News Analysis India

Tag: Congress leader

  • Rae Bareli: Rahul Gandhi pens emotional letter to people of Wayanad, says their unconditional love protected him

    Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday wrote an emotional letter to the people of Wayanad, the constituency that he is giving up to represent Rae Bareli in the Lok Sabha, and said when he faced abuse on a daily basis, their unconditional love protected him. Rahul had won both from Wayanad and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies and must vacate one of the seats within 14 days of the Lok Sabha results, which came out on June 4.

    He is giving up Wayanad and his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi is set to contest from there in the ensuing bypoll.

    “I was a stranger to you and yet you believed in me. You embraced me with unbridled love and affection. It didn’t matter which political formation you supported, it didn’t matter which community you were from or which religion you believed in or which language you spoke,” Rahul said. “When I faced abuse day after day, your unconditional love protected me. You were my refuge, my home and my family. I never felt for even a moment that you doubted me,” he said.

    The Congress leader said his sister Priyanka Gandhi will be representing Wayanad if the people give her an opportunity and expressed confidence that she will do an excellent job at being their MP.

    After a leadership meeting in New Delhi, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had on June 17 said that Rahul will keep the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh and vacate the Wayanad seat from where his sister Priyanka will contest. In his letter written on Sunday, Rahul also said that he cannot forget the “bravery, beauty and confidence” with which young girls translate his speeches in front of thousands of people.

    “I do not know how to thank you for what you have done for me. For the love and protection you gave me when I needed it most. You are part of my family and I will always be there for each and every one of you,” he said.

  • ‘Last election of my life…’: Digvijaya Singh to retire from electoral politics after 2024 LS polls – The Economic Times Video

    Former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh, 77, shared a personal story about meeting a respected local merchant in Raghogarh after his father’s death. The merchant’s advice emphasised life goals like earning, saving for jewellery and a house, and making a name for oneself. Singh said the 2024 Lok Sabha elections would be the “last election of his life”.

  • Arvind Kejriwal: “BJP afraid of INDIA bloc”: Jairam Ramesh on arrest of Delhi CM Kejriwal

    Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday took a jibe at the BJP over the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying it was ‘afraid’ of the INDIA bloc going into the Lok Sabha elections.

    Speaking to ANI, Ramesh said, “The arrest of Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren and Delhi Chief Minister is an attack on democracy and our constitution.”

    “This is politics of revenge at play. The BJP is afraid of the INDIA alliance. This is an attack on democracy and our constitution,” the Congress leader further said. Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said there is only one thought in the PM’s mind- ‘One Nation No Election’.

    “There is only one thought in the Prime Minister’s mind-‘One Nation, No Election’… The entire country is in OPD-One Person Dictatorship,” he added.

    Earlier, the BJP’s Delhi president Virendraa Sachdeva said the truth surrounding Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s alleged involvement in the liquor scam would soon be revealed.”Law is taking its course…Yesterday he (Arvind Kejriwal) was bargaining in the court that he is the Chief Minister of Delhi, hence he should be given two months but there is a rule of law in the country. The law treats every criminal the same, it is proven today. Soon the truth of Arvind Kejriwal’s involvement in liquor scam will be revealed to everyone,” Sachdeva told ANI.On Friday, Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court sent Kejriwal to ED custody till March 28. The probe agency had asked for 10 days remand after arresting the Delhi CM in the alleged Delhi excise policy case.

    In its arguments before the court, the ED alleged that the Delhi Chief Minister is the key conspirator and kingpin in demanding kickbacks from businessmen. The agency further claimed that Kejriwal was directly involved in the formation of the excise policy.

    The ED counsel claimed that Vijay Nair, who was the media in charge of AAP, was working for Delhi CM Kejriwal. Nair, who the agency said lives adjacent to the residence of Kejriwal, acted as a middleman between the AAP and the South group.

    Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for Kejriwal opposed the remand plea and submitted that the agency needs to show the necessity of arrest. Singhvi argued that the power of arrest and the necessity of arrest are two different things.

    Kejriwal was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in the excise policy case on Thursday after the Delhi High Court refused interim protection to Kejriwal from coercive action in connection with the excise policy case.

    The case pertains to alleged irregularities and money laundering in framing and implementing the Delhi excise policy case 2022, which was later scrapped.

    Two senior AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are in judicial custody in the excise policy case. Sisodia, who was the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, was arrested by the CBI on February 26 following several rounds of questioning. On October 5, ED arrested Sanjay Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha member.

    Kejriwal’s arrest came days after the ED arrested Bharat Rashta Samithi (BRS) leader and daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao K Kavitha, in connection with its investigation into money laundering charges linked to the now-scrapped excise policy. Kavitha is in ED custody till March 23.

  • 2018 defamation case: Hearing postponed to March 13 as Rahul cites busy schedule

    Sultanpur (UP), A court hearing scheduled on Saturday in the 2018 defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over his alleged objectionable remarks targeting Home Minister Amit Shah was postponed to March 13 after the Congress leader’s counsel sought more time saying he was busy with the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Gandhi had appeared in the special MP-MLA court on February 20 and was granted bail. The court had then fixed March 2 for the next hearing.

    But on Saturday his lawyer Kashi Prasad Shukla sought more time from the court.

    “I have got information that Rahul Gandhi is busy in Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Hence, I submitted an application in the court, on which the court has fixed the next hearing for March 13,” Shukla said. Asked if Gandhi will appear in the court on March 13, the advocate said, “I cannot tell right now whether Rahul Gandhi will appear in the court on the next hearing or not, but I will definitely say that Rahul Gandhi respects the court. If the circumstances are right then undoubtedly he will come and record his statement.”

    Santosh Pandey, the advocate of complainant BJP leader Vijay Mishra, said Gandhi’s advocate was asking for one month’s time. “But I opposed”.

    The complaint was filed here against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged indecent remarks against Amit Shah during the Karnataka elections six years ago. Mishra had filed the case on August 4, 2018 over Gandhi’s alleged objectionable comments against Shah made at a press conference in Bengaluru in May that year during the Karnataka elections. The complainant referred to Gandhi’s comment that the BJP claims to believe in honest and clean politics but has a party president who is an “accused” in a murder case. Shah was BJP president when Gandhi made the remark.

    About four years before Gandhi’s remark, a special CBI court in Mumbai discharged Shah in a 2005 fake encounter case when he was a minister of state for home in Gujarat.

    “The BJP is the biggest party of the country. Calling its (then) president a murderer is unjustifiable,” Mishra told reporters on Tuesday. He said Gandhi had skipped several summonses.

    A hearing was conducted on January 18, when Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer appeared in the case for the first time.

    Vijay Mishra is a BJP leader and hails from Hanumanganj of Kotwali Dehat police station in Sultanpur.

    Advocate Santosh Pandey had filed a complaint on behalf of Mishra and the court issued a warrant on December 16, 2023.

  • International communtiy turning blind eye to “genocide” in Gaza: Priyanka Gandhi

    Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra strongly condemned the Israeli actions — without naming Israel — in the Gaza Strip, saying that the “genocide” has set a “horrendous precedent” and will go down as a “great shame” in the history of the human race.

    In a social media post, the Congress general secretary cited the incidents of bombing on hospitals and alleged cases of torture against doctors in Gaza. She also raised concern over funding and arms being provided to the “oppressive regime” in Israel.

    The ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which started after the October 7 attacks, has created rampages in the Gaza Strip, leading to a “humanitarian crisis” in the enclave.Taking to social media platform X, Priyanka Gandhi said, “What the international community has allowed in Gaza will go down in history not only as a great shame for the whole of humanity, but as a turning point for the human race.”

    She said that the world is ‘blind’ to the “genocide” being carried out in the Gaza Strip and no one is stepping in even when an ‘entire nation’ is “begging for help”.

    “Being blind to genocide as it is carried out with impunity, turning our backs to the merciless slaughter of thousands of innocent children, refusing to step in while an entire nation starves and begs for help, while hospitals are bombed, doctors tortured and humiliated, and patients allowed to die, enabling an oppressive regime by offering its ships our ports, fueling its inhumane rampage by providing it with more and more funding and arms – all this has now set a horrendous precedent,” she further stated.Priyanka also said that everyone will have to pay an “unimaginable price” for this if voices are not raised against it.”All rules of justice, humanity and international decorum have been broken. Humanity has been bled, and each one of us will pay an unimaginable price for this some day unless we raise our voices and stand up for what is right today,” she added.

    https://x.com/priyankagandhi/status/1760690337218236604?s=20

    Notably, the Congress party has consistently weighed strong support for the people of Palestine ever since the conflict erupted.

    In October last year, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) passed a resolution supporting the rights of the Palestinian people and calling for a ceasefire in the region.

    The party had also condemned the Hamas attack, stating that a solution can never be reached through any type of violence.

    The conflict in Gaza escalated after Hamas carried out a massive terror attack against Israel on October 7, killing over 1200 people, taking around 250 people hostage and even committing sexual assault against civilians.

    In response, Israel launched a strong counteroffensive targeting the Hamas terror units in the Gaza Strip.

    Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the war will continue until Hamas is “destroyed”, the Times of Israel reported.

    “We’re continuing the war to the end,” Netanyahu said in a statement to the media. “Until all the goals we set are met: destroying Hamas, releasing our hostages and removing the threat from Gaza.”

    However, the Israeli air assault and ground operations has drawn frowns from rights groups and the Arab world over the mounting civilian death toll.

    According to Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, over 29,000 people have been killed in the Israeli attacks including more than 12,000 children.

    The Israeli onslaught has displaced around 85 per cent of Gaza’s population amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 6 per cent infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations.

    UN experts have even declared Israel’s actions in Gaza to be tantamount to “crimes against humanity.”

    Meanwhile, a case is also underway at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) where South Africa has accused Israel of “committing genocide” in Gaza.

    The ICJ, although didn’t order an ‘immediate ceasefire’, but did direct Israel to take “every measure possible to avoid genocide” while also ensuring humanitarian aid, Al Jazeera reported.

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  • Speculation mounts as Congress MLAs close to Kamal Nath arrive in Delhi amid rumors of BJP switch

    Around half a dozen Madhya Pradesh MLAs, known for their allegiance to senior Congress leader Kamal Nath, arrived in Delhi on Sunday amid speculation that both Kamal Nath and his MP son Nakul Nath are poised to join the BJP.

    Out of these MLAs, three hail from Chhindwara, with another three from the same region reportedly en route to Delhi, sources close to the seasoned leader told PTI. Kamal Nath, a nine-time MP from Chhindwara and the current MLA from the constituency, faced the removal as the state president of the Congress after the party’s lackluster performance in the November Assembly polls.

    Despite attempts to contact these MLAs, they remained elusive, and it is suggested that Lakhan Ghangoriya, a Nath loyalist and former state minister, is accompanying them in Delhi.Expressing discontent over Kamal Nath’s removal, Deepak Saxena, a former MP minister and Nath loyalist, emphasized the need for the leader to be treated with respect. Saxena asserted that regardless of Nath’s decision, their support would remain unwavering.

    “We want out leader to be accorded all respect. Whatever decision he takes, we will be with him,” Saxena said.

    Another Nath loyalist, former state minister Vikram Verma, wrote ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in his X profile.”I will follow Kamal Nath,” Verma, a former MP, had told reporters on Saturday.Amidst these developments, efforts are underway by the Nath camp to secure the backing of 23 MLAs to avoid the application of anti-defection laws. Currently, the Congress holds 66 seats in the 230-member Assembly of Madhya Pradesh.

    This situation draws parallels with the events of March 2020 when another senior Congress leader, Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with several loyal MLAs, defected to the BJP, resulting in the downfall of the Congress-led government helmed by Kamal Nath. The political landscape in Madhya Pradesh continues to witness dynamic shifts as these political developments unfold.

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  • Congress’ Supriya Shrinate reacts to Mamata Banerjee’s ‘fight alone’ remarks ahead of LS Polls: ‘We’ll contest election together…’ – The Economic Times Video

    New Delhi: After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee clarified that her party, TMC, will fight alone during Lok Sabha polls in the state, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate stated that Mamata Banerjee has a very important role in the INDIA Bloc. She is a part of this alliance, and we will contest this election together, she further added.

  • Rahul Gandhi to be arrested after Lok Sabha elections: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, against whom an FIR has been registered here on the charge of instigating violence will be arrested after the Lok Sabha elections, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday. The Assam police suo motu registered the FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several other leaders for “wanton acts of violence” here during the party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ on Tuesday.

    ”We have filed an FIR. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) will conduct the investigation and he (Gandhi) will be arrested after the Lok Sabha elections”, Sarma said on the sidelines of a programme at Nazira in Sibsagar district.

    The Lok Sabha elections are due within a few months in the country. Director General of Police G P Singh said that the case has been transferred to the Assam CID for a thorough investigation through an SIT to be constituted by the Additional Director General of Police (CID).

    Sarma had instructed the DGP to register a case against Gandhi for provoking the crowd to break barricades in an attempt to enter Guwahati city during the Yatra on Tuesday leading to a scuffle with the police in which some senior Congress leaders, including the state party President Bhupen Bora and leader of opposition in the state assembly, and four police personnel were injured.

    The FIR was filed against Congress leaders under IPC sections that deal with criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, rioting, assault or criminal force to deter public servants from discharging their duty, damaging public property and others.

  • INDIA bloc again seeks meeting with CEC over VVPATs

    New Delhi: The Congress sent yet another letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, requesting for a meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders with him to discuss their demands such as the voters’ self-checking voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips and their larger use in the Lok Sabha election.

    The party also reminded the CEC that he has not given them time for a meeting despite several requests.

    “On December 20, 2023, we again requested for an appointment with the ECI (Election Commission of India) to discuss and provide suggestions on the use of VVPATs based on a resolution passed at a meeting of leaders of INDIA parties held the previous day,” All India Congress Committee general Secretary Jairam Ramesh said in his December 30 letter on behalf of the Congress to the CEC. “We have been trying to meet with the ECI to hand over a copy of this resolution and have a discussion but have not been successful so far in doing so. I once again make a request for an opportunity for a 3-4 member team of the INDIA party leaders to meet with you and your colleagues and take a few minutes to put forward our point of view on VVPATs. Surely this is a perfectly reasonable and justifiable request.”Ramesh also reminded Kumar about the opposition submitting a memorandum to the ECI about concerns over electronic voting machines (EVMs) on August 9 and then making a series of requests on August 9, 10, 16, 18 and 23 for an opposition leaders’ meeting with ECI representatives. He said all that came in response was a “generic clarification” on August 23, in which the ECI told the opposition to refer to the standard FAQs on EVMs available on the ECI website.

  • Veteran Congress leader Jayanti Patnaik is passes away

    By PTI

    BHUBANESHWAR: Senior Congress leader and first chairperson of the National Commission for Women Jayanti Patnaik died here on Wednesday. She was 90.

    Jayanti Patnaik, a four-time MP and wife of late Odisha chief minister J B Patnaik, was declared dead by doctors at a hospital here, her son Pritiv Ballav Patnaik said.

    Her husband and former Odisha chief minister and ex-Governor of Assam J B Patnaik had passed away in 2015. She is survived by a son and two daughters.

    Jayanti Patnaik, who was married to J B Patnaik in 1953, was elected to the Lok Sabha from both Cuttack and Berhampur.

    Jayanti Patnaik, who was suffering from old-age-related aliment, was taken to the hospital as she did not respond in the evening, her son said, adding they were yet to decide on her funeral. Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal condoled Jayanti Patnaik’s death.

    “Odisha Governor expressed his grief over the demise of former MP, senior politician and a noted writer Jayanti Patnaik. Her contribution to the field of literature will be remembered,” the Raj Bhavan said in a statement.

    Jayanti Patnaik was born on April 7, 1932, at Aska in Ganjam district and completed her graduation in Sociology from Shailabala Women’s Autonomous College in Cuttack.

    She did her post-graduation from Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), Mumbai. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, OPCC president Sarat Pattnayak, ex-OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik and many other dignitaries condoled her demise.

    BHUBANESHWAR: Senior Congress leader and first chairperson of the National Commission for Women Jayanti Patnaik died here on Wednesday. She was 90.

    Jayanti Patnaik, a four-time MP and wife of late Odisha chief minister J B Patnaik, was declared dead by doctors at a hospital here, her son Pritiv Ballav Patnaik said.

    Her husband and former Odisha chief minister and ex-Governor of Assam J B Patnaik had passed away in 2015. She is survived by a son and two daughters.

    Jayanti Patnaik, who was married to J B Patnaik in 1953, was elected to the Lok Sabha from both Cuttack and Berhampur.

    Jayanti Patnaik, who was suffering from old-age-related aliment, was taken to the hospital as she did not respond in the evening, her son said, adding they were yet to decide on her funeral. Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal condoled Jayanti Patnaik’s death.

    “Odisha Governor expressed his grief over the demise of former MP, senior politician and a noted writer Jayanti Patnaik. Her contribution to the field of literature will be remembered,” the Raj Bhavan said in a statement.

    Jayanti Patnaik was born on April 7, 1932, at Aska in Ganjam district and completed her graduation in Sociology from Shailabala Women’s Autonomous College in Cuttack.

    She did her post-graduation from Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), Mumbai. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, OPCC president Sarat Pattnayak, ex-OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik and many other dignitaries condoled her demise.