Page 21 - Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress' CEC finalises about 40 more candidates for LS elections

Top Congress leadership on Monday discussed over 60 seats in five states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Assam and finalised the names of about 40 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Sources said the party has decided to field former chief minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath once again from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara and Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav from Jalore in Rajasthan. Speculation was rife about both Kamal Nath and his son Nakul switching over to the BJP ahead of the polls. Both Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot are unlikely to contest, with the former's son entering the poll fray and the latter having responsibility of Chhattisgarh as AICC general secretary, the sources added. The Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC), chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, met at the party headquarters to finalise candidates, days after the party released its first list of 39 candidates for the polls. Among the seats that were discussed at the meeting ..

BJP against social justice, secularism enshrined in constitution: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday attacked the BJP over its MP Anantkumar Hegde's remark about amending the Constitution, alleging that the ruling party is against social justice and secularism enshrined in the Constitution. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, the Congress president said the BJP aims to get a massive mandate only for amending the Constitution. Kharge's attack came after Hegde, at a gathering in Karwar in Karnataka on Saturday, had said the BJP needed a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament to amend the Constitution and "set right the distortions and unnecessary additions made to it by the Congress". Kharge said, "I have to say sadly that Constitution has not been fully accepted by the BJP." He claimed that on one hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi states that the Constitution will not be changed and on the other hand, he makes his people say that they need two-thirds majority to amend it. This statement has been ma

Kharge as PM candidate: A pre-election gambit

Umbrella parties with no fundamental commitment to OBC or Dalit politics are not known to have gained electorally from such opportunistic pivoting

PM Modi accuses Congress of ignoring development of Northeast for decades

Asserting that the Northeast's development is crucial to fulfil the objective of 'Viksit Bharat', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Congress of ignoring the region for decades. Addressing a public meeting at Meleng Meteli Pothar here, after unveiling projects worth Rs 17, 500 crore in Assam, he said heritage and development was the "mantra of double-engine government". He also alleged that the Congress government's "insensitive and unplanned conservation strategy" led to poaching in the Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Around 27 rhinos were killed in 2013 but the number of such poaching incidents came down to zero in 2022 due to the NDA government's policies, he said.

Cong played key role in developing country's infrastructure: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that although his party was instrumental in developing the country's infrastructure, the ruling BJP was trying to take credit for it. He also said the Congress can be strong at the national level only if it is strengthened in Mumbai, and added that the city unit has an enormous task of rebuilding the organisation. He was speaking after inaugurating via video link a day-long convention of Mumbai Congress workers. "It is the responsibility of each and every party worker in Mumbai to strengthen the Congress. Mumbai and Congress have an old relationship as the party was founded here on December 28, 1885. Several decisions like the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) were conceived in the state by the Congress before being adopted at the national level in the form of legislation," he said. "If you forget history, then you can't do anything in future. It is the responsibility of the Congress to tell the new generation about what it did

Cong releases first list of 39 candidates, Rahul to contest from Wayanad

Venugopal said the list has 15 general category candidates while 24 are from the SC, ST, OBC and minority communities

LS polls: After 'Yuva Nyay', Congress' 'Nari Nyay' push on Women's Day

Lok Sabha elections: The Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge reaffirmed the party's resolve to ensure "justice" for women, if the party is voted to power in the upcoming general elections

Lok Sabha polls: Congress unveils 5 guarantees to woo youth in poll promise

A Congress government will guarantee a "bharti bharosa" to the youth, where the Centre will take steps to fill three million vacant government jobs

Cong's poll body meets to finalise 1st list of candidates for LS elections

The top leadership of the Congress is attending a meeting in the national capital on Thursday to finalise the party's candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi and general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal, as well as other senior leaders who are part of the Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC) were present at the meeting. Finalising candidates for Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Telangana, Lakshadweep, Kerala, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim and Manipur, among others, is expected to be discussed during the meeting. The Congress has not declared any candidate so far. Last week, the BJP came out with its first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. Congress sources said the party is likely to declare its first list of candidates soon to enable the candidates to start their poll campaign. Speculation is rife over Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's from Rae

LS polls: Kharge's son-in-law emerges as front-runner for Gulbarga seat

M Mallikarjun Kharge's son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani has emerged as the front-runner for Congress ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the home turf of the party's President. The 81-year-old Kharge had won from Gulbarga (Kalaburagi) Lok Sabha segment twice but lost the 2019 polls. "The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha's hands are full. In addition to managing party affairs at the national level, he has to coordinate with INDIA bloc partners", a senior party leader said. "Also, he has four more years of his term left in Rajya Sabha", he said, seeking to confirm reports that Kharge is not in favour of contesting from Kalaburagi. His son, Priyank Kharge, who represents Chittapur assembly constituency in Gulbarga segment and is a Minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet in Karnataka, is also not interested to throw his hat in the ring. "Doddamani, a businessman who also manages educational institutions, seems to be the front runner", a party leader said.. Party .

Rahul likely to announce 10-point poll promise for youth in MP rally today

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who heads the manifesto committee, said the draft report will be presented to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge

Modi govt treating farmers like 'enemies', says Congress chief Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday alleged that the Narendra Modi government was "anti-farmer" and treating farmers as "enemies" for demanding their rights. His remarks come a day after farmer leaders Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal gave a call to farmers across the nation to reach Delhi on March 6 for a protest. They also gave a four-hour countrywide 'rail roko' call for March 10 in support of their various demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops and farm debt waiver. They have asserted that the farmers' ongoing agitation will be intensified at the existing protest points and will continue till their demands are met by the government. In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge alleged that in order to benefit its "select crony capitalist friends", the Modi government has consistently sacrificed the interests of farmers. "When the farmer who provides food to the country wants to produce a bumper crop and export it, then the Mo

Rahul, Akhilesh to attend 'Jan Vishwas Rally' in Patna ahead of LS polls

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday arrived in the Bihar capital to attend the 'Jan Vishwas Rally', which is being seen as a virtual show of strength for the opposition INDIA bloc ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The rally, which has been organised by the RJD, is being attended by top leaders including its national president Lalu Prasad, his son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI general secretary D Raja. Samajwadi Party president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has also reached the venue. The historic Gandhi Maidan, a sprawling public ground situated in the heart of the city, is choc a bloc with supporters of the 'Mahagathbandhan', a coalition comprising Congress, RJD and Left parties, which was sharing power in the state until the abrupt exit of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the JD(U), recently. The 'Jan Vishwas Rally' is being seen as a culmination of 'Jan Vishwa

Highlights of the day: 400 farmer unions to be at 'Mahapanchayat' in Delhi

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Govt failed to realise 'Make in India' due to 'complete inaction': Kharge

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday targeted the Centre on 'Make in India' and alleged that the government has failed to realise the initiative due to "complete inaction" in creating jobs and utilising funds. He posed several questions on why the government did not create enough jobs and on the under-utilisation of funds in key sectors to promote manufacturing in the country. "The Modi government failed to realise 'Make in India'! The loud drumbeating on their interventions in the manufacturing sector has been drowned by complete inaction," he said in a post on X. Posing several questions, the Congress chief asked why the value added by manufacturing in India's GDP declined from 16 per cent to 13 per cent over the past decade. He also asked why the average manufacturing growth plunged under the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "It was 7.85 per cent during Congress-UPA which dropped to almost 6 per cent only," he said. Recalling that the Centre had promise

Gadkari sends legal notice to Kharge, Ramesh for sharing 'misleading' news

Union minister Nitin Gadkari sent legal notices to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Friday for allegedly sharing misleading and defamatory news contents about him on X. Gadkari's lawyer, Balendu Shekhar, said his client was shocked to know about, hear and see the contents and posts from the official handle of the Congress on the microblogging platform. Kharge and Ramesh deliberately posted a 19-second video clip of Gadkari's interview given to "The Lallantop" web portal, concealing the contextual intent and meaning of his words, the lawyer said. The notice said a sinister act has been committed with the sole intent and ulterior motive to fan and create confusion, sensation and disrepute to Gadkari in the eyes of public. It said it was also a futile endeavour to create rifts in the solidarity of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is poised to win the trust of people in the upcoming general election under the leadership of Prime Ministe

Kharge expresses grief over Jharkhand train accident, seeks impartial probe

Earlier in the day, President Droupadi Murmu expressed grief and offered her condolences on the loss of lives and people injured in the train accident in the Jamtara district of Jharkhand

On NITI Aayog CEO's 'poverty at 5%' claim, Kharge rips into Modi govt

The recent release of the 'Household Consumption Expenditure' report has become the latest flashpoint between the Centre and the Opposition, with the Congress alleging data manipulation in the report

Household consumption expenditure survey 'election-inspired', says Kharge

Targeting the Centre for releasing an "election-inspired" Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge Tuesday demanded a census be conducted soon for accurate information, insisting it should also incorporate a caste survey. In a post on 'X' in Hindi, Kharge said that after 10 years of "deep sleep", the Modi government has finally come out with an "election-inspired" survey on public expenditure and income. "The Modi government has made an unsuccessful attempt to pat itself on the back in the survey," he said. "We have only one demand, for correct information, the Census of 2021 should be done as soon as possible and a caste census should be a part of it. The Congress party will definitely get it done as soon as its government is formed," the Congress chief added. Kharge said if everything in the country was so shiny as is being shown in the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, why the poorest five per cent of rural India was spending only R

Agnipath scheme gross injustice to country's youth: Kharge writes to Murmu

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu highlighting the "gross injustice" done to the country's youths seeking regular employment in the armed forces due to the Agnipath scheme and urged her to ensure justice for them. The future of nearly 2 lakh young men and women has become uncertain due to the ending of the regular recruitment process in the armed forces, Kharge said in his letter to the President. The President is also the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. These youths spent years in pursuit of their dream and "the resulting frustration and hopelessness has even led to several reported deaths by suicide", Kharge claimed. "Our youths cannot be allowed to suffer in this manner. I appeal to you to ensure that NYAY and justice is done," he said. In June 2022, the government rolled out the Agnipath recruitment scheme for short-term induction of personnel into the armed forces with an aim to bring down the age profile of the three