Page 90 - Indian National Congress

Will ensure MVA fights Maha assembly, Lok Sabha polls together: Pawar

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Monday said the people in Maharashtra are looking for a change and he will ensure that constituents of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) contest the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections together. Pawar was speaking to reporters after the newly-elected Congress MLA from Kasba Peth Assembly constituency in Pune city, Ravindra Dhangekar, visited the NCP chief at his residence here. He said Dhangekar was elected by common people in the bypoll in Kasba Peth, a BJP bastion, as he has been working for them for the last several years. Queried whether a formula of contesting elections jointly will be repeated by MVA in the upcoming civic elections, Pawar said his colleagues in NCP are looking into this aspect. "However, my efforts will be to ensure that the constituents of MVA remain together, take joint decisions, and face the state Assembly and Lok Sabha elections together," he said. The former Union minister also said the people in Maharashtra are looking for a ...

K'taka CM questions Shivakumar after ISKP claims hand in Mangaluru blast

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday questioned Karnataka Congress chief D.K. Shivakumar after a global terror outfit ISKP took responsibility for the Mangaluru cooker blast

Paper leak is injustice to Rajasthan's youth: BJP leader Arun Singh

BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh on Saturday attacked the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan over a string of paper leaks in recent months, calling it a betrayal of the state's youths. Addressing a protest rally here, the BJP's Rajasthan in-charge said incidents of paper leak did not happen once or twice but 16 times during the Gehlot regime. "This government is good for nothing. Rajasthan would be the first state in history where paper leak incidents have happened 16 times. Gehlot makes tall promises but does not work," he said. Singh also called upon the state's youths to throw the Congress out of power in the next assembly elections. "Give Congress such a push that it falls down a ditch and never returns to power for the next 20-25 years," he said. A large number of activists from the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and the BJP and other leaders were present at the protest rally.

Remarks against PM: SC extends interim bail of Pawan Khera till March 17

The Supreme Court on Friday extended till March 17 the interim bail granted to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case related to alleged objectionable remarks he made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Assam Police had arrested Khera in the case. A three-judge bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala adjourned the hearing to March 17 as it had run out of time. The bench also pointed out that the replies of Uttar Pradesh and Assam were not on record and it will hear the plea after the Holi vacation. It made clear that the interim bail granted to Khera will be extended till March 17 when it will hear the matter. Earlier, on February 27, the court had extended the protection to the Congress spokesperson till Friday. Khera was arrested at the Delhi airport after being deplaned from a flight to Raipur over his alleged remarks against Modi made at a press conference on February 17 in Mumbai. He was later granted bail by a magisterial co

MP Assembly adjourned till Mar 13 amid BJP-Cong tussle over MLA suspension

The Budget session of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly was on Friday adjourned till March 13 amid a tussle between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress MLAs on the suspension of an opposition MLA and calls for the Speaker to stay away from the proceedings due to a no confidence proposal against him. As soon as the Assembly convened for the day, Leader of Opposition and Congress MLA Govind Singh wanted to know fate of the no confidence proposal moved by his party against Speaker Girish Gautam over the suspension of MLA Jitu Patwari on Thursday. In reply, MP Parliamentary Affairs minister Narottam Mishra said it was he who had moved the proposal for Patwari's suspension and that the Speaker acted as per rules once it was passed by voice vote. Meanwhile, Congress MLAs Sajjan Singh Verma and Kunal Chaudhary said Gautam should refrain from being part of the proceedings due to the proposal of no-confidence against him. In the meantime, Mishra flung a book detailing rules and ...

Cong accuses govt of 'favouritism' in small arms deal with Adani Group

The Congress on Thursday accused the government of indulging in "blatant favouristism" and giving the Adani group "undue advantage" in major small arms contracts for the armed forces. Posing a set of three questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the party's "Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun" series, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party had asked the PM a series of questions on February 15 regarding the "handing over" of large chunks of the India-Israel defence partnership to his "close friend" Gautam Adani. The Congress' slew of allegations have continued weeks after Adani Group stocks had taken a beating on the bourses after US-based short seller Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation. The Gautam Adani-led group has dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements. "While he (PM) gives his gyan to G20 Foreign Ministers, he cannot run away from

Trinamool Congress second richest party after BJP, Congress at third: ADR

Trinamool Congress has emerged as the second richest party after BJP in terms of income in financial year 2021-22, as per a report

BJP to launch Yatra, cover 8,000 km as campaign heat picks up in Karnataka

Seeking to give a boost to its campaign for the Assembly polls round the corner in Karnataka, the BJP on Wednesday will launch its 'Vijay Sankapla Yatre' from four different directions across the state, in specially designed vehicles or "Rathas" with the party's central leaders set to give it a headstart. BJP national president J P Nadda will kick-start the 'yatre' from Male Mahadeshwara Hills in Chamarajanagar district. While Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to flag off another Yatre on March 2 from Nandagad in Belagavi district, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is slated to launch the third and fourth yatras that will start from Basavakalyana in Bidar district and Avathy in Devanahalli near Bengaluru, on March 3, in the morning and afternoon, respectively. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, former Chief Minister and BJP's Parliamentary board member B S Yediyurappa, party's state President Nalin Kumar Kateel, and national General Secretary C T Ravi are among those expected

SC extends interim bail of Congress leader Pawan Khera till March 3

The Supreme Court on Monday extended till March 3 the interim bail granted to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case related to his alleged objectionable remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Assam Police had last week arrested Khera in the case. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Assam, that the state police wanted to file its reply. Additional Advocate General Garima Prasad, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, also said that she will also be filing the response in the matter. The bench took note of the submissions and fixed Khera's plea for hearing on March 3 making it clear that the interim bail, granted to him on February 23, will remain in force till then. Khera was arrested at the Delhi airport after being deplaned from a flight to Raipur in connection with his alleged remarks against Modi, made at a press conference on February 17 at Mumbai. He was later granted bail

Bharat Jodo Yatra part 2 is Under active consideration: Jairam Ramesh

Congress is now considering another yatra but no decision has been taken in this regard at all, said party general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday

Committed to secularism, will enact 'Rohith Vemula Act' if voted: Congress

The Congress on Sunday promised to bring in a special legislation called the "Rohith Vemula Act" to redress the discrimination faced by students from SC, ST, OBC and minority communities in educational institutions, and asserted that it shall commit to secularism in letter and spirit and will be at the forefront to protect the rights of minorities. In its social justice and empowerment resolution passed at its 85th plenary session, the Congress committed to conduct a socio-economic caste census along with the decennial census. The party said it has advocated reservations for economically weaker sections (EWS) of the society but the BJP's policy on EWS quota has excluded even the poor SCs, STs and OBCs from availing benefits under EWS quota. The Congress said it considers poor belonging to all communities to be economically weaker and therefore poor SCs, STs and OBCs cannot be excluded from the EWS quota. "Congress party would ensure that economically weaker section category student

Takeaways from Cong plenary meet: No CWC polls, Kharge to nominate members

As curtains came down on the Congress' 85th plenary session on Sunday, there were several takeaways from the three-day conclave of the party -- from opting to authorise the AICC president to nominate CWC members to making its stance clear on alliances for 2024 polls. The main takeaways from the session are as follows: * The Congress Steering Committee unanimously decided not to hold elections to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and authorised party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to nominate its members. * Kharge said his party is willing to forge a viable alternative by aligning with like-minded parties in order to get rid of the "anti-people" BJP government in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and is ready to make any sacrifice required to achieve the goal. * The Congress said it is the only party that can provide capable and decisive leadership to the country, but is ready to make sacrifices to defeat the BJP-led NDA and would go all out to identify, mobilise and align like-minded secular .

Congress adopts resolution on making MSP for crops a legal right of farmers

The Congress on Sunday resolved to make minimum support price for crops a legally enforceable right of farmers with any purchase of agricultural produce below it a punishable offence. The party also said no criminal proceedings will be initiated against farmers over debt and no land will be auctioned to recover outstanding loans. The party, in a resolution on farmers and agriculture adopted at its 85th plenary session here, also resolved to provide one-time immediate relief to farmers from indebtedness by bringing a debt waiver scheme to waive up to Rs 6 lakh each farmer. "The Indian National Congress resolves that MSP (minimum support price) should be a legally enforceable right of the farmers. Purchase of agricultural produce below MSP be made a punishable offense," the party said. "MSP should be calculated based on the C-2 cost plus 50 per cent profit as suggested by the Swaminathan Commission and subsequently recommended in the report of the Group of Chief Ministers headed by t

Congress promises MSP with legal guarantee under Swaminathan panel

The Congress on Sunday promised farmers will be given minimum support price (MSP) with legal guarantee under C2 formula of M.S. Swaminathan Commission

'Centre putting pressure on Chhattisgarh Cong leaders via probe agencies'

Centre putting pressure on Chhattisgarh Cong leaders through probe agencies, says Priyanka; slams Modi govt over Adani

Was our economy bigger when we fought the British: Rahul Gandhi slams BJP

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday launched scathing attack on BJP while addressing the party's 85th Plenary Session here

My innings could conclude with Bharat Jodo Yatra, says Sonia Gandhi

Sonia Gandhi thanked all leaders, and the people of the country for participation in the yatra as well as for their love and the support

Steering committee authorises Congress chief Kharge to nominate CWC members

The Congress steering committee on Friday unanimously decided to authorise party president Mallikarjun Kharge to nominate all members of the working committee, the party's highest decision making body. Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said the committee freely discussed the matter of CWC elections and almost all 45 members present unanimously decided to authorise the Congress president to nominate members. Several members expressed their views both in favour and against the polls to CWC, he told reporters. "We are fully confident that all AICC and PCC delegates will support this unanimous decision," he said. Ramesh said the plenary will also decide on bringing 16 amendments to 32 rules and regulations of the party's constitution. "All former prime ministers of the Congress party and former presidents will be given representation in the Working Committee," he said, giving details of amendments to be brought about in the constitution of the party. Earlier,

Opposition BJP and Congress boycott Odisha Governor's address to Assembly

The Budget Session of Odisha Assembly on Tuesday began on a stormy note with opposition BJP and Congress boycotting Governor Ganeshi Lal's address to the House. Both the opposition parties also criticised the BJD government over the assassination of minister Naba Kishore Das in his home constituency of Jharsuguda and also on the prevailing law and order situation in the state. As soon as the House assembled for the day, Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra stood up and targeted the state government for "failing" to protect the life of a sitting minister following which his party MLAs rushed to well of the House. The opposition BJP members who were protesting by standing near their respective seats, later joined the Congress members in the well and raised anti-BJD slogans. As the Governor went on delivering his address to the House, BJP members first walked out of the House followed by Congress members. "We boycott the Governor's address as he (governor) is giving a

Half of CWC should be elected as per Cong constitution: Chidambaram

Days ahead of the Congress' crucial plenary session, senior leader P Chidambaram on Monday said half of the CWC members should be elected as per the AICC constitution and batted for younger leaders' inclusion in the party's top decision-making body. In an exclusive interview with PTI, Chidambaram said he has learnt that there are issues about the strength of the electoral college that will elect the Congress Working Committee (CWC) which must be resolved by the party's poll panel. The former Union minister asserted that an objective analysis of the political situation will lead to the conclusion that the Congress has to be the "pole" around which Opposition unity in the 2024 Lok Sabha election can be built. Asked whether he believes that elections to the party's highest decision-making body CWC were essential, Chidambaram said, "My personal view is that one-half of the CWC should be elected as per the Constitution of the party." "However, I learn there are issues about the strength