court. Efforts were being made by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to negate Ambedkar's contribution as the architect of the Constitution, the opposition Congress leaders alleged at a press conference here. The Congress displayed posters and hoardings recently put up in Gwalior and alleged the BJP was trying to present BN Rau, a former civil servant and constitutional advisor to the Constituent Assembly, as the main architect of the Constitution. Congress general secretary and Madhya Pradesh in-charge Harish Chaudhary said it was unfortunate that a "controversy" was being created over the installation of Ambedkar's statue in the HC bench premises in Gwalior. "Under a well-planned conspiracy, questions are being raised on the