Posts tagged ‘the Congress’

19/01/2015

“Take money from BJP & Congress, but vote for AAP” – The Hindu

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal was on Sunday at the centre of a controversy when he asked voters in Delhi to take the money offered by the BJP and the Congress but “fool” them by voting for the AAP in the coming Delhi Assembly elections, drawing sharp criticism from both the parties.

Mr. Kejriwal asked voters to “fool” BJP and Congress by voting for AAP even after accepting the “bribe money” as the parties have been “fooling people for the last 65 years.”File photo

“It’s election time. When people from the BJP and the Congress come offering money, don’t refuse, accept … some have looted money from 2G, some have looted money from coal scam.”

“And if any party does not show up, go to its office and take the amount saying we were waiting but you didn’t come,” Mr. Kejriwal said amid cheers from the crowd.

The former Delhi Chief Minister was speaking at a rally in West Delhi’s Nawada area in support of the AAP’s Uttam Nagar candidate, Naresh Balyan.

“Take money from both the parties but vote for the AAP. We will fool them this time. They have been deceiving us for the last 65 years. Now it’s our turn,” he said.

The BJP lashed out at the AAP chief saying his comments amounted to questioning the authority of the Election Commission apart from being an affront to the voters.

“He is essentially saying that voters accept money and alcohol. His comments also mean that the EC is not working properly as money and alcohol are getting distributed,” BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said.

The Congress said the party would seek legal opinion to approach the EC against Mr. Kejriwal for “insulting” the people of Delhi.

“Making such statements is illegal. It is like offering money to the people,” said Ajay Maken, who is campaign committee chief of the Congress in Delhi.

via “Take money from BJP & Congress, but vote for AAP” – The Hindu.

20/08/2014

Wounded Congress desperately seeking alliances for upcoming assembly elections

The Congress party is losing legislators but is keen to show it remains a political force as polls approach in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana and Kashmir.

Still reeling from its decimation in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress now has to contend with legislators in several states quitting the party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party. There are rumours that even veteran Delhi Congress leader Dr AK Walia is in talks to join the BJP.

What makes the situation worse is that members of legislative assemblies from regional parties are also joining the BJP, making it hard for the Congress to compete.

The party is now desperately looking to form alliances with regional parties and even independent MLAs to save face in the upcoming state elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

Jharkhand

With the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha deciding to merge with the BJP, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Congress to establish any sort of stronghold in the state. The party’s general secretary in the state, BK Hariprasad, says it is looking to put together an alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, with which it has already reached an agreement in Bihar. The party is also working on a tie-up with Janata Dal (United), which split with the BJP before the general elections.

The party already has an alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. However, the district presidents in the region are not keen to continue with it, following the JMM’s demand that it be allocated 25-30 of the 81 seats in state polls due at the end of the year.

“The party has a stronghold in the state and it will perform much better if we contest on our own instead of seat sharing,” a district president of the Congress said. “The leadership should not concede to the demands of the regional alliances and deprive our own people of a chance to contest the polls.”

via Scroll.in – News. Politics. Culture..

06/12/2013

Narendra Modi, a challenge to Cong: Manmohan – The Hindu

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday acknowledged that BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi did pose a challenge to the Congress and declared that “there is no room for complacency”.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addresses the media persons at the Parliament, in New Delhi. File photo

Taking questions from the audience during the Hindustan Time Leadership Summit here, Dr. Singh while responding to a query on which Mr. Modi was indeed a challenge that Congress party should take very seriously said: “As an organised political party we can not underestimate the power of opposition to unsettle the ship of the State. Therefore I am one of those who take very seriously our opposition, there is no room for complacency.”

The Congress, he said, “is going into the elections with a spirit of self confidence and that should not be mistaken whatever the may be the outcome of the Assembly elections.”

via Narendra Modi, a challenge to Cong: Manmohan – The Hindu.

24/11/2013

Indian Congress did nothing for tribals: Modi – The Hindu

The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Congress of not even acknowledging the existence of the tribal population in the country in the past 60 years.

BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi during an election rally. File photo: Shanker Chakravarty

The Gujarat Chief Minister was addressing a gathering of people from a tribal belt in Rajasthan’s Banswara district, some 500 km from state capital Jaipur.

Rajasthan will go to the polls December 1 to elect new members to with its 200-seat assembly.

“The tribal population exists in this country since the time of Ramchandraji. It existed during the Independence struggle. Everyone but the Congress is aware of the existence of the tribes for centuries,” Mr. Modi said.

Mr. Modi said that it was former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who brought a tribal ministry into being, and also allocated a separate budget for tribals.

“Congress doesn’t consider tribal people as humans. For them, it is just a vote bank,” Mr. Modi said.

“They keep screaming about irrelevant things, but they don’t talk about inflation. Congress had promised to contain inflation in 100 days, but nothing happened,” he said.

“Did Sonia, Manmohan or Rahul speak or mention anything about rising prices in their speeches?” he asked.

Mr. Modi also referred to union Law Minister Kapil Sibal’s statement, claiming that the prices of vegetables have risen because the poor are able to purchase them, and demand for these has gone up.

“A senior minister of the Congress party said a couple of days ago that the poor used to eat chapatis without vegetables but they are now affording to eat two dishes of vegetables. He termed it the reason for rising inflation,” said Mr. Modi.

Mr. Modi referred again to Mr. Rahul Gandhi as Shahzada, and said that the All India Congress Committee vice president usually spoke of the poor, but there are slum areas near his own house in Delhi.

“These slum areas fall in the constituency of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit. The conditions are so pathetic at these places that there are only two toilets for 200 people,” Mr. Modi said.

Mr. Modi will address three more election rallies in Rajasthan on Sunday.

via Congress did nothing for tribals: Modi – The Hindu.

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