Page 62 - Indian National Congress

Cong govt's protest in Delhi against 'njustice', not BJP: CM Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the protest by the Congress government in New Delhi on February seven is against the 'injustice' by the Union government in tax devolution and grants-in-aid to the State, and not against BJP. Listing out "injustice" caused to the state, he urged the opposition BJP to join the agitation in the interest of the state, as the struggle was not against it. "On February 7, all the Ministers and all MLAs of both the Houses of the legislature, also MPs, are going to agitate against the Government of India for injustice caused to Karnataka state by the 15th Finance Commission and several other issues concerning the state including grants from the Centre," Siddaramaiah told a press conference here. He said the agitation would be held at Jantar Mantar in the national capital as he urged BJP MPs from the state to also participate in it. "The struggle is not between Congress and the BJP or against the BJP, it is against injustice caused to ...

Telangana to switch to 'TG' as new abbreviation, replacing 'TS': Govt

Telangana will also adopt a new state anthem - 'Jaya Jaya Ho Telangana', penned by noted lyricist Andre Sri, a cabinet meeting headed by CM Reddy decided on Sunday

Cong holds meeting for shortlisting LS polls candidates in Chhattisgarh

The screening committee for shortlisting candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in Chhattisgarh met here on Sunday with AICC in-charge of the state Sachin Pilot asserting that winnability is the main criteria for the selection of nominees. Besides Pilot, former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and state unit chief Deepak Baij, among others, attended the meeting. After the meeting, Pilot said names of candidates for all the 11 Lok Sabha seats were discussed and asserted that winnability would be the main criteria for selection. "The sentiment in all 11 seats is in favour of the Congress. We have made a list of all the candidates who are eligible to win and are discussing the same," the Congress general secretary said. "In Chhattisgarh, we could not win the assembly elections but our vote margin was only 1-1.5 per cent (less than the BJP). People have been watching the reports of the central government for the last 10 years. The government has failed on every front," he said.

Highlights of the day: Ladakh shuts down as thousands march for statehood

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Kavitha objects to T'gana govt move to invite Priyanka to launch scheme

BRS leader K Kavitha on Saturday took exception to Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's statement that Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would be invited to launch the ruling party's Rs 500 gas cylinder scheme. Kavitha, daughter of former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, sought to know in what capacity Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was being invited to the event. "Has she (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) won even as a sarpanch in any village in the country or as MLA or as MLC? Does she have any (government) protocol in our state?" asked the BRS MLC while addressing reporters. If Vadra is invited to government programmes, her party would protest by releasing black balloons, she said. Making a veiled reference to MLAs of ruling JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand camping in Hyderabad ahead of the trust vote to be faced by the Champai Soren government, Kavitha wondered of it is not a waste of public money as a minister accompanied the MLAs with escort to a luxury resort after they ..

Congress' Nyay Yatra: Rahul Gandhi to visit Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday will visit the famed Baba Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar on the second day of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Jharkhand. The Yatra, which began in Manipur on January 14, entered the state from West Bengal through the Pakur district on Friday afternoon. After a night halt at Littipara in Pakur, the Yatra resumed from Sarkanda Chowk in Godda district on Saturday morning, Congress spokesperson Rakesh Sinha told PTI. Gandhi will visit the ancient temple in Deoghar dedicated to Lord Shiva around 2.30 pm and offer prayers, he said. Later, he will lead a roadshow in the district and also address a public meeting. The Yatra will then proceed to Dhanbad where the participants will camp for the night. The night halt has been planned at Halkata in Tundi block of Dhanbad, Sinha said. The Yatra will travel 804 km, covering 13 districts of the state over eight days in two phases. In all, it will travel 6,713 km in 67 days, passing through 110 districts in 15

BJP tried to 'steal popular mandate' in J'khand but was stopped: Rahul

The BJP tried to destabilise the Jharkhand government elected by the people but the INDIA bloc stood up against its "conspiracy" and did not let it "steal the popular mandate", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday as his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered the eastern state. Gandhi was accorded a warm welcome here with newly appointed Chief Minister Champai Soren also present on the occasion. Addressing the gathering, Gandhi alleged the BJP has "money power and probe agencies" but he and the Congress are not scared of them and will keep on fighting against the ruling party's "divisive ideology". The former Congress president said that while the earlier Bharat Jodo Yatra was against the "divisive agenda" of the RSS and the BJP, the current yatra is seeking justice for the people of the country. The BJP once again tried to steal and destabilise a government which had been elected by the people of Jharkhand, Gandhi said. The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)

JMM leader Champai Soren takes oath as chief minister of Jharkhand

JMM legislature party leader Champai Soren on Friday took oath as the chief minister of Jharkhand. He was administered the oath of office by Governor C P Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan here. Along with Champai Soren, senior Congress leader Alamgir Alam and RJD leader Satyanand Bhokta took oath as state ministers. The oath-taking ceremony was held at the Durbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan and senior leaders of the JMM-led alliance were present on the occasion. The 67-year-old tribal leader was sworn in as the 12th chief minister of the state. He became the sixth CM from Jharkhand's Kolhan region which comprises East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan districts. Champai Soren was appointed to the chief minister's post on Thursday after he urged the governor to accept his claim to form the government at the earliest as there was "confusion" in the state which was without a chief minister since the resignation of Hemant Soren on Wednesday, deepening a political crisis. Cha

Rahul Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' resumes from Bengal's Nabagram

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' on Friday resumed from Nabagram in West Bengal's Murshidabad after the district administration asked the party to delay it owing to the class 10 state board examination, senior leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed. The Yatra, which was scheduled to resume at 8 am from Gokarna in Murshidabad, started around 10.30 am from Nabagram. Chowdhury, the Baharampur MP, said that permission to hold the Yatra was refused in neighbouring Birbhum district, through which it is to pass to enter Pakur in Jharkhand later in the day. He said that the permission to hold a roadshow was not granted in Murshidabad district owing to the commencement of West Bengal secondary education board's class 10 examination being held across the state. "I do not understand what is the problem if we peacefully conduct our Yatra after the examinees enter the centres," Chowdhury told reporters. The Yatra commenced with only a few vehicles as Gandhi rode a red SUV

Rahul Gandhi-led Congress' Nyay Yatra to enter Jharkhand on Friday

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' will enter Jharkhand on Friday afternoon, a party leader said here. The Yatra is expected to enter the state through Pakur district at 2.45 pm from West Bengal, he said. A flag hand-over ceremony will be held at Nasipur More in Pakur after the procession reaches the state and Gandhi will also address a public meeting there, Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur said. The Yatra will reach Jharkhand on a day when the state will get a new chief minister. JMM legislative party leader Champai Soren will take oath as the Jharkhand chief minister on Friday. Champai Soren was nominated for the chief minister's post on Thursday after he urged the governor to accept his claim to form the government at the earliest as there was "confusion" in the state which was without a chief minister since the resignation of Hemant Soren on Wednesday, deepening the political crisis. Notably, JMM executive president Hemant Soren was arrested by t

K'taka govt announces digital detox initiative for responsible gaming

The Government of Karnataka, in collaboration with the All India Game Developers Forum (AIGDF) will launch a digital detox initiative, with special emphasis on gaming and social media

Top INDIA bloc leaders hold meeting after arrest of J'khand CM Soren

Top leaders of the opposition bloc INDIA met on Wednesday evening and discussed the situation arising after the resignation and arrest of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence was attended by Sonia Gandhi, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and DMK leader T R Baalu, among others. Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is a constituent of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), formed by more than two dozen opposition parties to take on the BJP unitedly in the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May. Soren was arrested on Wednesday in a money laundering case after resigning as the Jharkhand chief minister, while state transport minister Champai Soren's name was proposed as the new CM.

Telangana CM promises to fill 200,000 government job vacancies by year-end

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy handed over appointment letters to newly recruited nursing officers at LB Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday

Congress-TMC talks 'on hold', Mamata reiterates vow to fight alone

The Trinamool supremo without naming any party or leader said that there were some who appeared only during elections like Cuckoos in spring

Rahul Gandhi's claims about Bihar caste survey nonsensical: CM Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said Rahul Gandhi's claim that the caste survey in the state was held under the Congress' pressure was nonsensical'. Talking to reporters three days after he dumped the 'Mahagathbandhan' and returned to the BJP-led NDA, Kumar, also the JD(U) president, claimed that he did not like the nomenclature of the opposition bloc INDIA. Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that Kumar was feeling trapped after getting a caste survey conducted under pressure from the Mahagathbandhan partners and the BJP provided him with a way out".

I-T dept searches premises linked to ex-Cong minister in Chhattisgarh

The Income Tax Department on Wednesday conducted searches at the locations linked to former Chhattisgarh minister Amarjeet Bhagat and others, including businessmen in the state, officials said. The reason behind the I-T department's action was not immediately known. The state's Economic Offences Wing/Anti-Corruption Bureau recently lodged an FIR in an alleged coal levy scam based on a complaint of the Enforcement Directorate which had launched a probe into the scam during the previous Congress government. Amarjeet Bhagat, who was a minister in the previous Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government, is among the 35 accused named in the FIR. According to officials, the searches were underway since early Wednesday morning in different districts including Surguja, Raipur, Durg and Rajnandgaon. A team of a dozen I-T personnel reached the residence of Bhagat in Ambikapur city, the headquarters of Surguja district, early this morning, an official said. Police personnel were seen deployed .

K'taka Guv sends ordinance on 60% use of Kannada in signboards back to govt

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has sent back an ordinance mandating 60 per cent use of Kannada in signboards of businesses and establishments, to the state government. This was revealed by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday. "We (the government) approved an ordinance on signboards. The Governor has sent it back saying it should be passed in the Assembly. He could have given his assent now. Giving protection and respect to Kannada is our government's commitment," Shivakumar said. The Karnataka Cabinet had on January 5, given its approval to an ordinance to amend the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Act that mandates 60 per cent use of the state's language in signages. The government had decided to take the ordinance route in the wake of violent protests by pro-Kannada organisations targeting businesses and establishments in Bengaluru for not giving prominence to Kannada. As of now, the law requires the use of Kannada language in the upper-half portion

Lok Sabha polls: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy accuses BJP, BRS of collusion

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), accusing them of collusion while claiming that only Congress can defeat BJP

BJP-led NDA could gain in Rajya Sabha polls to 56 seats on February 27

The strength of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that it leads, currently at 114, is also set to improve with the return of the Janata Dal (United) to its fold

Poster war in Patna on Nitish's move; Rahul Gandhi's yatra enters Bihar

Several members of the INDIA bloc continued their attack on Nitish for joining the BJP-led NDA. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered Bihar on Monday