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Hello Jammu News at 3:16:00 PM 0


New Delhi, Mar 24 :  Expressing concern over the plight of construction workers after the country-wide lockdown over coronavirus, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce emergency measures, including wage support to those in distress.

In a letter to the prime minister, Gandhi said over 44 million construction workers are now faced with a "precarious" future as many of them are stranded in cities and are deprived of livelihood due to the lockdown.

In a separate letter to the chief ministers of Congress-ruled states, the Congress chief urged them to ensure urgent wage support to construction workers who are now deprived of work due to the restrictions.

She said the country is in the midst of the worst global pandemic and this has necessitated stringent measures for containment and management of the COVID-19 transmission.

"These measures have led to widespread economic disruptions that had a debilitating impact on the informal sector," she said in her letter to Modi.

Nearly 500 coronavirus cases have been reported in India so far, according to Health Ministry data on Tuesday.

As cases of the viral infection surged, authorities have put almost the entire country under lockdown, banning gathering of people and suspending road, rail and air traffic till March 31, to check the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

The Congress president said that over the last year, lakhs of migrant workers in major cities across India have left for their home towns and villages fearing a prolonged economic downturn.

"As the second largest employer in India, over 44 million construction workers are now faced with a precarious future. Many are stranded in cities and are deprived of their livelihoods due to the stringent lock down measures," Gandhi told the PM.

The Congress chief said several countries around the world, most notably Canada, have announced wage subsidy measures as part of COVID-19 Economic Response Plan.

"Considering the extraordinary circumstance, I request you to consider advising the State Building and other Construction Worker's Welfare Boards to roll out emergency measures, particularly wage support to the construction workers who are in distress," Gandhi urged the prime minister.

She said the Building and other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 provides for various welfare measures for workers.

The Act also provides for constitution of state welfare boards and the constitution of welfare fund, she said, noting that it is reported that the welfare boards collected cess amounting to Rs 49,688 crore till March 31, 2019.

She said only an amount of Rs 19,379 crore had been spent.

In her letter to Congress chief ministers, she commended their tireless efforts towards responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This public health emergency has triggered a severe economic downturn that threatens the livelihoods of millions, she noted.

"The construction sector is still reeling under the twin blow of demonetisation and GST, and slowdown triggered by COVID-19 is likely to further deepen the crisis. While lakhs of migrant workers fled large cities over the last week due to panic and stoppage of work, many are left stranded due to stringent lockdown measures and closure of public transport. Given their dependence of daily wages, it is important to provide urgent wage support to construction workers who have been deprived of work," she wrote to the CMs.

"At this juncture, it is critical to ensure that workers are given the benefits they are entitled to under various statutory provisions," she said.

State Welfare Boards set up under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 have a large pool of unutilised funds collected through the levy of Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess, she told the Congress chief ministers.

Given that a significant amount of cess lies unutilised, the State Welfare Boards may consider providing wage support to their registered beneficiaries, Gandhi told the chief ministers.

Several countries around the world, most notably Canada has announced wage subsidy measures as part of its COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, she said.

"In light of the extraordinary circumstance, I urge you to advise the State Welfare Boards to take necessary action at the earliest. Kindly keep me informed of progress in this matter," she told the CMs.

Gandhi wrote to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy.
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Hello Jammu News at 9:53:00 PM 0


Jaipur, Jan 28 :  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of destroying India's image as a country of peace and harmony and urged the youth not to let their voice be suppressed.

Addressing a youth rally here, the former Congress president blamed the BJP-led government at the Centre of creating an image for the country that deterred investors.

He claimed that one crore people lost their jobs in the past year while the Modi government had promised the creation of two crore new ones.

Gandhi said the growth rate of 9 per cent reached during the UPA term has now declined to 5 per cent -- and claimed it is only 2.5 per cent if measured in the same manner in which it was during the UPA period.

He said Narendra Modi has not studied economics, claiming that the prime minister could not understand the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Gandhi also criticised the PM on demonetisation, when high-value currency notes were withdrawn.

He urged the youth not to let their voice be suppressed and ask questions on employment and on the country's future.

Gandhi said wherever Modi goes he talks of CAA, NRC and NPR but not on real issues like unemployment.

But the Congress leader made no direct comment on the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register -- or on the recent protests, many of them involving young people, on these issues.

The Jaipur public meeting was billed 'Yuva Aakrosh Rally', focusing on youth anger over unemployment and the state of the economy.

"Narendra Modi has destroyed India's image and reputation in the world. Today, India is known as the rape capital but Narendra Modi does not talk about this," he said at the rally at Jaipur's Ramniwas Garden.

He said when the youth raise questions over unemployment and ask Modi why he "destroyed" India's image, you are answered with bullets and are suppressed.

He said India's biggest asset and strength are the youth, who are capable of competing with China but the government is wasting this asset.

Rahul Gandhi suggested that the US, Europe and other regions are looking at India as a manufacturing hub as a balance to China.

India's youth have the potential. They can compete with China. The companies which are there in China want to invest in India. But they say that earlier peace prevailed in India but today there is violence, he said.

They say that the government of India is spreading violence and how can an investment be made in an environment where there is no surety for tomorrow, he said.

He said the world saw India in the past as a country where there was harmony.

People used to say look at Pakistan where there is an environment of violence. Pakistan is a divided nation but India takes everyone along -- and this image of India has been tarnished by Modi, he said.

Gandhi charged Modi of extending benefits to a handful of industrialists, ignoring farmers and the youth.

The first thing he did was benefitting top 15 industrialists -- only 15 and not 100 or 200, Gandhi said. Urging balance he said Modi should have waived farm loans as well.

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Deputy Chief minister and state Congress president Sachin Pilot were among the Congress leaders who attended the rally.
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Hello Jammu News at 10:03:00 PM 0
Sonia Gandhi


New Delhi, Jan 21 :  Congress President Sonia Gandhi will be on a two-day visit to her constituency of Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh beginning on Wednesday, party sources said.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also visit Raebareli on Wednesday, they said.

Priyanka Gandhi will also visit the house of party's former MLA Ajay Pal, whose son allegedly committed suicide recently, they added.
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Hello Jammu News at 6:43:00 PM 0
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul meet Cong MLAs from Jharkhand


New Delhi, Jan 17 :  Congress president Sonia Gandhi met the newly-elected party legislators from Jharkhand at her residence here on Friday.

Rahul Gandhi also attended the meeting with the 16 party MLAs. AICC in-charge for Jharkhand R P N Singh was also present during the meet.

Singh later said both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi asked the new legislators to work towards fulfilling the aspirations of people of Jharkhand.

"Both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi asked the MLAs to work for the welfare and aspirations of people of Jharkhand and fulfil the commitments made to them," Singh told  after the meeting.

CLP leader in Jharkhand Assembly Alamgir Alam and PCC chief Rameshwar Oraon were present during the meeting, along with the two MPs from the state.

The coalition of Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has won the Jharkhand Assembly Election and formed the government led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
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Hello Jammu News at 9:36:00 AM 0


NEW DELHI  :    Sonia Gandhi will return as Congress president for now, two years after she handed the top job to her son Rahul Gandhi, the party's top decision-making body, the Working Committee, decided on Saturday after a 12-hour meeting. Pitching it as a stop-gap measure, the party said it will pick a new president when its plenary session is held later this year. Rahul Gandhi had quit the party's top post in May after its disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha election and subsequently refused the party's requests to withdraw his resignation. On Saturday morning, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had excused themselves from group meetings held to decide on a new chief, saying they cannot be part of the selection process. Despite Rahul Gandhi's insistence, the party failed to come up with a non-Gandhi alternative.                                       [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 11:07:00 PM 0


Ahmedabad, Jul 11 :  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will appear before a metropolitan magistrate's court here Friday for the hearing of a criminal defamation suit filed against him by Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank and its chairman Ajay Patel.

Gandhi would appear before the court, said Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi.

"Since the summons was also issued to party's national spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, he is also expected to appear tomorrow," said Doshi.

The defamation suit was filed last year after Gandhi and Surjewala claimed that the Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank was involved in a "scam" to swap Rs 745.59 crore in swapped notes with valid currency within five days of demonetisation announcement on November 8, 2016.

Union home minister Amit Shah is one of the directors of the ADC Bank.

The court issued summonses to the two leaders on April 9 after finding prima facie evidence against them.

The complainants said that the Congress leaders leveled "false and defamatory allegations" against the bank.

The court had conducted an inquiry under section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before summoning Gandhi and Surjewala.

The section deals with inquiry to decide whether there is sufficient ground for proceeding against a person.

Gandhi and Surjewala's allegations were based on the reply given by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development to an RTI query of a Mumbai-based activist.

ADCB and Patel have denied that the bank exchanged such a huge amount of swapped currency as alleged.
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Hello Jammu News at 9:36:00 PM 0


New Delhi, Jul 1 :  Chief ministers of Congress-ruled states Monday urged Rahul Gandhi to continue as Congress president and hoped he will positively agree to their request, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said after the meeting.

"It was a good meeting that lasted around two hours. We conveyed and apprised him about the feelings of Congress workers across the country and urged him to continue to lead the party. We hope he will positively view our request to him to continue as Congress president," Gehlot told reporters.

He said the chief ministers met Gandhi at his residence and analysed the Lok Sabha poll debacle, while taking moral responsibility for the party's defeat.

He also said the chief ministers felt that instead of doing issue-based politics concerning the common man, the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi "misled" the people by hiding behind patriotism and the armed forces, as also turned the election into a religious issue.

He said Gandhi provided the right leadership to the Congress and fought the elections by taking on the BJP head-on and he is the only one who can continue to provide the leadership required to the party in the current circumstances.

"We firmly believe that only he can lead the party in the current scenario, his commitment towards well-being of our country and countrymen is un-compromised and unmatched," Gehlot had said on Twitter before the meeting.

He said the 2019 election was not a defeat of the programmes, policies and ideology of the Congress.

He said it was unfortunate that the BJP managed to hide its "huge failures" behind "fanatic nationalism" and with the help of enormous resources of the government machinery.

Only the Congress president, he said, did his best to make it an issue-based election and took the BJP head on.
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Hello Jammu News at 10:42:00 PM 0


Lucknow, Jun 29 :  As many as 35 office-bearers of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee resigned from their posts on Saturday continuing the spate of resignations in the party following its Lok Sabha election debacle.

The state unit's senior vice president Ranjit Singh Judev, general secretary Aradhna Mishra Mona, vice president RP Tripathi and many others have resigned taking moral responsibility for the party's defeat, an official release of the party said.

Others who quit party posts include media coordinator Rajiv Bakshi, joint media coordinator Piyush Mishra, Onkar Nath SIngh, Amarnath Agarwal and Mukesh Singh Chauhan, Priyanka Gupta and Ashok Singh.

More resignations are likely in the party state unit, a senior party leader said.

The UPCC has nearly 100 members.

After Congress president Rahul Gandhi announced his decision to quit in the wake of the party's dismal performance in Lok Sabha polls, many leaders of state units have followed suit.

Gandhi has reiterated that there is no going back on his decision, despite requests by leaders from his party and outside to continue in the post.

Members from the UPCC who have resgned include Satish Ajmani, Shyam Kishore Shukla, Hanuman Tripathi, spokesman Dwijendra Tripathi, Shiv Pandey, Pankaj Tiwari and Manju Dixit.

Earlier, state unit chief Raj Babbar had quit after the party could win only Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh and even lost it traditional stronghold of Amethi.

Party MP Vivek Tankha quit as the chairman of the party's legal and human rights cell on Thursday and urged others to do the same to give a free hand to Rahul Gandhi to restructure the party at all levels.

Party general secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh Dipak Babaria, Goa unit chief Girish Chodankar, Delhi PCC's working president Rajesh Lilothia and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee working president Ponnam Prabhakar have quit, as also a number of other office-bearers in various states.
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Hello Jammu News at 9:53:00 PM 0


Ahmedabad, Jun 25  :   The cross-examination of senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel over a petition filed by BJP leader Balvantsinh Rajput challenging his election to the Rajya Sabha ended before the Gujarat High Court Tuesday.

Patel was cross-examined for four days before Justice Bela Trivedi.

On Tuesday, Rajput's lawyer questioned Patel about a press conference he had held on August 7, 2017, a day before the election.

When asked if he recalled the conference, the Congress leader said he did address it but could not say when it was held.

On Wednesday, the court will deal with two applications filed by Patel.

One of the applications claims that Rajput's signature on the petition was forged and should be examined by a forensic science laboratory.

The other plea seeks removal of BJP leaders Amit Shah and Smriti Irani from respondents' list, in view of their election to the Lok Sabha. In 2017, Shah, Irani and Patel were elected to the Upper House of Parliament from Gujarat.

Patel had told the high court during the cross-examination Monday that it was the state Congress' decision, and not his, to shift 44 of its MLAs to a Bengaluru resort ahead of the election.

Rajput lost to Patel in the election which had become a prestige battle for both the BJP and Congress.

Among other things, his petition has accused Patel of bribing the MLAs to get their votes.

He has also sought that votes cast by Congress MLAs Shailesh Parmar and Mitesh Garasiya (in Patel's favour) be held invalid for a procedural breach, and the votes cast by Congress rebels Bholabhai Gohil and Raghavji Patel (which went to Rajput) be held as valid.      [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 8:53:00 PM 0


New Delhi, Jun 25  :   Notwithstanding his decision to resign as Congress president after the party's Lok Sabha election debacle, Rahul Gandhi will meet leaders from various poll-bound states to discuss the party's preparedness.

According to sources, Gandhi, who has not been meeting the leaders of various parties ever since he offered to resign as the party chief at the May 25 meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), is slated to meet party leaders from Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi.

While the CWC had rejected his resignation and asked him to restructure the party at all levels, Gandhi had refrained from meeting people and asked his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to do the talking on his behalf.

Sources said the Congress chief met Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and party leaders from the state on Monday and would be meeting leaders from Maharashtra on Wednesday.

Congress general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra Mallikarjun Kharge and AICC secretaries for the state, along with the PCC chief, would be meeting Gandhi to discuss the party's preparedness for the Assembly election in the state due later this year.

Gandhi will meet Congress general secretary in-charge of Haryana Ghulam Nabi Azad and party leaders from the state on Thursday and those from the national capital region of Delhi on Friday to ascertain their poll preparedness and chalk out the party's strategy going forward.

Gandhi has so far stuck to his decision to quit as the Congress chief, but the party is in a state of flux ever since as he has not been meeting leaders.

The fresh round of meetings will give a ray of hope to the party, which is looking up to its leadership for direction after its humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.

The grand old party has already dissolved its Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka units and similar decisions are likely to come for other states too.

While a majority of Congress leaders is trying to convince Gandhi to change his decision, he is reportedly adamant on his plan and is learnt to have given some time to the party leaders to work out an alternative.

The sources said Gandhi's decision to meet state leaders would help infuse confidence in the party's rank and file.

While Assembly elections are due in Haryana and Maharashtra later this year, the Delhi polls are slated to be held early next year.                                                 [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 12:18:00 PM 0


Kolkata, June 21 :  The leader of the opposition in the state assembly and senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan demanded that the West Bengal government forms an inquiry commission to probe the "cut money scam" by a section of TMC representatives in parts of the state. 

"We demand that there should be a inquiry commission into this cut money scam. The people who have been looted will have a outlet to vent out their grievances and the commission will have the right to identify those who have sought money from the common man. What is going on is creating chaos across the state," Mannan said. 

His demand comes in the backdrop of the statewide protests outside residences of a number of TMC leaders by people, who sought the return of cut money taken by them. 

Mostly, elected representatives at municipal and panchayat levels faced the public ire in the districts of Birbhum, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Burdwan, Malda, Purulia, Nadia, West Midnapore and Bankura. 

At a recent meeting with TMC councillors, TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said, "I do not want to keep thieves in my party. If I take action they will join some other party. Some leaders are claiming 25 per cent commission for providing housing grants to the poor. This should stop immediately. Return the money if any of you have taken it. [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 5:14:00 PM 0


New Delhi, Jun 20 :  As speculation continues on his next steps, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said his party will decide on who his successor will be and not him.

He is not the person to take a decision on his successor, Gandhi told reporters when asked who will succeed him as Congress president.

Gandhi is adamant on stepping down as party president following the debacle in the elections, but the CWC, the highest decision making body of the Congress, has rejected his offer to resign and asked him to restructure the party at all levels.

The Congress chief also maintained that there was "theft" in the Rafale fighter jet deal. 

Gandhi was responding to a question about Rafale finding a mention in President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament.

"I maintain my stand that there has been theft in the Rafale jet deal," he told reporters outside Parliament. 

He has been maintaining that there has been corruption in the Rafale deal and that there should be a thorough probe into the deal 

The Congress has already petitioned the CVC for a probe into alleged corruption in the fighter jet deal.

The government has denied any corruption, wrongdoing or favouritism in the deal.             [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 5:25:00 PM 0



New Delhi, Jun 13 :   The Congress Thursday paid tributes to the 13 people killed in the IAF aircraft crash in Arunachal Pradesh, saying the country shall remain indebted to their valiant contributions.

All 13 people on board the AN-32 aircraft which crashed in the state are dead, the IAF said after a team of rescuers searched the wreckage of the plane in a heavily forested mountainous terrain on Thursday.

An IAF official said there were no survivors from the crash of the AN-32 aircraft.

"My salutations and tribute to the air warriors of @IAF_MCC who lost their precious lives in the AN-32 aircraft. Extremely saddened. My deepest condolences to the families of our brave men. Nation shall forever remain indebted to their valiant contributions," Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted.

Those who died in the crash are Wing Commander G M Charles, Squadron Leader H Vinod, Flight Lieutenants L R Thapa, MK Garg, Ashish Tanwar and Sumit Mohanty, Warrant officer K K Mishra, Sergeant Anoop Kumar, Corporal Sherin, LAC (leading aircraft man) S K Singh, LAC Pankaj, and non combatants Rajesh Kumar and Putali.

The Russian-origin AN-32 aircraft was going from Jorhat in Assam to Menchuka advanced landing ground near the border with China on June 3 when it lost contact around half-an-hour after taking off.

The wreckage of the plane was spotted by an IAF chopper on Tuesday at a height of 12,000 ft near Gatte village on the border of Siang and Shi-Yomi districts, after eight days of a massive search operation involving a fleet of aircraft and choppers as well as ground forces.           [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 2:50:00 PM 0


New Delhi, Apr 2 :  The Congress on Tuesday released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with its president Rahul Gandhi describing it as the "voice of people". 

Senior party leader P Chidambaram asserted that "wealth and welfare" is the manifesto's central theme.

Rahul Gandhi was joined by other top party leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, as the opposition party unveiled its manifesto.

Chidambaram said real issues in the country are unemployment, farmer distress and women's safety among others and accused the ruling BJP of trying to take narrative to hyper nationalism.

Singh said the manifesto's purpose is to spell out the vision for the country to move towards forward-looking and inclusive economy and polity.

The Congress chief said if his party is elected to power, its government would spend six per cent of the GDP on education.

His party will work to unite the people, he said, accusing the Modi government of dividing the society and spreading hatred.             [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 6:24:00 PM 0


Bhopal, Mar 29 :  After announcing candidature of senior leader Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal, which the Congress has not won since 1989, the party is mulling fielding prominent leaders from other seats like Vidisha and Indore, where it has not tasted success for last 15 years or more.

Bhopal is considered a tough seat for the Congress along with Indore, Vidisha, Bhind and Damoh as the BJP has not lost in these constituencies since 1989 but the Congress is hoping to build on the recent victory in Assembly polls to dislodge the saffron party here.

Apart from these five, there are nine other seats out of the total 29 Lok Sabha constituencies where the Congress has not won during the 15-year BJP rule in the state.

Chief Minister Kamal Nath has represented Chhindwara ten times including six times in a row while senior party leader and Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh (West) Jyotiradiya Scindia has been winning from Guna since 2002. These were the only two seats out of 29 won by the Congress in the 2014 Lok Sabha election which was swept by the BJP.

"The party will definitely field senior leaders in seats like Indore and Vidisha which it has not won since 1989," Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi told. 

"Like Assembly polls, our party this time has sought opinions of ground level workers from mandal, block and district to finalise the best candidate who can win from those seats where the party has not won for long," he said.

"The party had done similar experiment during assembly polls also and had got best results and the same is expected in Lok Sabha polls also because of anti-Modi sentiment in the country," he said.

The Congress' decision to field former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal has already raised the political temperature in the state.

Soon after Singh's candidature was announced, Ajay Singh, former leader of opposition and close confidant of Digvijaya Singh, demanded that the party should field other senior leaders from tough seats like Indore and Vidisha.

Without taking the name of any particular leader, he told that "the party has a very tall leader in Chambal Gwalior region and he should be fielded from other tough seats like Indore and Vidisha".

He was apparently referring to Congress general secretary and Guna MP, Jyotiraditya Scindia. Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh and Scindia have been leading rival factions in the party's state unit.

The BJP has not yet decided its candidate in Bhopal and there is speculation that former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan may be pitted against Digvijaya Singh. In 2003 also, Chouhan had contested assembly polls against Singh from latter's home constituency Raghogarh in Guna district.

There are 14 constituencies from where the Congress had not won during the BJP rule in the state, while the saffron party failed to wrest Congress stronghold of Chhindwara and Guna.

State BJP's chief spokesman Deepak Vijaywargiya said, "This time BJP will try to win all the 29 seats in the state and will field strong candidates of the caliber of Scindia and Nath in their respective constituencies." 

"The party will field the best workers from the remaining seats of the state so that it can win from all the constituencies," he said.

"Depending upon the opposition candidate, the party may also change its strategy at the last moment to ensure victory in each and every constituency," he added.

The fourteen seats from where the Congress has not won since last 15 years are -- Bhopal, Indore, Vidisha, Morena, Bhind, Sagar, Tikamgarh, Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Jabalpur, Balaghat, Betul and Rewa.

The Congress has announced candidature of Kiran Ahirwar from Tikamgarh, Kavita Singh from Khajuraho, Madhu Bhagat from Balaghat and Ramu Tekam from Betul.

Except Rewa, the BJP has been winning from the rest of the seats. In 2009, Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Devraj Singh Patel won from Rewa while in 2004 and 2014, the BJP emerged victorious from this seat in Vindhya region bordering Uttar Pradesh.

Since 1996, the BJP has not lost from Morena, Sagar, Jabalpur and Betul while it is winning continuously since 1998 from Satna and Balaghat.

In the remaining 13 seats -- Gwalior, Jhabua, Shahdol, Mandla, Hoshangabad, Rajgarh, Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Dhar, Sidhi, Khargone and Khandwa -- there have been mixed results for the two parties during the last 15 years.        [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 5:28:00 PM 0


Jaipur, Mar 26 :  Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday promised a "surgical strike" on poverty and said his party had been working on how to eradicate it for the last six months.

Addressing a rally in Suratgarh a day after declaring his party would roll out a minimum income guarantee scheme for the poorest 20 per cent households if voted to power, Gandhi said only the rich could dream under the Narendra Modi rule. 

"We will eradicate poverty in the country. This is a 'dhamaka'. No country has done this in history. There should not be a single poor person in the country," Gandhi said.

He said his party would work to reduce unemployment if it comes to power.

"If Modi gives money to the rich, the Congress will give money to the poor," Gandhi said. 

Alleging that Modi had helped those who had black money, the Congress president said those lifted from poverty by the UPA government had again been made poor in the last five years. 

According to him, 14 crore people were lifted from poverty by the UPA government.

"It is a shame that there are still 25 crore poor people in the country," Gandhi said.

"You will get the right price for your labour and product," he told the gathering. 

The UPA government had launched schemes over 10 years but Modi ended them all, the Congress chief said, adding that the prime minister had failed to understand the MGNREGA job scheme. 

Taking a jibe at Modi, he said the prime minister was indeed a "chowkidaar" but of industrialist Anil Ambani.          [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 4:07:00 PM 0



New Delhi, Mar 24 :  Taking a swipe at the BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said these 'chowkidars' (watchmen) are only working for the rich and are not bothered about the poor.

She attacked the Uttar Pradesh government while citing a media report on Twitter that claimed the dues of sugarcane farmers had crossed Rs 10,000 crore in the state.

"The families of sugarcane farmers toil day and night but the Uttar Pradesh government does not even take the responsibility of paying their dues," Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

"Rs 10,000 crore of farmers' dues means everything, including their children's education, food, health, and the next produce comes to a standstill. These chowkidars only work for the rich and do not care about the poor," she claimed.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was recently appointed the Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East. 

All BJP leaders in the country had recently followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi in adding 'Chowkidar' to their Twitter handles, after Modi claimed that he was a 'chowkidar' (watchman) of the country and would not allow any wrongdoing.                                          [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 5:19:00 PM 0




Malda, Mar 23 :   Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of lying all day and said he is the "chowkidar" of the corrupt and fugitives like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya.

Congress is fighting to keep the country united and the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will be a fight between ideologies of the Congress and the BJP-RSS, he said at a rally here kicking off his party's campaign in West Bengal.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeps on lying all day.

Wherever he goes he lies ... The upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state will be between ideologies. On one hand you have the Congress party which is fighting to keep the country united and on another hand the BJP-RSS-Narendra Modi who want to divide the country on religious and caste lines," Gandhi said while addressing a rally here.

Accusing Modi of being the "chowkidar" of "corrupt and fugitive" businessmen Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya, he said Narendra Modi had gifted Anil Ambani the Rafale deal and had looted Rs 30,000 crore of public money                                                   [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 5:12:00 PM 0



Lucknow, Mar 23 :   In a bid to ensure a smooth sailing for Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar, the party reshuffled its candidates to accommodate the actor-turned politician.

In the seventh list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls announced by the Central Election Committee of the Congress Friday, the party declared candidates for nine Lok Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh.

These include Naseemuddin Siddiqui from Bijnor in place of Indira Bhatti. A close aide of BSP chief Mayawati and earlier considered to be the Muslim face of the BSP, Nassemuddin parted ways with the Bahujan Samaj Party in 2018 and joined the Congress.

Another prominent name in the list announced by the Congress is Praveen Aron from Bareilly. He had won the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from the same constituency.

Imran Pratapgarhiya will be the party's candidate from Moradabad in place of UPCC chief Babbar. The Uttar Pradesh state unit chief has been made the party candidate from Fatehpur Sikri.

Babbar was elected from Agra as its Lok Sabha MP twice -- in 1999 and 2004. However, following delimitation in 2008, the Lok Sabha seat became reserved for the scheduled castes. Babbar got re-elected to Lok Sabha from Firozabad in bye-elections held in 2009.

Bal Kumar Patel, the younger brother of dacoit Shiv Kumar Patel alias Dadua, has been made the party candidate from Banda. Patel, former Samajwadi Party MP from Mirzapur, had joined the Congress recently in Delhi.

Dadua was killed in police encounters in 2006 in Uttar Pradesh after then chief minister Mayawati cracked the whip against the dacoit gangs.

The party has also fielded Trilokiram Diwakar from Hathras (SC), Preeta Harit from Agra (SC), Virendra Kumar Verma from Hardoi (SC) and Girish Chand Pasi from Kaushambi (SC).                                                                                           [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 4:16:00 PM 0


Ahmedabad, Mar 11 :  The Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting will be held at Gandhinagar in Gujarat on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The meeting would be followed by a mega rally at Adalaj town in Gandhinagar where Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is likely to address her first public rally after entering politics.

CWC, the highest decision-making body of the Congress, will be meeting in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the first time since 1961, after a gap of 58 years.

Patidar quota agitation leader Hardik Patel will also join the Congress on Tuesday in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi.

After the meeting at the Sardar Patel memorial building, senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, UPC chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, as well as current and former party chief ministers will attend the 'Jan Sankalp' rally', state party unit chief Amit Chavda said.

Before the CWC meet, senior party leaders will visit the Gandhi Ashram to attend a prayer meet.

The leaders will pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi as March 12 marks the launch of the historic Dandi March by him from the Sabarmati Ashram here in 1930. Besides, 2019 is also being celebrated as the 150th birth anniversary year of the Father of the Nation.

The Congress is expecting a crowd of over three lakh people in the home turf of Modi and BJP president Shah ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, a party leader said.

This will be Rahul Gandhi's second visit to Gujarat within a month in the run-up to the polls. He earlier addressed a rally in Valsad district February 14.

In 1961, the CWC meet was held at Bhavnagar in Gujarat.            [Agencies]
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