Page 18 - Indian National Congress

Congress against communal ideologies, institutions: Jairam Ramesh

The Congress on Wednesday said it is against all ideologies and institutions that abuse religion to polarise the society and misuse it to spread hate, bigotry and violence. All India Congress Committee general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh said his party is against all forms of communalism. His statement came a day after the Central government banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) and several of its associates for their alleged terror activities. Ramesh said, "The Congress has always been and will continue to be against all forms and types of communalism majority or minority makes no difference." "The Congress' policy has always been to uncompromisingly fight all ideologies and institutions that abuse religion to polarise our society, that misuse religion to spread prejudice, hate, bigotry and violence," he said in a statement. Ramesh said this fight is of utmost priority to preserve, protect and celebrate the secular and composite construct of the society and ...

Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra to enter Rahul Gandhi's Wayanad constituency

The Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra began its 18th day of march in Kerala on Wednesday with hundreds of party workers and followers accompanying Rahul Gandhi set to enter his Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency during the day. The march started from Pandikkad School Padi here and is scheduled to halt for a break at Wandoor junction around 10.30 am. It will enter the Wayanad constituency during the day, AICC general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said. "I had the honour and privilege of hoisting the flag today at our container campsite at 6:10 am. Today is the 18th day of Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kerala and the padayatris will walk 11 km in the morning entering Wayanad Parliamentary constituency," he tweeted. The foot march would resume at 5 pm from Naduvath in Wandoor and halt for the day at Nilambur town bus station in Malappuram. The Congress' 3,570 km and 150-day long foot march started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 and will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rajasthan crisis: Three Ashok Gehlot loyalists get show-cause notice

Congress president Sonia Gandhi deputed senior leaders Ambika Soni and Anand Sharma to talk to Gehlot

Bharat Jodo Yatra: Rahul Gandhi, Congress workers enter Kerala's Malappuram

The Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Malappuram district of Kerala on Tuesday with hundreds of party workers and supporters walking alongside Rahul Gandhi. The yatra commenced from Pulamanthole junction in this northern district of the state in the morning after it had ended for the day on Monday at Koppam in Palakkad district. Gandhi, the MP from Wayanad, is likely to interact with farmers later in the day. "Day 20 sees entry of #BharatJodoYatra into Malappuram district over a beautifully decorated bridge. It'll be a 14km walk this morning and in the afternoon @RahulGandhi will interact with farmers from adjoining areas. The weather is cool so far and the surroundings are picturesque," AICC general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh tweeted. The Congress' 3,570 km and 150-day long foot march started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 and will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir. The yatra, which entered Kerala on September 10, will go through the state cove

Selja, KC Venugopal front-runners for Cong Prez post after Gehlot snub

Congress sources on said that Ashok Gehlot is being ruled out from the Congress' president post and it is likely that Kumari Selja and K.C. Venugopal could be considered for the top post.

Central leaders persuade Rajasthan Cong MLAs to hold one-to-one meeting

Efforts were underway by senior Congress leaders on Monday to resolve the impasse in Rajasthan after several MLAs loyal to Ashok Gehlot submitted resignation letters over a possible move to appoint Sachin Pilot as the next chief minister. Congress observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken, who had waited in vain for all legislators to arrive for the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Sunday, were trying to persuade Gehlot loyalists to meet them one by one in an effort to defuse the political crisis. The Gehlot loyalists had visited Speaker C P Joshi's home after a long meeting at minister Shanti Dhariwal's residence on Sunday, saying they were resigning as MLAs. At the chief minister's home, Gehlot, Kharge and Maken waited for all legislators to arrive for the CLP meeting. Pilot and his supporters came but the meeting was a washout. Gehlot loyalists claimed that over 90 MLAs had visited Joshi's home, but the number could not be verified independently. The Congress has 1

Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra begins 19th day from Kerala's Palakkad district

The Congress party's Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed its journey on Monday from Shornur in Kerala's Palakkad district with hundreds of party workers accompanying Rahul Gandhi in the walk. The morning leg of the march, which entered its 19th day, will cover 12.3 km and halt at Pattambi. The Congress party tweeted that the yatra entered Palakkad district with "excitement and hope". "...And we can't wait to start this journey with you," it said in the tweet. Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan and Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan joined Gandhi in the morning session of the yatra. Hundreds of people waited on both sides of the road to meet Gandhi. A group of young girls presented the Congress leader with a framed drawing of himself. "Couldn't have asked for a better start to the Padyatra. The young minds are coming out in large numbers to bless @RahulGandhi Ji and all the Padtyatris. We owe them a brighter future. Towards achieving our goal. #BharatJodoYatra," the p

Congress' Margaret Alva criticises senior leaders of party in Rajasthan

Veteran Congress leader Margaret Alva has slammed senior leaders of the party in Rajasthan and asked them to shun personal ambition

LIVE news updates: India committed to strengthen ties with UN, says EAM

Live news updates: The world in our view is one family today, said EAM Dr S Jasihankar

Have decided to contest for Congress president's post: Raj CM Ashok Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday made it clear he will fight for the party's president post and said irrespective of the outcome, it is necessary to work in a united manner and ensure the party emerges as a strong opposition. Any call on his successor to head the Rajasthan government will be taken by party interim President Sonia Gandhi and Congress' Rajasthan in-charge, Ajay Maken, he told reporters here. "I will fix the date (to submit the nomination papers) after going (back to Rajasthan), but I have decided that I will have to contest. It is a question of democracy and let us make a new start," he said. With speculations rife that Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor is likely to jump into the fray, Gehlot said other "Congress friends" may also contest but what matters is unity and the need to strengthen the organisation at all levels. "There are Congress friends. Even if they contest, there is no issue. After the results, we should work together to strengthen th

Kerala HC raps Bharat Jodo Yatra for flex boards, banners along highways

The Kerala High Court has strongly criticised the Congress-led Bharat Jodo Yatra for the flex boards and banners erected along the side of the roads and said the government departments, including police, have chosen to turn a blind eye towards it. Justice Devan Ramachandran, in an order issued on Thursday evening, said it was a tragedy that the orders of the court and the competent authorities are "given absolutely no respect" by persons and entities "who are in charge of the future of this nation". The court made the observations during an urgent hearing requested by amicus curiae Harish Vasudevan, who filed a report along with photographs, to show that a particular political party, while conducting procession across Kerala, has erected a large number of boards, banners, flags and other such material illegally. "Illegal installations have been made by a particular political party on every side of National Highway from Trivandrum to Thrissur and even beyond; and that even though the

Congress puts up 'PayCM' QR codes at BJP's party office near Bengaluru

The Congress in Karnataka intensified its campaign targeting Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai by pasting the 'PayCM' posters at the BJP's Nelamangala office on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Friday. The party later shared the pictures of its PayCM campaign with media. The police which are probing the matter on Bommai's instruction had arrested B R Naidu, the former chief of Congress' Karnataka unit social media team, on Wednesday night from his residence. The PayCM QR code bearing the photograph of the Chief Minister gets directed to a website - '40% Sarkara' - accusing the Bommai-led BJP government was charging 40 per cent commission on public works. The website was launched a few days ago by the Congress. Ahead of assembly elections in Karnataka next year, the Congress is trying to rake up the issue of contractor Santosh Patil's death by suicide in an Udupi hotel earlier this year. Patil had accused the then state Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa of ...

We will not oppose if Sachin Pilot is made CM: Raj minister Rajendra Gudha

Rajasthan minister Rajendra Gudha, one of the six BSP turned Congress MLAs, on Thursday said they would not oppose if Sachin Pilot is made the chief minister in case Ashok Gehlot becomes the party president and quits the CM post. Gudha, who is Minister of State for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development and considered close to Gehlot, cleared his stand that he is not with any face and said the six MLAs would support anyone whom the party high command chooses to run the government. The statement of Gudha came after former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi batted for the "one-man, one-post" concept in lines with the party's Chintan Shivir reforms amid possibility of Gehlot contesting election for the post of national president of the party. Gandhi's statement made in Kochi created a buzz that Gehlot, who is seen as the frontrunner in the party presidential poll, may have to step down as CM if he becomes the party president. "We are with the decision of the party leadership. Whatever decision

In Kochi, Rahul Gandhi reminds Congress leaders of one man-one post rule

The statement came after Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot showed interest in running for the post of party chief

BJP's expenses on assembly polls in five states up 58% to Rs 344 cr

In 2017, BJP had spent Rs 218.26 crore on the elections in the five states. In 2022, the expense was Rs 344 crore. Congress's bill rose from Rs 108.14 crore to Rs 194.80 during the same period

Rahul Gandhi resumes Bharat Jodo Yatra from Aluva UC college in Kerala

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday resumed the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' by planting a sapling brought from Lakshadweep at the premises of the Union Christian College Aluva here. He also paid floral tribute to a mango tree planted by Mahatma Gandhi at the college on March 18, 1925. "Day 15 began at 6:20 am from UC College, Aluva with @RahulGandhi paying floral tribute at a mango tree planted by the Mahatma there on 18.03.1925. @RahulGandhi planted a sapling brought from Lakshadweep by a delegation of Athithi Yatris. This is the spirit of #BharatJodoYatra," senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted. Thousands joined Gandhi on the 15th day of the Bharat jodo Yatra, with one side of the national highway completely filled with Congress workers waving the party flag. The morning session of the Yatra will cover a distance of around 11 kms and will conclude at Karukutty Kappela Junction at Angamaly. Gandhi will be addressing the press at a convention centre here. The evening leg of t

Cong to issue party prez polls notification; contest likely after 2 decades

The Congress' central election authority will issue a notification for the AICC president polls on Thursday, setting the ball rolling for electing the successor to the longest-serving party chief Sonia Gandhi. After over two decades, the Congress is likely to see a contest for the post of party chief with Shashi Tharoor looking set to enter the fray after his meeting with Sonia Gandhi and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot indicating that he will throw his hat in the ring if Rahul Gandhi does not agree to take on the party's reins. The process for filing nominations for the election will be held from September 24 to 30. The date of scrutiny of the nomination papers would be October 1, while the last date of withdrawal of nominations would be October 8. The election, if there is more than one candidate, will take place on October 17, while counting of votes, if necessary, and the counting of votes and the declaration of results would be on October 19. Even though there is no cla

Gehlot meets party MLAs, hints filing nomination for Cong president post

In a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party, Rajasthan Chief MInister Ashok Gehlot has indicated that he will file his nomination for the post of national president of the party

BJP threatens to block MP leg of Cong's Yatra over 'anti-Brahmin' comments

A Madhya Pradesh Congress leader's alleged objectionable remarks about the Brahmin community have triggered a controversy with the BJP threatening to prevent Rahul Gandhi's ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from entering the state if the leader is not expelled from the party. However, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee media cell chairman KK Mishra, to whom the objectionable remarks have been attributed, claimed his comments have been "twisted" by the ruling party as they are rattled by the huge response Gandhi's mass contact drive was getting across the country. BJP workers on Tuesday staged a protest outside the residence of state Congress president Kamal Nath and demanded Mishra's expulsion from the opposition party. Mishra made the alleged remarks in an interview to a local media person while responding to a question about the state government taking action against Brahmin officials in context of the recent suspension of Jhabua district's superintendent of police (SP) and transfer of t

Rahul, Priyanka not giving enough time to party: Himachal Congress Chief

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra do not devote enough time and importance to the Congress party and its leaders, president of the party's Himachal Pradesh unit Pratibha Singh has said, according to a video posted online. "I feel there is a little generation gap. What our seniors used to do, now the youngsters don't do that. What Sonia-ji, Indira-ji or Rajiv-ji used to do, today's generation don't do that," Singh told ThePrint in an interview in Hindi and English. However, the Congress leader later claimed that she was misquoted and urged the website to take down the interview. "An interview published by @ThePrintIndia wrongly quotes my statements. I never made any statement disparaging the Congress leadership and the Gandhi family. The interviewer has taken creative liberties with my statements, misquoted throughout the interview," Singh said in a tweet. The Mandi MP also said in a video message later that Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi are like her children and whatever advice sh