News Analysis India

Tag: Jairam Ramesh

  • Indian politics needs more like her: Jairam Ramesh on New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh Thursday hailed New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who has announced that she is stepping down as her country’s leader, and said that “Indian politics needs more like her”.

    Ardern told reporters in Napier that February 7 will be her last day in office.

    She will hold her seat as a lawmaker until the general election, which she said would be held on October 14.

    “Legendary cricket commentator, Vijay Merchant once said about retiring at the peak of his career: Go when people ask why is he going instead of why isn’t he going. Kiwi PM, Jacinda Ardern has just said she is quitting following Merchant’s maxim,” Congress general secretary Ramesh said on Twitter.

    “Indian politics needs more like her,” he added.

    Legendary cricket commentator, Vijay Merchant once said about retiring at the peak of his career:Go when people ask why is he going instead of why isn’t he going. Kiwi PM, Jacinda Ardern has just said she is quitting following Merchant’s maxim. Indian politics needs more like her
    — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) January 19, 2023
    Ardern’s empathetic handling of the nation’s worst mass-shooting and health-driven response to the coronavirus pandemic led her to become an international icon but she has faced mounting criticism at home.

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh Thursday hailed New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who has announced that she is stepping down as her country’s leader, and said that “Indian politics needs more like her”.

    Ardern told reporters in Napier that February 7 will be her last day in office.

    She will hold her seat as a lawmaker until the general election, which she said would be held on October 14.

    “Legendary cricket commentator, Vijay Merchant once said about retiring at the peak of his career: Go when people ask why is he going instead of why isn’t he going. Kiwi PM, Jacinda Ardern has just said she is quitting following Merchant’s maxim,” Congress general secretary Ramesh said on Twitter.

    “Indian politics needs more like her,” he added.

    Legendary cricket commentator, Vijay Merchant once said about retiring at the peak of his career:Go when people ask why is he going instead of why isn’t he going. Kiwi PM, Jacinda Ardern has just said she is quitting following Merchant’s maxim. Indian politics needs more like her
    — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) January 19, 2023
    Ardern’s empathetic handling of the nation’s worst mass-shooting and health-driven response to the coronavirus pandemic led her to become an international icon but she has faced mounting criticism at home.

  • Playing against BJP on Congress-prepared pitch due to Yatra: Ramesh

    By PTI

    DAUSA: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said the Bharat Jodo Yatra has ensured that the Congress is now setting the political narrative in the country and the BJP has been made to play on a pitch prepared by his party.

    In an interview with PTI on the yatra completing 100 days, Ramesh also said that Rahul Gandhi is trying to sharpen the ideological basis of the Congress and is working along with the party’s elected president, Mallikarjun Kharge, as a ‘jugalbandi’ (together).

    Asked whether the party could undertake another such yatra next year, Ramesh said, “I would certainly love to participate in a Porbandar (Gujarat) to Parshuram Kund (Arunachal Pradesh) Yatra but whether we can do it next year and how we can do it next year, it has to be discussed and debated in appropriate party forums.

    ” The Congress general secretary in-charge communications asserted that through the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi has given a new direction to the political discourse and the Congress has set the narrative for the last 100 days.

    “The Congress has been applauded, criticised, praised, reviled. What it means is that we were on the defensive, we were always reacting to what the BJP was saying or what it was doing but through the Bharat Jodo Yatra I think we have succeeded to a very large extent in being able to set the terms of debate and the narrative in the political discourse,” Ramesh said.

    He said the yatra has had an “electrifying internal effect” on the organisation as well as on the external world of Indian politics.

    Ramesh claimed that due to the yatra, the BJP is on the “back foot, disturbed and nervous”.

    “I think we have succeeded in changing the terms of the debate. The narrative is on our pitch now. We are playing cricket against the BJP on a pitch that is prepared by us, we are not playing cricket against the BJP on a pitch prepared by them, that is the difference,” he said.

    Asked if Rahul Gandhi was now the conscience-keeper of the party, Ramesh said that’s a strong word and one does not emerge as a conscience-keeper through just one yatra.

    “He (Gandhi) is raising issues which should be of deep concern to the Indian citizens. He is certainly seen as the ideological compass for the Congress party. We have a full-time elected Congress president and in Rahul Gandhi we have somebody who is trying to sharpen the ideological basis of the Congress,” he said.

    “He and Kharge ji are working as a jugalbandi. To that extent he (Gandhi) has certainly succeeded in energising the party organisation, Congress workers, supporters and giving them a new hope that the Congress party will re-establish itself as the pre-eminent political force in the country,” he said.

    Asked if the yatra would have an electoral impact in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka that go to polls next year, Ramesh reiterated that it is not an electoral yatra but an ideological one.

    “It is a yatra to capture the battlefield of ideas, battlefield of ideologies. Yes we are not an NGO, we are not a ‘sanyasi’ battalion, we are a political party and we exist to fight elections and fight elections to win but whether this Bharat Jodo yatra will have a positive electoral impact, it depends entirely on the Congress organisation,” he said.

    “If we have unity, if we have discipline, if we have a sense of collective purpose, then I think we will be able to take forward the message of the Bharat jodo Yatra and gain electoral success,” he added.

    The yatra was not started to win Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha, but to strengthen the ideological moorings of the Congress, re-establish the connection with the people, reinforce a sense of collective purpose to combat the three big challenges of economic inequality, increase social polarisation and established political authoritarianism.

    Asked about the tussle between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his bete noire Sachin Pilot, Ramesh reiterated Gandhi’s earlier statement that both leaders are assets for the party.

    “Whatever way forward is found by the Congress party and the high command, the principle is very clear, the organisation is supreme. Individuals come and individuals go but it is the organisational interests that are paramount,” he said.

    “I would stress on the supremacy of organisational interest and I am sure that is what is on the minds of the Congress president and others who are working to find a solution,” he said.

    Ramesh also contended that because of the Bharat Jodo Yatra Gandhi has been able to re-establish in the public eye who he really is – caring, compassionate and sensitive.

    “I have said earlier and I would like to repeat this is not a new Rahul Gandhi, this is the real Rahul Gandhi which the country is seeing through the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” he said.

    Ramesh also slammed those who criticise the Congress unnecessarily, saying the Congress bashing is a favourite pastime of not only the right-wing but also of the liberal commentariat.

    “I think that needs to stop. To a large extent because of the Bharat Jodo Yatra this Congress bashing has moderated in tone. I don’t think it has vanished but it has moderated in tone,” he said.

    Ramesh said the large liberal constituency in our country must recognise the only way to defeat the “polarising and poisonous” agenda of the RSS-BJP is by strengthening and reinvigorating the Congress party, its values and its ideology.

    The yatra, which was launched on September 7 in Kanyakumari, has completed 102 days and traversed eight states — Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and now, Rajasthan.

    DAUSA: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said the Bharat Jodo Yatra has ensured that the Congress is now setting the political narrative in the country and the BJP has been made to play on a pitch prepared by his party.

    In an interview with PTI on the yatra completing 100 days, Ramesh also said that Rahul Gandhi is trying to sharpen the ideological basis of the Congress and is working along with the party’s elected president, Mallikarjun Kharge, as a ‘jugalbandi’ (together).

    Asked whether the party could undertake another such yatra next year, Ramesh said, “I would certainly love to participate in a Porbandar (Gujarat) to Parshuram Kund (Arunachal Pradesh) Yatra but whether we can do it next year and how we can do it next year, it has to be discussed and debated in appropriate party forums.

    ” The Congress general secretary in-charge communications asserted that through the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi has given a new direction to the political discourse and the Congress has set the narrative for the last 100 days.

    “The Congress has been applauded, criticised, praised, reviled. What it means is that we were on the defensive, we were always reacting to what the BJP was saying or what it was doing but through the Bharat Jodo Yatra I think we have succeeded to a very large extent in being able to set the terms of debate and the narrative in the political discourse,” Ramesh said.

    He said the yatra has had an “electrifying internal effect” on the organisation as well as on the external world of Indian politics.

    Ramesh claimed that due to the yatra, the BJP is on the “back foot, disturbed and nervous”.

    “I think we have succeeded in changing the terms of the debate. The narrative is on our pitch now. We are playing cricket against the BJP on a pitch that is prepared by us, we are not playing cricket against the BJP on a pitch prepared by them, that is the difference,” he said.

    Asked if Rahul Gandhi was now the conscience-keeper of the party, Ramesh said that’s a strong word and one does not emerge as a conscience-keeper through just one yatra.

    “He (Gandhi) is raising issues which should be of deep concern to the Indian citizens. He is certainly seen as the ideological compass for the Congress party. We have a full-time elected Congress president and in Rahul Gandhi we have somebody who is trying to sharpen the ideological basis of the Congress,” he said.

    “He and Kharge ji are working as a jugalbandi. To that extent he (Gandhi) has certainly succeeded in energising the party organisation, Congress workers, supporters and giving them a new hope that the Congress party will re-establish itself as the pre-eminent political force in the country,” he said.

    Asked if the yatra would have an electoral impact in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka that go to polls next year, Ramesh reiterated that it is not an electoral yatra but an ideological one.

    “It is a yatra to capture the battlefield of ideas, battlefield of ideologies. Yes we are not an NGO, we are not a ‘sanyasi’ battalion, we are a political party and we exist to fight elections and fight elections to win but whether this Bharat Jodo yatra will have a positive electoral impact, it depends entirely on the Congress organisation,” he said.

    “If we have unity, if we have discipline, if we have a sense of collective purpose, then I think we will be able to take forward the message of the Bharat jodo Yatra and gain electoral success,” he added.

    The yatra was not started to win Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha, but to strengthen the ideological moorings of the Congress, re-establish the connection with the people, reinforce a sense of collective purpose to combat the three big challenges of economic inequality, increase social polarisation and established political authoritarianism.

    Asked about the tussle between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his bete noire Sachin Pilot, Ramesh reiterated Gandhi’s earlier statement that both leaders are assets for the party.

    “Whatever way forward is found by the Congress party and the high command, the principle is very clear, the organisation is supreme. Individuals come and individuals go but it is the organisational interests that are paramount,” he said.

    “I would stress on the supremacy of organisational interest and I am sure that is what is on the minds of the Congress president and others who are working to find a solution,” he said.

    Ramesh also contended that because of the Bharat Jodo Yatra Gandhi has been able to re-establish in the public eye who he really is – caring, compassionate and sensitive.

    “I have said earlier and I would like to repeat this is not a new Rahul Gandhi, this is the real Rahul Gandhi which the country is seeing through the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” he said.

    Ramesh also slammed those who criticise the Congress unnecessarily, saying the Congress bashing is a favourite pastime of not only the right-wing but also of the liberal commentariat.

    “I think that needs to stop. To a large extent because of the Bharat Jodo Yatra this Congress bashing has moderated in tone. I don’t think it has vanished but it has moderated in tone,” he said.

    Ramesh said the large liberal constituency in our country must recognise the only way to defeat the “polarising and poisonous” agenda of the RSS-BJP is by strengthening and reinvigorating the Congress party, its values and its ideology.

    The yatra, which was launched on September 7 in Kanyakumari, has completed 102 days and traversed eight states — Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and now, Rajasthan.

  • PM Modi forced Rajnath Singh to read wishy-washy statement on Arunachal border clash: Congress

    By PTI

    DAUSA: Upping the ante on the government over the Sino-India border issue, the Congress on Friday cited the “ballooning” trade deficit and said while trade is “normal” with that country, the border is “abnormal”.

    Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “exonerating” the Chinese with his 2020 statement on the border standoff and asked whether what had happened back then was an “incursion” or an “excursion” by the Chinese.

    Hitting out at the prime minister over his “silence” on the issue, Ramesh also alleged that the prime minister “forced” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to read a “most wishy-washy” statement in Parliament earlier this week following the recent face-off between Indian and Chinese forces in Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, and asserted that it was the Opposition parties’ democratic right to seek a debate on the important issue.

    “The prime minister has met the president of China 18 times. (Former External Affairs Minister) Sushma Swaraj said trade and terrorism cannot go together. But after China disturbed the LAC arrangement in April 2020, our imports from China have zoomed, our trade deficit has ballooned,” he told PTI while walking in the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra here.

    “So, trade is normal but the border is abnormal. How can we reconcile this with what Sushma Swaraj had said in respect to Pakistan,” Ramesh said.

    Citing the example of what happened in 1962, the Congress leader said when a full-fledged Chinese invasion was on, a debate was taking place in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.

    “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and his colleagues in the cabinet heard the bitter, stinging criticism of the government and responded,” he said.

    L M Singhvi, who represented Pali in the Lok Sabha as a Swatantra Party member, had written to Nehru asking for a secret session of Parliament to discuss the Chinese invasion and the then PM responded, saying it is nonsensical to think of a secret session and it must be an open session, Ramesh recounted.

    This letter is on public record, he added.

    Ramesh said it is extraordinary that an Opposition member of Parliament was writing to the prime minister calling for a secret session of Parliament to discuss the Chinese invasion, but the PM said it must be discussed openly in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

    “And here, we have a prime minister who has not spoken a word for two-and-a-half years and the only word he has spoken, he has exonerated the Chinese by saying there has been no incursion. So my question to the prime minister is that if there has been no Chinese incursion as he said on June 20, 2020, what was it, was it a Chinese excursion if it was not an incursion,” Ramesh said.

    What were the Chinese doing in Ladakh and what are they doing in Arunachal Pradesh, he asked.

    “Let us have a debate in Parliament. A debate is not meant to score political points, it is meant to reflect a collective resolve, a collective will of Parliament,” the Congress leader asserted.

    ALSO READ | India blames China of trying to alter ‘status quo’, Beijing downplays Arunachal border clash

    There are political differences and the Bharat Jodo Yatra was born out of political differences with the Modi regime, but in spite of that, on matters of external security, we will speak in one voice, he said.

    “But the prime minister rarely comes to Parliament and he forced Mr Rajnath Singh to read a most wishy-washy statement, the Opposition parties walked out and I think the demand for a debate, the rules of which can be set by the government, is a democratic right that is being denied to all opposition parties,” Ramesh said.

    Questioning the “silence” of the prime minister on the issue, he said Chinese companies continue to prosper in India and the prime minister continues to keep silent.

    “What are the relations between Vivekananda International Foundation and the India Foundation and the Chinese Communist Party, I would like to ask,” he said.

    Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal also slammed the government over the Sino-India border issue, saying people who have been talking about nationalism when in Opposition, are not even allowing a discussion on the border issue in Parliament.

    “They (the BJP) talked a lot about this type of Chinese aggression but now they are not even allowing a discussion in Parliament. We are very much concerned about territorial integrity. China day by day is entering into our territory, the government is keeping mum,” he said. Where will it be debated other than Parliament, he asked.

    “The prime minister should make a statement, there should be a discussion on these things,” Venugopal told PTI while walking in the yatra.

    ALSO READ | China preparing for war, Indian government asleep: Rahul Gandhi

    The remarks of the two Congress leaders come days after Singh, in a statement to Parliament, said Chinese troops tried to “unilaterally” change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector on December 9, but the Indian Army compelled them to retreat with its “firm and resolute” response.

    The face-off took place amid the over 30-month border standoff between the two sides in eastern Ladakh.

    The Congress has been demanding a discussion on the border issue and accusing the government of hiding the truth.

    DAUSA: Upping the ante on the government over the Sino-India border issue, the Congress on Friday cited the “ballooning” trade deficit and said while trade is “normal” with that country, the border is “abnormal”.

    Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “exonerating” the Chinese with his 2020 statement on the border standoff and asked whether what had happened back then was an “incursion” or an “excursion” by the Chinese.

    Hitting out at the prime minister over his “silence” on the issue, Ramesh also alleged that the prime minister “forced” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to read a “most wishy-washy” statement in Parliament earlier this week following the recent face-off between Indian and Chinese forces in Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, and asserted that it was the Opposition parties’ democratic right to seek a debate on the important issue.

    “The prime minister has met the president of China 18 times. (Former External Affairs Minister) Sushma Swaraj said trade and terrorism cannot go together. But after China disturbed the LAC arrangement in April 2020, our imports from China have zoomed, our trade deficit has ballooned,” he told PTI while walking in the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra here.

    “So, trade is normal but the border is abnormal. How can we reconcile this with what Sushma Swaraj had said in respect to Pakistan,” Ramesh said.

    Citing the example of what happened in 1962, the Congress leader said when a full-fledged Chinese invasion was on, a debate was taking place in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.

    “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and his colleagues in the cabinet heard the bitter, stinging criticism of the government and responded,” he said.

    L M Singhvi, who represented Pali in the Lok Sabha as a Swatantra Party member, had written to Nehru asking for a secret session of Parliament to discuss the Chinese invasion and the then PM responded, saying it is nonsensical to think of a secret session and it must be an open session, Ramesh recounted.

    This letter is on public record, he added.

    Ramesh said it is extraordinary that an Opposition member of Parliament was writing to the prime minister calling for a secret session of Parliament to discuss the Chinese invasion, but the PM said it must be discussed openly in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

    “And here, we have a prime minister who has not spoken a word for two-and-a-half years and the only word he has spoken, he has exonerated the Chinese by saying there has been no incursion. So my question to the prime minister is that if there has been no Chinese incursion as he said on June 20, 2020, what was it, was it a Chinese excursion if it was not an incursion,” Ramesh said.

    What were the Chinese doing in Ladakh and what are they doing in Arunachal Pradesh, he asked.

    “Let us have a debate in Parliament. A debate is not meant to score political points, it is meant to reflect a collective resolve, a collective will of Parliament,” the Congress leader asserted.

    ALSO READ | India blames China of trying to alter ‘status quo’, Beijing downplays Arunachal border clash

    There are political differences and the Bharat Jodo Yatra was born out of political differences with the Modi regime, but in spite of that, on matters of external security, we will speak in one voice, he said.

    “But the prime minister rarely comes to Parliament and he forced Mr Rajnath Singh to read a most wishy-washy statement, the Opposition parties walked out and I think the demand for a debate, the rules of which can be set by the government, is a democratic right that is being denied to all opposition parties,” Ramesh said.

    Questioning the “silence” of the prime minister on the issue, he said Chinese companies continue to prosper in India and the prime minister continues to keep silent.

    “What are the relations between Vivekananda International Foundation and the India Foundation and the Chinese Communist Party, I would like to ask,” he said.

    Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal also slammed the government over the Sino-India border issue, saying people who have been talking about nationalism when in Opposition, are not even allowing a discussion on the border issue in Parliament.

    “They (the BJP) talked a lot about this type of Chinese aggression but now they are not even allowing a discussion in Parliament. We are very much concerned about territorial integrity. China day by day is entering into our territory, the government is keeping mum,” he said. Where will it be debated other than Parliament, he asked.

    “The prime minister should make a statement, there should be a discussion on these things,” Venugopal told PTI while walking in the yatra.

    ALSO READ | China preparing for war, Indian government asleep: Rahul Gandhi

    The remarks of the two Congress leaders come days after Singh, in a statement to Parliament, said Chinese troops tried to “unilaterally” change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector on December 9, but the Indian Army compelled them to retreat with its “firm and resolute” response.

    The face-off took place amid the over 30-month border standoff between the two sides in eastern Ladakh.

    The Congress has been demanding a discussion on the border issue and accusing the government of hiding the truth.

  • Singer Sunidhi Chauhan to perform at Rajasthan Congress gala

    Express News Service

    JAIPUR:  The Congress is in a celebratory mood in Rajasthan, ahead of two milestones for the party this month the completion of four years of the Ashok Gehlot government in the state as well as 100 days of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Congress will hold a grand celebration in Jaipur on Friday to mark the occasions. Rahul will attend the colourful programme as the chief guest on December 16, the eve of completion of Gehlot’s four years in office. 

    A performance by singer Sunidhi Chauhan will also be a part of the event to be held at Jaipur’s Albert Hall, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Tuesday. Besides Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, state party in-charge Sukhjinder Randhawa, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasara, all the major state leaders will be present at the programme.

    The event will also mark 100 days of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started from Kanyakumari on September 7 and has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The march will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir in February 2023. 

    “The Yatra will complete 100 days on December 16 and it will be a milestone,’’ Ramesh said at a press conference on Tuesday. The occasion will be observed through a glittering Bharat Jodo Concert. Rahul will also address a press conference in Dausa that afternoon.

    New Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Congress MLAs from the state will also join Rahul’s yatra on Friday. According to Ramesh, a public meeting will also be held in Alwar on December 19. The Congress government will complete four years of its term in Rajasthan on December 17. A range of programmes will be held from December 17 to December 28 to publicise the achievements of the Gehlot government. The chief minister will also hold a press conference on Saturday to mark the occasion, during which he will present an account of the achievements of his tenure.

    A four-day exhibition will also be organised at Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, in which the work done by all the government departments and their progress will be showcased.  Also on display will be the various public welfare schemes launched by the government, including the Old Pension Scheme and the Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme. There will also be direct communication with the beneficiaries and the ambitious programme to provide smartphones to needy women will finally be launched during these celebrations. 

    JAIPUR:  The Congress is in a celebratory mood in Rajasthan, ahead of two milestones for the party this month the completion of four years of the Ashok Gehlot government in the state as well as 100 days of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Congress will hold a grand celebration in Jaipur on Friday to mark the occasions. Rahul will attend the colourful programme as the chief guest on December 16, the eve of completion of Gehlot’s four years in office. 

    A performance by singer Sunidhi Chauhan will also be a part of the event to be held at Jaipur’s Albert Hall, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Tuesday. Besides Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, state party in-charge Sukhjinder Randhawa, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasara, all the major state leaders will be present at the programme.

    The event will also mark 100 days of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started from Kanyakumari on September 7 and has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The march will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir in February 2023. 

    “The Yatra will complete 100 days on December 16 and it will be a milestone,’’ Ramesh said at a press conference on Tuesday. The occasion will be observed through a glittering Bharat Jodo Concert. Rahul will also address a press conference in Dausa that afternoon.

    New Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Congress MLAs from the state will also join Rahul’s yatra on Friday. According to Ramesh, a public meeting will also be held in Alwar on December 19. The Congress government will complete four years of its term in Rajasthan on December 17. A range of programmes will be held from December 17 to December 28 to publicise the achievements of the Gehlot government. The chief minister will also hold a press conference on Saturday to mark the occasion, during which he will present an account of the achievements of his tenure.

    A four-day exhibition will also be organised at Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, in which the work done by all the government departments and their progress will be showcased.  Also on display will be the various public welfare schemes launched by the government, including the Old Pension Scheme and the Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme. There will also be direct communication with the beneficiaries and the ambitious programme to provide smartphones to needy women will finally be launched during these celebrations. 

  • Demonetisation, wrongly designed GST behind high unemployment rate: Jairam Ramesh

    By PTI

    BUNDI, RAJASTHAN: Demonetisation, wrongly designed GST and faulty economic policies of the Narendra Modi government are the reasons why the country is facing the highest unemployment rate in 45 years, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Sunday.

    He was addressing a press conference in Bundi district’s Laban village, where Bharat Jodo Yatra halted for the morning break after clocking 12.8 km from Baldevpura.

    “Demonetisation was the major factor followed by GST (Goods and Services Tax) that destroyed small and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises which generate maximum employment,” he said.

    On the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Ramesh said one of its significant aspects is to raise issues such as economic disparities and inequalities.

    “We are raising our voice against rising prices, unemployment rate and wrongly designed and implemented GST and closure of small scale industries,” Ramesh said as he released a movie on unemployment.

    The Congress leader said it was appropriate to release the movie in Rajasthan as it was the first state to launch an urban employment grantee scheme, which was named after Indira Gandhi, in September.

    Ramesh also referred to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, saying it gave relief to several lakh people in the two to three Covid-hit years, but the scheme was criticised by some people, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    Ramesh congratulated Ashok Gehlot for implementing the Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee scheme to eradicate unemployment in urban areas.

    “Economic disparities are increasing among states, between poor and rich, and the middle class is suppressed. We are highlighting this in the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” Ramesh said.

    Responding to a question on Gehlot and his nemesis and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot travelling by the same helicopter to Shimla to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the new Himachal CM, Ramesh all party leaders are already “united” and the two leaders travelling together was not just for photographs.

    “Both leaders are assets for us. One is experienced and is at a high position in the organisation and in the state. Sachin Pilot is young and energetic. The people and the organisation need both of them. What you are seeing (Gehlot-Sachin in the same chopper) is not a hypocrisy or a show,” Ramesh said.

    On Bharat Jodo Yatra, Ramesh said only women participants will march on its 96th day on Monday, which will be kicked off from Babai in Bundi district.

    BUNDI, RAJASTHAN: Demonetisation, wrongly designed GST and faulty economic policies of the Narendra Modi government are the reasons why the country is facing the highest unemployment rate in 45 years, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Sunday.

    He was addressing a press conference in Bundi district’s Laban village, where Bharat Jodo Yatra halted for the morning break after clocking 12.8 km from Baldevpura.

    “Demonetisation was the major factor followed by GST (Goods and Services Tax) that destroyed small and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises which generate maximum employment,” he said.

    On the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Ramesh said one of its significant aspects is to raise issues such as economic disparities and inequalities.

    “We are raising our voice against rising prices, unemployment rate and wrongly designed and implemented GST and closure of small scale industries,” Ramesh said as he released a movie on unemployment.

    The Congress leader said it was appropriate to release the movie in Rajasthan as it was the first state to launch an urban employment grantee scheme, which was named after Indira Gandhi, in September.

    Ramesh also referred to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, saying it gave relief to several lakh people in the two to three Covid-hit years, but the scheme was criticised by some people, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    Ramesh congratulated Ashok Gehlot for implementing the Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee scheme to eradicate unemployment in urban areas.

    “Economic disparities are increasing among states, between poor and rich, and the middle class is suppressed. We are highlighting this in the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” Ramesh said.

    Responding to a question on Gehlot and his nemesis and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot travelling by the same helicopter to Shimla to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the new Himachal CM, Ramesh all party leaders are already “united” and the two leaders travelling together was not just for photographs.

    “Both leaders are assets for us. One is experienced and is at a high position in the organisation and in the state. Sachin Pilot is young and energetic. The people and the organisation need both of them. What you are seeing (Gehlot-Sachin in the same chopper) is not a hypocrisy or a show,” Ramesh said.

    On Bharat Jodo Yatra, Ramesh said only women participants will march on its 96th day on Monday, which will be kicked off from Babai in Bundi district.

  • Possibility of India’s division increased due to PM Modi’s policies: Jairam Ramesh

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday charged that the possibility of India’s division has increased due to his policies and that “political dictatorship” is becoming a reality.

    Ramesh made these comments at a press conference on the sidelines of the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

    “There are three challenges before the country which need to be fought. The possibility of division in India has increased due to the intention and policies of the prime minister. Economic disparity is rising and divisive ideology are the two other challenges,” he told reporters at Bali Borda village of Jhalawar district.

    The former Union minister alleged, “Political dictatorship is becoming a reality, which has resulted in One Nation-One Man. One individual is being given all political rights… Constitution is being ignored and constitutional bodies are being weakened.”

    Ramesh said the Bharat Jodo Yatra was planned to raise various issues facing the people. The yatra entered Rajasthan on Sunday.

    It started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 and has so far covered the five southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana, and then traversed through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

    It will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir in early February next year, covering 3,570 km in 150 days.

    Ramesh said the yatra is not for winning elections and it is expected that it will activate and strengthen the party organisation.

    “We may get the benefit of the yatra in the election. I feel that the yatra will not make a major difference in the election (outcome). But, it will make a difference if we take serious follow-up actions,” he said.

    Replying to a question, he said that in politics there are several other things than elections.

    He also added that ideology has its place in politics. “Elections will be won and lost but it is important to fight ideological battles,” he said.

    Ramesh said the Congress had lagged in giving priority to ideological battles and gave priority to elections in the past 35-40 years.

    On the BJP accusing the Congress of dividing India, he said the BJP doesn’t deserve to raise such allegations as those who follow the ideology never played a role in the freedom struggle and in the making of the Constitution.

    He said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has a divisive ideology and the BJP is expert in giving slogans and event management.

    “Our republic’s basic principle is unity in diversity and BJY (yatra) not only believes in unity in diversity but also unity in plurality. If you suppress plurality then unity will be in danger,” he said.

    He further said, “BJP wants uniformity and we want unity. This is the basic difference between BJP-RSS and Congress. We have not divided (India) but we have divided Pakistan in 1971.”

    Ramesh said the Congress party will start the ‘Hath-Se-Hath Jodo’ campaign from January 26 to March 26. It will be a three-level campaign in which yatras will be taken out from the booth, block, district and state levels.

    He said that several organisations have joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

    “Many of these organisations had taken part in the movement led by Anna Hazare in 2012, but they have now realised that there is no other option than Congress.”

    JAIPUR: Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday charged that the possibility of India’s division has increased due to his policies and that “political dictatorship” is becoming a reality.

    Ramesh made these comments at a press conference on the sidelines of the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

    “There are three challenges before the country which need to be fought. The possibility of division in India has increased due to the intention and policies of the prime minister. Economic disparity is rising and divisive ideology are the two other challenges,” he told reporters at Bali Borda village of Jhalawar district.

    The former Union minister alleged, “Political dictatorship is becoming a reality, which has resulted in One Nation-One Man. One individual is being given all political rights… Constitution is being ignored and constitutional bodies are being weakened.”

    Ramesh said the Bharat Jodo Yatra was planned to raise various issues facing the people. The yatra entered Rajasthan on Sunday.

    It started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 and has so far covered the five southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana, and then traversed through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

    It will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir in early February next year, covering 3,570 km in 150 days.

    Ramesh said the yatra is not for winning elections and it is expected that it will activate and strengthen the party organisation.

    “We may get the benefit of the yatra in the election. I feel that the yatra will not make a major difference in the election (outcome). But, it will make a difference if we take serious follow-up actions,” he said.

    Replying to a question, he said that in politics there are several other things than elections.

    He also added that ideology has its place in politics. “Elections will be won and lost but it is important to fight ideological battles,” he said.

    Ramesh said the Congress had lagged in giving priority to ideological battles and gave priority to elections in the past 35-40 years.

    On the BJP accusing the Congress of dividing India, he said the BJP doesn’t deserve to raise such allegations as those who follow the ideology never played a role in the freedom struggle and in the making of the Constitution.

    He said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has a divisive ideology and the BJP is expert in giving slogans and event management.

    “Our republic’s basic principle is unity in diversity and BJY (yatra) not only believes in unity in diversity but also unity in plurality. If you suppress plurality then unity will be in danger,” he said.

    He further said, “BJP wants uniformity and we want unity. This is the basic difference between BJP-RSS and Congress. We have not divided (India) but we have divided Pakistan in 1971.”

    Ramesh said the Congress party will start the ‘Hath-Se-Hath Jodo’ campaign from January 26 to March 26. It will be a three-level campaign in which yatras will be taken out from the booth, block, district and state levels.

    He said that several organisations have joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

    “Many of these organisations had taken part in the movement led by Anna Hazare in 2012, but they have now realised that there is no other option than Congress.”

  • People like Sibal who didn’t abuse party after exit could be taken back, not Scindia, Sarma: Ramesh

    Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday said 'Scindia is a `gaddar' (traitor), true gaddar, real gaddar and 24 carat gaddar.'

  • Rahul does not like backseat driving, best suited to be party’s ‘ideological compass’: Jairam Ramesh

    By PTI

    HYDERABAD: Rahul Gandhi does not like backseat driving or asserting his authority and his greatest value going forward will be to play the role of an ‘ideological compass’ for the Congress, senior leader Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday.

    A week after Mallikarjun Kharge, the first non-Gandhi president in over 24 years, took charge of the party, Ramesh said some people are calling Gandhi the elephant in the room but his response is that the former party chief is actually a ‘tiger on the road’.

    The Bharat Jodo Yatra, Ramesh told PTI, has been a ‘real booster dose’ for the public relationship of the party and its “two Cs”- connectivity for Gandhi and collectivity for the organisation. The most tangible impact is on Congress organisation. Congress morale is now at extraordinarily high levels. Whether this will translate into long-lasting public support is now dependent on the organisation,” the senior leader said.

    Ramesh, who is also walking in the Yatra, cited thinker and philosopher Albert Camus to describe Gandhi’s leadership style — “Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me.”

    “Having known Mr. Gandhi for 18 years, and I know him fairly well, he does not like backseat driving, he does not like asserting his position or authority, he is a very democratic person,” Ramesh said.

    The journey undertaken by the party has had a transformative impact in terms of perceptions of Gandhi that had been “distorted very heavily” by the “BJP troll machine”, he said in an interview with PTI during the Yatra here.

    For him personally at the age of 68 as well as for the party organisation, the Yatra is the “last throw of the dice” and a “huge gamble”, Ramesh said.

    Asked what role Gandhi would play with Kharge taking over the party’s reins, the Congress general secretary in-charge communications said it is up to Kharge and Gandhi to decide that.

    “Speaking as a Congressman, an office bearer, member of Parliament, I think Mr Rahul Gandhi’s greatest value will be to play the role of an ideological compass for the party,” he said.

    Every party needs an ideological compass or a moral compass, and Rahul Gandhi is ideally suited for that role, Ramesh argued.

    “Now whether he plays that role or not is entirely between him and Mr Kharge. I can only speak for myself. I think his comparative advantage lies in playing the role of an ideological or moral compass, something like the role Mr PN Haksar (former principal secretary to PM) played vis-a-vis Mrs Indira Gandhi from 1967-73,” he said.

    “Of course Mr Haksar was a backroom man whereas Mr Gandhi is very much a front room person,” he added.

    Discussing the Yatra, which started at Kanyakumari on September 7, Ramesh said what it has done very visibly is energise the Congress organisation, be it in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh or Telangana.

    “The Bharat Jodo Yatra, I would not say has opened a window of opportunity, it has opened a door of opportunity. The narrative around the Congress and Gandhi has been transformed, it is no longer a negative vilification narrative,” the senior Congress leader said.

    It is a narrative that acknowledges that this is quite a unique attempt at mass contact, Ramesh said.

    Asked if Gandhi has been a revelation during the Yatra, Ramesh said, “I would not say revelation, it is a revelation for the people who vilified him, who ran him down. It is the real person who is covering 22 km every day. So it is not a new Rahul, it is the real Rahul that has come out.”

    There was a campaign ever since 2009 — when the Congress came back with a heightened majority — to damage, vilify, malign and defame him, and also the Congress party, he said.

    “The election defeat in 2014 and 2019, I don’t think the blame is his (Gandhi). The defeat certainly affected his public persona and the fact that he lost from Amethi as well. What this Yatra has done is that it has given an opportunity for Rahul Gandhi to have an unmediated connection with the people without the media. He does not have a spin machine around him, he is walking 22-23 km daily meeting thousands of people and interacting with a variety of organisations. There is no doubt that post-Bharat Jodo Yatra Rahul Gandhi would be seen dramatically differently both within the organisation and outside as well,” Ramesh said.

    “What I find interesting is that by and large nine of the 10 critics who vilified Gandhi have changed their view or have kept quiet.”

    He dismissed suggestions that the Congress was only focussed on the Yatra and not on the upcoming assembly polls, saying the party organisation was in place and while Ashok Gehlot was leading the charge in Gujarat, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was doing so in Himachal Pradesh.

    If Rahul Gandhi is called upon to campaign, he would take a couple of days off and go for the campaign, he added.

    Ramesh also rejected claims that the Congress is strong in the South and weak in the North.

    The Congress after having gone through the Covid pandemic is now going through Yatra-itis’, he said, citing the main Yatra and sub-Yatras being held in various states.

    Asked about the impact the Yatra would have in the long run, Ramesh said it depends on the organisation and the type of changes AICC chief Kharge and his team are able to put in place.

    “It is not a magic wand, as I said, It is a booster dose. We keep needing booster doses from time to time. This I think is the first real meaningful booster dose after a long time,” he said.

    On whether the party was on the path to revival on the road to 2024 general elections, Ramesh said he would be very circumspect as he believed in the Narayana Murthy model of management which is under promise and overachieve.

    “I am not going to take a gigantic leap and say the Bharat Jodo Yatra is a metamorphosis for 2024, it is a long haul, we have very many deep challenges that we have to confront, it is an opportunity that has been opened,” he said.

    HYDERABAD: Rahul Gandhi does not like backseat driving or asserting his authority and his greatest value going forward will be to play the role of an ‘ideological compass’ for the Congress, senior leader Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday.

    A week after Mallikarjun Kharge, the first non-Gandhi president in over 24 years, took charge of the party, Ramesh said some people are calling Gandhi the elephant in the room but his response is that the former party chief is actually a ‘tiger on the road’.

    The Bharat Jodo Yatra, Ramesh told PTI, has been a ‘real booster dose’ for the public relationship of the party and its “two Cs”- connectivity for Gandhi and collectivity for the organisation. The most tangible impact is on Congress organisation. Congress morale is now at extraordinarily high levels. Whether this will translate into long-lasting public support is now dependent on the organisation,” the senior leader said.

    Ramesh, who is also walking in the Yatra, cited thinker and philosopher Albert Camus to describe Gandhi’s leadership style — “Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me.”

    “Having known Mr. Gandhi for 18 years, and I know him fairly well, he does not like backseat driving, he does not like asserting his position or authority, he is a very democratic person,” Ramesh said.

    The journey undertaken by the party has had a transformative impact in terms of perceptions of Gandhi that had been “distorted very heavily” by the “BJP troll machine”, he said in an interview with PTI during the Yatra here.

    For him personally at the age of 68 as well as for the party organisation, the Yatra is the “last throw of the dice” and a “huge gamble”, Ramesh said.

    Asked what role Gandhi would play with Kharge taking over the party’s reins, the Congress general secretary in-charge communications said it is up to Kharge and Gandhi to decide that.

    “Speaking as a Congressman, an office bearer, member of Parliament, I think Mr Rahul Gandhi’s greatest value will be to play the role of an ideological compass for the party,” he said.

    Every party needs an ideological compass or a moral compass, and Rahul Gandhi is ideally suited for that role, Ramesh argued.

    “Now whether he plays that role or not is entirely between him and Mr Kharge. I can only speak for myself. I think his comparative advantage lies in playing the role of an ideological or moral compass, something like the role Mr PN Haksar (former principal secretary to PM) played vis-a-vis Mrs Indira Gandhi from 1967-73,” he said.

    “Of course Mr Haksar was a backroom man whereas Mr Gandhi is very much a front room person,” he added.

    Discussing the Yatra, which started at Kanyakumari on September 7, Ramesh said what it has done very visibly is energise the Congress organisation, be it in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh or Telangana.

    “The Bharat Jodo Yatra, I would not say has opened a window of opportunity, it has opened a door of opportunity. The narrative around the Congress and Gandhi has been transformed, it is no longer a negative vilification narrative,” the senior Congress leader said.

    It is a narrative that acknowledges that this is quite a unique attempt at mass contact, Ramesh said.

    Asked if Gandhi has been a revelation during the Yatra, Ramesh said, “I would not say revelation, it is a revelation for the people who vilified him, who ran him down. It is the real person who is covering 22 km every day. So it is not a new Rahul, it is the real Rahul that has come out.”

    There was a campaign ever since 2009 — when the Congress came back with a heightened majority — to damage, vilify, malign and defame him, and also the Congress party, he said.

    “The election defeat in 2014 and 2019, I don’t think the blame is his (Gandhi). The defeat certainly affected his public persona and the fact that he lost from Amethi as well. What this Yatra has done is that it has given an opportunity for Rahul Gandhi to have an unmediated connection with the people without the media. He does not have a spin machine around him, he is walking 22-23 km daily meeting thousands of people and interacting with a variety of organisations. There is no doubt that post-Bharat Jodo Yatra Rahul Gandhi would be seen dramatically differently both within the organisation and outside as well,” Ramesh said.

    “What I find interesting is that by and large nine of the 10 critics who vilified Gandhi have changed their view or have kept quiet.”

    He dismissed suggestions that the Congress was only focussed on the Yatra and not on the upcoming assembly polls, saying the party organisation was in place and while Ashok Gehlot was leading the charge in Gujarat, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was doing so in Himachal Pradesh.

    If Rahul Gandhi is called upon to campaign, he would take a couple of days off and go for the campaign, he added.

    Ramesh also rejected claims that the Congress is strong in the South and weak in the North.

    The Congress after having gone through the Covid pandemic is now going through Yatra-itis’, he said, citing the main Yatra and sub-Yatras being held in various states.

    Asked about the impact the Yatra would have in the long run, Ramesh said it depends on the organisation and the type of changes AICC chief Kharge and his team are able to put in place.

    “It is not a magic wand, as I said, It is a booster dose. We keep needing booster doses from time to time. This I think is the first real meaningful booster dose after a long time,” he said.

    On whether the party was on the path to revival on the road to 2024 general elections, Ramesh said he would be very circumspect as he believed in the Narayana Murthy model of management which is under promise and overachieve.

    “I am not going to take a gigantic leap and say the Bharat Jodo Yatra is a metamorphosis for 2024, it is a long haul, we have very many deep challenges that we have to confront, it is an opportunity that has been opened,” he said.

  • BJP ideologue told me Nehru being vilified is one thing, but Hari Singh being exalted takes the cake

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said he spoke to a BJP ideologue about Union minister Kiren Rijiju’s criticism of Jawaharlal Nehru on the Kashmir issue and was told that Nehru being vilified is one thing, but erstwhile ruler Hari Singh being exalted as a benevolent hero “takes the cake”.

    Rijiju had stated that Nehru’s “blunders”, which included enacting Article 370 and taking the dispute with Pakistan to the United Nations, caused much tragedy, drained the country’s resources and cost thousands of lives of soldiers and civilians in militancy.

    “I spoke to a BJP ideologue this morning about Kiren Rijiju, the latest entrant to the club of Distorians,” Ramesh said in a tweet.

    “He (the BJP idealogue) sent me the following message: The strange thing is, Nehru being vilified is one thing, Hari Singh being exalted as some sort of upright & benevolent hero takes the cake,” the senior Congress leader said without naming the “BJP ideologue”.

    Hari Singh was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. He signed the Instrument of Accession to India.

    Rijiju wrote an article for a portal citing “five Nehruvian blunders”, including floating the idea of a plebiscite and terming Jammu and Kashmir’s accession provisional.

    The minister had said it was important to realize past mistakes to build a new future and added he has not tweaked history but stated facts to set the record straight.

    The Congress on Saturday demanded an apology from Rijiju over his criticism of Nehru’s handling of the Kashmir issue and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rein in ministers from making “irresponsible statements”.

    Slamming Rijiju, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma had said, “I can only pity the mental bankruptcy of minister Rijiju. He has no understanding of history, there is no proof, no evidence.”

    “I would say the prime minister should rein in ministers from making such untrue, false and irresponsible statements as have been made in this regard.

    The account of that period in 1947 has been carefully documented not by one but more than one person who were directly associated with the merger of princely states,” Sharma told reporters on Saturday.

    The BJP on Thursday had used the 75th anniversary of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India to slam Nehru for his “blunders” on the issue and asserted that Prime Minister Modi corrected them by nullifying Article 370, which granted the erstwhile state special rights.

    The Congress had hit back at the ruling party, saying its leaders have no idea of contemporary history and that they must account for what has happened under its rule there rather than blaming Nehru and other former prime ministers.

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said he spoke to a BJP ideologue about Union minister Kiren Rijiju’s criticism of Jawaharlal Nehru on the Kashmir issue and was told that Nehru being vilified is one thing, but erstwhile ruler Hari Singh being exalted as a benevolent hero “takes the cake”.

    Rijiju had stated that Nehru’s “blunders”, which included enacting Article 370 and taking the dispute with Pakistan to the United Nations, caused much tragedy, drained the country’s resources and cost thousands of lives of soldiers and civilians in militancy.

    “I spoke to a BJP ideologue this morning about Kiren Rijiju, the latest entrant to the club of Distorians,” Ramesh said in a tweet.

    “He (the BJP idealogue) sent me the following message: The strange thing is, Nehru being vilified is one thing, Hari Singh being exalted as some sort of upright & benevolent hero takes the cake,” the senior Congress leader said without naming the “BJP ideologue”.

    Hari Singh was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. He signed the Instrument of Accession to India.

    Rijiju wrote an article for a portal citing “five Nehruvian blunders”, including floating the idea of a plebiscite and terming Jammu and Kashmir’s accession provisional.

    The minister had said it was important to realize past mistakes to build a new future and added he has not tweaked history but stated facts to set the record straight.

    The Congress on Saturday demanded an apology from Rijiju over his criticism of Nehru’s handling of the Kashmir issue and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rein in ministers from making “irresponsible statements”.

    Slamming Rijiju, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma had said, “I can only pity the mental bankruptcy of minister Rijiju. He has no understanding of history, there is no proof, no evidence.”

    “I would say the prime minister should rein in ministers from making such untrue, false and irresponsible statements as have been made in this regard.

    The account of that period in 1947 has been carefully documented not by one but more than one person who were directly associated with the merger of princely states,” Sharma told reporters on Saturday.

    The BJP on Thursday had used the 75th anniversary of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India to slam Nehru for his “blunders” on the issue and asserted that Prime Minister Modi corrected them by nullifying Article 370, which granted the erstwhile state special rights.

    The Congress had hit back at the ruling party, saying its leaders have no idea of contemporary history and that they must account for what has happened under its rule there rather than blaming Nehru and other former prime ministers.

  • Congress presidential poll: Party asks spokespersons to refrain from commenting on candidates

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A day after Congress leader Gourav Vallabh taunted Shashi Tharoor over his probable AICC president poll bid, the party on Friday urged all its spokespersons and communication department office bearers to refrain from commenting on any colleague contesting the elections.

    In the first indicator of leaders taking sides in the upcoming contest for the top post, Vallabh had also voiced support for another contender, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who many believe has the backing of the current leadership.

    According to sources, AICC general secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh, in a message to all spokespersons and office bearers of the communication department, said, “I would strongly urge all spokespersons and office bearers of Communications Department of AICC to refrain from making any comment of any kind on any colleague of ours contesting the elections for the post of Congress president.”

    “We all have our individual preferences but our job is to only highlight that the Congress is the only political party to have a democratic and transparent system in place for election to the post of its president,” he said.

    Ramesh told the spokespersons and office bearers of the communications department that their job is to highlight that the Congress is the only political party in India to have an independent election authority to conduct organisational elections, the sources said.

    “A person wanting to contest needs no nod from anybody to do so except from 10 PCC delegates for filing nomination form. The election authority ensures free and fair elections. Spokespersons have to ensure that elections are seen to be free and fair,” Ramesh said.

    “If elections have to be held on October 17th so be it. We welcome it. Even so the focus of the entire party organisation should be and indeed is to make the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which has already evoked tremendous response even more of a resounding success,” the sources quoted the Congress general secretary as saying in his message.

    Vallabh is also a party spokesperson but he asserted his comments were as a Congress worker and not spokesperson.

    “Like crores of workers, my first wish is that Rahul Gandhi Ji should provide his leadership to the Congress and the country. But if Rahul Gandhi ji remains steadfast on his decision (of not taking up the Congress chief post) and one has to choose between the two names that are appearing in public discussion, then there is no comparison between the two,” Vallabh had said in a series of tweets in Hindi.

    On the one hand, there is Gehlot who has the experience of being a Union minister, three times chief minister, five times MP, five times MLA, and who has defeated Narendra Modi-Amit Shah in a direct contest and who has had 45 years of “spotless” political life, he said.

    “On the other hand there is Shashi Tharoor sahib who has made only one major contribution to the party in the last eight years — sent letters to Congress President Sonia Gandhi ji when she was hospitalised, this act caused pain to crores of party workers like me. The choice is very simple and clear,” he had said.

    Vallabh’s remarks were a reference to the letter sent by a group of 23 leaders, including Tharoor, to Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking large-scale reforms in the party.

    In a late night tweet, Tharoor posted former US president Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speech known as “The Man in the Arena”.

    “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat,” Roosevelt had said in the speech posted by Tharoor.

    pic.twitter.com/SAexs4Ct4W

    — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 22, 2022

    Many saw the post by Tharoor as his response to Vallabh and other critics, as well as a reference to his probable All India Congress Committee (AICC) presidential post run.

    After over two decades, the Congress is set to see a contest for the post of party chief.

    Gehlot and Tharoor are being seen as the likely contenders.

    The Congress’ central election authority on Thursday issued a notification for the AICC president polls, setting the ball rolling for electing the successor to the longest-serving party chief Sonia Gandhi.

    Tharoor on Monday had met Sonia Gandhi and expressed his intention to contest the upcoming AICC chief polls, while the Congress president conveyed that she would stay “neutral” in the elections, according to sources.

    Sonia Gandhi welcomed the idea of more people contesting the polls and dispelled the notion that there would be an “official candidate”.

    NEW DELHI: A day after Congress leader Gourav Vallabh taunted Shashi Tharoor over his probable AICC president poll bid, the party on Friday urged all its spokespersons and communication department office bearers to refrain from commenting on any colleague contesting the elections.

    In the first indicator of leaders taking sides in the upcoming contest for the top post, Vallabh had also voiced support for another contender, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who many believe has the backing of the current leadership.

    According to sources, AICC general secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh, in a message to all spokespersons and office bearers of the communication department, said, “I would strongly urge all spokespersons and office bearers of Communications Department of AICC to refrain from making any comment of any kind on any colleague of ours contesting the elections for the post of Congress president.”

    “We all have our individual preferences but our job is to only highlight that the Congress is the only political party to have a democratic and transparent system in place for election to the post of its president,” he said.

    Ramesh told the spokespersons and office bearers of the communications department that their job is to highlight that the Congress is the only political party in India to have an independent election authority to conduct organisational elections, the sources said.

    “A person wanting to contest needs no nod from anybody to do so except from 10 PCC delegates for filing nomination form. The election authority ensures free and fair elections. Spokespersons have to ensure that elections are seen to be free and fair,” Ramesh said.

    “If elections have to be held on October 17th so be it. We welcome it. Even so the focus of the entire party organisation should be and indeed is to make the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which has already evoked tremendous response even more of a resounding success,” the sources quoted the Congress general secretary as saying in his message.

    Vallabh is also a party spokesperson but he asserted his comments were as a Congress worker and not spokesperson.

    “Like crores of workers, my first wish is that Rahul Gandhi Ji should provide his leadership to the Congress and the country. But if Rahul Gandhi ji remains steadfast on his decision (of not taking up the Congress chief post) and one has to choose between the two names that are appearing in public discussion, then there is no comparison between the two,” Vallabh had said in a series of tweets in Hindi.

    On the one hand, there is Gehlot who has the experience of being a Union minister, three times chief minister, five times MP, five times MLA, and who has defeated Narendra Modi-Amit Shah in a direct contest and who has had 45 years of “spotless” political life, he said.

    “On the other hand there is Shashi Tharoor sahib who has made only one major contribution to the party in the last eight years — sent letters to Congress President Sonia Gandhi ji when she was hospitalised, this act caused pain to crores of party workers like me. The choice is very simple and clear,” he had said.

    Vallabh’s remarks were a reference to the letter sent by a group of 23 leaders, including Tharoor, to Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking large-scale reforms in the party.

    In a late night tweet, Tharoor posted former US president Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speech known as “The Man in the Arena”.

    “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat,” Roosevelt had said in the speech posted by Tharoor.

    pic.twitter.com/SAexs4Ct4W

    — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 22, 2022

    Many saw the post by Tharoor as his response to Vallabh and other critics, as well as a reference to his probable All India Congress Committee (AICC) presidential post run.

    After over two decades, the Congress is set to see a contest for the post of party chief.

    Gehlot and Tharoor are being seen as the likely contenders.

    The Congress’ central election authority on Thursday issued a notification for the AICC president polls, setting the ball rolling for electing the successor to the longest-serving party chief Sonia Gandhi.

    Tharoor on Monday had met Sonia Gandhi and expressed his intention to contest the upcoming AICC chief polls, while the Congress president conveyed that she would stay “neutral” in the elections, according to sources.

    Sonia Gandhi welcomed the idea of more people contesting the polls and dispelled the notion that there would be an “official candidate”.