Page 7 - Jairam Ramesh

Congress questions Starlink agreement, says PM Modi orchestrated deal

Elon Musk's SpaceX has entered into an agreement with telecom provider Airtel to introduce Starlink services in India. A day after Airtel, a deal was signed between Reliance's Jio Platforms and SpaceX

PM focused on 'tareef' not tariffs, must stand up to US threats: Ramesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is only interested in 'tareef' and not concerned with tariffs, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Friday and wondered where is the PM's "56 inch chest" in dealing with US threats on the the reciprocal tariff issue. In an interview with PTI, Ramesh said the Congress will raise the issue of US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff threats during the upcoming second half of the Budget session and called for a bipartisan collective resolve to deal with the threats. The Congress leader also alleged that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been speaking like an American envoy and a spokesperson for that country. "Our prime minister wants to hear only 'tareef (praise)', he is not concerned about tariffs. 'Tareef kum, aur tariff pe baat kijiye (talk about the tariffs issue and less about your praise)," Ramesh said. He said Trump is redoing the entire rules of international trade and asserted that the US President's whole idea of ...

Cong flags US downsizing NOAA, urges India to boost earth sciences research

The Congress on Friday claimed the downsizing at the US' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could adversely impact India, and said the country will have to enhance its own research capacity and capability in earth sciences very significantly. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X a media report which claimed the move to downsize the US meteorological body could hurt its data collection around the world. "Right now the Modi government's priority appears to be a trade deal to deal with President Trump's threats on tariffs. But his actions in other areas too could have adverse impacts on India," Ramesh said on X. "The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been of great importance to our understanding of the monsoon. But NOAA has been identified by President Trump for downsizing and big cuts," he said. Ramesh said the NOAA collects global data on parameters like temperature, salinity, and sea levels that are cruc

K'taka demonstrating how growth, sustainability can go together: Ramesh

Hailing the Karnataka government's decision to declare its lands in the Yelahanka taluk of Bengaluru Urban district as the Greater Hesaraghatta Grassland Conservation Reserve, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said the Siddaramaiah-led dispensation was demonstrating how economic growth, social development and ecological sustainability could go hand-in-hand. The Karnataka government on Monday notified 5,678 acres and 32 guntas of land in the Yelahanka taluk as the Greater Hesaraghatta Grassland Conservation Reserve. The notification came after the state Cabinet last month decided to declare the grassland as a conservation reserve. Reacting to the development, former Union environment minister Ramesh said the Karnataka government had been attracting very many new investments since May 2023. It has also been implementing historic income support, food security and other guarantees, he added. "Now, it has taken a bold decision to finally declare about 5,700 acres of government

Why hasn't Bihar been given Special Category Status as promised: Cong to PM

The Congress on Monday posed questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Bihar, asking why hasn't the state been granted Special Category Status as promised and why are so many essential projects lying incomplete there. Ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit to Bihar, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh posed four questions for him. "Where are the promised airports for Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, and Purnea," Ramesh asked in his post on X. "The PM promised an airport in Purnea on 18th August, 2015. Six years and three Nitish Kumar U-turns later, his government is yet to fulfil the promise," Ramesh said. In a 2019 rally, Modi promised to open Patahi Airport in Muzaffarpur and in 2023, Home Minister Amit Shah also pledged to kickstart operations at the Patahi airport, while the BJP promised a fully operational airport by Diwali 2023, he said. "However, an AAI ground team from March 2024 found that the land plot has broken boundary walls, and buffaloes roam t

BJP, Assam CM launching smear campaign against Gogoi: Jairam Ramesh

The Congress on Sunday accused the BJP and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of indulging in an "atrocious smear campaign" and "character assassination" against Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, adding that legal action is being initiated in the matter. Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said this is being done as Gogoi won the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat and is exposing the Assam chief minister's corruption. "The Assam CM and the BJP have begun an atrocious smear campaign targeting my colleague Gaurav Gogoi. This is character assassination of the worst type. Legal action is being initiated right away," Ramesh said in a post on X. "The smear campaign is because Gaurav Gogoi won the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat in June 2024 in spite of the Assam CM and other ministers camping in Jorhat and campaigning against him. It is also because the Jorhat MP has been in the forefront, revealing the blatant corruption and blackdeeds of the Assam CM," he said. Ramesh added, "the Assa

Why Manipur Guv not summoning Assembly for mandated session: Congress

Noting that Article 174 (1) of the Constitution stipulates that there cannot be more than a six month gap between two assembly sessions, the Congress on Tuesday asked why the Manipur governor is "violating" the article by not summoning the Manipur Assembly for its constitutionally mandated session. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said today is the last day for a constitutionally mandated sitting of the Manipur Legislative Assembly's session. Article 174 (1) of the Constitution of India stipulates there cannot be more than a six month gap between the last sitting of an assembly session and the first sitting of the next assembly session, he said. "Why is the Manipur Governor violating Article 174(1) by not summoning the Manipur Legislative Assembly for its constitutionally mandated assembly session?" Ramesh said. The session was declared null and void because the BJP could not appoint a successor to the CM against whom the Congress was scheduled to

Delhi poll results not vindication of PM, but referendum on Kejriwal: Cong

Results of the Delhi Assembly elections are not a vindication of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies but a referendum on Arvind Kejriwal and AAP, the Congress said on Saturday as it vowed to bounce back from another whitewash. The Congress also asserted that it would form a government in the national capital in 2030. The BJP has returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years, sweeping away the AAP from the national capital in another big win to extend its saffron footprint in the country. The Congress has drawn a blank in the polls once again after 2015 and 2020. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the assembly election results reflected nothing more than a referendum on Kejriwal and AAP. "After all, at the height of the prime minister's popularity in 2015 and 2020, AAP had won decisively in Delhi. This shows that, rather than being vindication of the policies of the prime minister, this vote is a rejection of Arvind Kejriwal's politics o

Jairam Ramesh calls Trump's Gaza plan 'bizarre' and 'unacceptable'

President Trump's loud thinking on the future of Gaza is bizarre, dangerous, and totally unacceptable, said Ramesh

Congress slams govt over 'thoughtless clearance for Teesta dam rebuild'

The Congress on Wednesday opposed the Centre's reported nod to building a dam for the Teesta III hydel project in place of the dam washed away in 2023's glacial lake flood, claiming it was a "thoughtless clearance" as the threat of disaster continued to persist at the dam site. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X a media report that claimed the BJP's Sikkim unit chief would meet Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav later this month to raise its pitch over safety concerns surrounding the clearance to build a dam for the Teesta III hydel project. "The INC (Indian National Congress) also opposes this thoughtless clearance. The threat of disaster persists at the dam site. There are also cascading and multiplying effects on habitations downstream," Ramesh said. He also shared the Congress' statement from last August in which the opposition party had hit out at the government and said hydel projects in ecologically fragile regions had been .

Budget 2025: Jairam Ramesh slams FM Sitharaman for excluding basic schemes

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech announced an increase in the money allocated to Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 scheme, in her 8th Budget presentation

Congress promises caste census, permanent jobs in Delhi election manifesto

In the first part of its manifesto, Congress had already announced five guarantees, including Rs 2,500 per month under the Pyari Didi Yojana, Rs 25 lakh health insurance for all

Outsourcing Manipur to HM abdication of PM responsibility: Cong slams Modi

In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress on Tuesday said "outsourcing" Manipur to Union Home Minister Amit Shah is an abdication of prime ministerial responsibility which has proved disastrous and reiterated the demand that the PM visit the violence-hit state. The opposition party's attack came after PM Modi greeted the people of Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur on their statehood day on Tuesday. In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The formerly non-biological - and now suddenly human - Prime Minister has just sent greetings to the people of Manipur on their Statehood Day through social media. Yet, he has stubbornly refused to visit Manipur even briefly ever since its agony began on May 3, 2023." "He has gone all over the world but has not found the time nor the inclination to reach out to the people of the state in Imphal and other places," he said. Modi has stubbornly refused to meet MLAs of his own party

Govt converted ease of doing business to unease in doing business: Cong

The Congress on Sunday claimed that the Modi government's retrograde policies have broken the confidence of investors in India and converted the ease of doing business to unease in doing business. Ahead of the Union Budget, the opposition party said that to fix this, the upcoming budget must eliminate raid raj and tax terrorism. It also called on the government to take action to protect Indian manufacturing jobs and take decisive action to shore up wages and purchasing power. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the Modi government has long proclaimed its desire to improve the "ease of doing business" in India but yet in the past decade "we have only seen an easing of private investment which has fallen to record lows and the easing out of businesspersons who have departed India in large numbers for foreign shores". "A byzantine, punitive, and arbitrary tax regime covering both GST and income tax - which amounts to sheer Tax Terrorism -is now the .

Election rules row: SC seeks govt, poll panel reply on Jairam Ramesh's plea

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought responses from the Centre and the poll panel on Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh's plea against the recent amendments, including no public access to CCTV, to the 1961 election rules. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar took note of the submissions of senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Ramesh, and issued notices on the plea. The bench said it would hear the plea in the week commencing March 17. Singhvi said amendments to the 1961 Conduct of Election Rules were made "very cleverly" and barred any access to CCTV footage claiming it would reveal the identity of the voter. He said voting choices were never revealed and the CCTV footage couldn't reveal votes. The senior lawyer urged the bench to ask the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Centre to file their responses before the next date of hearing else they would come and say "reply is needed to be filed" on tha

Draconian, anti-Constitution: Cong on UGC draft rules for V-C appointments

The Congress on Tuesday termed the draft UGC regulations for appointment of teachers and academic staff in universities and colleges "draconian and anti-Constitution", and demanded that those be withdrawn immediately. Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said the University Grants Commission (UGC) has recently published the draft UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025. "Among its many disastrous ideas include the following -- Removal of the 10 per cent ceiling on contractual professorships, opening the gates for the large-scale contractualisation of teaching in higher education. This is going to destroy the quality of our institutions and the spirit of academic independence," he said in a post on X. The former Union minister claimed that the draft rules also propose withdrawal of all powers of the sta

SC to hear Jairam Ramesh's petition against Election rules change on Jan 15

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh's writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging the recent amendments to the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, will come up for hearing in the apex court on Wednesday. The matter will come up for hearing before the bench headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on January 15, according to the cause list uploaded on the Supreme Court website. The Congress had filed the writ petition in the Supreme Court last month challenging the recent amendments to the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and expressed hope that the apex court will help restore the "fast eroding" integrity of the electoral process. The government has tweaked an election rule to prevent public inspection of certain electronic documents such as CCTV camera and webcasting footage as well as video recordings of candidates to prevent their misuse. AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh, who has filed the petition, had said, "The integrity of the electoral process is fast eroding.

PM Modi doing 'damage control' with 'not God' remarks, says Jairam Ramesh

Ramesh reacted to PM Narendra Modi's recent interview with a social media influencer, where he said that human beings were prone to making mistakes, including him since he was not a God

Pvt sector reluctant to invest in India as no-confidence in govt: Cong

The private sector's reluctance to invest in India is a corporate motion of no-confidence in the Narendra Modi government, the Congress claimed on Monday. The opposition party also urged the government to take measures in the upcoming Union budget to stimulate and sustain domestic investment in the country that, it claimed, was on the decline. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the investment environment in India had been sluggish in the "Modi decade". In a post on X, he said the Gross Fixed Capital Formation had fallen from an average of 32 per cent of GDP during Manmohan Singh's prime ministerial decade to consistently being below 29 per cent of GDP in the past 10 years. "Investment is sluggish because mass consumption is not accelerating, tax and other authorities are threatening and intimidating businesses, and because of the growing perception that only four-five business groups can grow in the Modi regime," he said. "Now comes fresh eviden

Biren Singh hits back at Congress, accuses past leaders for Manipur crisis

Manipur CM Biren Singh apologised for the ongoing unrest, blaming Congress' past actions. He responded to Jairam Ramesh's criticism, citing political neglect by Congress leaders