Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. File picture
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Kalaburagi (Karnataka):

Raising concerns over the inhumane treatment of Indian migrants deported from the US, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have called his ‘old friend’, US President Donald Trump, and asked him not to send them back in such a manner.

Modi will pay a two-day working visit to the US starting Wednesday and hold a bilateral meeting with President Trump.

“Modi did not receive an invitation initially. However, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar went to the US and made arrangements, after which Modi received an invitation and is now visiting,” claimed Kharge, while speaking to reporters in Kalaburagi and wondered whether it would be a ‘success’ meet.

“Modi himself has claimed that he has been conversing with his ‘old friend’ (Trump), which he says will benefit the country. But if they were indeed close friends, Modi should have asked Trump over the phone not to deport Indian migrant labourers in such a manner,” the Congress chief said.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha alleged that Indian migrants were brought back to India in a cargo plane and “treated worse than garbage”.

Modi did not ask Trump to send these migrants on a passenger flight, nor did he arrange one from India, which proves that his claim of a close friendship was false,” the Congress president said.

He added that while personal friendships are fine, it is more important for countries to maintain friendly relations. He argued that people may know each other personally but may not necessarily show concern for India’s interests.

“Modi speaks with confidence, but he also has a habit of lying. Hence, he will not get good results,” said Kharge.

India on February 7 registered concerns with the US over the deportation of illegal immigrants in shackles and conveyed that this kind of treatment could have been avoided.

The remarks of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri came amid uproar over the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants by the US in handcuffs during their 40-hour flight onboard a military aircraft.

Kharge also pointed out that Trump has threatened to increase tariffs on imported goods and warned that he would impose taxes on countries that have raised tariffs on American products. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The government will allocate space for a memorial of former prime minister Manmohan Singh and this has been communicated to his family and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the Union home ministry said on Friday night.

In a late-night release titled “Facts of the matter regarding memorial for Former Prime Minister Late Dr Manmohan Singh”, the ministry said the government received a request to allocate space for a memorial for Singh from the Congress chief.

Immediately after the Cabinet meeting, Union Home Minister Amit Shah communicated to Mr Kharge and the family of Manmohan Singh that the government would allocate space for the memorial.

In the meanwhile, cremation and other formalities can happen because a Trust has to be formed and space has to be allocated to it, the home ministry said.

Dr Singh, who headed the Congress-led UPA government and is credited with economic reforms, passed away on Thursday at the age of 92.

He was India’s prime minister for 10 years between 2004 and 2014.

The Congress on Friday said that not finding a location for the cremation and memorial of Singh was a deliberate insult to the country’s first Sikh prime minister.

The party raised the issue after the home ministry said Singh’s last rites would be held at New Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat at 11.45 am on Saturday with full state honours.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday evening doubled down on his party’s attacks on Amit Shah – after his “… has become the fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…” remark in Parliament last night – calling them “condemnable” and slamming the ruling BJP for disrespecting for the Constitution.

Mr Kharge also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Amit Shah. “If PM has any respect for Babasaheb Ambedkar, he should drop Shah from the Cabinet. (But)… instead of telling Amit Shah (he) is wrong, PM is defending him. He insulted a Dalit hero. They do not believe in the Constitution.”

The Congress leader also called out the Prime Minister for his fierce, six-post on X defence of Amit Shah, his No 2, in which he lashed out at the “rotten (political) ecosystem” populated by his rivals.

“If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!” the Prime Minister had said.

READ | PM Leads BJP Fightback As Opposition Ups Ante In Ambedkar Row

“People of India have seen, time and again, how one party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in every possible dirty trick to obliterate the legacy of Dr Ambedkar…” he said on X.

“PM Modi made six tweets to defend Amit Shah. What was the need? If someone says (something) wrong about BR Ambedkar, he should be removed from the cabinet,” the Congress chief responded this evening, “But they are friends and are supporting each other’s sins…”

If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think their malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr. Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!

The people of India have seen time and again how one Party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 18, 2024

Mr Shah’s remarks about Dr Ambedkar – regarded as the architect of the Constitution – were delivered at the tail end of a four-day debate on the text, two each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha..

The debates were seen as a way to restore normality in a Parliament session roiled by a multiplicity of protests between the government and the opposition, with the attendant frequent disruptions.

The “Ambedkar is fashion…” statement came in Mr Shah’s concluding remarks in the Rajya Sabha debate; the Home Minister said sarcastically, “It has become the fashion to say ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…’ If they (the opposition) took God’s name so many times, they will get a place in heaven.”

READ | “No Less Than God”: Opposition Slams Shah’s Ambedkar Remark

The quip provoked furious protests from the Congress and other opposition parties, with Mr Kharge saying the “insult” had again proven that the BJP and its ideological parent – the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – were against the country’s best interests. Congress MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and  Rahul Gandhi also issued scathing counterattacks, and demanded Mr Shah apologise.

Sharing pictures from a protest outside Parliament – in which the opposition was united, despite recent differences over strategy and questions over the Congress’ leadership of the INDIA bloc – Mr Gandhi said, “Babasaheb is the Constitution’s architect… a great man who gave direction to the country.”

READ | “Country Will Not Tolerate Insult Of Dr Ambedkar”: Rahul Gandhi

“The country will not tolerate his insult… the Home Minister should apologise!”

It isn’t just the Congress that is up in arms. The Samajwadi Party – which contests elections on its ‘PDA’ strategy, in which the ‘D’ stands for Dalits – said it showed “the BJP is nervous about the struggle…”

“Babasaheb Ambedkar is God to a lot of deprived sections of the society. He is worshipped in each house and village. The BJP is nervous about the struggle of the PDA and that is the reason such statements come from them from time to time…” Akhilesh Yadav said.

Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool has also rallied against Amit Shah and the BJP; hours earlier the party filed a privilege notice against the Home Minister; Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, who moved the notice, accused Mr Shah of insulting the Dalit leader.

READ | “Mask Falls”: Trinamool Moves Against Shah In Ambedkar Row

Ms Banerjee posted a separate post in which she called the remarks “a display of BJP’s casteist and anti-Dalit mindset” and “an insult to millions who look up to Ambedkar”.

Amidst all this, Mr Modi and Mr Shah met Mr Gandhi and Mr Kharge this afternoon. Sources said the meeting had no connection to the “Ambedkar is fashion” row, stating the four senior-most political leaders in the country were meeting to appoint the next National Human Rights Commission chief.

With input from agencies

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Jaipur:

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar warned against “some forces” in and outside the country which are “unable to digest India’s progress” and looking to divide the country. He urged people to be together in “neutralizing every anti-national narrative.”

While speaking at an event in Rajasthan’s Jaipur on Wednesday, VP Dhankhar mentioned, “There are some forces in the country and outside which are unable to digest India’s progress. There is a well-planned effort going on to disintegrate the country, divide the country and insult its institutions. We must neutralize in togetherness every anti-national narrative.”

“One thing is very clear, it cannot be said that India is a nation with potential, that stage is behind us. India is on the rise, and as I said that rise is unstoppable,” the VP continued.

Earlier on Tuesday, INDIA bloc parties submitted a no-confidence motion at the Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Mody’s office, seeking the removal of the Chairperson of the Upper House, Vice President Dhankhar for allegedly conducting the proceedings of the Council of States in “extremely partisan manner.”

“All parties belonging to the INDIA group have had no option but to formally submit a no-confidence motion against the learned Hon’ble Chairman of the Rajya Sabha for the extremely partisan manner in which he has been conducting the proceedings of the Council of States. It has been a very painful decision for the INDIA parties to take, but in the interests of parliamentary democracy, they have had to take this step. The motion has just been submitted to the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha,” Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who is Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, also accused Dhankhar of behaving like a “spokesperson of the government for his next promotion.”

He alleged that the “biggest disrupter” in Rajya Sabha is the Chairman himself.

“He (RS chairman) does schooling like a headmaster… From the opposition side, whenever important issues are raised as per rules – the chairman doesn’t allow to have a discussion in a planned manner. Time and again opposition leaders are stopped from speaking. His (RS Chairman) fidelity is towards the ruling party instead of the Constitution and constitutional tradition,” Mr Kharge alleged.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has dissolved the pradesh, district, city and block committees of the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit with immediate effect.

The move came on Thursday, months after the Lok Sabha polls and days after bypolls in the state in which the Congress did not field any candidates, supporting the Samajwadi Party and INDIA bloc allies on nine seats.

It seems to be aimed at reorganising the state unit of the Congress and strengthening the party at the grassroots level.

Mr Kharge has approved a proposal to dissolve the pradesh, district, city and block committees of the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit with immediate effect, a statement issued by Congress general secretary organisation K C Venugopal said.

The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) is headed by Ajay Rai.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday dissolved the pradesh, district, city and block committees of the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit with immediate effect.

The move comes months after the Lok Sabha polls and days after bypolls in the state in which the Congress did not field any candidates, supporting the Samajwadi Party and INDIA bloc allies on nine seats.

The move seems to be aimed at reorganising the state unit of the Congress and strengthening the party at the grassroots level.

Mr Kharge has approved a proposal to dissolve the pradesh, district, city and block committees of the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit with immediate effect, a statement issued by Congress general secretary organisation K C Venugopal said.

The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) is headed by Ajay Rai.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

As top Congress leaders met on Friday to deliberate on its electoral defeats in Maharashtra and Haryana, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that “tough decisions” will have to be taken to strengthen the organisation from the grassroots, accountability has to be fixed, and urged leaders to remain united and not speak publicly against each other.

In his address at the Congress Working Committee meeting at the AICC headquarters, Mr Kharge said he believes that the EVMs have made the electoral process “suspect” and stressed that it is the constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections in the country.

Mr Kharge also hit out at internal bickering in the party, and asserting that the lack of unity and statements against own party leaders harms the party a lot.

“Unless we fight elections unitedly and stop making statements against each other, how will we be able to defeat our opponents politically?” the Congress president said.

He also called for removing shortcomings in the party by learning lessons from the election results and said the party would have to evolve a strategy to effectively counter the “propaganda and misinformation” by its rivals.

“Therefore, it is important that we strictly follow discipline. We have to remain united under all circumstances. The party also has the weapon of disciplining. But we do not want to put our workers in any bondage.

“Therefore, everyone needs to think that a victory of the Congress party is our victory and a defeat is our defeat. Our strength lies in the strength of the party,” the Congress president said while urging workers not to get dejected with poll results.

He said the party will have to effect changes from the grassroots level to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) to strengthen the party. The AICC is the central decision-making assembly of the party.

Speaking on the Maharashtra polls, Mr Kharge said the assembly poll results after a good outcome in Lok Sabha elections jolted the party.

He said some “tough decisions” will have to be taken due to the “below expectation” performance in state elections.

Riding on its performance in the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress went into assembly polls with new enthusiasm but the election results were not as per the party’s expectations, the Congress chief said.

“After the kind of results that came in favour of MVA in the Lok Sabha just six months ago, the result of the assembly polls is beyond the understanding of even political pundits. The kind of results that have come – no arithmetic can justify them,” he said.

“INDIA parties formed the government in 2 out of 4 states. But our performance was below expectations. This is a challenge for us in terms of the future,” he said.

“We need to immediately learn from the election results and correct all our weaknesses and shortcomings at the organisational level. These results are a message for us,” he said.

He noted that the mood was in the Congress’ favour during the elections but pointed out that just the atmosphere being in its favour does not guarantee victory.

“We will have to learn to convert the atmosphere into results. What is the reason that we are not able to take advantage of the atmosphere?” he said.

Mr Kharge called on party leaders to work hard and make strategies in a timely manner. “We will have to strengthen our organisation up to the booth level. We will have to be vigilant, alert and cautious day and night, from making the voter list to counting the votes,” he said.

“Our preparation from the beginning till the counting of votes should be such that our workers and systems work diligently. In many states, our organisation is not up to expectations. Our biggest need is to strengthen the organisation,” he said.

Mr Kharge said that the Congress may have lost elections, but there is no doubt that unemployment, inflation, and economic inequality are burning issues in this country.

He asserted that the caste census is also an important issue today.

He also called upon workers and leaders to start preparing for future polls in advance and scrutinise the electoral rolls properly.

Noting that times have changed, Mr Kharge said the ways of contesting elections have changed and the party will have to make its micro-communication strategy better than its opponents.

“Ways to fight propaganda and misinformation will also have to be found. We will have to move forward by learning lessons from the previous results. The shortcomings have to be removed. Tough decisions will have to be taken with confidence,” he said.

Mr Kharge also asserted that the party cannot achieve success by following old methods. “You have to see what your political opponent is doing on a daily basis. We have to take decisions on time. Accountability has to be fixed, ” he said.

Mr Kharge said that due to the Congress’ repeated defeats, “fascist forces” are making their roots deeper. “One by one they are also taking over the institutions of the state,” he added.

“We are celebrating the 75th year of adoption of the Constitution. In these 75 years, the Congress party has done a great job with historic achievements in India. It is because of the Constitution that our country is in the front row of the world. If any one party gets the most credit for making and implementing the Constitution, then it is the Congress,” he said.

Mr Kharge said it is the Congress that empowered the common people of the country and gave them rights.

In the last 11 years, a large class of have-nots has emerged, who are troubled by unemployment, inflation and deepening inequality, he said.

“We have to become their strong voice. It is important for the Congress to come to power because if we have a government, we can implement the agenda of 140 crore people of the country. We can implement the agenda of the progress of India,” Mr Kharge said.

The meeting was chaired by Kharge and attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, among others.

While the Maha Vikas Aghadi, of which the Congress is a part, was decimated in the polls in Maharashtra, the party’s alliance led by the JMM scored a victory in Jharkhand.

In Haryana, the Congress had suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the BJP. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday urged citizens to protect the ethos of the Constitution and said the struggle to defend India’s inherent philosophy must be reinvigorated and reignited in the 75th year of its adoption.

Mr Kharge said the people of India should come together to protect each and every thought expressed in the Constitution.

“The 75th year of the adoption of the Constitution has begun today. I extend my warmest wishes to all Indians on this historic occasion,” the Congress president said in a post on X.

“The Constitution of India, painstakingly and carefully drafted by our foremothers and forefathers is the lifeblood of our nation. It guarantees us social, economic and political rights. It constitutes India into a sovereign socialist democratic republic,” he said.

Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity are not just ideals or ideas, they are the way of life for 140 crore Indians, Mr Kharge asserted.

“Today, we recall the tremendous contribution of the Constituent Assembly and its prolific members. We are forever indebted to their vision and wisdom,” he said.

Mr Kharge said Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr Rajendra Prasad, KM Munshi, Sarojini Naidu, Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and several eminent personalities were not just revered national icons but inspiring personalities who became the torchbearers of hope for generations together.

No mention of the Constituent Assembly should be complete without recalling the contribution of the 15 women members who provided equally important inputs for an inclusive India, the Congress president said.

“We must also not forget that the Constituent Assembly received uncountable suggestions from ordinary citizens which are a matter of record,” he said.

The Objectives Resolution moved by Nehru and Ambedkar’s momentous last speech to the Constituent Assembly form the Magna Carta in protecting the tenets of the Constitution, he said.

“We, the patriotic citizens of India, now have the onerous task of protecting the ethos of the Constitution,” Mr Kharge said.

“We, the people of India, should, therefore, come together to protect each and every thought expressed in the Constitution,” he said.

In the 75th year of the Constitution’s adoption, the struggle to defend India’s inherent philosophy must be reinvigorated and reignited, just like the era of the national movement, the Congress president said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

BJP president JP Nadda on Friday accused the Congress of pushing an “incorrect, false and politically” motivated narrative on the issue of Manipur unrest, as he hit back at Mallikarjun Kharge for seeking President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention and alleging the Centre’s complete failure in defusing the crisis.

In a rejoinder to Mr Kharge, Mr Nadda said the repercussions of the Congress’s “abject failure” in dealing with local issues in Manipur when it was in power are being felt even today.

What is shocking is how repeated attempts are being made by the Congress party to sensationalise the situation in Manipur, he told Mr Kharge, asserting that the current dispensation has been working since the first incidents of violence to bring stability and peace in the state.

He said Mr Kharge seemed to have forgotten that not only did his government legitimise the illegal migration of foreign militants to India, the then home minister P Chidambaram had signed treaties with them.

These known militant leaders fleeing their country to avoid arrest were wholeheartedly endorsed and encouraged to carry on their destabilising efforts, Mr Nadda claimed.

“This complete failure of India’s security and administrative protocols under your government is one of the major reasons why militant and habitually violent organisations are attempting to destroy the hard-won peace in Manipur and push it back several decades into the age of anarchy,” he said.

Unlike the Congress, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government will not allow this to happen at any cost, he added.

He said the governments at the Centre and in Manipur have been working to stabilise the situation and protect people since the initial violence.

The entire government machinery is devoted to bringing back peace and harmony to Manipur, he said, stressing the BJP’s commitment to resolving the situation quickly as probe into the incidents of violence are being carried out by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), “one of the most efficient agencies” in the country.

Mr Nadda said he felt compelled to respond to the “incorrect, false and politically motivated narrative” being pushed against the government and which Kharge’s words fail to camouflage.

Referring to the Congress president’s letter to President Murmu, he said it was “heartening” to finally see “some form of respect” from the Opposition party for the President of India after “uncountable disrespectful remarks” heaped on her by its senior leaders.

Mr Kharge and his party, he said, seemed to have conveniently forgotten the complete failure of government machinery and the “ill-advised strategies” adopted by the Congress governments both at the Centre and state during similar incidents in the early 90s and during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) era.

The northeast region has seen a complete transformation in every sector be it economy, security, healthcare, education or access to growth opportunities under the Modi government, he said.

People have endorsed its work by repeatedly putting their faith in the stability of “double engine” NDA governments over the false promises of the Congress and its allies, he said.

“From more than 10 historical peace accords to unprecedented connectivity, our governments are truly bringing the people of northeast closer,” Mr Nadda said. In Manipur alone, the percentage of people suffering from multidimensional poverty has reduced from over 20 per cent in 2013 to just over 5 per cent in 2022, he added.

“Yet, ignoring these developments, you (Mr Kharge) and your party have chosen to use the northeast and its people to rake up political mileage and peddle your nefarious agendas. I wish to remind you that under Congress rule, Manipur witnessed one of the bloodiest periods in history,” Mr Nadda said.

In addition to the black period of the 90s when thousands were killed and lakhs displaced due to rampant violence, in 2011 alone Manipur witnessed a complete blockade for more than 120 days, he said.

READ | “There’s A Photo…”: Manipur Chief Minister vs P Chidambaram On Militancy

Petrol and LPG prices were nearly four-times higher than the rest of the country and losses of crores of rupees were being suffered by the exchequer every day, he said. The state was marked by thousands of fake encounters, he alleged.

Mr Nadda claimed that this pattern of Congress leaders endorsing and encouraging a nexus of foreign forces looking to derail India’s progress is truly worrying.

“As a result of this failure to recognise the maleficent intentions of these individuals, your party is often seen matching them step-for-step. Whether this failure is an unfortunate blind spot resulting from the Congress’s thirst for power or part of a carefully designed strategy to divide the people and sideline our democracy, is what our nation deserves to know,” he said.

Mr Nadda reminded Mr Kharge of the “disrespectful and irresponsible manner” in which the Congress acted when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was addressing the issue of violence in Manipur in Parliament earlier this year.

In his two-page letter to the President, Mr Kharge on Tuesday accused both the Union and the state governments of having “completely failed” in restoring peace and normalcy in Manipur during the last 18 months, seeking her intervention.

He said people have lost confidence in the government. Mr Kharge said the violence has claimed more than 300 lives, including that of women, children and babies.

“The deteriorating law and order in Manipur has internally displaced nearly a lakh people, rendering them homeless and forcing them to live in different relief camps,” he said, adding the agony continues unabated.