Page 22 - Indian Politics

Bharat Jodo Yatra Leaves behind trail of issues, hope for 2024 elections

The curtains may have come down on the Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra here but it has left behind a trail of people's issues, enthused party cadres, controversies and a hope that the grand old party could mount a challenge in the general elections next year. Congress watchers feel the yatra has found some answers the party had been looking for on the road to 2024 but questions remain whether it will yield electoral dividends going forward. The yatra culminated at the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) headquarters in the Lal Chowk area here with unfurling the national flag after traversing 12 states and two Union territories in over 140 days after its launch on September 7 last year, clocking over 4,000 km. During the course of the yatra, Rahul Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, over 100 corner meetings, 13 press conferences. He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions. Whether it leads to a lasting impact on the electoral fortunes of the Congre

Rahul Gandhi unfurls flag at 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' campsite at PCC office

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday hoisted the national flag at the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' camp site here and followed it with a fun snowball fight with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Donning a white T-shirt and a sleeveless jacket, the former Congress chief hoisted the flag at the camp site in Panthachowk to the tunes of the national anthem played to mark the culmination of the yatra, amid a fresh snowfall in the city. In a brief address to the 'Bharat Yatris', Gandhi thanked them for their love, affection and support through the 136-day foot march, which began in Kanyakumari on September 7 last year. The Gandhi siblings later joined Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and scores of other party leaders at the Pradesh Congress Committee office on the Maulana Azad Road where another flag hoisting ceremony was held. The national anthem was playing after this. The local administration had made stringent security arrangements for the programme as Lal Chowk was off limits for ...

Voting underway for five legislative council seats in Uttar Pradesh

Voting for five legislative council seats -- three graduate and two teachers' constituencies -- is underway. Polling for the biennial election in 39 districts of the state is scheduled to end at 4 pm and counting of votes will be taken up on February 2, the election office said. The districts where polling is taking place are Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Fatehpur, Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat, Unnao, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Badaun, Rampur, Moradabad, Amroha, Bijnor, Sambhal, Bahraich, Shravasti, Gonda, Balrampur, Basti, Siddharth Nagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Deoria, Kushinagar, Azamgarh, Mau, Sultanpur, Ayodhya, Amethi and Ambedkar Nagar. In total, 6.32 lakh people are eligible to vote in the three graduate constituencies -- Gorakhpur- Faizabad, Kanpur and Bareilly-Moradabad -- and of them 3.93 lakh are men and 2.39 lakh women. As many as 5,392 people will cast their votes in two teachers' ...

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India committed to working closely with Nepal to further boost ties: Envoy

India's political leadership is committed to working closely with the Prachanda-led government in Nepal for giving further impetus to bilateral ties, India's Ambassador here Naveen Srivastava has said. Hosting an event to celebrate the 74th Republic Day on Thursday, Srivastava said the exchange of high-level visits from both the countries had added a new dimension to Indo-Nepal relations. Vice President of Nepal Nanda Bahadur Pun, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' along with ministers, parliament members, former prime ministers, leaders of various political parties, were among those who attended the reception. India's political leadership was committed to working in close relation with the Prachanda-led government for giving further impetus to the bilateral ties, he underlined. Prachanda, who was sworn in as Prime Minister last month, has said that he will travel to India on his first foreign visit. Earlier in the morning at a special function, Ambassador Srivastava ..

Delhi BJP to discuss organisational issues in 2-day executive meet

In the aftermath of its defeat in the MCD polls, the senior leaders of Delhi BJP will take stock of the existing organisational issues within the party at a state executive meeting on Friday. The two-day executive committee meeting will also discuss roadmaps for the upcoming events including the 2024 Parliamentary and 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, a senior party functionary said. A political proposal will be presented in the meeting that will seek to "expose" the Kejriwal government's alleged "corruption and failure to deliver" besides highlighting various initiatives and development works in Delhi by the BJP-ruled central government, he said. A discussion on the party's performance in the past six months will include its defeat in the 2022 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections at the hands of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an office bearer said. Some announcements of programmes in view of the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly polls are also expected, he said. The first day of the

Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra resumes today from J-K's Banihal

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi resumed his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Jammu and Kashmir's Banihal on Friday en route to the Valley. Enthusiastic Congress workers and supporters carrying the tricolour turned up in large numbers to receive the Gandhi family scion. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah also joined Gandhi at Banihal. Donning a white T-shirt like Gandhi, Abdullah started walking with the Congress leader, along with hundreds of Congress party supporters. "The Bharat Jodo Yatra is not aimed at improving the image of Rahul Gandhi but for improving the situation in the country," the NC leader told reporters upon his arrival in this highway town of Banihal, 120 km from Srinagar. Abdullah said he joined the yatra as he was more concerned about the image of the country. "We have not joined this for the image of an individual but for the image of the county," he said. The NC leader further said Gandhi did not start the yatra f

Realising dreams of leaders, common people: J'khand CM Soren on R-day

Listing the welfare measures he has initiated for Jharkhand thus far, Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday said he is committed to "realising the dreams of leaders and common people who had fought for the creation of a separate state". Unfurling the Tricolour at Dumka Police Line, on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day, Soren said his government has received more than 55 lakh applications under its ambitious 'Aapki Sarkar Aapke Dwar' outreach scheme. Governor Ramesh Bais, who unfurled the national flag at Ranchi's Morabadi ground, urged people to take a pledge to build such a Jharkhand, which is free from social discrimination and inequality. If both the government and the citizens discharge their duties and responsibilities honestly, we will certainly succeed in building a strong and prosperous Jharkhand, Bais said. In Dumka, the chief minister described the adoption of the 1932 Khatiyan-based domicile policy by his government, for defining locals, as a major step taken to ..

Committed to fulfilling dreams of those who sacrificed for J'khand: Soren

Listing the welfare measures he has initiated for Jharkhand thus far, Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday said he is committed to "realising the dreams of leaders and common people who had fought for the creation of a separate state". Unfurling the Tricolour at Dumka Police Line, on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day, Soren said his government has received more than 55 lakh applications under its ambitious 'Aapki Sarkar Aapke Dwar' outreach scheme. He described the adoption of 1932 Khatiyan-based domicile policy by his government, for defining locals, as a major step taken to protect the interests of the state's indigenous population. "Let us take a pledge to build a state, which is in line with the dreams and hopes of those who made sacrifices for the creation of Jharkhand," Soren said. He noted that the poor and the needy in the state have been benefitting from schemes such as Green Ration Card, Birsa Harit Gram Yojana, Sarvajan Pension Yojana and Chief Minister Employment

Hope Budget corrects Centre's fiscal approach towards states: Kerala FM

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal has expressed hope that the Union Budget will allocate more funds for social and infrastructure development as well as correct the Centre's fiscal policy in dealing with states. The Left leader, who is critical of the Union government's approach towards the states in terms of GST implementation and devolution of central funds, also said the "serious discrimination" showed towards Kerala should be stopped. In an interview to PTI, Balagopal said the Centre's approach has led to a financial crisis in the state that is affecting the overall development. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be announcing the Budget for 2023-24 on February 1, at a time when global uncertainties and headwinds are impacting the Indian economy. "As far as Kerala is concerned, there is a sharp fall in the percentage in our divisible pool. We have requested the Union government to correct it," the minister said. Ahead of the Union Budget, Balagopal alleged "ser

Left to contest 47 seats, Congress 13 in upcoming Tripura Assembly polls

The Left Front on Wednesday night announced the names of candidates for 47 of the 60 Assembly seats in the upcoming election in Tripura, said Left Front convenor Narayan Kar at a press meet

China's aggressive actions caused India to join Quad: Mike Pompeo

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed that India, which has charted an independent course on foreign policy, was forced to change its strategic posture and join the four-nation Quad grouping due to China's aggressive actions. India and China are locked in a lingering border standoff in eastern Ladakh for over 31 months. The bilateral relationship came under severe strain following the deadly clash in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh in June, 2020. India has maintained that the bilateral relationship cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border area. In his latest book 'Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love' that hit the stores on Tuesday, Pompeo called India the wild card in Quad because it was a nation founded on socialist ideology and spent the Cold War aligning with neither the US nor the erstwhile USSR. The country (India) has always charted its own course without a true alliance system, and that is still mostly the case. But China's actions

Police detain 4 SFI students for planning of screening BBC's doc on Jamia

The Delhi Police Wednesday said they have detained four students after the Left-affiliated Students' Federation of India (SFI) announcement plan to screen a controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Jamia Millia Islamia campus. The university administration said the screening will not be allowed and that they are taking all measures to prevent people and organisations with a "vested interest to destroy the peaceful academic atmosphere of the university". A Delhi Police official said four SFI members were detained, just hours before the screening planned for 6 pm by the student body. The SFI called for a protest at 4 pm against the detention. The SFI's Jamia unit has released a poster informing the documentary will be screened at 6 pm at the MCRC lawn gate no 8. The SFI issued a statement following the detention. "In an atrocious manner, Azeez, a student of Jamia Milia Islamia and SFI Jamia Unit Secretary; Nivedya, a Jamia Student and SFI South Delhi Area

Petroleum Minister Pradhan says will contest elections from Odisha in 2024

Union minister and Rajya Sabha MP Dharmendra Pradhan, has expressed desire of contesting elections from Odisha in 2024. Assembly elections are due in the coastal state next year, along with the Lok Sabha polls. I have already requested the party (BJP) I will contest this time, Pradhan said at an event organised by The New Indian Express here. However, he did not make it clear whether he will contest assembly or Lok Sabha polls. I am a strong believer of democracy, I believe in political homework and political hard work, not just management. To continue my connect with the common masses, I think the best way is to contest polls, Pradhan told PTI on Tuesday. Pradhan was elected to the Odisha Assembly in 2000 and to the Lok Sabha from Deogarh Parliamentary seat in 2004, when the BJP was in alliance with Biju Janata Dal. However, Pradhan lost the Assembly elections in 2009 after the BJP-BJD alliance broke. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2012 and for a second term in 2018. To

Complaint filed against K'taka CM Bommai, Nadda over vote bribe case

K'taka Cong on Wednesday lodged a police complaint against Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai, BJP President J.P. Nadda, State BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel and BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi in Bengaluru

People thinking about nation's sovereignty can't remain in Cong: Shergill

BJP spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill on Wednesday seized on the resignation of Kerala leader Anil Antony from his posts in the Congress to take a swipe at his former party, claiming those who think for the nation's sovereignty and integrity can no longer remain there. "Self-respecting individuals who think for the nation, for nation's sovereignty & integrity can no longer remain in the Congress. It's not 'mohabbat ki dukan' but 'chamchon ka durbar' which dominates Cong," he said, echoing Antony's charge of sycophancy in the party. Shergill claimed that, "Speaking for Pak, China & propagandists is criterion to remain in Cong now." Though he did not name Antony, the context was clear on a day the son of veteran Congress leader A K Antony resigned from all his party posts following widespread criticism of his tweet against the controversial BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots. He said he was getting "intolerant calls" to retract his tweet against the documentary and the "wall .

PM Modi greets people of Himachal pradesh on state's formation day

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday greeted people of Himachal Pradesh on the state's formation day. Hardworking people of the state, full of natural beauty, have also been dedicated to serving the country, he said while wishing them. Himachal became the 18th state of the Indian Union on January 25, 1971 and has since done well on various development indicators.

Telangana's KT Rama Rao trains guns on BJP over price rise, communal issues

Telangana Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao launched a broadside against the BJP over the allegedly mounting debt, rise in prices of fuel in the country, communal issues and others. Addressing a public meeting at Narayanpet town after attending various development programmes on Tuesday, he alleged that the present NDA government took huge debt in eight and half years compared to all the Prime Ministers put together before PM Modi. Referring to an article written by Bibek Debroy, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the PM in a newspaper, allegedly favouring taxing farmers' income in India, Rama Rao said it is a horrible idea to tax the farmers. Rama Rao, son of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, also flayed the comments of BJP leaders over the NDA government building highways and airports. Toll tax is imposed on the highways, while airports are built by private companies, he said. He also charged that the BJP rakes up communal issues instead of talking about bread .

LG bypassing Delhi govt in issuing prosecution sanction: Manish Sisodia

AAP leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday accused Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena of issuing prosecution sanction by bypassing the city government. He said this has led to a situation where those accused of committing serious offences against the State might walk away free. Sisodia said it is the elected government that issues a prosecution sanction. "Hon. LG's over-enthusiasm to bypass elected govt on every matter has created a crisis situation wherein many people accused of committing serious crimes against the state might go scot free," he said in a tweet. The LG has issued "invalid Prosecution Sanctions bypassing the elected government," he said, without elaborating. Under Section 196(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a valid sanction for prosecution from the state government is a prerequisite for certain offences, Sisodia said. It includes offences like hate speech, hurting religious sentiments, hate crimes, sedition, waging war against s

Urmila Matondkar joins Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu

Actor-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra as it resumed from the garrison town of Nagrota on a cold Tuesday morning. Matondkar, a popular Bollywood stars of the 1990s, joined Gandhi shortly after the march started from near the army garrison around 8 am amid tight security, with Congress workers and supporters lined up on the road along the route to welcome them. Matondkar (48) had resigned from the Congress in September 2019 after a short association of six months, and joined the Shiv Sena in 2020. Dressed in a cream-coloured traditional Kashmir Pheran (loose gown) and beanie cap, Matondkar was interacting with Gandhi as they marched along. Noted author Perumal Murugan and J&K Pradesh Congress committee president Vikar Rasool Wani, his predecessor G A Mir and former minister Abdul Hamid Karra also joined them alongside hundreds of other carrying the tricolor in their hands. The yatra, which started from Kanyakumari on ...