Jairam Ramesh

The Congress Monday hit out at its former leader Ghulam Nabi Azad for his reported remarks that Rahul Gandhi allegedly has ties with "undesirable businessmen", saying these "contemptible statements" on the party leadership reflect his desperation to remain relevant. In an interview with Malayalam News channel Asianet News, Azad, referring to the Gandhi family, said, "The entire family has associations with businessmen, including him (Rahul). I can give you 10 examples of where he would go even outside the country, to meet people who are undesirable businessmen." Hitting back at Azad, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "With every passing day, Ghulam Nabi Azad falls to new depths to demonstrate his true character and his loyalty to Mr (Narendra) Modi." "His contemptible statements on the Congress leadership reflect his desperation to remain relevant. I can only say that he is PATHETIC," Ramesh said in a tweet. Coinciding with the launch of his autobiography, Azad has bee

The Congress on Thursday raised concerns over the detention of eight former Navy personnel by Qatar and sought to know from the government why it could not seek their release even after seven months. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a statement that even though the Qatari national arrested along with the former Naval personnel has been released, why have the Indian authorities not been able to secure the release of Indians? "Why is the Indian government still unable to either ascertain the facts of the case or to reassure the ex-naval personnel and their families that justice will be done," he asked. Ramesh reminded the government that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had in Parliament termed it a "very sensitive case and said that the interest of the detained is "foremost in our minds... We assure, they are our priority". Yet, while an Omani national who was arrested along with the ex-Navy personnel was released in November, the Indian citizens remain in ...

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday wrote to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar over the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, being sent to a joint committee, alleging that this was an "open and shut case" of his allowing the government to deliberately circumvent the standing committee concerned. Ramesh alleged that Dhankhar had allowed the "subversion of the Standing Committee's basic function". His letter to Dhankhar over the issue, the second in just over a week, came in response to a letter dated April 5 from Ranjit Punhani, Secretary in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, asking him to "state the exact premise" for his objection to the reference of the Bill to the joint committee. Ramesh heads the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change. "This is an extraordinary request given, I have met you personally and also written to you on my objections. I have already informed you that the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bil

The Congress on Wednesday said growing concentration of economic power is having a negative effect on people's lives as monopolies in various sectors are pushing prices higher. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that profit margins across all sectors have doubled from 18 percent in 2015 to 36 percent in 2021 due to growing market concentrations created by the Modi dispensation. He said a research paper by top economist, Dr Viral Acharya has substantiated this concern about higher profit margins due to monopolies in several sectors. Evidence by the ex-RBI Deputy Governor Acharya shows that Modi government's alleged "monopolistic" friends are a big cause of price rise in India, the Congress leader said. "As the Adani 'megascam' has shown, PM Modi's 'suit-boot ki sarkaar' has systematically helped his cronies build large, concentrated monopolies across various sectors since he took office. Now we have fresh and credible evidence that these monopolies are driving price ri

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and former union minister Jairam Ramesh sparred on Saturday over the government's move to send the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 to a select committee of the two Houses with the Congress leader stating that it should have been sent to the Standing Committee on Environment for scrutiny.In response to Jairam Ramesh's earlier remarks, Bhupender Yadav tweeted a list of the bills sent by Congress governments in the past to the select committees."Jairam Ramesh says referring the Forest Conservation Amendment Bill to a Joint Committee is "devaluation and denigration" of processes. Will serve him well to take a hard look at how many Bills introduced in Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha were sent by Cong govts to the Joint Committee," Yadav said.Jairam Ramesh, a Congress general secretary, responded by stating that Standing Committees came into existence only in 1993 and the minister should have done "better homework""Standing Committees ...

Congress MP of Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh in a letter to the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, asked the CBI to question Home Minister Amit Shah further on his categorical assertion

He said Rahul Gandhi has already written to the Lok Sabha Speaker to allow him to speak in the Parliament under rule 357

No Opposition front to take on the BJP is possible without the Congress and if a coalition is formed for the 2024 general elections, the party will have a central role in it, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said. In an interview with PTI, Ramesh, however, said it was too early to talk about all this right now as the Congress' first priority was the upcoming elections in Karnataka and the string of state polls this year. Ramesh's remarks come after both Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Uttar Pradesh's Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) saying the two parties would stay away from both the Congress and the BJP, and indicating possible talks with other regional players ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Asked whether the TMC and SP's actions could jolt Opposition unity, Ramesh said, "The TMC, Samajwadi, people keep meeting, the Third Front, Fourth Front will continue to be formed, but it is necessary to have the Congress in the Opposition." "If an ...

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi being apparently prompted by party colleague Jairam Ramesh during a press conference, by terming the economist-turned politician, Congress's "Chief Saboteur". He also ridiculed those who believe that Gandhi will emerge as a challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I feel nothing but sorry for the so called secularists and leftists who harbour high hopes, expecting this man to defeat Hon PM @narendramodi ji and become PM, Sarma wrote on Twitter. And Jairam seems to be playing the role of Chief Saboteur. Tutoring with mic on strange, the former Congressman-turned-BJP leader added, sharing a video clip of 26 seconds. In the transcript of the clip, as shared by Sarma, Gandhi is initially shown saying unfortunately I am a member of parliament at which Ramesh, seated to his left, intervenes and purportedly tells Gandhi that they can make a joke of it. The senior partyman then asks Gandhi

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the hunger strike launched by CM KCR's daughter K Kavitha at Jantar Mantar in the national capital is an attempt to divert attention from other issues

He alleged that Adani Farm-Pik was allowed to build a near-monopoly on apple procurement in Himachal Pradesh

Congress is now considering another yatra but no decision has been taken in this regard at all, said party general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday

The Congress on Tuesday alleged that the Centre was "running away" from a JPC probe into the Adani-Hindenburg issue and said such an investigation be allowed if the government has nothing to hide in the matter. The Congress' attack on the government came after Union Home Minister Amit Shah's reported remarks that there is nothing for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to hide or be afraid of in the matter. Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said he has written to RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch for an impartial probe into the Adani issue. Reacting to Shah's reported remarks, Ramesh said, "If they do not have anything to hide, why are they running away from a Joint Parliamentary Committee (probe)." "They do not even allow us to raise the demand of the JPC in Parliament. When our leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge ji, raised the demand for JPC, their remarks were expunged

'Both Houses of Parliament adjourned today till 2pm because Govt did not agree to combined Opposition demand for an investigation'

The President addresses members of both Houses in the Parliament's Central Hall on the first day of budget session

The Modi government should have been truthful from the start and taken the opposition into confidence by discussing the China crisis in parliamentary standing committees

Amid an ongoing row over Digvijaya Singh questioning the authenticity of the 2019 surgical strikes, an agitated Jairam Ramesh lashed out at the media on Tuesday

Ardern told reporters in Napier that February 7 will be her last day in office

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' was not an exercise to project Rahul Gandhi as a prime ministerial candidate for the 2024 general elections. "This Bharat Jodo Yatra is not to project Rahul Gandhi as a prime ministerial candidate. It is an ideological yatra of which the main face is Rahul Gandhi. It is not one individual's yatra," Ramesh, the Congress general secretary in-charge communications, said in response to a question here. He asserted that the 'Kanyakumari to Kashmir' foot march, which is currently passing through Karnal in Haryana, is not an election yatra. The senior party leader added that Gandhi has raised three big issues in the Yatra, namely economic inequality, social polarisation and political authoritarianism.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday accused Union minister Pralhad Joshi of making "big and bogus" statements on Rahul Gandhi and demanded he apologise for his remarks that Gandhi was going on a holiday after taking a break from his Bharat Jodo Yatra. "C'mon @JoshiPralhad-avare! You make big, bold and bogus statements hoping to get away with it. You have been caught lying! Least you apologised for what you had said on Rahul Gandhi and Bharat Jodo Yatra," Ramesh said on Twitter. Joshi had earlier alleged Gandhi was going on a holiday and that is why his Bharat Jodo Yatra has taken a long break. After Ramesh had attacked the government on the matter in Parliament during the recently concluded winter session, the Parliamentary Affairs minister had hit back saying that "your leader is breaking the (Bharat Jodo) Yatra to holiday abroad and you remembered parliament now".