The Chhattisgarh

Tag: Congress

  • ‘No Mechanism To Gag…’: Speaker’s Rejoinder After Rahul Alleges ‘Mic Muted’ |

    New Delhi: The Lok Sabha session on Friday commenced with a tumultuous start, prompting its adjournment until Monday as the opposition voiced its protest in the House regarding the NEET paper leak issue, urging for an immediate discussion on the matter. However, the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, claimed his microphone was turned off while he called for a ‘respectful’ debate on the issue to support the students. 

    The Congress shared a viral video depicting an exchange between the Congress MP and the Speaker. Rahul Gandhi said his microphone was turned off and asked the speaker to turn it back on. The speaker quickly responded with a sharp reply. 

    Speaker Om Birla told him to follow the rules of the House and wait to discuss them after the Motion of Thanks to the President’s speech. 

    Meanwhile, Gandhi continued to insist and said, “We wanted to give a joint message to the students of India, on behalf of the opposition as well as the government, that we consider this an important issue. So, we thought that to respect students, we should have a NEET discussion today, a dedicated discussion,” reported news agency IANS. 

    In response to LoP’s allegations, Birla said that he does not possess a microphone switch. 

    “I don’t have any buttons to switch off the microphone. There was a similar set-up earlier. There is no mechanism to gag the microphone,” the speaker added. 

    The Congress shared the video and captioned the post, “Raised the issue of NEET—switched off the mic.” 

    In the footage, Gandhi is seen addressing the house when suddenly his microphone was muted; later, the same happened to senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. 

    NEET का मुद्दा उठाया – माइक बंद कर दिया  pic.twitter.com/meEcoGa5sZ
    — Congress (@INCIndia) June 28, 2024

    The Central Bureau of Investigation initiated a criminal case on June 23 regarding the NEET (UG) and UGC-NET exams, citing alleged misconduct by the National Testing Agency during the exams.

    The controversy arose when 67 candidates received perfect scores of 720 out of 720, sparking outrage in academic communities. The issue quickly became political after the Ministry of Education initially dismissed allegations of paper leaks. Later, they formed a high-level committee to investigate the irregularities and propose reforms for the examination system. 

    (Based on inputs from IANS) 

  • ‘Oppn Will Be In Attacking Mode…,’ Says Jairam Ramesh After INDIA Bloc Meeting |

    New Delhi: INDIA bloc leaders chaired a meeting on Thursday at Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in Delhi. The senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said that the alliance has discussed about strategies and now the opposition is in attacking mode towards the government.

    A meeting of INDIA bloc leaders was held at the residence of Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss the opposition’s strategy for the remaining session.

    “We discussed on our strategies for the remaining four days. There will be a ‘motion of thanks’ following the President’s address. We also discussed that. Today, we talked about multiple issues including how the speaker of the Lok Sabha was elected and the President’s joint address”, Ramesh said, ANI reported.

    Congress leader further said that the opposition will be in attacking mode.

    “The opposition will be in attacking mode. The mandate of the Lok Sabha polls is a personal, political and moral defeat of the Prime Minister. The opposition will remind him of this every day”, he said.

    Several prominent leaders were also in the meeting including Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal, and Gaurav Gogoi, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party Hanuman Beniwal, DMK MP T Siva, and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi.

    While speaking about the key meeting, DMK MP T Siva said, “We will give notices (in Parliament) on the NEET issue tomorrow.”

    After attending the opposition meeting at Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in Delhi Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also said that we will raise the voice in parliament against all the issues burning in the country.

  • Sam Pitroda Re-appointed As Indian Overseas Congress Chairman |

    New Delhi: The Congress party on Wednesday announced the re-appointed of Sam Pitroda as a chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress with immediate effect. 

    “Hon’ble Congress President has reappointed Shri Sam Pitroda as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress with immediate effect,” senior party leader KC Venugopal said in an official statement.

     

    Sam Pitroda re-appointed as chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress with immediate effect pic.twitter.com/JZNb5P3PCD
    — ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2024

    The AICC released a statement that stated that the Congress President has reappointed Sam Pitroda to the position with immediate effect.

    Earlier this year in May, Pitroda resigned from his position amid controversies surrounding his remarks about the appearance of Indians. Following this, the grand old party distanced itself from Pitroda’s comments.

     

  • Lok Sabha Live Updates: NDA Vs Opposition On Speaker Post, Om Birla Vs K Suresh| Updates |

    Lok Sabha Speaker Election: Kota MP Om Birla, who previously served as Lok Sabha Speaker of the previous House, submitted his nomination as an NDA candidate on Tuesday. Birla’s name was unanimously agreed upon by all NDA parties, and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh also sought the opposition’s support. The INDIA bloc fielded Congress leader K Suresh as its candidate for the Speaker’s position against Om Birla, accusing the ruling NDA of failing to follow convention in handing over the Dy speaker position to the opposition.

    Congress leader K C Venugopal and DMK’s T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s office, refusing to endorse NDA candidate Birla unless they were offered the position of Deputy Speaker. Venugopal stated that the BJP refused to commit to offering the Deputy Speaker position to the opposition.

    Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Lalan Singh accused the Congress of imposing conditions, adding that the ruling alliance was willing to discuss their demand when the election for Deputy Speaker took place.

    According to sources, over ten sets of nominations were filed in support of Birla’s candidature, including those from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Shah, Singh, and Nadda, as well as BJP allies such as the TDP, JD(U), JD(S), and LJP(R).

    Three nominations were submitted in support of Suresh, a Dalit leader and eight-term MP.

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had clarified on Tuesday that the INDIA bloc will only support the government’s nomination if the opposition is given the deputy speaker’s position. He also said that Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh had yet to respond to the opposition’s request for the post of deputy speaker. Gandhi also accused the BJP of insulting Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. 

    While speaking to reporters outside the Parliament house, Gandhi said, “Today it is written in the newspaper that PM Modi has said that the Opposition should cooperate with the Govt constructively. Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and he asked him to extend support to the Speaker. The entire Opposition said that we would support the Speaker but the convention is that the Deputy Speaker post should be given to the opposition.”

    #WATCH | Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says “Today it is written in the newspaper that PM Modi has said that the Opposition should cooperate with the Govt constructively. Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and he asked him to extend support to the Speaker. The entire… pic.twitter.com/yR5CzlagEx


    — ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2024

    “Rajnath Singh said that he would call back Mallikarjun Kharge but he has not done that yet…PM Modi is asking for cooperation from Opposition but our leader is getting insulted…,” he said.

    Here are the live updates on Lok Sabha speaker’s election: 

    12:30 pm: Congress leader K C Venugopal and DMK’s T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s office, refusing to endorse NDA candidate Birla unless they were offered the position of Deputy Speaker.

    Venugopal stated that the BJP refused to commit to offering the Deputy Speaker position to the opposition.

    12:00 pm: Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Lalan Singh accused the Congress of imposing conditions, saying the ruling alliance was willing to discuss their demand when the election for Deputy Speaker was held.

  • BJP Conspired To End Shivraj Singh’s Political Career, Claims Congress’ Banna Gupta |

    New Delhi: Congress leader and Jharkhand Cabinet Minister Banna Gupta on Wednesday alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party for conspiring against Shivraj Singh Chauhan to end his political career.

    Speaking with ANI, Banna Gupta said, “The Bharatiya Janata Party has conspired against Shivraj Singh Chauhan to end his political career, but it was the public of Madhya Pradesh which made him victorious again by 8 lakh votes.”

    He further added, “When BJP saw his popularity and felt difficult to end his career, they placed him in the Modi 3.0 cabinet and made him in charge of Jharkhand. But BJP’s formulas and tactics will not work in Jharkhand because of their ill deeds.

    “They tried to diminish the constitution, in 2018 they tried to change the SC-ST law and now they were trying to turn the democracy into indentured labour. Their narrative was spotted by everyone in Jharkhand and in the whole nation. This is the reason behind the destruction of their 400-paar agenda and they were left with only 241 seats in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024,” said Banna Gupta.

    The reaction came after BJP’s senior leader and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was made the in-charge and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma co-in-charge of Jharkhand BJP in the run-up to the upcoming state assembly elections.

    Earlier, on June 10, after the swearing-in of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Kalpana Soren as MLA from Gandey assembly constituency, Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta expressed confidence that JMM will form government in Jharkhand again with full majority.

    Banna Gupta said, “Kalpana Soren is a very intelligent, educated woman. She was a housewife but after the way her husband was humiliated, tortured and sent to jail, she came out to fulfil her husband’s responsibility and protect the people. She has won the election from Gandey. In the coming time, our government will be formed again in Jharkhand and it will be with full majority.”

    He further said that the focus of the JMM government was to give jobs to the youth.”Whether it is the Surgeon pension scheme, Old pension scheme, or Jal Samriddhi Yojana we have done a lot of public-centric work. Our focus is on employment to the youth and we have prepared a lot of schemes to provide them jobs,” he added. 

  • Haryana Congress Leader Kiran Choudhry, Her Daughter Shruti Join BJP |

    NEW DELHI: In a big jolt to Congress ahead of the assembly polls in the state, the party’s prominent Haryana leaders, Kiran Choudhry and her daughter Shruti Choudhry, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday. Both the leaders joined the BJP in a ceremony at the party headquarters in New Delhi in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, former CM and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, and the BJP’s National General Secretary, Tarun Chugh.

    After joining the BJP, Kiran Choudhry said, “Today I took this decision because of Prime Minister, who has pledged a developed India by 2047. I have full faith that India will shine in the world. The public welfare work done by the Prime Minister has led to the formation of a BJP government in Delhi for the third time. I have worked a lot with Khattar ji. There used to be a lot of bitterness between us. But the way he worked has been my source of inspiration.”

    “The way he (Khattar) has worked honestly for the welfare of the people is commendable. Today we will take the BJP flag and in the coming times we will form a BJP government in Haryana for the third time,” the sitting MLA and former Haryana minister added. Notably, Kiran Choudhry is the daughter-in-law of former Haryana chief minister Bansi Lal.

    Her daughter, Shruti, who also joined the BJP, said that they will work to strengthen the county and the state. “The Prime Minister has taken historic decisions for our country. Due to this, India’s reputation has shined even more in the whole world. I have come here taking inspiration from Khattar ji. It is a matter of pride for us that Modi ji and Khattar ji have worked with Chaudhary Bansi Lal ji. The way Bansi Lal worked hard, we are joining the BJP with the same hard work. Today we are joining BJP so that we can strengthen the country and the state,” Shruti Choudhry said.

    Yesterday, the former MP from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency has tendered her resignation as a Primary Member of Congress and also from the post of the Working President of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee. Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that it is a historic day that two prominent Congress leaders joined the BJP.

    “Today is a very historic day…Today, two prominent personalities are in the party, who have worked in Congress for many years…I have known Kiran ji since the time we worked with Bansi Lal ji…Kiran ji and I used to sit face to face in the assembly, ” Khattar said. Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini said, “Today, senior Congress leaders Kiran Chaudhary and Shruti Chaudhary decided to join the BJP, I welcome them. We will work to strengthen Haryana.”

  • BJP, Congress Gear Up For Assembly Elections; Parties Field Candidates For July 10 Bypolls |

    New Delhi: As states are set to conduct by-polls for their assembly seats, on Monday BJP announced the name of the state election in-charge for Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir. Saffron party appointed Bhupender Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw as State election in charge and co-in-charge for Maharashtra while Dharmendra Pradhan and Biplab Kumar Dev were appointed as election in charge and co-in-charge for Haryana. 

    BJP released a list of appointed candidates on microblogging site X which also consists the names of Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Hemanta Biswas Sharma as State election in charge and co-in-charge for Jharkhand while  Kiran Reddy was appointed as election in charge for Jammu and Kashmir.

    States are going for by-polls on June 10, the party announced the name of its candidate on Monday. AAP fielded Mohinder Bhagat for by-election to the Jalandhar West Assembly constituency in Punjab while BJP nominated Sheetal Angural for the same constituency.  BJP also announced the names of the candidates contesting for by-polls from the West Bengal assembly constituency — Manas Kumar Ghosh from Raiganj, Manoj Kumar Biswas from Ranaghat Dakshin (SC), Binay Kumar Biswas from Bagda (SC) and Kalyan Chaubey Bhattacharya from Maniktala constituency.

    The Congress party has also approved the names of Dr Pushpendra Verma and Hardeep Singh Bawa to contest in by-polls from Harmirpur and Nalagarh Assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh while Lakhpat Butola and Qazi Nizamuddin are going to contest in by-polls from Badrinath and Manglaur Assembly constituencies in Uttarakhand.

  • NTA NEET UG Results: Congress Demands SC-Monitored Probe Into 2024 Exam ‘Irregularities’ |

    NEET UG 2024 Exam Result: The Congress on Friday accused the BJP of cheating young people and tampering with their futures on Friday, demanding a high-level investigation into “irregularities” in NEET for medical courses conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court. Paper leaks, test-rigging, and corruption, according to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, have become commonplace in many exams, including the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

    “Paper leaks, rigging and corruption have become an integral part of many examinations including NEET. The Modi government is directly responsible for this. For the candidates, appearing in the recruitment exams, then facing several irregularities, getting caught in the labyrinth of paper leaks, is playing with their future. BJP has cheated the youth of the country. We demand that a high-level investigation should be conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court so that our talented students appearing in NEET and other exams get justice.,” he wrote in a Hindi post on X.

    A record 67 candidates, including six from the same exam centre, received the top rank in the NEET medical entrance exam due to alleged mark inflation, according to several applicants. The NCERT textbook modifications and the provision of grace marks for tardiness at the testing centre, according to the National Testing Agency (NTA), account for some of the students’ higher scores. The NTA, however, refuted any irregularities. Six of the 67 students who shared rank one came from the same Haryana examination centre, according to the results released by NTA on Wednesday night.

    Earlier, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised the Modi government on Friday for what she described as anomalies in the NEET medical entrance exam and demanded that students’ “legitimate complaints” be looked into. The Congress party claimed irregularities have affected the future of around 24 lakh children. It said that the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the government should answer and also ensure accountability.

    NTA Issues Clarification Over Alleged Irregularities In NEET 2024 Results 

    The NTA provided a detailed explanation of the reason for the mark inflation, said that it had received complaints about time lost during the exam. “The normalisation formula, which was developed and approved by the Supreme Court in its Judgement dated June 13, 2018, was put into effect to address the time loss experienced by the NEET (UG) 2024 candidates after NTA took into consideration the cases and representations mentioned.

    “It was determined how much exam time was lost, and such candidates received grace marks in exchange. Therefore, the marks may also be 718 or 719,” the statement read. Speaking to news agency PTI, a senior NTA said that the question paper was created using a new NCERT textbook in response to questions regarding the claims of unclear grace mark implementation.”

    The entrance exam was held on May 5 at 4,750 locations in 571 cities, including 14 abroad. The NTA claimed on May 5 that the distribution of incorrect question papers at an exam centre in Rajasthan resulted in some candidates walking out with the papers. The agency denied any leaks of the question paper.

    A day later, the NTA reiterated that reports of question paper leaks in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG are “completely baseless and without any ground” and that every question paper has been accounted for.

  • After Failed Lok Sabha Bid, AAP Dumps Congress For Delhi Assembly Polls |

    NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party will contest the Delhi assembly elections on its own without alliance with Congress, party leader Gopal Rai said on Thursday, noting that the two parties had come together in the national capital only for Lok Sabha polls.        

    “This is clear from the very first day that the INDIA alliance was formed for Lok Sabha elections. As far as Vidhan Sabha is concerned, no alliance has been formed. AAP will fight elections with its full strength,” Rai, who is Delhi Minister for Environment, told ANI.

    The two parties drew a blank in the Lok Sabha polls in the national capital with BJP winning all the seven Lok Sabha seats. While AAP contested four of seven seats, Congress put up candidates on three seats. 

    Rai had also told reporters that opposition parties had come together in the INDIA bloc to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls and there was no alliance for assembly polls.

    “It is clear from the beginning that the INDIA alliance was formed for the Lok Sabha elections. We fought Lok Sabha elections together but in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections, there is no alliance. We will fight the Vidhan Sabha elections together with the people of Delhi,” he said. 

    AAP and Congress are part of the INDIA bloc. While the two parties had an alliance in Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, Punjab and Gujarat, there was no alliance between the two in Punjab. Congress won seven seats in Punjab compared to three won by AAP which is in power in the state.  

    Assembly polls in Delhi are expected to be held in early 2025.  Congress could not win a single seat in the Delhi assembly polls held in 2020. While AAP won 62 out of the 70 seats, BJP secured eighth seats in the last assembly polls.

    The announcement by AAP comes even as the newly elected Lok Sabha MPs have not taken oath and talks are being held among the INDIA bloc partners for better coordination to take on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government.

  • NDA 3.0: PM Narendra Modi Resigns; Swearing In On June 8 As JDU, TDP Affirm Support: Report |

    A day after the Lok Sabha election results were announced, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with his council of ministers, tendered his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu and recommended the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA has won 292 seats while the Congress-led INDIA bloc bagged 234 seats. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party bagging 240 seats while the Congress won 99 seats, significantly improving its tally compared to 2019.

    The President accepted the resignation and requested PM Modi and the Council of Ministers to continue till the new Government assumes office. This came after the Cabinet meeting held here in the national capital on Wednesday. The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recommended the dissolution of the cabinet whose term ends on June 16.

    According to the reports, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal-United (JDU), the potential ‘kingmakers’ have given the green signal, the formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. The swearing-in ceremony of PM Modi is likely to take place on June 8. Both parties are expected to submit formal letters of support to the BJP during a meeting of the alliance which is scheduled to be held later today.

    As per reports, the meeting of the newly elected MPs of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be held on June 7 in Delhi. 

    In 2019, the BJP had alone won 303 seats and 282 seats in 2014. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong growth, winning 99 seats compared to 52 that it had won in 2019 and 44 seats in 2014. The INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions from exit polls.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, but the BJP will need to rely on the support of other parties in his coalition – JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar, TDP’s chief Chandrababu Naidu, Shiv Sena-Shinde, JDS and other regional parties.  

    The BJP fell 32 seats short of the 272 majority mark after votes polled in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were counted. For the first time, since the Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in 2014, it did not secure a majority on its own. Meanwhile, the opposition INDIA bloc is also trying to lure in Nitish Kumar’s JDU and Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP.