News Analysis India

Tag: Congress

  • Mayawati on Constitution: BJP, Congress have made Constitution casteist, communal through amendments: Mayawati

    BSP president Mayawati on Tuesday said BJP and Congress governments have made the Constitution “casteist, communal and capitalistic” to a large extent through various amendments. At a press conference here, Mayawati said both parties show copies of the Constitution inside and outside Parliament and appear to be chips of the same block.

    “Their thinking also seems to be similar and both of them have made this Constitution a casteist, communal and capitalist Constitution to a large extent through various amendments,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.

    It is no longer the egalitarian and secular Constitution of Bhimrao Ambedkar, she said.

    “The way these people are playing with the Indian Constitution for political gains is not at all appropriate,” she added.

    RECOMMENDEDSTORIES FOR YOU

    Mayawati also said the BJP and Congress governments did not implement the Mandal Commission report providing reservation benefits to Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

  • Lok Sabha Live Updates: NDA Vs Opposition On Speaker Post, Om Birla Vs K Suresh| Updates |

    Lok Sabha Speaker Election: Kota MP Om Birla, who previously served as Lok Sabha Speaker of the previous House, submitted his nomination as an NDA candidate on Tuesday. Birla’s name was unanimously agreed upon by all NDA parties, and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh also sought the opposition’s support. The INDIA bloc fielded Congress leader K Suresh as its candidate for the Speaker’s position against Om Birla, accusing the ruling NDA of failing to follow convention in handing over the Dy speaker position to the opposition.

    Congress leader K C Venugopal and DMK’s T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s office, refusing to endorse NDA candidate Birla unless they were offered the position of Deputy Speaker. Venugopal stated that the BJP refused to commit to offering the Deputy Speaker position to the opposition.

    Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Lalan Singh accused the Congress of imposing conditions, adding that the ruling alliance was willing to discuss their demand when the election for Deputy Speaker took place.

    According to sources, over ten sets of nominations were filed in support of Birla’s candidature, including those from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Shah, Singh, and Nadda, as well as BJP allies such as the TDP, JD(U), JD(S), and LJP(R).

    Three nominations were submitted in support of Suresh, a Dalit leader and eight-term MP.

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had clarified on Tuesday that the INDIA bloc will only support the government’s nomination if the opposition is given the deputy speaker’s position. He also said that Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh had yet to respond to the opposition’s request for the post of deputy speaker. Gandhi also accused the BJP of insulting Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. 

    While speaking to reporters outside the Parliament house, Gandhi said, “Today it is written in the newspaper that PM Modi has said that the Opposition should cooperate with the Govt constructively. Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and he asked him to extend support to the Speaker. The entire Opposition said that we would support the Speaker but the convention is that the Deputy Speaker post should be given to the opposition.”

    #WATCH | Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says “Today it is written in the newspaper that PM Modi has said that the Opposition should cooperate with the Govt constructively. Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and he asked him to extend support to the Speaker. The entire… pic.twitter.com/yR5CzlagEx


    — ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2024

    “Rajnath Singh said that he would call back Mallikarjun Kharge but he has not done that yet…PM Modi is asking for cooperation from Opposition but our leader is getting insulted…,” he said.

    Here are the live updates on Lok Sabha speaker’s election: 

    12:30 pm: Congress leader K C Venugopal and DMK’s T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s office, refusing to endorse NDA candidate Birla unless they were offered the position of Deputy Speaker.

    Venugopal stated that the BJP refused to commit to offering the Deputy Speaker position to the opposition.

    12:00 pm: Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Lalan Singh accused the Congress of imposing conditions, saying the ruling alliance was willing to discuss their demand when the election for Deputy Speaker was held.

  • Parliament session: Congress upset over pro-tem speaker election, will not assist during oath-taking of MPs

    After seventh-term BJP MP Bhratruhari Mehtab was appointed as pro-tem Speaker, instead of Congress leader K Suresh, who is an eighth-term MP, the MPs of the India bloc have decided not to sit on the speaker’s chair to assist the pro-tem Speaker during the oath-taking ceremony of MPs, sources said.

    According to the sources, Congress and India Bloc parties are upset with the fact that tradition has been broken as Mehtab was made the Protem Speaker instead of the 8-time Congress MP K Suresh.

    The Congress has reacted sharply to the central government’s decision to appoint Mahtab as Pro-tem Speaker of Lok Sabha over senior-most Dalit MP Kodikkunnil Suresh of Congress, saying that the appointment by the BJP deviates from the traditional practice of appointing the senior member.Congress leader K Suresh said that there is an eighth-term MP in the House, but a seventh-term MP has been appointed as pro-tem Speaker.

    “We are claiming that an eighth-term MP should be the pro-tem Speaker…They have done wrong, and now the whole country is criticising the decision of the BJP government,” K Suresh said.

    Congress MP Hibi Eden said that the NDA government has violated all the traditions and customs.”There are certain customs related to the Parliament of India, and it is always the senior-most member, irrespective of the party, who is given the opportunity to become the pro-tem speaker. It is merely a matter of two days, but it is the respect given to the member, whichever party he/she is from. Unfortunately, a Dalit member, who is an 8-time MP from Kerala has been denied the right to become the pro-tem speaker. This shows the attitude of the NDA government towards the Dalit and the oppressed community of this country. They have violated all the traditions and customs… Even though this session is hardly for 8 days, it should have been in consensus with the opposition because we are representing almost 45 per cent of the country,” he said.The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will witness the oath-taking ceremony of newly-elected Members of Parliament, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    The first session is expected to be stormy as the opposition is likely to corner the BJP-led NDA government on the election of the Speaker on June 26, discussions regarding allegations of paper leaks in NEET-UG and UGC-NET, and a row over the appointment of the pro-tem Speaker.

    President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath to Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Mahtab will then call upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Leader of the Lok Sabha, to take oath as a member of the House.

    On June 26, the Lok Sabha Speaker will be elected. On June 27, President Murmu is scheduled to address the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament.

    This is the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha after the general elections, which saw the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secure 293 seats and the INDIA bloc win 234, with the Congress holding 99 of them.

    Meanwhile, the Newly Elected Congress MPs meeting is called at 10 am at the CPP office in Parliament today.

    After the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance examination National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate 2024 (NEET-UG), Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi targeted the BJP and said that they stand with the students.

    Meanwhile, BJP MP Mahtab, who has been appointed as the pro-tem Speaker, will administer the oath to newly elected members and oversee the proceedings of the House.

    President Murmu also appointed Suresh Kodikunnil, Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu, Radha Mohan Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Sudip Bandyopadhyay to assist the Speaker Protem in oath taking of the newly-elected members.

    The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will be held from June 24 and conclude on July 3 for oath/affirmation of newly elected Members. The 264th Session of Rajya Sabha will also commence on June 27 and conclude on July 3.

    Moreover, the Samajwadi Party Parliamentary meeting is to be held on Monday in Delhi. The meeting will be chaired by party National President Akhilesh Yadav.

    The last session of the 17th Lok Sabha (Budget session) was held between January 31 and February 10, 2024.

  • BJP Conspired To End Shivraj Singh’s Political Career, Claims Congress’ Banna Gupta |

    New Delhi: Congress leader and Jharkhand Cabinet Minister Banna Gupta on Wednesday alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party for conspiring against Shivraj Singh Chauhan to end his political career.

    Speaking with ANI, Banna Gupta said, “The Bharatiya Janata Party has conspired against Shivraj Singh Chauhan to end his political career, but it was the public of Madhya Pradesh which made him victorious again by 8 lakh votes.”

    He further added, “When BJP saw his popularity and felt difficult to end his career, they placed him in the Modi 3.0 cabinet and made him in charge of Jharkhand. But BJP’s formulas and tactics will not work in Jharkhand because of their ill deeds.

    “They tried to diminish the constitution, in 2018 they tried to change the SC-ST law and now they were trying to turn the democracy into indentured labour. Their narrative was spotted by everyone in Jharkhand and in the whole nation. This is the reason behind the destruction of their 400-paar agenda and they were left with only 241 seats in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024,” said Banna Gupta.

    The reaction came after BJP’s senior leader and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was made the in-charge and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma co-in-charge of Jharkhand BJP in the run-up to the upcoming state assembly elections.

    Earlier, on June 10, after the swearing-in of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Kalpana Soren as MLA from Gandey assembly constituency, Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta expressed confidence that JMM will form government in Jharkhand again with full majority.

    Banna Gupta said, “Kalpana Soren is a very intelligent, educated woman. She was a housewife but after the way her husband was humiliated, tortured and sent to jail, she came out to fulfil her husband’s responsibility and protect the people. She has won the election from Gandey. In the coming time, our government will be formed again in Jharkhand and it will be with full majority.”

    He further said that the focus of the JMM government was to give jobs to the youth.”Whether it is the Surgeon pension scheme, Old pension scheme, or Jal Samriddhi Yojana we have done a lot of public-centric work. Our focus is on employment to the youth and we have prepared a lot of schemes to provide them jobs,” he added. 

  • Defer implementation of new criminal laws: Jairam Ramesh

    Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday demanded that the enforcement of the three criminal laws, which are to come into force from July 1, be deferred, saying the Bills were “bulldozed” through Parliament. In a post on X, Ramesh said the implementation of the Bills be deferred to enable a thorough review and re-examination by a reconstituted Standing Committee on Home Affairs as they were passed at a time when 146 MPs had been suspended.

    “On Dec 25 2023, the President of India had given her assent to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023,the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. The three far-reaching Bills had been bulldozed through Parliament without proper debate and discussion, and at a time when 146 MPs had been suspended from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,” Ramesh said.

    “Earlier the Bills had been bulldozed through the Standing Committee on Home Affairs without detailed interactions with stakeholders across the country and completely ignoring the written and very detailed dissent notes of a number of MPs belonging to different political parties, including the Indian National Congress, who were members of the Standing Committee,” he said. Ramesh said the three new laws are to come into effect from July 1, 2024, and the Congress is of the firm opinion that the date should be deferred to enable a thorough review and re-examination of the laws by the reconstituted Standing Committee on Home Affairs.

    He said the panel should have more extensive and meaningful consultations with various legal experts and organisations “who have serious concerns on the three laws as they stand”, after which it should be scrutinised by the 18th Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well.

    On Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding deferment of the implementation of the three criminal laws, saying they were “hurriedly passed”. Similar demands have been made by the DMK as well.

  • Congress to decide on LoP in Lok Sabha: Sharad Pawar

    NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said the Congress will decide on the appointment on the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha as it has maximum seats among the INDIA bloc parties in the Lower House of Parliament. Asked if efforts will be made to have the Lok Sabha’s deputy speaker from the opposition, Pawar claimed this “rule” was not followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his last government.

    “A discussion will take place on that point, but I do not think any fruitful outcome will be there from it,” he said.

    Pawar was speaking to reporters at Baramati in Maharashtra’s Pune district. The BJP won 240 seats in the recently held polls to the 543-member Lok Sabha and formed government with its partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

    Among the opposition INDIA bloc constituents, the Congress bagged the highest 99 seats.

    Asked about the appointment of the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Pawar said, “Earlier, we had agreed that the position would go to the party with the highest seats. Today, the Congress has the maximum seats (among opposition parties) in the Lok Sabha, so they will decide who should hold the position.” “After the Congress decides, it will need the consent of our (INDIA) bloc,” he said. On the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) success in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, Pawar claimed people have lost confidence in PM Modi and that “Modi’s guarantee” turned out to be fake.

    “The people of the state came to a conclusion that the promises he made in the last five years were not kept,” he said.

    The MVA, which comprises the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) of Uddhav Thackeray and NCP (SP), bagged 30 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

    The ruling Mahayuti, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the NCP headed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, got 17 seats.

  • Haryana Congress Leader Kiran Choudhry, Her Daughter Shruti Join BJP |

    NEW DELHI: In a big jolt to Congress ahead of the assembly polls in the state, the party’s prominent Haryana leaders, Kiran Choudhry and her daughter Shruti Choudhry, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday. Both the leaders joined the BJP in a ceremony at the party headquarters in New Delhi in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, former CM and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, and the BJP’s National General Secretary, Tarun Chugh.

    After joining the BJP, Kiran Choudhry said, “Today I took this decision because of Prime Minister, who has pledged a developed India by 2047. I have full faith that India will shine in the world. The public welfare work done by the Prime Minister has led to the formation of a BJP government in Delhi for the third time. I have worked a lot with Khattar ji. There used to be a lot of bitterness between us. But the way he worked has been my source of inspiration.”

    “The way he (Khattar) has worked honestly for the welfare of the people is commendable. Today we will take the BJP flag and in the coming times we will form a BJP government in Haryana for the third time,” the sitting MLA and former Haryana minister added. Notably, Kiran Choudhry is the daughter-in-law of former Haryana chief minister Bansi Lal.

    Her daughter, Shruti, who also joined the BJP, said that they will work to strengthen the county and the state. “The Prime Minister has taken historic decisions for our country. Due to this, India’s reputation has shined even more in the whole world. I have come here taking inspiration from Khattar ji. It is a matter of pride for us that Modi ji and Khattar ji have worked with Chaudhary Bansi Lal ji. The way Bansi Lal worked hard, we are joining the BJP with the same hard work. Today we are joining BJP so that we can strengthen the country and the state,” Shruti Choudhry said.

    Yesterday, the former MP from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency has tendered her resignation as a Primary Member of Congress and also from the post of the Working President of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee. Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that it is a historic day that two prominent Congress leaders joined the BJP.

    “Today is a very historic day…Today, two prominent personalities are in the party, who have worked in Congress for many years…I have known Kiran ji since the time we worked with Bansi Lal ji…Kiran ji and I used to sit face to face in the assembly, ” Khattar said. Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini said, “Today, senior Congress leaders Kiran Chaudhary and Shruti Chaudhary decided to join the BJP, I welcome them. We will work to strengthen Haryana.”

  • Piyush Goyal rejects speculations on change of leadership in Maharashtra BJP

    Union Minister and senior BJP leader Piyush Goyal rejected speculations on a change of leadership in the party’s Maharashtra unit following the party’s dismal performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

    Goyal said that the BJP leadership has no such idea and no such discussion has taken place in the party’s core committee meeting. There were speculations that Rao Saheb Patil would be made the state president.

    Earlier on Tuesday, a meeting of the Maharashtra BJP core committee was held at the BJP national headquarters under the leadership of BJP National President JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.According to sources, the party’s central leadership has given a road map for the assembly elections in Maharashtra. The reasons for losing the Lok Sabha elections were also discussed in the meeting, they said.

    After the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters that all such issues were discussed, including those that had impacted the Lok Sabha election results, and how to overcome those shortcomings in the upcoming assembly elections.

    Fadnavis said that the BJP will enter the fray to contest the assembly elections with full force.Union Ministers Bhupendra Yadav, Ashwini Vaishnav, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde, State President Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Pankaja Munde, Ashish Shelar, Chandrakant Patil, and Rao Sahib Patil were present in the meeting.During the meeting, Bhupender Yadav was appointed as the in-charge for Maharashtra and Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will be the co-in-charge for the state.

    The BJP dipped to nine seats in Maharashtra against 23 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The vote share stood at 26.18 per cent. The Congress, on the other hand, marginally improved its seat share by securing 13 seats in the state.

    The Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won seven and one seats respectively, taking the total tally of the NDA to 17. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackrey) got nine seats while the Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar won eight seats. (ANI)

  • “Right political decision”: Congress’ Pramod Tiwari lauds Rahul Gandhi’s decision to retain Rae Bareli seat

    Congress leader Pramod Tiwari lauded Rahul Gandhi’s decision to retain the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh and called it the “right political decision.”

    Tiwari also thanked the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi for respecting the mandate of Uttar Pradesh.

    “I want to thank the national leadership of Congress and Rahul Gandhi. He (Rahul Gandhi) has taken the right political decision. Apart from this, he has also respected the mandate of Uttar Pradesh which gave 43 out of 80 seats to the INDIA alliance,” the senior Congress leader told ANI.”Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will win from Wayanad by 5 lakh votes,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Congress workers burst crackers and celebrated in Rae Bareli as Rahul Gandhi decided to retain the Lok Sabha seat.

    « Back to recommendation stories

    Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge announced Priyanka Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad at a special press conference on Monday. If Priyanka Gandhi wins from Wayanad, three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family will be in Parliament – Sonia Gandhi in Rajya Sabha and Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in the Lok Sabha.Priyanka Gandhi said on Monday that she will contest the bypoll from Wayanad but her decades-old association with Amethi and Rae Bareli will continue.”I am very happy to be able to represent Wayanad and I will not let them feel his (Rahul Gandhi’s) absence. I will work hard and I will try my best to make everyone happy and be a good representative. I have a very old relationship with Rae Bareli and Amethi and it cannot be broken. I will also help my brother in Rae Bareli. We will both be present in Rae Bareli and Wayanad,” Priyanka Gandhi said at the special press conference.

    The bye-election in the seat was necessitated after Rahul Gandhi decided to retain Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli seat, which he won along with Wayanad in the recently held Lok Sabha elections.

  • BJP, Congress Gear Up For Assembly Elections; Parties Field Candidates For July 10 Bypolls |

    New Delhi: As states are set to conduct by-polls for their assembly seats, on Monday BJP announced the name of the state election in-charge for Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir. Saffron party appointed Bhupender Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw as State election in charge and co-in-charge for Maharashtra while Dharmendra Pradhan and Biplab Kumar Dev were appointed as election in charge and co-in-charge for Haryana. 

    BJP released a list of appointed candidates on microblogging site X which also consists the names of Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Hemanta Biswas Sharma as State election in charge and co-in-charge for Jharkhand while  Kiran Reddy was appointed as election in charge for Jammu and Kashmir.

    States are going for by-polls on June 10, the party announced the name of its candidate on Monday. AAP fielded Mohinder Bhagat for by-election to the Jalandhar West Assembly constituency in Punjab while BJP nominated Sheetal Angural for the same constituency.  BJP also announced the names of the candidates contesting for by-polls from the West Bengal assembly constituency — Manas Kumar Ghosh from Raiganj, Manoj Kumar Biswas from Ranaghat Dakshin (SC), Binay Kumar Biswas from Bagda (SC) and Kalyan Chaubey Bhattacharya from Maniktala constituency.

    The Congress party has also approved the names of Dr Pushpendra Verma and Hardeep Singh Bawa to contest in by-polls from Harmirpur and Nalagarh Assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh while Lakhpat Butola and Qazi Nizamuddin are going to contest in by-polls from Badrinath and Manglaur Assembly constituencies in Uttarakhand.