Page 38 - Rahul Gandhi

Will abide by wishes of Congress people: Gehlot on party presidential poll

In a clear indication that he is likely to throw his hat in the ring for the Congress president polls, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said he will file his nomination if his party people wish so and fulfil any responsibility given to him. However, Gehlot, who is set to go to Kochi later in the day, said he will make one last-ditch effort to convince Rahul Gandhi to take up the party president's post. Speaking with reporters after landing here from Jaipur, Gehlot said he will take decisions with which the Congress is strengthened. "The party and high command have given me everything. I have been on posts for 40-50 years. For me no post is important, I will fulfil any responsibility given to me," he said. He also asserted that not only the Gandhi family, but scores of Congress members have faith in him. "I am very fortunate that I have got love and affection of Congress men and women across the country and they have faith in me," Gehlot said. "Therefore, if the

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

BJP's Patra posts Rahul's picture with hijab-clad girl; Congress hits back

BJP leader Sambit Patra on Tuesday posted a picture of Rahul Gandhi walking with a hijab-clad girl during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and accused him of indulging in appeasement politics, triggering a backlash from Congress leaders who slammed Patra for his remarks. Posting a picture of Gandhi walking with the girl wearing a hijab, Patra tweeted in Hindi, "When votes are accounted for on the basis of religion then it is called appeasement." Tagging Patra's tweet, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate slammed the BJP leader and said he did not even spare a young girl. "It's one thing to be rattled by the huge crowds in the (Bharat Jodo) Yatra - but to be blinded by hate like this. You are the pits!" she said. Responding to Shrinate's tweet, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Worse than the pits." The Congress has accused the BJP of resorting to disinformation and falsehood on the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', and said it shows the "fear" and "frustration" of

Rahul Gandhi launches 13th day of Bharat Jodo Yatra; 225 km covered so far

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday kick-started the 13th day of his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Cherthala here along with thousands of party workers. The yatra began with the planting of a Rambutan sapling at St. Michael's College. It was organised by Sasthravedi, the environment wing of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. The morning leg of the yatra will cover a distance of around 14 km and conclude at Kuthiyathodu here. According to AICC general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh, the yatra has covered a distance of 255 km in 12 days. "Today Bharat Yatris will walk 15 kms from Cherthala to Kuthiyathodu in Alappuzha district during the morning session of the padayatra. The campsite tonight is in Kochi district," Ramesh tweeted. Senior Congress leaders K Muraleedharan, Pawan Khera, Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan and Shanimol Usman, among others, walked with Gandhi in the morning. Men, women and children were seen waiting along a hig

BJP wants a handful of people to control entire country: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for wishing to build a country where a "handful" of people "control" the entire country

Rahul Gandhi discusses high fuel costs, low subsidies with Kerala fishermen

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday interacted with fishermen at Vadackal beach in Kerala's Alappuzha and discussed the challenges faced by them ahead of starting the 12th day of his party's Bharat Jodo Yatra.The Wayanad MP held discussions about the rising fuel costs, reduced subsidies, dwindling fish stock, inadequate educational opportunities and environmental destruction among other issues."At 6 am, Rahul Gandhi interacted with fisherfolk at Vadackal beach in Alappuzha on their challenges--rising fuel costs, reduced subsidies, dwindling fish stock, lack of social welfare & pensions, inadequate educational opportunities, and environmental destruction," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh informed in a tweet.The Yatra is in its Kerala leg and would traverse through the state for the next 12 days.The 3,500-km march from Kanyakumari to Kashmir will be completed in 150 days and cover as many as 12 states. From Kerala, the Yatra will traverse through the state for the next 18 days, ..

Rahul Gandhi begins Yatra's 12th day after meeting Alappuzha's fisherfolk

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday held discussions with the fishermen community here at the Vadackal beach ahead of the 12th day of his party's Bharat Jodo Yatra. In an early morning meeting, Gandhi discussed the challenges of rising fuel costs, reduced subsidies, dwindling fish stock and environmental destruction among other issues. "At 6am, @RahulGandhi interacted with fisherfolk at Vadackal beach in Alappuzha on their challengesrising fuel costs, reduced subsidies, dwindling fish stock, lack of social welfare & pensions, inadequate educational opportunities, and environmental destruction. #BharatJodoYatra," senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted. The Yatra on Monday was kick-started from Punnapra while senior Congress leaders K Muraleedharan, Kodikkunnil Suresh, Ramesh Chennithala, K C Venugopal and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan accompanied Gandhi. The morning leg of the yatra will conclude at Kalavoor, after covering around 16 ...

Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra is no walk in the park for Congress

In Congress' defence, it said that a total of five routes were considered and this route was selected based on geography, logistics, and security

Dilemma continues as Cong loyalists mount pressure on Rahul to take charge

With the notification of the Congress president polls just days away, Gandhi family loyalists and state units have stepped up efforts to mount pressure on Rahul Gandhi to take the party's reins amid indications that he was unlikely to change his earlier stance of not being AICC chief. The Congress units in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the only two states where the party is in government on its own, have passed resolutions that Gandhi be made the party's president. This comes days after the party said the Pradesh Congress Committee delegates would pass resolutions authorising the incoming Congress president to appoint state chiefs and AICC delegates. On Sunday, while passing the resolution authorising the incoming Congress president to appoint state chiefs and AICC delegates, the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee (CPCC) also passed a resolution that Rahul Gandhi be made the party's president. The Rajasthan PCC passed both the resolutions on Saturday. Interestingly, while other

Rahul should 'rethink' about his decision to be Congress chief: Baghel

The chorus for making Rahul Gandhi Congress president again grew louder as Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan passed resolutions to support him to take on the mantle of party chief

Bharat Jodo Yatra enters 11th day; Rahul Gandhi resumes journey from Kerala

The Congress party's Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi resumed its journey on Sunday from Kerala's Haripad with hundreds of party workers and leaders accompanying it. The yatra, which entered its 11th day, started shortly after 6.30 AM and senior leaders including Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan, Kodikunnil Suresh, K C Venugopal and Leader of Opposition, V D Satheesan are walking beside Gandhi in the 13 km-long first leg of the march. Gandhi was seen breaking security cordon in between to meet people waiting on both sides of the road. After walking for over one hour, he took a break to have tea from a hotel along the route. The Congress party said the morning session of the yatra will conclude once it reaches Ottappana and the members will rest at Karuvatta nearby. According to the schedule, the yatra will resume at 5 PM from Purakkad which is 6.5 km away from Karuvatta and Gandhi and the yatra members will be travelling that distance by vehicle. The evening session is ...

8 cheetahs have come, why didn't 160 mn jobs come in 8 yrs: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying eight cheetahs have come and now he should tell why 16 crore jobs weren't created in eight years. Prime Minister Modi turned 72 on Saturday. It was a busy day for the PM who, among other things, released eight cheetahs brought from Namibia at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh under a landmark project seven decades after the animal was declared extinct in the country. In a tweet in Hindi, Gandhi said, "Eight cheetahs have come, now tell why 16 crore jobs didn't come in eight years." "Yuvaon ki hai lalkar, le kar rahenge rozgaar (It is the cry of the youth that they will have employment)," the former Congress chief said, using the hashtag 'Rashtriya Berozgar Diwas'. The Congress on Saturday claimed that in view of the "worrying" job situation in the country, the youth are marking the prime minister's birthday as "National Unemployment Day", and demanded that he provide employment to t

Bharat Jodo Yatra enters 10th day, Rahul Gandhi resumes Kerala leg

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday kick-started the tenth day of his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Puthiyakavu junction near Karunagappally here with thousands of party workers accompanying him waving party flags. Gandhi and the yatra members had halted at Karunagappally after walking around 24 km on Friday. The yatra, which resumed shortly after 6.30 am, will cover a distance of around 12 km and enter Alappuzha district and take a break at Kayamkulam at around 11 am. It will resume at 5 pm and cover over eight km before concluding for the day with a public meeting at Cheppad. Senior Congress leaders Kodikkunnil Suresh, K Muraleedharan, K C Venugopal and Leader of Opposition in state Assembly V D Satheesan are accompanying Gandhi. Meanwhile, Gandhi had called on spiritual leader, Mata Amritanandamayi, at her ashram near Karunagappally on Friday night. He also posted a series of pictures with Amritanandamayi on Facebook. "Fortunate to have met Amritanandamayi Maa at her ashram near

Isn't Rahul Gandhi enough to weaken Congress, Kejriwal takes potshot

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday took a potshot at the Congress, saying Rahul Gandhi was "enough" to weaken it, rejecting allegations the AAP was acting as a B-team of the BJP and weakening the Congress. The Aam Aadmi Party national convenor also sought to maintain distance from the ongoing bid to form a grand opposition alliance to keep the BJP at bay in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Alliance politics should be left to those who are working on it, Kejriwal said, adding he did not understand it. The Delhi chief minister was replying to questions at a townhall event organised by NDTV. "Am I needed to weaken the Congress? Isn't Rahul Gandhi enough," he quipped when asked to comment on allegations levelled by political rivals that his AAP was weakening the Congress and acting as a B-team of the BJP to help the saffron party win elections. On the ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' of the Congress, Kejriwal said, "Let them do it. Everyone should do good work. Best of luck (to ...

'Bharat Jodo Yatra' decisive moment for country's politics: Jairam Ramesh

'Bharat Jodo Yatra' is a "booster dose" for the Congress and a "decisive and transformational moment" for the politics of the country, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said here on Friday. The 3570-km 'padyatra' is being undertaken by Rahul Gandhi from Kanyakumari to Kashmir over five-and-a-half months to galvanise Congress cadres and strengthen the organisation, giving it new energy, Ramesh along with his Rajya Sabha colleague Digvijay Singh said at a press conference. "The yatra is a booster dose for the Congress and a decisive and transformational moment for the politics of the country. Workers will reach out to people at block, district and state level, thus enhancing the organisational strength of the Congress," he said. Hitting out at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over his remark that India was already united and there was no need to reunite it by undertaking a yatra, Ramesh said, "I want to tell him that the country is breaking for three reasons primarily -- ...

Bharat Jodo Yatra resumes from Kollam district in Kerala after a day's halt

Accompanied by hundreds of party workers and senior party leaders, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday resumed his party's Bharat Jodo yatra, a 150-day-long foot march, after a day's rest from Polayathodu in Kollam district of Kerala. Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, V D Satheesan, AICC general secretary in charge of Organisation, K C Venugopal, senior Congress leaders, Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan, RSP leader N K Premachandran among others were seen walking besides Gandhi. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said Gandhi will interact with the chase workers, entrepreneurs, and the party allies during the halt of the yatra at Neendakara in the district. "After a day of well-earned rest, #BharatJodoYatra resumed from Kollam today at 6:45 am. Itll cover 13 km this morning and halt at Neendakara on the seashore. Interactions with cashew workers, cashew entrepreneurs, trade union and leaders of RSP & Forward Block in the afternoon," Ramesh tweeted. The foot march .

Can govt explain how territory 'given' to China will be retrieved: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "given" 1,000 square kilometres of Indian territory to China "without a fight", and asked the government how it will be retrieved. He also claimed that China has refused to accept India's demand of restoring status quo on the border as on April 2020. Gandhi's attack came after Indian and Chinese armies carried out a joint verification of the disengagement process at Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in eastern Ladakh after withdrawing their troops and dismantling temporary infrastructure from the friction point. Both sides completed the disengagement in a phased and coordinated manner, according to people familiar with the development. Attacking the government, Gandhi tweeted, "China has refused to accept India's demand of restoring status quo of April 2020. PM has given 1,000 Sq Kms of territory to China without a fight." Can the government of India explain how this territory wi

Cong leader Rahul Gandhi begins 4th day of Bharat Jodo Yatra's Kerala leg

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday commenced the Bharat Jodo Yatra on a spiritual note by paying his respects to renowned philosopher and social reformer Sree Narayana Guru at Sivagiri Mutt here. At Sivagiri Mutt, Gandhi met the swamis there and offered prayers to the saint reformer before commencing the fourth day of the Kerala leg of the Congress party's 3,570 kilometres and 150-day long foot march which started off from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and will conclude at Jammu and Kashmir. Sharing pictures of his visit on Facebook, he said, "Visited the Sivagiri Mutt to offer my respects at the Samadhi of the great spiritual leader, philosopher and social reformer, Sree Narayana Guru. Sree Narayana Guru worked tirelessly for the upliftment of people and had a great influence on leaders of our freedom movement, including Mahatma Gandhi." Jairam Ramesh, AICC general secretary in-charge Communication, also tweeted about it. "Before padayatra began, @RahulGandhi visited the most .

Jairam Ramesh seeks Nehru-Gandhi family's prominence in Congress Prez poll

With the process for electing the new Congress president round the corner, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh has batted for "consensus" in selecting the new AICC chief and sought to uphold the "prominence" of the Nehru-Gandhi family in the organisational matters in any sort of emerging situation. Ramesh, the AICC general secretary in-charge Communication, Publicity and Media, said even if somebody else is elected as the party chief in the October 17 polls, Sonia Gandhi will continue to be a person "everybody looks up to" and insisted Rahul Gandhi will be the "ideological compass" of the grand old organisation. He rejected the suggestion the Wayanad MP will do "backseat driving" in the event of somebody else being a Congress president, hailing the Gandhi scion as a very accommodative and democratic person. A party without a 'high command' would be 'anarchy,' he said. In an interview to PTI, the former Union Minister also opposed a section of Congress leaders' argument against its hi