Page 2 - Nationalist Congress Party

Lok Sabha polls: Former Congress spokesperson Rohan Gupta joins BJP

Former Congress spokesperson Rohan Gupta joined the BJP on Thursday, marking the defection of yet another visible opposition face to the ruling party in the election season. Gupta, along with some other leaders, joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and its national general secretary Vinod Tawde. He had resigned from the Congress last month after withdrawing his candidature from Ahmedabad East Lok Sabha constituency. Gupta had blamed his "constant humiliation and character assassination by a leader connected with communication department" of the Congress for his decision. Recently, another former Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh had also joined the BJP.

Follow our orders on party name, symbols: SC to Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked both Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party to abide by its directions on use of symbols, party names and disclaimers in publicity material for the assembly and general elections. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan, while disposing of the applications filed by both sides on non-compliance of its March 19 order, said it is high time that leaders of both factions should be somewhere else and not courts. It directed the Sharad Pawar faction to sensitise party workers on using the name 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' and symbol 'man blowing turha' (a traditional trumpet also known as tutari) in poll campaigns. It further directed that the faction led by the veteran leader to ask their party workers, leaders, office bearers and lawmakers not to use the clock' symbol in poll advertisements, which has been allotted to the Ajit Pawar led bloc of the NCP. Similarly, it asked the Ajit Pawar ..

NCP vs NCP: SC allows Ajit Pawar faction provisional use of 'clock' symbol

The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to recognise Sharad Pawar's NCP faction and allowed them to use a new symbol for the upcoming state and general elections

SC seeks Ajit Pawar faction's response on Sharad Pawar group's plea

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought response of the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on a plea of the Sharad Pawar group alleging misuse of his name and pictures for political gains. A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan asked the Ajit Pawar faction to file its response by Saturday to Sharad Pawar's plea and fixed it for further hearing on March 19. We need a categorical and unconditional undertaking that the name, pictures of Sharad Pawar will not be used, the bench said. Earlier, the top court had directed that the Election Commission's order of February 7 allotting 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' as the party name for the Sharad Pawar faction will continue till further orders. It had also sought response of the Ajit Pawar-led faction on a plea of Sharad Pawar against the February 6 order of the Election Commission recognising the Maharashtra deputy chief minister-led group as the real Nationalist ..

CAA ahead of LS polls means attack on parliamentary democracy: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Sharad Pawar on Monday condemned the Centre's decision to notify the rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), saying the move just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls amounts to an attack on parliamentary democracy. The Centre announced the implementation of the CAA 2019, a move that comes four years after the contentious law was passed by Parliament and paves the way for citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. With this, the government will now start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from the three countries. Talking to reporters here, Pawar hit out at the Centre over the CAA notification which comes just ahead of the announcement of the schedule for Lok Sabha polls, likely to be held in April-May. "Such a decision days ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls by the Election Commission of India (ECI) is an attack on parliamentary ...

Lok Sabha polls: Two former Congress MLAs join BJP in Madhya Pradesh

Two former Congress MLAs joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh on Monday. The political development comes two days after former Union minister Suresh Pachouri bid adieu to his five-decade allegiance with the Congress, and joined the BJP. Former Congress legislators Arunoday Choubey and Shivdayal Bagri joined the BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and MP party president VD Sharma at the state BJP headquarters in Bhopal. Choubey was elected as MLA from Khurai seat in Sagar district in 2008, while Bagri represented Gunnaur assembly seat in Panna district in 2018. There was speculation that Congress leader and former MLA Deepak Joshi, son of BJP stalwart and ex-chief minister Kailash Joshi, might also join the ruling party along with Choubey and Bagri. But Joshi did not join the BJP on Monday. Asked about the speculation, BJP state president VD Sharma said, "People will keep coming to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the family will keep

No scarcity of water in B'luru, BJP created it: Dy CM Shivakumar slams govt

The Deputy CM highlighted that nearly 7 thousand borewells were running short in the city and efforts were on to address the issue

Congress moves Delhi HC challenging dismissal of plea in tax penalty case

The Congress on Monday moved the Delhi High Court challenging the dismissal of its plea by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) against the imposition of penalties for discrepancies in certain tax returns. The matter was mentioned by senior advocate Vivek Tankha before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela. Tankha said it was an urgent matter as the accounts of the political party have been frozen. Acting Chief Justice Manmohan agreed to list the case for hearing during the day if the petition is in order. Last week, the ITAT had dismissed the Congress' appeal against the imposition of penalties for discrepancies in tax returns for previous years. The party has earlier said the I-T tribunal order freezing its funds was "an attack on democracy" as it had come ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. According to sources, the tribunal had dismissed the Congress' appeal against the imposition of penalties amounting to Rs 210 crore by the Income Tax departme

Congress' second CEC meet on March 11 to discuss candidates for LS polls

On the Congress CEC meetings, the party's General Secretary (Communications), Jairam Ramesh said, "CEC will discuss all seats. Final decisions will be taken wherever possible

LS polls: Kharge's son-in-law emerges as front-runner for Gulbarga seat

M Mallikarjun Kharge's son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani has emerged as the front-runner for Congress ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the home turf of the party's President. The 81-year-old Kharge had won from Gulbarga (Kalaburagi) Lok Sabha segment twice but lost the 2019 polls. "The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha's hands are full. In addition to managing party affairs at the national level, he has to coordinate with INDIA bloc partners", a senior party leader said. "Also, he has four more years of his term left in Rajya Sabha", he said, seeking to confirm reports that Kharge is not in favour of contesting from Kalaburagi. His son, Priyank Kharge, who represents Chittapur assembly constituency in Gulbarga segment and is a Minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet in Karnataka, is also not interested to throw his hat in the ring. "Doddamani, a businessman who also manages educational institutions, seems to be the front runner", a party leader said.. Party .

LS polls: Two sides of same coin, says Congress on possible BJP-BJD tie-up

The Congress on Thursday said it has always been stating that the BJD and the BJP are two sides of the same coin and whatever opposition the two show to each other in Odisha is merely "shadow boxing". The Congress' assertion comes amid buzz over a tie-up between the BJP and the BJD for the Lok Sabha and assembly polls. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "We've always been saying that the BJD and the BJP are two sides of the same coin. The BJD has always supported the BJP in Parliament and whatever opposition the two show to each other in the state is merely shadow boxing." "The cat appears to be emerging out of the bag!" he said. Although there was no formal announcement regarding a pre-poll alliance between the ruling BJD and the Opposition BJP in Odisha, leaders from both parties have hinted at a mutual tie-up before the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. While BJD leaders held a marathon meeting at Naveen Niwas, the residence of Chief Ministe

NCP leader Praful Patel resigns from RS after re-election for new term

Praful Patel, a former Union Minister, after parting ways with Sharad Pawar had joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP

Rahul, Pawar discuss seat-sharing formula in Maharashtra for LS polls

Earlier, Congress's Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala had said seat-sharing talks between the constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) were in the last stage

Despite PM's 'guarantees', farmers are committing suicide: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said on one hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi is giving various "guarantees" to farmers, but on the other cultivators are committing suicide due to growing debt. Addressing NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) workers at a conclave at Manchar in Ambegaon tehsil, the home turf of Maharashtra Cabinet minister Dilip Walse Patil in Pune district, the former Union agriculture minister painted a grim picture of the farm sector. "Today, farmers are facing hardships in the country. He toils hard but despite that he does not get remunerative price for his products. If input cost is high and output is low, then it leads to farmers getting debt-ridden and due to this situation, farmers take extreme steps. Such a scenario is currently prevalent in the country," said the veteran politician. Newspapers and television channels are full of advertisements where the PM is seen offering various "guarantees" to farmers such as good price and ...

Nuh violence: Haryana Police puts UAPA charges on Congress MLA Mamman Khan

Police have slapped charges under the stringent UAPA against opposition Congress MLA Mamman Khan in the Nuh violence case. The charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) have been imposed against Khan, the MLA from Ferozpur Jhirka, in a case registered at Nagina police station here. Police have added charges under the UAPA to the FIR, Khan's counsel said on Wednesday. The police had earlier accused Khan of inciting violence and being in contact with suspects involved in sharing provocative posts on social media. Besides, he also faces some other charges in the FIR. Khan was last year arrested in connection with the Nuh violence case and granted bail by the court later. Advocate Tahir Hussain Rupariya, counsel of the accused, said that he sought a status report from the court in which it came to light that UAPA section has also been added to the FIR registered at Nagina police station. Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, died in the clashes that

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi granted bail in 2018 defamation case

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered its 38th day on Tuesday. The yatra will start from Fursantganj in Amethi district and will move towards Raebareli and Lucknow today

Sharad Pawar faction can use 'NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar' name for now: SC

The Supreme Court on Monday directed that Election Commission's order of February 7 granting name of 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' for the group led by Sharad Pawar will continue till further orders. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan sought response of Ajit Pawar-led faction on a plea of Sharad Pawar against the February 7 order of Election Commission recognising the Maharashtra deputy chief minister-led group as the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The bench gave liberty to Sharad Pawar to move the poll panel for allocation of the party symbol and directed the poll panel to allot it in one week of the application. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Sharad Pawar, said that order passed by the Election Commission on February 7 is an interim arrangement made by the poll panel for Rajya Sabha elections till February 27. The Maharashtra assembly session is scheduled to start from February 26 and our group will be without any name o

Sharad Pawar seeks urgent hearing from SC over NCP faction recognition

Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar reaffirmed Ajit Pawar's faction as the legitimate NCP and dismissed calls for the disqualification of either faction's lawmakers

RS polls: Praful Patel, Milind Deora & Chandrakant Handore file nominations

NCP leader Praful Patel, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's Milind Deora and Congress candidate Chandrakant Handore on Thursday filed their nominations for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls from Maharashtra. Patel was accompanied by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sunil Tatkare and ministers Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde when he filed the nomination paper at the state legislature complex here. Talking to reporters after filing the nomination, Patel said, "This (his nomination) is part of a political strategy and things will get clear in the coming days." Handore, a Dalit leader from the Congress, also filed his nomination. He was accompanied by Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders. Deora, whom the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Shinde on Wednesday nominated, also filed his nomination. Deora, a former Union minister, joined the Shiv Sena only last month. While he has been a two-time Lok Sabha member from Mumbai, this will be Deora's .

No merger plans for Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction, says Supriya Sule

Party members have clarified that the Sharad Pawar-led NCP will continue to participate in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance