Page 2 - Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress dismisses NDA's Bihar victory claim, cites failed LS poll rhetoric

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday rubbished Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's predictions of the NDA's victory in the Bihar assembly polls, pointing out that their 400 plus claim in the Lok Sabha elections was way off the mark. He spoke to PTI Video in Gaya, where he insisted that "all was not well" in the BJP-led coalition, as there were doubts that Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president and longest-serving chief minister, would be backed for another term in office. "The Prime Minister can say anything. Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, they kept saying 400 paar," said Kharge, pointing to the performance of the BJP in last year's general elections, when it fell short of a majority and became dependent on allies like JD(U) and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's TDP for survival in power. When his attention was drawn to the fact that Shah, the most trusted aide of Modi and the BJP's principal strategist, has been claiming that the

PM Modi, Shah, Kharge among heavyweights set to hold rallies in Bihar today

Hectic campaigning in poll-bound Bihar is set to continue on Monday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge scheduled to address a host of public rallies across the state. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also address two poll rallies at Sonbarsa and Lakhisarai, and hold a roadshow at Rosera. While the PM will address public rallies in Saharsa and in Katihar districts, Kharge will address a public rally in Vaishali. Shah will take part in rallies in Sheohar, Sitamarhi and Madhubani during the day. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also scheduled to address four public rallies in Patna, Saran and Muzaffarpur on Monday. Modi led a mega roadshow in Patna on Sunday evening, besides addressing back-to-back rallies in Bhojpur and Nawada districts. The Bihar assembly polls will be held in two phases on November 6 and November 11, while the counting of votes will take place on November 1

Kharge, Rahul, Priyanka among Cong's 40 star campaigners for Bihar polls

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Kanhaiya Kumar and Independent MP Pappu Yadav are among the party's 40 star campaigners for the first phase of the Bihar assembly polls. AICC in-charge of Bihar Krishna Allavaru, Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram, Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal, Bhupesh Baghel, Sachin Pilot, Randeep Surjewala and Syed Naseer Hussain, as well as senior leaders Ashok Gehlot, Tariq Anwar, Gaurav Gogoi, Mohammad Jawed and Akhilesh Prasad Singh, are also on the list. The Bihar polls will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, and results will be announced on November 14. The opposition INDIA bloc, which has RJD, Congress and Left parties as the main constituents, on Thursday declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav its chief ministerial candidate for the Bihar polls. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, senior leaders Digvijaya Singh, Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, Meira Kumar

Modi govt corroding RTI Act and hollowing out democracy, says Congress

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday accused the Modi government of "systematically corroding" the Right to Information (RTI) Act and "hollowing out" democracy and citizens' rights. In a post on X, Kharge said that 20 years ago, the Congress-led UPA Government, under the leadership of the then prime minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, ushered in a new era of transparency and accountability by implementing the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005. "In the last 11 years, the Modi Government has systematically corroded the RTI Act, thereby hollowing out Democracy and citizens' rights," he said in his post. The Congress chief claimed that in 2019, the Modi government "hacked away" at the RTI Act, seizing control over Information Commissioners' tenure and pay, "converting independent watchdogs into servile functionaries." "The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, gutted the RTI's public interest clause, weaponising privacy to shield corruption and stonewall ...

PM claiming 'sole ownership' of GST reforms sought since 2017: Congress

The Congress on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of taking "sole ownership" of the amendments made to the GST regime and said the current reforms were inadequate, with no resolution to the states' demand for an extension of compensation for another five years. The opposition party slammed the reforms as "applying band-aid after inflicting deep wounds" and said the government should apologise to the public for its GST on essential items. A day before reduced GST rates come into effect, Modi made a strong pitch for promoting 'swadeshi' goods and asserted that the next generation GST reforms would accelerate India's growth story, increase ease of doing business, and attract more investors. In his address to the nation, Modi said a 'GST bachat utsav (savings festival)' will begin from the first day of Navratri, and coupled with the income tax exemption, it will be a "double bonanza" for most people. Reacting to his address, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge took a swipe

H-1B visa fee hike: Rahul Gandhi says India has a weak PM, Cong slams govt

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Indians are pained by the return gifts you (PM Modi) received after the birthday call

Who is ECI shielding?: Kharge questions after Rahul's voter deletion charge

Kharge asked who the EC has been shielding to allow for alleged vote theft, asked if the BJP is 'hollowing' out institutions meant to protect democracy

Rahul Gandhi, Kharge, Kejriwal extend birthday greetings to PM Modi

Rahul Gandhi also conveyed wishes, writing, 'Wishing Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji a happy birthday and good health'

'Rahul Gandhi breaching security protocol': CRPF flags movements to Kharge

The CRPF has raised concerns over Rahul Gandhi's unscheduled movements during domestic and foreign trips, reminding him and his staff to follow VIP security rules at all times

Foreign Secy assured safe return of 1,000 Indians stuck in Nepal: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said he has spoken to India's foreign secretary about the violence in Nepal and he has assured the safe return of around 1,000 Indian citizens stranded in the neighbouring country. He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Congress party's 10-day training camp organised here. Nepal descended into chaos after deadly anti-government demonstrations rocked capital Kathmandu and other cities of the Himalayan nation this week, forcing Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli to resign on Tuesday. Kharge said, "The government should protect the Indian tourists who are stranded in Nepal. Many people are at the airport, many are on roads and in hotels. I spoke to the foreign secretary yesterday, and he said that around 1,000 Indians stranded there will be brought back soon." At least 25 people, including three policemen, were killed during the violent anti-government protests led by the 'Gen Z' group in the last two days in Nepal. The Nepal

Cong mocked farmers' pain, PM Modi delivered: Amit Malviya slams Kharge

Malviya praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping farmers by doubling their incomes and embracing modern farming techniques

Cong mocked farmers' pain, PM Modi delivered: Amit Malviya slams Kharge

Malviya praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping farmers by doubling their incomes and embracing modern farming techniques

US tariff issue: PM Modi has become 'enemy of the nation', claims Kharge

Referring to the US tariff issue, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday claimed that US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be friends, but alleged the latter has become "an enemy of the nation". Addressing reporters in Kalaburagi, the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said Modi and Trump could be good to each other because they sought votes for one another. Kharge claimed the Modi-Donald Trump alliance had come at India's cost. "He (Trump) and Modi can be friends, but Modi has become an enemy of the nation. He spoiled the atmosphere," he alleged. Commenting on the impact the US tariff had on India, Kharge charged, "Trump imposed a huge tariff. After a 50 per cent tariff, he destroyed our people". "You walk on your ideology and protect the people of the country, because the nation comes first and your friendship is secondary," he insisted. Kharge also urged the Prime Minister to realise that India had followed a foreign policy of neutrality a

Priyanka, Kharge, others pay tribute to Rajiv Gandhi on birth anniversary

The Indian National Congress also paid tribute to the former India Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by sharing a post on their official 'X' handle

Former SC judge B Sudershan Reddy picked as INDIA bloc VP candidate

B Sudershan Reddy to contest as INDIA alliance VP candidate, facing NDA's CP Radhakrishnan; elections are set for September 9 after Dhankhar's resignation

Meet Sudershan Reddy, former SC judge now Opposition's vice president pick

Opposition alliance names former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy as its vice-presidential candidate against NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan. Election is scheduled for September 9

Rahul Gandhi, Kharge extend greetings to nation on 79th Independence Day

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi highlighted that independence is a resolve to build a nation rooted in truth, equality, and brotherhood

Cong highlights 'vote chori' with video, Kharge asks people to raise voice

The Congress on Wednesday stepped up its campaign against alleged 'vote chori' by releasing a new video depicting how fake votes were being cast and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge asking people to raise their voice and save constitutional institutions from the "clutches of the BJP". Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi also shared the minute-long video and said, "Aapke vote ki chori aapke adhikar ki chori, aapki pehchaan ki chori hai." Tagging the advertisement titled 'booth par vote chori", Congress president Kharge said, "Do not let your rights to vote be snatched away. Ask questions, demand answers this time! Raise your voice against vote chori." "Free constitutional institutions from the clutches of the BJP," he said in his message to the people on X. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also shared the video on X, and said, "the theft of your vote is theft of your rights, theft of your identity." "Save your right to vote, Raise your voice against vote theft," sh

Fight against SIR is to protect people's right to vote: Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said the protest against 'vote chori' and SIR is a fight to protect people's right to vote and a struggle to save democracy, and asserted the INDIA alliance will expose BJP's "conspiracy". His remarks came as top opposition leaders were stopped from taking out a march to the Election Commission office to protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar. In a post on X, he said, "BJP's cowardly dictatorship will not work!". "This is a fight to protect the people's right to vote. This is a struggle to save democracy," he said. "The allies of the INDIA coalition will surely expose this BJP conspiracy to shred the Constitution," Kharge said in his post in Hindi. Kharge was among those who participated in the Opposition MPs protest march from Parliament to the Election Commission office. The protesting MPs were prevented by the police from moving forward and were detained and taken away in buses. Kharge and Rahul G

Sanjay Raut writes to Amit Shah, seeks info on ex-VP Dhankhar's whereabouts

Raut said in his letter that rumours are circulating in Delhi that Dhankhar has been confined to his residence and is reportedly not safe