Tag: Congress MLA

  • ‘Silent wave’ in Gujarat, upcoming state polls to give new direction to country: Jignesh Mevani

    By PTI

    GUJARAT: Congress MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani feels a “silent wave” has gripped the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Gujarat where a change is inevitable, and the upcoming state Assembly polls will give a new direction to the country.

    The Congress will win 120 out of the total 182 Assembly seats in the state polls, scheduled in two phases on December 1 and 5, he claimed in an interview with PTI.

    “This election is against autocracy, unemployment and price rise,” he said.

    Mevani (41), who is eyeing a second term from Vadgam, this time on the Congress ticket, is slogging it out in the poll arena, covering around 10 villages in a day in his Assembly seat, reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.

    He was elected as an independent MLA from the same seat in 2017 with the Congress’s support.

    “This time there is a silent revolution, a silent wave has gripped the state. People have made up their mind as they think that enough is enough,” Mevani claimed in response to a question that the BJP is considered unbeatable in Gujarat.

    Mevani said the “Gujarat elections will give a new direction to the country”.

    The MLA said his assessment is that the Congress will win 120 Assembly seats and lay the foundation for rebuilding Gujarat.

    “A change is inevitable,” he said.

    “Though the BJP is trying rake up emotional issues such as Hindutva, this time it won’t work,” the Congress leader said, adding he has been telling people to vote for him keeping in mind the price of a gas cylinder.

    “People elected (Prime Minister) Modiji with great love, not once but twice, but after so many years unemployment has not decreased, price rise has not stopped,” he said.

    “Now, people have witnessed that they are a repressive government as they started targeting those who raise their voice against them including opposition leaders, advocates, journalists. They (people) understood that this is a dictatorial government,” he said.

    Asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi having a fan following and an aura of unbeatability in Gujarat, Mevani claimed, “He does not have an aura, but it has been built by the use of money power, public relations and image building.

    “It is to be seen how many people will come to listen to him on their own if he does a public meeting without using officials (machinery) and keeping buses to ferry the people,” he said.

    Mevani claimed the time has come for the prime minister to ‘retire’.

    “He should retire as he does not have anything new to say now, nothing to offer, people do not have much expectations from him,” the legislator said.

    “He (Modi) said they will make smart cities, where are smart cities? They said they will give employment to two crore people, where are two crore jobs? They said they will give everyone Rs 15 lakh in their account where is the money? What have people got with his model of vikas (development)? What happened to his slogan of ‘acche din’– nothing,” Mevani added.

    He also dismissed claims of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party being a third force in the state.

    “There is no race here. Mark my words, the AAP will not win even a single seat in Gujarat,” he said.

    “No party can win elections in any state by social media campaign for two-four months and organising a few town hall meetings. Where are their workers, they are nowhere to be seen here (in Vadgam),” he said.

    But, Mevani acknowledged that All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) can eat into his votes in the Vadgam seat.

    The Asaududdin Owaisi-led AIMIM has fielded 13 candidates in the state, including one from the Vagdam seat.

    “The AIMIM will spoil my votes personally and of other Congress candidates (in other seats), They cannot win here, what else can they do? But they can only make the BJP win by splitting the votes. Those who are in the fight against fascism, those who want to save democracy and the Constitution do not do this,” he said.

    Mevani’s supporters want to see him as the chief minister of Gujarat if the Congress comes to power and they are telling this to voters in his village meetings.

    Asked about this, the MLA said, “It is for the Congress high command and party MLAs to decide who will be the chief minister of Gujarat. First let Congress get a majority and only then do all these questions come. Mevani expressed confidence he will win with a thumping majority for the second time from Vadgam. The atmosphere here is in my favour more than what I had expected,” he said.

    GUJARAT: Congress MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani feels a “silent wave” has gripped the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Gujarat where a change is inevitable, and the upcoming state Assembly polls will give a new direction to the country.

    The Congress will win 120 out of the total 182 Assembly seats in the state polls, scheduled in two phases on December 1 and 5, he claimed in an interview with PTI.

    “This election is against autocracy, unemployment and price rise,” he said.

    Mevani (41), who is eyeing a second term from Vadgam, this time on the Congress ticket, is slogging it out in the poll arena, covering around 10 villages in a day in his Assembly seat, reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.

    He was elected as an independent MLA from the same seat in 2017 with the Congress’s support.

    “This time there is a silent revolution, a silent wave has gripped the state. People have made up their mind as they think that enough is enough,” Mevani claimed in response to a question that the BJP is considered unbeatable in Gujarat.

    Mevani said the “Gujarat elections will give a new direction to the country”.

    The MLA said his assessment is that the Congress will win 120 Assembly seats and lay the foundation for rebuilding Gujarat.

    “A change is inevitable,” he said.

    “Though the BJP is trying rake up emotional issues such as Hindutva, this time it won’t work,” the Congress leader said, adding he has been telling people to vote for him keeping in mind the price of a gas cylinder.

    “People elected (Prime Minister) Modiji with great love, not once but twice, but after so many years unemployment has not decreased, price rise has not stopped,” he said.

    “Now, people have witnessed that they are a repressive government as they started targeting those who raise their voice against them including opposition leaders, advocates, journalists. They (people) understood that this is a dictatorial government,” he said.

    Asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi having a fan following and an aura of unbeatability in Gujarat, Mevani claimed, “He does not have an aura, but it has been built by the use of money power, public relations and image building.

    “It is to be seen how many people will come to listen to him on their own if he does a public meeting without using officials (machinery) and keeping buses to ferry the people,” he said.

    Mevani claimed the time has come for the prime minister to ‘retire’.

    “He should retire as he does not have anything new to say now, nothing to offer, people do not have much expectations from him,” the legislator said.

    “He (Modi) said they will make smart cities, where are smart cities? They said they will give employment to two crore people, where are two crore jobs? They said they will give everyone Rs 15 lakh in their account where is the money? What have people got with his model of vikas (development)? What happened to his slogan of ‘acche din’– nothing,” Mevani added.

    He also dismissed claims of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party being a third force in the state.

    “There is no race here. Mark my words, the AAP will not win even a single seat in Gujarat,” he said.

    “No party can win elections in any state by social media campaign for two-four months and organising a few town hall meetings. Where are their workers, they are nowhere to be seen here (in Vadgam),” he said.

    But, Mevani acknowledged that All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) can eat into his votes in the Vadgam seat.

    The Asaududdin Owaisi-led AIMIM has fielded 13 candidates in the state, including one from the Vagdam seat.

    “The AIMIM will spoil my votes personally and of other Congress candidates (in other seats), They cannot win here, what else can they do? But they can only make the BJP win by splitting the votes. Those who are in the fight against fascism, those who want to save democracy and the Constitution do not do this,” he said.

    Mevani’s supporters want to see him as the chief minister of Gujarat if the Congress comes to power and they are telling this to voters in his village meetings.

    Asked about this, the MLA said, “It is for the Congress high command and party MLAs to decide who will be the chief minister of Gujarat. First let Congress get a majority and only then do all these questions come. Mevani expressed confidence he will win with a thumping majority for the second time from Vadgam. The atmosphere here is in my favour more than what I had expected,” he said.

  • MP: Congress MLA Sachin Birla joins BJP ahead of Khandwa Lok Sabha bypoll

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Sachin Birla on Sunday joined the ruling BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at an election rally for Khandwa Lok Sabha bypoll.

    Birla had won the Assembly election on a Congress ticket from Badwah seat in Khargone district in 2018.

    Badwah Assembly seat represented by Birla falls in Khargone district, but it is a part of Khandwa Lok Sabha seat, where the bypoll is scheduled on October 30 along with three other Assembly seats in the state.

    “MLA Sachin Birla joined the BJP in the presence of the chief minister,” BJP’s media in-charge Lokendra Parashar said in a tweet while sharing the video that showed Birla being welcomed by Chouhan, Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel and other BJP leaders on stage during a rally at Bedia.

  • People in Afghanistan are happy with Taliban rule, says Jharkhand Congress MLA

    Express News Service

    RANCHI: Irfan Ansari, Congress MLA from Jharkhand’s Jamtara, has once again has landed in controversy by saying that people in Afghanistan are happy with the Taliban rule and it is the US forces which had been doing atrocities on the women and children in Afghanistan. Notably, Ansari is also among three Congress MLAs who have been named for conspiring to topple the JMM-led alliance government in Jharkhand.

    After attending the first day of the monsoon session of Jharkhand Assembly on Friday, Ansari also said Taliban is fighting a battle against the atrocities of the US forces over the women and children of Afghanistan. “People in Afghanistan are happy with Taliban rule. It is the American forces which had been doing atrocities on the women and children in Afghanistan. This is a battle against those atrocities and the rest is propaganda by the outsiders,” he said.

    The BJP has strongly opposed Ansari’s statement saying that this is a reflection of a thinking due to which the whole world is suffering. It also demanded CM Hemant Soren to clear his stand on the statement made by Ansari.

    “The entire world is watching the actual face of Taliban. These kind of radical Islamists have been helping such forces to nurture. If Ansari likes Taliban so much, he is free to move to Afghanistan,” said Jharkhand State BJP spokesperson Pradeep Sinha. “Such kind of thinking will not be allowed to get nurtured and if someone tries to give shelter to them, stringent action will be taken against them,” he added.

    “I also demand CM Hemant Soren to clear his stand on this statement. Being the Chief Minister, he must tell people whether he also agrees to the statement made by Irfan Ansari, or he differs with it,” said Sinha.

    It is a well established fact that the three MLAs – Irfan Ansari, Uma Shankar Akela and Amit Yadav were present in a Delhi Hotel on July 15 along with the three Maharsashta BJP leaders for holding secret parley with two of Maharashtra based BJP leaders allegedly for toppling the Hemant Soren government. Ansari even confessed his Delhi visit but denied his involvement in the shady deal.

  • Congress high command’s decision on CM power-sharing reserved: Chhattisgarh Minister T S Singh Deo

    By Express News Service

    RAIPUR: Amid the ‘wait and watch’ situation over the fate of 2.5 years power-sharing formula for the CM post, health minister T S Singh Deo returned to Chhattisgarh on Saturday late evening,  August 28, 2021, and revealed that the party high command has kept its decision reserved.

    “Now I need to focus on work but will also wait for the decision. Can’t say when will it happen. To bring off such decision takes little time. Whatever the conclusion the party leadership arrives at in Delhi, we all would be abiding with that. In life if anything is permanent, its the change”, Singh Deo said, obliquely hinting of a possible change in Chhattisgarh, after his arrival at the Raipur airport.

    Singhdeo met Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on August 24, when the recent political drama over the 2.5 year power-sharing formula in Chhattisgarh was ongoing.

    “The state Congress MLAs had gone to Delhi when they have been instructed not to do so. The party high command has been watching all this and I believe they will soon be taking a decision”, he said.

    He also put forth his views during his meeting with the AICC general secretary K C Venugopal on Friday in Delhi.

    Early today the chief minister Bhupesh Baghel reached Raipur along with his supporters to a rousing reception at the airport.

    The tussle over power-sharing arrangement for the CM post has been lingering ever since Baghel completed his half-way tenure on June 17 this year.

  • Congress strength in Manipur assembly down to 16 as veteran legislature resigns

    By PTI
    IMPHAL: Govindas Konthoujam, Congress MLA and former president of Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) Wednesday resigned from the membership of state Assembly and primary membership of the party.

    Konthoujam submitted his resignation letters to Speaker Yumnam Khemchand Singh and MPCC interim president Nameirakpam Loken Singh.

    A six-time consecutively elected MLA from Bishnupur seat, he had resigned as MPCC president on July 20. Assembly poll in the northeastern state is due in 2022.

    Loken Singh told PTI that Konthoujam has submitted his resignation letter from the primary membership of the party at the Congress Bhawan here stating that he had taken the step due to personal reasons.

    An Assembly official told PTI that Konthoujam submitted his resignation letter to the Speaker on Wednesday morning.

    Congress had bagged more seats in the 60-member house than BJP in the 2017 state Assembly poll but had failed to cross the halfway mark and was unable to cobble up an alliance to form the government.

    The BJP had then managed to stitch up an alliance with other parties and came to power.

    Presently the House has an effective strength of 56 in which the BJP has 25 members and the Congress 17.

    With Kanthoujam’s resignation from the House and the party the figure for the Congress now stands at 16.

  • Setback for Congress in Assam as four-time MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi quits party to join BJP

    By Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Congress suffered a setback in Assam after four-time sitting MLA and tea garden community leader, Rupjyoti Kurmi resigned from the party on Friday to join the BJP.

    He will wear saffron at a programme on Monday in the presence of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and contest the by-elections. The Congress expelled him from its primary membership.

    The family of the 43-year-old had been associated with the Congress since 1980s. He has held the Mariani seat since 2006. His mother, the late Rupam Kurmi who represented the constituency for three terms on the trot, had died while serving as a Congress Minister.

    Kurmi was miffed that the young leaders allegedly had no place in the party. He said he had written to party president Sonia Gandhi stating that he was born and brought up in a Congress family and served the party sincerely but it did not accord him due importance.

    He told journalists that many deserving party workers were denied a position while a few were holding two to three posts.

    “I was interviewed by (party’s Assam in-charge) Jitendra Singh and (former Meghalaya CM) Mukul Sangma for the post of Leader of Opposition but was eventually denied the position despite a commitment. I was also not considered for the posts of Pradesh Congress president and chairman of Public Accounts Committee,” a livid Kurmi said.

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    He slammed the party’s state and central leaderships for the poll debacle in Assam as well as Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.

    “We had disapproved of the Congress’s alliance with the AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front). We had warned that we would be uprooted by people from Upper Assam. However, the leaders ignored our warning. The party in Assam is run by one-two persons. One of them asserts himself as the leader of the minority community,” Kurmi said.

    The Congress suffered in the polls due to its dismal performance in Upper Assam where a strong sentiment of Assamese sub-nationalism works. The voters in this region could not accept the Congress’s poll alignment with the minority-based AIUDF.

    Kurmi said it was due to the failures of central leaders that the party fared very poorly in the elections. He said as the leadership was in no mood to listen to young leaders, the party’s organisational base weakened in the five states.

    He credited Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot with the party’s success in Rajasthan, Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh, and Capt Amarinder Singh in Punjab. “We did not find any contributions of central leaders in these states,” Kurmi said.

    He appreciated the Assam CM’s drive against drug menace and efforts to rid temples and “satras” (Vaishnavite prayer centres) of encroachment and protect the “Gaumata”.

  • Assam Congress MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi resigns, set to join BJP 

    By PTI
    HUWAHATI: In a jolt to the opposition Congress in Assam, Mariani legislator Rupjyoti Kurmi on Friday resigned from the party and the assembly, announcing that he will join the BJP soon.

    The tea community leader tendered his resignation to Speaker Biswajit Daimary at his assembly office here.

    Kurmi told reporters that he has tendered his resignation to AICC President Sonia Gandhi.

    The four-time MLA said he will join the saffron party on June 21.

    The Congress, meanwhile, expelled Kurmi from the party for “his anti-party activities”.

    Assam Pradesh Congress President Ripun Bora said in a statement that the decision was approved by the All India Congress Committee.

    Bora also constituted a three-member team, led by former MLA Rana Goswami, to visit Mariani assembly constituency and take stock of the political situation there.

    Thowra MLA Sushanta Borgohain and Manoj Dhanowar are other members of the team.

    Kurmi, a prominent member of the tea tribe community, is the son of former Congress minister late Rupam Kurmi, and has been elected from Mariani constituency since 2006.