Page 19 - Jairam Ramesh

Bharat Ratna award to Karpoori reflects Modi govt's desperation: Congress

The Congress on Wednesday welcomed the decision to confer Bharat Ratna to former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur and said it reflects the Narendra Modi government's desperation and hypocrisy. Thakur was a champion of social justice and conducting a nationwide caste census would be an appropriate tribute to him, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said. "Even though it reflects the Modi Govt's desperation and hypocrisy, the Indian National Congress welcomes the posthumously awarded Bharat Ratna to the champion of social justice Jannayak Karpoori Thakurji," Ramesh said in a post on X. "'Bhagidari Nyay' is one of the five pillars of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. It will need a nation-wide caste census as a starting point. "Rahul Gandhi has been consistently advocating this but the Modi Government has all along refused to release the results of the Socio Economic Caste Census 2011 and also refused to commit itself to conduct an updated nation-wide caste census which will be the

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We have broken barricades, but will not break the law: Rahul Gandhi

The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra was stopped from entering the city on Tuesday, triggering protests from Congress workers who broke barricades and raised slogans. Gandhi later addressed party supporters on the outskirts of the city, and said, "We have broken barricades, but will not break the law". The police, which had set up barricades at two places to prevent the Yatra from entering the city limits, had to use force to stop the Congress workers. Gandhi was earlier accorded a boisterous welcome as he tried to enter Guwahati and addressed some varsity students on the way. Addressing supporters, he said while BJP president J P Nadda took the same route, they were not allowed to travel on it. "You should not think we are weak. We have broken the barricades," he told his workers and supporters, calling them "babbar sher" (lion). "They have cancelled my programme at the university. My programme was cancelled, but the students heard me outside," he said. "Congress workers

Rahul Gandhi to visit Sri Sankardev's birthplace on Jan 22: Jairam Ramesh

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Bordowa Satra in Assam's Nagaon district, the birthplace of Sri Sankardev on Pran Pratishtha day, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Saturday

Cong, not Rajiv responsible for unlocking of Babri Masjid gates: Aiyar

Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has said the party and not former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was responsible for unlocking of Babri Masjid gates and asserted that the "BJP-planted" Arun Nehru was behind it. Aiyar also said his guess is that had Gandhi been alive and been the prime minister instead of P V Narasimha Rao, Babri Masjid would still be standing, the BJP would have been given an appropriate riposte and he would have found a solution similar to the one that the Supreme Court arrived at years later. He hailed the Congress top brass' decision to decline the invitation for the January 22 Ram temple consecration ceremony. Aiyar was speaking on Friday at the launch of his book "The Rajiv I Knew And Why He Was India's Most Misunderstood Prime Minister", published by Juggernaut. "He (Gandhi) was saying keep the masjid and build the temple. The Supreme Court said make the temple and make the masjid somewhere else. In a sense, the judgement is the same as the conclusion

We broke no rules, says Jairam Ramesh on FIR against Bharat Jodo Yatra

Ramesh claimed that the state government led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was making deliberate attempts to stop people from joining the Yatra

People are asking us why PM Modi has not visited Manipur: Jairam Ramesh

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who is with Rahul Gandhi in Manipur for 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' said that people are asking us why PM Modi has not visited Manipur

Tiger zinda hai: Jairam Ramesh rejects BJP's claims of 2024 being done deal

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has rejected the BJP's claims that the 2024 poll results are a foregone conclusion, saying "Tiger zinda hai" and that the opposition bloc will repeat the history of 2004 when the saffron party was unseated from power despite its 'shining India' campaign. In an interview with PTI, Ramesh asserted that only a strong Congress can ensure a strong opposition and the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is an effort to strengthen the grand old party. On how the poll preparations will be handled by the party while also managing its east to west yatra, Ramesh said a party organisation is in place and Rahul Gandhi would be part of the campaign despite his preoccupation with the yatra. "The yatra will end by the time polls start. I expect the elections to start somewhere, maybe in first week of April by which time the yatra would have been over. Meetings can always be held on Zoom. I don't see it as a problem," he said, dismissing concerns that poll preparations may b

Timing of announcement determined by PM Modi: Cong on Deora's resignation

With its senior leader Milind Deora resigning just before the start of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the Congress on Sunday alleged that the timing of the announcement of his departure from the party was determined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh told PTI that Deora had spoken with him over phone this Friday and requested that he wanted to speak with Rahul Gandhi over his concerns over the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) laying claim to the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat. Both Milind Deora and his father Murli Deora had served as MPs from Mumbai South. He messaged me on Friday at 8:52 AM and then at 2:47 PM I replied, Are you planning a switch?'. At 2:48 he sent a message, is speaking to you not possible?' I said I will call you and at 3:40, I spoke to him, Ramesh said. He (Deora) said he is concerned that it is a sitting Shiv Sena seat, he wanted to meet Rahul Gandhi and explain to him about the seat and also wanted me to talk to Mr. Gandhi

Cong slams Modi govt over issue of unemployment, says job famine worsened

The Congress on Thursday alleged that the country's "jobs famine" has worsened in the last ten years of Modi government, and accused the prime minister of miserably failing to fulfil his promise of creating two crore jobs every year. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said India's youth deserve growth that delivers them good quality jobs not joblessness and 'pakora' shops. According to data from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, unemployment for youth aged 25-29 was the highest in almost four years, at 15.5 percent in December 2023, he said. "This means that unemployment now is worse than it was during the COVID-19 pandemic," he alleged. For youth aged 20-24, he said the unemployment rate hit a peak of 45.5 percent. Even for those between ages 30 and 34, the unemployment rate is at a three-year high, he claimed. "The crisis is especially bad in rural areas, and more and more families are turning to MGNREGA as there are no other jobs available," he said. "It is absolute

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EC dismisses Jairam Ramesh's concerns on VVPATs, asserts full faith in EVMs

Dismissing Congress leader Jairam Ramesh's concerns on the VVPATs, the Election Commission on Friday said that it raised "no new assertions or reasonable and legitimate doubts which require further clarifications", adding the rules governing paper slips were introduced by the grand old party-led government in 2013. In a communication to Ramesh, the poll body also expressed "full faith in the use of the EVMs in the elections" and made it clear that the latest updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) answer "adequately and comprehensively" all reasonable and legitimate aspects on the use of the EVMs in the Indian elections. "Rule 49A and 49M of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, governing VVPAT and handling of paper slips was introduced by INC (Indian National Congress) on 14th August, 2013," said the letter signed by Pramod Kumar Sharma, Principal Secretary in the Election Commission. Ramesh had written to the Election Commission on December 30 last year, requesting that a ...

Congress renames 'Bharat Nyay Yatra' to 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, during a press conference in New Delhi, outlined the details of the campaign that will commence from Manipur on January 14

Lost all intellectual honesty: Congress' Jairam Ramesh slams EAM Jaishankar

This response came after Jaishankar, in an exclusive interview with ANI, highlighted the first Prime Minister's decision to reject the US proposal to join the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

Congress writes to CEC, seeks time to share INDIA bloc's views on VVPATS

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has written to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, requesting that a team of INDIA bloc leaders are provided an opportunity to meet him and his colleagues to put forward their point of view on VVPATS. In his letter to Kumar, Ramesh said that on December 20, 2023, INDIA parties' leaders had requested for an appointment with the ECI to "discuss and provide suggestions on the use of VVPATs" based on a resolution passed at meeting of leaders of the bloc held the previous day. "We have been trying to meet with the ECI to hand over a copy of this resolution and have a discussion but have not been successful so far in doing so," he said. "I once again make a request for an opportunity for a 3-4 member team of INDIA party leaders to meet with you and your colleagues and take a few minutes to put forward our point of view on VVPATS," Ramesh said. In his letter dated December 30, 2023, the Congress general secretary also pointed out that on August 9,

Will decide if Sonia, Kharge will attend Ram temple consecration: Cong

The Congress on Friday said it will take a decision at an "appropriate time" on whether party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi will attend the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh told reporters here that Gandhi and Kharge have been invited to the ceremony. "Chairperson Congress parliamentary party Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge have been invited to the inauguration of the Ram temple. A decision will be taken at an appropriate time, and communicated at an appropriate time," he said. Congress' leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has also been invited to the ceremony. The consecration ceremony will be held on January 22 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 people are expected to attend it.

'Doesn't speak for party': Congress on Sam Pitroda's Ram Mandir remarks

Sam Pitroda, the current chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, sparked outrage when he said that focusing on the Ram Temple over important matters like unemployment bothers him

Rahul Gandhi to embark on 6,200 km Bharat Nyaya Yatra from January 14

Unlike the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi and his associates will travel the distance during the Nyaya Yatra in a bus interspersed with short padyatras

What will PM Modi say on insulting his opponents in last 20 years: Jairam

In this regard, Jairam Ramesh shared a video on X (former Twitter) where PM Modi is targetting senior Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Desperate attempts being made to divert attention from MPs suspension: Cong

The Congress on Wednesday hit back at the BJP for its criticism of a TMC leader's mimicry of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, saying a "desperate attempt" is being made to divert attention from the unprecedented suspension of over 140 MPs by raising this issue. The Congress' attack came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Vice President Dhankhar and expressed great pain over the "abject theatrics" of some MPs in Parliament complex, the Vice President's office said. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "A desperate attempt is being made to divert attention away from the unprecedented suspension of 142 MPs by raising the issue of 'mimicry'." "Remember who mimicked whom and that too in the Lok Sabha?" Ramesh said and shared a video clip of Prime Minister Modi's speech in Lok Sabha after Rahul Gandhi had hugged him in 2018. A political row broke out on Tuesday after Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee derisively mimicked Dhankhar during the ...