The Congress said on Monday (September 21, 2026) that the impact of GST rate cuts on a range of commodities was being eroded by “galloping inflation”, with prices of several consumer products returning to pre-cut levels within a year.

Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh, sharing a media report on the issue, said the GST rationalisation announced in September 2025 had been “long overdue”, but its impact on consumption had been uneven.

“The GST rate cuts in September 2025 were proclaimed to be game changers. They had, of course, been long overdue — but to boast of them as magic wands was hyperbole. In fact, their impact on boosting consumption has been mixed at best. For instance, automobile sales benefited while apparel sales did not,” Mr. Ramesh said in a post on X.

“Now comes evidence that the effect of GST rate cuts on various commodities is being neutralised by ‘galloping inflation’,” he said.

The prices of several consumer goods had returned to nearly pre-GST cut levels within a year without any significant increase in consumption, Mr. Ramesh claimed.

He also linked the issue to the broader state of the economy, questioning the narrative around India’s growth based on headline GDP figures.

“Headline quarterly GDP numbers may give momentary elation to the ruling establishment overlooking their imperfections, but there are many faultlines in the India growth story that are simply not being acknowledged by the PM and his brigade of cheerleaders,” he said.

“Neither is consumption buoyant across income segments nor is private investment booming,” Mr. Ramesh said, adding that real wages were declining.

A Congress MLA writing to Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar on corruption in Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL) office in Dakshina Kannada has exposed the high level of corruption in the State government led by the Congress, MLA for Mangaluru City North Y. Bharat Shetty said on Tuesday.

In his August 25 letter to Mr. Shivakumar, Puttur MLA Ashok Kumar Rai had alleged that two engineers, including an Executive Engineer and a Junior Engineer, of KRIDL office in Mangaluru have demanded “7% more money” as “KRIDL charge” from contractors. The letter also talked about engineers collecting money, claiming that they have to make monthly payments to the district in-charge minister and minister in-charge of KRIDL.

Addressing presspersons Dr. Shetty said that the KPSC scam, excise department scam had also exposed the government. “In none of the scams involving corruption the government is conducting serious investigation and taking the probe to the logical end,” the MLA said.

“What is the outcome?” he asked.

“Corruption is another guarantee of the Congress led government,” Dr. Shetty alleged.

The MLA claimed that earlier Upa Lokayukta B. Veerappa went on record that 63% of people in Karnataka had to pay bribe to get their works done in government offices. “Payment quota Ministers and officials have begun looting people,” he alleged.

Dr. Shetty said that earlier Congress charged the BJP government with “40 % commission”. But it could not substantiate and prove it. The MLA demanded that in each of the cases involving corruption the government should hold a judicial inquiry.

MLC Kishore Kumar Puttur was present.

Minister for Public Works Aadhav Arjuna on Monday engaged the DMK MLAs in a debate over the welfare of Scheduled Castes and their representation and the DMK’s ability to attract minority votes without having the Congress in its coalition.

When former Higher Education Minister Govi Chezhiaan said the DMK had built a manimandapam for B.R. Ambedkar and renamed the Madras Law College as Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, along with the DMK’s other contributions towards empowering Scheduled Castes, the current Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan recalled that it was the Congress government in the 60s that had given Cabinet berths to P. Kakkan, who served as the State Home Minister and to B. Parameswaran, who served as Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments.

‘DMK cadre’s hardwork’

When Mr. Govi Chezhiaan responded stating that it was due to the contribution and hardwork of the DMK cadre that Mr. Viswanathan won from Melur constituency, Mr. Aadhav retorted: “DMK often says that they are the reason why coalition parties such as the Congress, the VCK, the IUML won. The DMK had 22 to 23 party alliances, and they won three consecutive elections comprehensively. But, in 2026, the TVK became the single largest party. If the DMK didn’t have their alliance partners — the Congress, VCK, IUML and the Left parties — they would have won just 10 seats. The reason why Muslims voted in Chennai is due to the Congress and the VCK. But, in 2026, they have lost 14 seats in Chennai. They would have lost the two seats in Chennai too.”

The Minister added: “Can the DMK contest alone and win 50 seats?”

After DMK MLA K.N. Nehru asserted that the Congress could never win without the support of the DMK, Congress MLA Tharahai Cuthbert said the Bharat Jodo Yatra undertaken by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was instrumental in the DMK alliance winning all of its Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. In response, Mr. Nehru said: “You went on a yatra across India. But, in Tamil Nadu alone, you got 10 seats.”

Students, protesting against alleged irregularities in Jharkhand recruitment examinations, on Saturday (August 15, 2026), accused the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Congress of playing politics over their issues and announced that they would gherao Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s residence in Ranchi on August 20, demanding his resignation.

The protesters also said that they would burn effigies of the Chief Minister and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi across all 24 districts of the State on Sunday (August 16, 2026), alleging that the ruling JMM-Congress alliance “failed to take concrete action” on their demands.

They also demanded that Mr. Gandhi withdraw support from the JMM-led coalition if the “CM is not listening” to him.

They took out a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ in Ranchi on Saturday (August 15, 2026) to mark the country’s 80th Independence Day and to press their demand for greater transparency and reforms in the recruitment examination system.

The protest under JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch entered its 22nd day, with thousands of students and job aspirants, including two wheelchair-borne demonstrators who were on fast, participating in the ‘Tiranga Yatra’ from Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, the site of the ongoing agitation, to Albert Ekka Chowk in Ranchi. Carrying the national flags, the protesters raised slogans such as “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram”.

“We will gherao the Chief Minister’s residence on August 20. We seek his resignation as both the JMM and the Congress are playing politics with us. We also demand that Rahul Gandhi withdraw support from the JMM-led coalition if the CM is not listening to him,” JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch leader Ravindra Paswan said.

The protesters said they would not withdraw the demonstration until the government addresses their demands, including the cancellation of examinations in which alleged irregularities were found and an independent probe into the recruitment process.

The platform of the protesting students has sought a CBI investigation or an inquiry by a panel of retired judges from outside Jharkhand into the alleged exam irregularities. The JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch has also demanded cancellation of the JSSC-CGL test and certain Jharkhand PSC examinations that it considers suspicious.

The protesters appealed to students across Jharkhand to assemble in Ranchi for the proposed gherao of the CM’s residence on August 20 and said they would not withdraw agitation until their demands are met.

They also targeted Mr. Gandhi, saying he had expressed support for students but that “no concrete action” had followed.

The students’ platform demanded that Congress withdraw support from the JMM-led government if it is unwilling to act on their concerns.

“We demanded CM Hemant Soren’s resignation as the government failed to cancel JSSC-CGL and the JPSC examinations in which irregularities were found,” the student leader said.

The Telangana BJP will take the Congress government’s alleged failures and anti-people policies to the public during the upcoming Graduate MLC and Municipal Corporation elections, party official spokesperson N.V. Subash said on Wednesday.

Asserting that Telangana would receive effective governance only under the leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he accused the Congress government of ‘severely deceiving’ the people, who he said had already suffered during the BRS’s 10-year rule.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s State office here, Mr. Subash alleged that even after 30 months in power, the Revanth Reddy government had failed to fulfil its election promises. He claimed that unemployed youth and students had been particularly affected due to the non-release of ₹14,000 crore in fee reimbursement dues, the absence of a job calendar and colleges allegedly withholding certificates, causing hardship to nearly 22 lakh students and their parents.

“It is extremely unfortunate that a government that ought to safeguard the future of students described them as ‘criminal waste’,” he said. Mr. Subash further alleged that the government remained unmoved despite High Court orders directing it to release fee reimbursement funds.

Alleging that the government had failed to focus on the development of the State and Hyderabad, he claimed that the Chief Minister had turned Telangana into a ‘futureless city’. Questioning Mr. Revanth Reddy’s frequent foreign visits, he challenged the government to release a White Paper detailing the investments brought into the State.

The Delhi Congress on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of failing to provide piped water to every household and criticised its plan to install water ATMs in areas without pipeline connectivity. 

Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said the proposal did not address the problem and was an attempt to divert attention from the government’s failure to expand the pipeline network. He demanded a time-bound expansion of the water pipeline network, a permanent water supply instead of temporary measures like tankers and water ATMs, and a public action plan with timelines for water-scarce areas. 

“Instead of providing a modern water supply system to the Capital, the BJP government is implementing a system that forces people to queue up to collect water. Grand promises were made ahead of the election to provide piped connections and clean drinking water to every household, yet the government itself now admits that many areas of Delhi still lack pipeline connectivity,” he said. 

Mr. Yadav said the proposed ₹58-crore expenditure on 250 water ATMs showed that the government had failed to provide a permanent solution. 

He said the money could instead have been used to expand the water pipeline network, plug leaks and strengthen the distribution system, which would have provided lasting relief to lakhs of people. 

The Telangana BJP on Tuesday urged the Election Commission to make Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enumeration forms available in English as well, noting that many residents from other States who have settled here may not be conversant with Telugu.

State BJP president N. Ramchander Rao submitted a memorandum to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) C. Sudarshan Reddy, accompanied by senior leaders, including former Minister Marri Shashidhar Reddy, where he stated that the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in some areas were not accepting Forms 6 and 8, which are used for the registration of new voters, correction of voter details and change of address.

Prospective voters were being told by certain Block Level Officers (BLOs) that enumeration forms for new registrations would only be available after July 30. The BJP leader further alleged that the process of uploading updated forms had become cumbersome due to slow network connectivity. He accused some election officials of acting in favour of Majlis leaders by distributing enumeration forms in bulk, instead of carrying out the mandatory door-to-door verification exercise. “More alarmingly, MIM leaders are being allowed to upload the forms themselves,” Mr. Rao alleged.

He also charged that the ruling Congress leaders in some places were attempting to influence and intimidate BLOs involved in the enumeration process. Urging citizens to actively participate in the SIR exercise, he advised them to make use of the online registration facility wherever possible.

‘Cong. rule a failure’

Meanwhile, BJP national OBC Morcha president and Rajya Sabha member K. Laxman on Tuesday termed the two-and-a-half-year rule of the Congress government under Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy a “complete failure”, alleging that key departments under the Chief Minister’s direct control like education, home and municipal, were in disarray.

At a press conference, Mr. Laxman said there had been no visible development during the Congress regime and accused Mr. Revanth Reddy of neglecting public issues and welfare measures. The Chief Minister, he alleged, was more focused on pleasing the party high command in Delhi to safeguard his political position than addressing the concerns of the people.

The BJP leader also criticised the Congress, BRS and AIMIM for what he described as attempts to create confusion around the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls. He alleged that the three parties were making “irresponsible statements” on the exercise for their political survival.

Referring to AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi’s remarks on the SIR process, Mr. Laxman claimed that the demand for issuing permanent residence certificates to Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants, who had allegedly obtained voter identities fraudulently, was unacceptable. At the same time, he urged the EC to consider extending the July 24 deadline for the SIR exercise to facilitate wider participation.

Mr. Laxman also accused the Congress government of failing to fulfil several key promises, and said the party would expose Congress party’s “betrayal of promises” before the public during the upcoming municipal and corporation elections.

TPCC president and MLC B. Mahesh Kumar Goud on Wednesday termed the visit of BJP national president N. Nitin Nabin to Telangana a “complete flop” and asserting that the party has no political future in the State.

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan, he said Telangana was achieved due to the leadership of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and the sacrifices of thousands of people during the Statehood movement. Mr. Goud alleged that the BJP was attempting to create communal tensions in the State, adding that such efforts would not succeed as Telangana had a long-standing tradition of religious harmony. He said people were looking for a “BJP-free India”.

Referring to the Centre, he accused the BJP, which is in power at the Centre, of failing to fulfil promises, including the creation of jobs. He also questioned the BJP leadership on several issues, including alleged irregularities Kaleshwaram and other projects during BRS governance.

Taking a dig at the BJP leadership, Mr. Goud said the party had failed to mobilise adequate support during organisational programmes and questioned its political relevance in Telangana. He also alleged that the BJP had not addressed key issues related to pending projects and development concerns in the State.

The Congress on Friday (June 26, 2026) appointed party leaders Rajendra Pal Gautam and Sanjay Dutt as AICC in-charge for Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

Mr. Gautam replaces Avinash Pande in Uttar Pradesh, while Mr. Dutt replaces senior party leader Hariprasad in Haryana.

Mr. Hariprasad has since been made the new Karnataka Congress chief.

The party also appointed Lalji Desai as the new AICC in-charge for Odisha, replacing Ajay Kumar Lallu, it said in a statement.

“The party appreciates the contributions of the outgoing general secretary/in-charges – Avinash Pande, B K Hariprasad and Ajay Kumar Lallu,” AICC general secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal said in the statement.

In another statement, the Congress announced the appointment of B.V. Srinivas as the new chief organiser of the Congress Seva Dal, replacing Lalji Desai, with immediate effect.

Bengaluru is one of India’s most economically important cities, and it’s safe to say that whoever is in charge of the IT city’s development wields considerable power and clout.

What makes Bengaluru Development politically and administratively more significant than other cabinet portfolios? Will its bifurcation improve accountability and decision-making, or lead to coordination challenges? What does this episode reveal about the power dynamics within the Shivakumar-led Congress government?

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