News Analysis India

Category: Politics

  • Milind Deora joins growing list of young leaders leaving Congress

    Former Union minister and ex-MP from Mumbai South Milind Deora’s resignation from the Congress on Sunday is the latest addition to a list of young leaders who have left it to begin new innings in other parties, predominantly the BJP. The resignation also signals a continuing saga of unaddressed concerns of young leaders, once considered close to former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

    The latest exit also highlights the disconnect and inaccessibility of the Gandhi family with the lower rung of party leadership, amid dwindling fortunes of the grand old party, which the young leaders are unable to accept.

    Sources close to Deora said he left the party after “a very long and futile wait”. The ex-Lok Sabha MP could not manage an assurance from his own party that he would get to contest from Mumbai South in the upcoming general election, a seat represented by his family for decades, the sources said.

    “The Shiv Sena UBT has been openly laying claim to Mumbai South and the Congress was unable to give an assurance of safety for Milind Deora’s seat. A young leader’s political future was thrown into uncertainty and there was no redressal,” Deora’s aides said as he ended a 55-year-old bond with the Congress in which his late father Murali Deora was a formidable figure and a petroleum minister in the UPA regime.

    Concerns cited by the Deora camp have been listed by leaders who had exited the party before. Lack of redressal of festering issues and intra party factionalism earlier led several promising leaders of the erstwhile Rahul Gandhi camp to leave. The list is long with former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot standing out as the sole exception.

    Pilot stayed back in the Congress despite non fulfilment of promises made to him by the top brass when he called off his revolt in 2020 and returned to the Congress, saying he had buried the hatchet with his bete noire Ashok Gehlot, then CM.

    Union Minister under the Congress led UPA regime Jyotiraditya Scindia was not so patient with factionalism in Madhya Pradesh unit when he resigned from the Congress to join the BJP in March 2020.

    Scindia said he could no longer take the disrespect coming from veteran Kamal Nath.

    In June 2021 another ex-UPA minister Jitin Prasada quit the Congress citing the party’s growing disconnect with the people.

    A series of exodus happened thereafter with Priyanka Chaturvedi joining erstwhile undivided Shiv Sena, former Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev quitting for TMC while former union minister RPN Singh, former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar and party spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill joined the BJP.

    The exits that began with then Assam Congress stalwart Himanta Biswa Sarma leaving the party for the BJP on the eve of 2014 Lok Sabha polls never really stopped and high profile resignations continued with even ex-Punjab CM Amarinder Singh also going to the BJP citing personal insults by the party ahead of Punjab polls in 2022.

    “It is impossible to get an audience with Rahul Gandhi, there is a clear disconnect and one feels suffocated,” a Deora aide said explaining his decision.

    Similar views were earlier aired by most leaders, including Sarma, at the time of their exit.

    Rahul Gandhi personally has long held a view that those who wish to quit are free to do so.

    The Congress leadership has so far chosen to explain the exits as resignations of leaders who don’t have the capacity to take on the BJP in an ideological fight.

    “Once the tide turns in our favour all these leaders will return. For them it’s individual above the party,” he said.

    The Congress also questioned the timing of Deora’s resignation, which came hours before Rahul Gandhi embarked on his ambitious Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Manipur to Mumbai on Sunday.

    The BJP was quick to attack the Congress with IT cell head Amit Malviya saying, “The Congress should first give justice to its leaders rather than launch a Nyay Yatra.”

    Shergill said, “First, Assam’s general secretary (Apurba Bhattacharjee) resigned (from Congress), and now Milind Deora has too. The Congress ‘todo yatra’ has begun.”

    “Rahul Gandhi has to answer regarding the injustice he has done to the party and its leaders,” the BJP leader said.

  • Milind Deora resignation: Milind Deora resigns from Congress, ends family’s 55-year relationship with party

    Milind Deora, former Union minister, has officially tendered his resignation from the Congress party. In a statement, he expressed his decision to bring an end to his family’s 55-year-long association with the party.

    In a post shared on X, Deora announced, “Today marks the conclusion of a significant chapter in my political journey. I have tendered my resignation from the primary membership of Congress, ending my family’s 55-year relationship with the party.”

    — milinddeora (@milinddeora) Milind Deora on joining Eknath Shinde Earlier on Saturday, Deora dismissed the speculation that he was on his way out and would join the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as “rumours”.

    Deora, who recently expressed his dissatisfaction with the Shiv Sena (UBT) claiming the Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency publicly, informed reporters that he is currently engaged in discussions with his supporters.

    The group led by Uddhav Thackeray had asserted its right to contest the Mumbai South constituency in the upcoming general elections, a constituency previously represented by Deora before 2014. This move has not been well-received by the Congress leader.

    In a video statement released last Sunday, Deora stated that if such declarations from an “alliance partner” persist, his party may also announce candidates for various seats.It’s worth noting that the Shiv Sena (UBT) is an alliance partner of the Congress and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) in the Maha Vikas Aghadi.Deora emphasized that formal discussions regarding the allocation of seats are yet to be concluded, and until then, no one should make premature claims or counter-claims.

    The son of Congress veteran Murli Deora, Deora secured victory in the Mumbai South seat in 2004 and 2009. However, in the subsequent elections in 2014 and 2019, he finished as the first runner-up against Shiv Sena (Undivided) leader Arvind Sawant.

  • Nitish Kumar: Will exceed target of creating 10 lakh govt jobs in Bihar: Nitish Kumar

    Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday asserted that his government was looking forward to not just achieving but “exceeding” the target of creating 10 lakh government jobs in the state. Speaking at a function organised for the distribution of appointment letters to newly recruited teachers, Kumar said his government provided appointment letters to 96,823 newly recruited teachers at all district headquarters in the state during the day.

    “Here at Gandhi Maidan, a total of 26,935 newly recruited teachers are getting their appointment letters. We have so far provided government jobs to 3.63 lakh people in the state,” he claimed.

    “We will soon achieve the target of providing 10 lakh government jobs to youths of the state. Let me make it very clear that we will not just achieve the target but exceed it… the state government is working in that direction,” the CM said. Besides, five lakh employment opportunities have been created for the state’s youths, and around 3.68 lakh contractual teachers will soon get government employee status after clearing competency examinations, he said.

    After the formation of Grand Alliance government in Bihar in August 2022, Kumar had announced that his government would create at least 10 lakh government jobs and an additional 10 lakh “employment opportunities” in several sectors.

    “We have distributed appointment letters to over 2 lakh newly recruited teachers in the last 70 days,” he said, adding the drive will continue. “Of the over 2 lakh newly recruited teachers, 85 per cent are from Bihar, while the remaining 15 per cent are from Rajasthan, Haryana, West Bengal, Kerala, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chandigarh. People hailing from Bihar also get appointments in other states,” he said.

    The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) did a commendable job by conducting the recruitment process of teachers so smoothly, he added.

  • ED summons Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal again on January 18

    The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has again issued summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking him to appear before the agency on January 18.

    This is the fourth time Kejriwal has been summoned by the federal agency in connection with its ongoing money laundering probe into the Delhi Excise policy alleged scandal. Kejriwal was earlier summoned thrice by ED but he had previously declined to appear citing prior engagements linked to the now-concluded assembly elections.

    He was then asked to appear on December 21 and January 3 but Kejriwal skipped the summons calling them “politically motivated and illegal”. In February a local Court had taken cognisance of the supplementary charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its money laundering probe into the Delhi government’s now-scrapped liquor policy.

    The federal agency has alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) used the money raised from the Delhi liquor scam to fund the Goa election campaign.

    “Investigation of the trail of this kickback so far has revealed that part of these funds was used in the election campaign of the AAP,” the agency had alleged in its supplementary chargesheet.The charge sheet had mentioned an alleged call between Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Indospirits owner Sameer Mahendru, an accused in the case, wherein Kejriwal allegedly asked him to carry on working with AAP communication’s incharge Vijay Nair.The agency had alleged in its charge sheet that Nair had arranged a meeting between Sameer Mahendru and Kejriwal over facetime where Kejriwal allegedly told the former that “Vijay is his boy and that Sameer should trust him and carry on with him.” Kejriwal, however, had described the allegations as “fiction”.

  • Destiny decided construction of Ram temple, chose PM Modi for this: L K Advani

    Destiny had decided that a grand temple of Lord Ram will be built in Ayodhya and it chose Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this, BJP stalwart L K Advani has said in an article to be published in a special edition of the ‘Rashtra Dharma’ magazine next week. In his article ‘Ram Mandir Nirman, Ek Divya Swapna Ki Purti’, Advani referred to the ‘Rath Yatra’ he took out 33 years ago for Ram temple construction and said he believes the Ayodhya movement was the “most decisive and transformative event” in his political journey which allowed him to “re-discover India and, in the process, re-understand himself”.

    The BJP veteran, who was at the forefront of the Ram temple agitation, also remembered former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying he is feeling his absence ahead of the grand consecration event at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

    “Today the Rath Yatra completed 33 years. When we started the Rath Yatra on the morning of September 25, 1990, we did not know that the faith in Lord Ram with which we were starting this Yatra would take the form of a movement in the country,” a source quoted Advani as saying in his article. In his article to be published in a special edition of the 76-year-old Hindi magazine ‘Rashtra Dharma’ on January 16, sources said Advani has noted that current prime minister Narendra Modi was with him throughout the Rath Yatra.

    “He was not very famous then. But at that very time Lord Ram had chosen his devotee (Modi) to rebuild his temple,” a source quoted the BJP veteran as saying in his article.

    “At that time I felt that destiny had decided that one day a grand temple of Shri Ram would definitely be built in Ayodhya,” Advani said, adding, “Well, now it’s only a matter of time”. The consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya is set to be organised on January 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, thousands of seers from across the country and other dignitaries have been invited for the ceremony. More than a lakh devotees are expected to descend on the temple town on the occasion of “Pran Pratishtha (consecration)”. “When Prime Minister Narendra Modi consecrates the (Lord Ram’s idol at the) temple, he will represent every citizen of our India. I pray that this temple inspires all Indians to adopt the qualities of Shri Ram,” Advani said.

    “During the Rath Yatra, there were many experiences which influenced my life. Unknown people from remote villages would come to me overwhelmed with emotion after seeing the chariot. They would do ‘pranam’, chant Lord Ram’s name and leave.

    “This was a message that there were many people who dreamt of the Ram temple… With the consecration of the temple on January 22, the suppressed desires of those villagers will also stand fulfilled,” he added.

    According to the Vishva Hindu Parishad, 96-year-old Advani will attend the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.

    “He has congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modiji for bringing this moment, building a grand Ram Lala temple and fulfilling his resolution,” a source said referring to Advani’s article for the magazine.

    A copy of the special edition of the magazine with Advani’s article will be shared with all those who will attend the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, sources added.

  • No nod sought: CM Sarma on Congress charge that BJP govt trying to block Yatra in Assam

    Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that the state government hasn’t been approached for necessary permission for Congress’ Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

    Sarma told media persons here: “There is no harm in giving permission as the state government always welcomes tourists. However, rally cannot be allowed through school premises and Guwahati city. The rally can move through highways.”

    The yatra is scheduled to commence from Imphal on January 14 and then enter Assam on january 18.On Wednesday, Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah had alleged that BJP-led government was trying to block the yatra in the state.

    “In Jorhat, we have not been granted permission to use a field to park our containers. We have not been given ROROs to travel across the Brahmaputra River to Majuli island,” he said.

    Responding to the charge, Sarma said, “I asked the chief secretary if permission has been sought… But I have been told that no such process has been followed.”

  • Ram temple inauguration: Assam CM Sarma slams Congress after party declines invitation

    Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said by declining invitation for Ram temple inauguration in Ayodhya on January 22, Congress party has missed the chance to atone for its past sins. Sarma said that after Uttarakhand and Gujarat, Assam will be the third state to bring a legislation for Uniform Civil Code.

    Sarma while talking to media persons on Thursday said, “Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) knowingly or unknowingly, they have given golden opportunity to Congress leadership to repair some of their sins. Congress has all along fought against Hindu community. VHP has given them an opportunity to repair sins committed against Hindu community and Hindu civilisation.”

    He said, “By not accepting the same Congress now for decades to come will remain an anti-Hindu party. You don’t have to be anti-Muslim, but you should not be anti-Hindu. This tradition was started by Jawaharlal Nehru when he boycotted Somnath temple function, same tradition is continued by the present generation of Congress. In my view they should not have been invited at all, but VHP gave them an opportunity to atone for sins they missed the bus again, I am feeling pity and sadness for them.”Sarma said that Uttarakhand and Gujarat will bring the law of UCC first, Assam will follow them with some modification. “I am waiting for the Uttarakhand bill once I see that, we will bring the bill with local adaptation. We will consider that Assam is working against the child marriage, polygamy, so there will be some Assam’s innovation. In Assam we will exempt the tribal community from the ambit of UCC.”

    A bill to ban polygamy will be introduced in the next session of the Assam assembly to be held in February. Sarma said, “We are working hard to bring the bill.”

    The Assam government had formed an expert committee to study the legislative competence of the Assembly to enact a law banning polygamy, and the report stated that the state legislature is competent to enforce such a ban.The Assam government had invited public comments on proposed law banning polygamy. The government received “strong public support” for its suggestion to ban polygamy in the state, Sarma said earlier, adding that his government will now set in motion the legislative process to enact a law that will make polygamy illegal.“We have received a total of 149 suggestions in response to our public notice. Out of these, 146 suggestions are in favour of the bill, indicating strong public support,” Sarma had said in a tweet on social media platform X. “However, three organisations have expressed their opposition to the bill. We will now proceed to the next stage of the process, which is to complete the final drafting of the bill in the next 45 days.”

  • Ram Mandir inauguration: “People will reject them in upcoming elections,” Anurag Thakur slams Congress

    Union Minister Anurag Thakur slammed the Congress party for declining the invitation to attend the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya, scheduled later this month and said that people too will “reject” them in the upcoming elections.

    Earlier on Wednesday, Congress declared that it would skip the massive inauguration ceremony being planned for the Ayodhya Ram Temple, saying it was a “political project” of the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

    “Whenever Congress criticised Sanatana, whenever it insulted Hindus and whenever it questioned the existence of Lord Ram, we all have seen the condition of Congress after that,” Thakur told reporters on Thursday. He further asserted that Congress only boycotts the events, whether it is the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram Temple or anything else.

    “Whenever there is a Parliament session, Congress boycotts it. Whenever there is a speech by Modiji, Congress boycotts it. Whenever good work is done, Congress boycotts it. The people of the country will do the same thing by boycotting Congress in the next elections and will show the way out,” he added.

    Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav termed it unfortunate and claimed that the grand old party is insulting the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony.”This is very unfortunate. First, Congress created obstacles in (the construction) of Ram Temple. Now, they are insulting the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony. In a way, it has hurt the sentiments of the majority of the population of the country. Congress should apologise,” MP CM said. Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai said that the grand old party has rejected the invitation to the ‘pran pratishtha’ of Ram Temple, and people too will reject them.

    “This is wrong. They show double standards. They sometimes question the existence of Lord Ram and become ‘Chunavi Sanatani’ at other times…They have rejected the invitation to the ‘pran pratishtha’ of Ram Temple today, people too will reject them,” Chhattisgarh CM said.

    Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said that Congress always questioned the existence of Lord Ram.

    “Congress never looked at Lord Ram from the point of view of reverence, they said that he is imaginary so for them Lord Ram is not the centre of faith. This is an insult to the public sentiments of the country and the public will respond to it in the upcoming elections,” Vijayvargiya told on Thursday.

    Bihar BJP President Samrat Chaudhary also hit out at Congress and said that we are supporters of Sanatana Dharma, when Lord Ram is worshipped, BJP will stand.

    Meanwhile, RJD MP Manoj Jha said that Mahatma Gandhi did not become a devotee of Lord Ram by going to the temple but still he went to heaven.

    “It is wrong to do politics in the name of Lord Ram. There is a direct connection between me and Lord Ram. Gandhi did not become a devotee of Lord Ram by going to the temple, that concept was inside him, and that is why he went to heaven and went saying ‘Hey Ram’,” he added.

    Moreover, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai said that said that all the Congressmen will visit Ayodhya on Makar Sankranti.

    “The name of Ram is the basis of life in this world. This Makar Sankranti, all of us Congressmen will go to Ayodhya from the state headquarters, Lucknow, to have darshan of Ramlala. We will also visit Hanuman Garhi and worship,” Rai posted on X.

    On Wednesday, senior Congress leaders–Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury–‘declined” the invitation for the grand event in Ayodhya.

    “Lord Ram is worshipped by millions in our country. Religion is a personal matter. But the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya. The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has obviously been brought forward for electoral gain. While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgement and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event,” the Congress said in its statement.

    Preparations are underway in full swing for the Ram Temple ‘Pran Pratishtha’ on January 22, which will draw dignitaries and people from all walks of life.

  • Speaker’s order is murder of democracy, will move Supreme Court: Uddhav Thackeray

    Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar’s decision holding that the faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was the real Shiv Sena was a murder of democracy, and his party will move the Supreme Court against it.

    Speaking at a press conference, Thackeray said the apex court had given clear guidelines, but those were ignored by the Speaker while giving his ruling on disqualification petitions filed by the rival Sena factions. The original case was about disqualification under the anti-defection law, but not one lawmaker from either side was disqualified, he said.

    “The foundation on which the order stands is wrong. This is a murder of democracy and an insult to the Supreme Court,” he said, adding that neither the apex court nor the people will accept this decision. His party will approach the SC against the ruling, and will also examine if a contempt petition can be filed against the Speaker, Thackeray said. He would request the apex court to give its decision on the case before the elections, he added. The court had accepted the authority of the whip of the Thackeray faction (Sunil Prabhu) and its group leader (Ajay Chowdhary), he said.

    Narwekar, in his ruling, said Prabhu ceased to be the authorised whip when the split in the party became apparent on June 21, 2022. “Shiv Sena will never be finished and the people of Maharashtra will not accept the Sena of these traitors,” Thackeray, who stepped down as chief minister after Shinde’s rebellion in June 2022, said.

  • Maha govt should not give relief to 11 convicts: Sharad Pawar

    Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said that the Maharashtra government should not give any relief to the 11 convicts of Bilkis Bano case.

    “The Maharashtra government should not give any relief. This was a serious and heinous crime. Seven people died. What this woman (Bilkis) suffered, the kind of atrocities she had to endure… She had seven of her relatives killed,” Sharad Pawar said while reacting to Monday’s Supreme Court order in the Bilkis Bano case.

    Pawar urged the Maharashtra government to take this case ‘seriously’. “I feel the Maharashtra government would not ignore the seriousness of the case and the heinous manner in which the crime was committed… What the Supreme Court has said has to be done.”

    When asked whether the Maharashtra government, which is also ruled by BJP, could follow Gujarat’s example and again grant remission to the convicts, Pawar said, “While the government has taken political decisions, this time I believe they will take this case seriously.” Pawar, however, appealed to both the chief minister and deputy chief minister (Devendra Fadnavis) “to take this case seriously”.

    “I have just one suggestion to the chief minister and the deputy chief minister. The crime against the woman cannot be ignored and the state should go by the SC verdict in the case. We expect that there should be no political bias in the decision the state government would take… A message should be sent to those indulging in atrocities that such kind of crimes will not be tolerated by society, the political system and the judiciary,” Pawar said.The NCP president lauded the SC decision saying that the people were happy with the verdict.