New Congress president will decide my role: Rahul

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New Congress president will decide my role: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that he will report to the new Congress president who will decide his role in the party.

He told reporters at Adoni during Bharat Jodo Yatra that the Congress president will be the final authority and he will decide how the party is going to move forward.

“He will decide what will be my role and how I am to be deployed,” the Congress MP said before the announcement of the result of the AICC presidential election.

He declined to answer queries on the role of the president, saying the new president would comment on it.

“As far as the Congress party is concerned, the president will be the final authority. We will have a new Congress president who will decide how the Congress party moves forward,” Rahul said.

“Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge and Mr. Shashi Tharoor are both people with experience and understanding. Whoever gets elected they do not need advice from me. They have experience and understanding and they will decide what to do,” he added.

To another query, Rahul said he would report to the Congress president. “Obviously. In the Congress party, the president is the supreme authority and every Congress member reports to that person.”

When asked about the allegation by Shashi Tharoor’s team about irregularities in AICC presidential election in Uttar Pradesh, he said the Election Commission of the party would look into it.

“We are the only political party in the country that holds elections. We are also the only political party that has an election commission inside it. We have a T.N. Seshan kind of person. I worked with Mistry Ji (Congress’ Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry). He is an absolutely straightforward, solid person. Whatever issues are there will be addressed to the election commission. It will take a decision whether there were irregularities or not,” Rahul said.

He also claimed that the Congress party is the only party with an institutional framework to address such issues.

Rahul wondered why questions were not asked other parties about their internal election. “Everybody asks questions about elections to the Congress party president. I am proud that the Congress party has had an open and transparent process. Why is nobody interested in elections in other parties? Why does nobody ask a question? Why isn’t there an election in the BJP why isn’t there an election in the regional parties? Nobody seems to be interested in asking the question.”

Kharge elected new Congress President

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Kharge elected new Congress President

Mallikarjun Kharge was on Wednesday elected as the new Congress President after he received 7,897 votes, while his rival Shashi Tharoor managed to secure only 1,072.

Although the counting of votes has ended, official results are yet to be announced.

A total of 416 votes were declared invalid.

Kharge’s supporters broke out in dance and burst crackers outside the AICC headquarters here.

He is likely to take charge next week a day after Diwali (October 23).

For the first in over two decades, Congress will get a non-Gandhi President.

Modi to visit Tripura on Oct 27 to ‘rejuvenate’ BJP ahead of polls

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Modi to visit Tripura on Oct 27 to ‘rejuvenate’ BJP ahead of polls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Tripura on October 27, and this sudden one-day tour — according to the political pundits — is to rejuvenate the BJP, and also to tame the anti-incumbency factors ahead of the assembly election which is around four months away from now.

Political analysts said that in the backdrop of the anti-incumbency factors of the BJP government, the saffron party is keen to kick-start the electoral preparation with Modi’s visit as the party would take a desperate attempt to retain power in Tripura, once a Left parties’ strong bastion.

As the BJP returned to the power for the second consecutive term in Assam (2021) and Manipur (2022) — the party is keen to maintain the same tempo in Tripura.

In Tripura, the BJP is in alliance with the tribal-based party Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) came to power in the 2018 assembly polls thrashing the CPI-M-led Left parties, which governed the northeastern state for 35 years in two phases (1978-1988 and 1993-2018).

To a query, an Election Commission official said that early election to the 60-member Tripura assembly is not possible as the summary revisions of the electoral rolls are going on and the final electoral rolls would be published on January 5, 2023, with January 1 as the qualifying date of birth for inclusion of new voters.

The elections are unlikely to be held before the third week of February next year, the official told media, refusing to be named.

Political analyst and writer Sekhar Datta said that the BJP government has been facing so many anti-incumbency factors and they are not in a comfortable position to face the electoral challenge.

“The central leaders of BJP do not want to take any chance to manage all the loopholes, shortcomings, and failures of the government. That’s why they are keen to start the electoral preparations in a big way and well in advance,” Datta told the media.

To give a positive message to the people, the central leaders had all of sudden removed Biplab Kumar Deb from the chief ministerial position on May 14 and appointed then-state President and Rajya Sabha member Manik Saha as his successor.

The central and state leaders of the party are yet to disclose the reasons behind the removal of Deb from the top post.

In an apparent attempt to tame anti-incumbency and stem any discontent within its organization in Tripura, the BJP adopted its now successfully tested strategy of going in with a new face in the Assembly polls.

With the strategy of changing the chief minister ahead of polls going in its favor in Uttarakhand, the BJP’s top leaders opted for a similar change in Tripura where the BJP had less than two percent vote share before the 2018 assembly polls.

The BJP has changed five chief ministers since 2019, including in Gujarat and Karnataka.

Another political commentator Sanjib Deb said that with the visit of the Prime Minister, the ruling BJP would prepare its organizational grounds with the crucial assembly polls in the early next year in mind.

“In less than two months of BJP President J.P. Nadda’s visit to Tripura, PM Modi’s visit is very significant as the party has already started its electoral preparations with all-out efforts,” Deb, editor of a leading Tripura daily, told to media.

However, CPI-M-led Left parties and the Congress are also preparing themselves to fight the upcoming elections, he pointed out.

Nadda during his two-day visit to Tripura in August held a series of meetings and addressed public rallies to gear up the party organizations ahead of the Assembly elections.

The BJP president as part of strengthening the organizations recently appointed former Central minister Mahesh Sharma as a central observer of Tripura replacing Vinod Sonkar while former Uttar Pradesh Minister Mahendra Singh and Rajya Sabha member Samir Oraon also appointed as election observers of the party in the poll-bound state.

Amid the preparations for the elections, a fresh controversy erupted after the BJP brought around 300 bikes and 100 Scorpio cars to Tripura from Uttar Pradesh forcing the opposition parties including the CPI-M, Trinamool Congress, and the Congress to demand a probe, alleging that the vehicles would be utilized for various “nefarious activities”.

Refuting the opposition parties’ allegations, the BJP said that around 100 bikes were brought for a state-wide campaign by the party leaders and workers.

“These bikes will be used in the Vistarak Yojana Campaign of the party aimed at establishing direct contact with the people in the state. The party members would take the BJP’s program, mission, and ideology to the doorsteps of the people,” Tripura BJP’s spokesman Nabendu Bhattacharjee told to media.

He said that the campaign would be conducted for a duration of one month to six months considering the size of the population and topography of an area.

PM Modi to address Interpol general assembly on Tuesday

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PM Modi to address Interpol general assembly on Tuesday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the 90th Interpol General Assembly at Pragati Maidan here on Tuesday.

The Interpol General Assembly will be attended by delegations from 195 Interpol member countries comprising of ministers, police chiefs of countries, heads of National Central Bureaus, and senior police officers.

Interpol’s supreme governing body, the General Assembly meets once a year to take key decisions related to its functioning.

The meeting is taking place in India after a gap of 25 years after it was last held in 1997.

The event provides an opportunity to showcase best practices in India’s law and order system to the entire world, an official statement said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Interpol President Ahmed Naser Al Raisi, Secretary General Jurgen Stock as well as the CBI Director Subodh Kumar Jaiswal will also be present on the occasion.

13 out of Kerala’s 310 Congress delegates fail to vote in presidential poll

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13 out of Kerala’s 310 Congress delegates fail to vote in presidential poll

A total of 13 Congress delegates in Kerala failed to turn up to vote to elect their new president on Monday and these included nine who were unwell and two who are aboard.

Party legislator Eldhose Kunnapilly, who is presently on the run after a rape case, was one of the absentees, while Suresh Elavayoor was unable to reach on time.

Former state unit president V.M.Sudheeran and Karakulam Krishna Pillai are both out of the country.

Among those who did not turn up due to ill-health included former Union Minister Vayalar Ravi.

Three – Aryadan Mohammed, Prathapa Varma Thampan, and Punalur Madhu – whose names are figured in the voter’s list have passed away and it included.

The ballot boxes were later sealed and the poll observers will carry them later in the day to the AICC headquarters in Delhi and will be opened on Wednesday for the counting of votes to decide if the winner will ‘official’ candidate Malikarjuna Kharge or local boy Shashi Tharoor.

Andhra releases Rs 2,096 cr under YSR Rythu Bharosa-PM Kisan

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Andhra releases Rs 2,096 cr under YSR Rythu Bharosa-PM Kisan

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday released Rs 2,096 crore towards the second tranche of financial assistance to farmers under the YSR Rythu Bharosa-PM Kisan scheme.

By pressing the button, he transferred the amount. It will be directly credited to the bank accounts of 50.92 lakh farmers across the state.

Addressing a mammoth public meeting at Allagadda in Nandyal district, he said the first tranche of Rs 7,500 out of the total assistance of Rs 13,500 to each farmer was disbursed in May this year.

In the second installment amounting to Rs 2096.04 crore released on Monday, each beneficiary will get Rs 4000 for Kharif harvesting and Rabi sowing. The last installment of Rs 2000 each will be released ahead of Sankranti in January next year.

Reiterating the government’s commitment to the welfare of farmers, he said the government has been spending Rs 7,000 crore every year under the scheme for the benefit of more than 50 lakh farmers. With today’s disbursement, the government has so far incurred Rs 25,971.33 crore under the welfare scheme, he said.

This is the fourth consecutive year of the Rythu Bharosa Scheme implementation. The scheme is being implemented not only for agricultural land owners but also for tenant farmers.

The Chief Minister said the government has so far spent a whopping Rs 1,33,526.92 crore for the benefit of farmers under various welfare schemes such as Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs), e-cropping, free crop insurance, input subsidy, free nine-hour supply of power, mechanization and Minimum Support Price (MSP).

After YSRCP came to power, farmer families received Rs 51,000 each under various welfare schemes, he said.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the Almighty has been blessing the state with good rainfall every year after the YSRCP came to power and there was no need to declare even a single Mandal in the state as drought-affected compared to the previous TDP regime which declared several mandals as drought affected every year.

While the foodgrain production in the TDP regime stood at 154 lakh tonnes, the state achieved a record of 167.24 lakh tonnes of foodgrains after the YSRCP came to power, he said.

Jagan Reddy said the TDP regime spent Rs 685 crore towards the zero interest-based loans for farmers in its five-year regime while the YSRCP government so far spent Rs 1282 crore for the same. During the YSRCP regime so far, 44,28,000 farmers received Rs 6684 crore as crop insurance while only 30,85,000 farmers received Rs 3411 crore as crop insurance during the previous regime.

While Chandrababu Naidu neglected farmers’ welfare by running only 12 labs to check spurious seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, the YSRCP government has established 147 such labs out of which 70 labs are operational, he said.

He alleged that TDP Government failed to pay Rs 2558 crore input subsidy to farmers while the YSRCP government so far disbursed Rs 1800 crore input subsidy for 20,85,000 farmers.

Not even a single farmer’s family is found without receiving financial aid in case of suicides, he claimed.

In response to the appeal of the Allagadda MLA Gangula Brijendra Reddy (Nani), the Chief Minister sanctioned an amount of Rs 97 crore for development works in the constituency.

KCR inspects construction of work of TRS office in Delhi

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KCR inspects construction of work of TRS office in Delhi

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday inspected the construction of his Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s (TRS) office in New Delhi.

A week after the TRS decided to go national by changing its name to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), party President KCR, as he is popularly known, inspected the construction of the party office at Vasant Vihar.

Accompanied by Roads and Buildings Minister V. Prashanth Reddy and other TRS leaders, KCR went around the construction site and enquired about the progress of the work.

KCR, who had attended Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s last rites on Tuesday, is currently campaigning in the national capital.

He is likely to meet leaders of various parties and people from various walks of life to seek their support for the BRS ahead of the formal launch of the party.

It was on September 2 last year KCR laid the foundation stone for the TRS office in the presence of his cabinet colleagues, MPs, state legislators, and several party leaders. The TRS claimed to be the first political party from south India to open its office in Delhi.

The TRS is building a three-storeyed building that will have a conference hall, library, and audio-visual theatre.

The Centre had allotted land for the TRS office in 2020 but the foundation stone laying was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The land allotment was made as per the rules, which prescribe that all political parties with a minimum of seven members in Parliament are eligible for allotment of land for their party office in Delhi.

The TRS, which has 16 members in Parliament, was allotted two plots measuring 550 square meters by the land and development office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

It was announced then that the TRS office coming up on 1,100 square meters of land will be called Telangana Bhavan, like its state headquarters in Hyderabad. It is not immediately known if there will be a change in the name of the office consequent to TRS adopting a new name.

A general body meeting of the TRS presided over by KCR on October 5 unanimously passed a resolution changing the name of the party to BRS to expand its activities nationwide. The meeting also amended the party Constitution in this regard.

The next day, the TRS informed the Election Commission of its decision to change its name to the BRS and sought its nod for the same.

The party is reported to have taken a building on rent in Delhi to commence its activities pending the completion of the permanent building. This building is near Sardar Patel Marg.

President Murmu to visit Assam on Oct 13-14

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President Murmu to visit Assam on Oct 13-14

President Droupadi Murmu will be in Assam for a two-day tour from October 13, in her first visit to the state after taking over the top post, state Tourism Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah announced on Tuesday.

The President will arrive in Guwahati on Thursday and will attend a program at IIT Guwahati, he told media persons here, and take part in several government programs.

He said that she will inaugurate the Dhubri Medical College and Hospital and will attend a civic program to be held at Assam Administrative Staff College, where at least 500 renowned persons across the state will interact with her.

The President will visit Kamakhya Temple on the morning of October 14.

According to the Minister, at a scheduled program in Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra later on the day, the President will lay the foundation stone of 2,000 Anganwadi centers, 100 tea garden schools, and various state and Central government schemes.

Murmu will leave on Friday evening.

Inflation in India quite low, compared to leading economies: PM Modi

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Inflation in India quite low, compared to leading economies: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that inflation in the country is much lower than that in developed countries.

“Compared to developed countries, inflation is quite low, for example, the British are witnessing the worst inflation in the last 50 years, Americans are facing the highest inflation of the last 45 years, interest rates are very high… compared to those countries, the nation’s inflation is low because the buoyant economy, our country’s economy is very vibrant,” he said at an event in Jamnagar, where he laid the foundation stone and dedicated projects worth Rs 1,448 crore in the district.

He appreciated the demolition work carried out along the coast by the Gujarat government.

The Prime Minister also dedicated the Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran irrigation link 7, which carries Narmada water for drinking.

He recalled the services of the erstwhile Jadeja dynasty to society and the country, noting how then ruler Digvijaysinh Jadeja gave shelter to Polish children during World War 2, because of which India-Poland relations are strengthened.

About the oil refinery and oil economy of Jamnagar, he remarked that every citizen would be proud of the fact that crude oil is refined on this very land. Modi also said that the double-engine government of the Centre and the state has continuously worked for the industrial and infrastructural development of the state.

Prez, PM condole Mulayam Singh Yadav’s demise

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Prez, PM condole Mulayam Singh Yadav’s demise

Sympathy is made-up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu Union Road Transport Minister Nitin, Behalf of the death of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.

On Twitter, President Droupadi Murmu said about the Yadav in Hindi top-level leader who worked as CM for Uttar Pradesh and came from a poor background. She next explained about the former defense minister who has excellent capabilities and with the loss of his soul, the nation had missed a good leader

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said I have wound his heart with Yadav’s death and he remember of relationship with the leader.

“He did many meetings with Mulayam Singh Yadav Ji while I was serving as Chief Ministers for our states. The very nearest relationship we have at that time. I was always seeing his views. His death shocked me. Condolences to Yadav’s family,” Modi tweeted.

“He was widely admired as a humble and grounded leader who was sensitive to people’s problems. He served people diligently and devoted his life towards popularising the ideals of Loknayak JP and Dr. Lohia,” the Prime Minister tweeted further.

Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari offered his condolences to Yadav’s family and recalled that he personally received lots of affection from the departed leader.

Gadkari said that he got Yadav’s full support for his policy initiatives on regularising e-rickshaws in the country.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh described Mulayam Singh Yadav as a stalwart Lohiaite, who had admirers across the political spectrum.

“Mulayam Singh Yadav was a stalwart Lohiaite but had admirers across the political spectrum. His tenures as CM of UP were very consequential. He played a key national role on 2 occasions: Deve Gowda & Gujral govts as Defence Min,& in 2002 when he proposed APJ Abdul Kalam for President,” Ramesh tweeted.

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