Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday alleged that officials of Union Ministry of Environment and Forests took bribes from the state's mine-owners before Jairam Ramesh took over the ministry.
Ramesh, however, said it was too early to talk about all this right now as the Congress' first priority was the upcoming elections in Karnataka and the string of state polls this year.
The government will send seven all-party delegations to key partner countries, including members of the United Nations Security Council, later this month to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
Inclusion of human pathogens in biodiversity and the use of derivatives of bio-resources are the non-negotiables for India at the upcoming Convention on Biological Diversity, wherein the country plans to fight for a legally-binding agreement on biodiversity.
The Congress on Monday distanced itself from the controversial comments of some of its leaders on the Pahalgam terror attack, saying that only the recent CWC resolution and the views expressed by AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and authorised AICC office-bearers represent its position. The opposition party's assertion comes in the wake of remarks by leaders like Vijay Wadettiwar, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Shashi Tharoor, Tariq Hameed Karra and Saifuddin Soz that have triggered a row, with the BJP alleging that some from the opposition party were speaking "Pakistan's language".
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday attacked the media for reporting that he had offered to quit the government and work for the party, calling it "juvenile" and refusing to answer any political questions.
Soros, a Hungarian-American political activist, and his organisations like OSF have been accused by the ruling BJP of acting against India's interests. His utterances during the Adani-Hindenburg controversy also drew criticism from the party.
Opposing 'regularisation of illegality' which he described as 'a peculiar Indian characteristic', Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday said that many times he too has been forced to compromise in cases of violations of green norms.
Union Minister Jairam Ramesh is back in the Congress's high-profile Group on Future Challenges, which also has Rahul Gandhi as its prominent member. Ramesh, who was earlier the convener of the Group, was dropped after its first meeting late last year, without any official explanation. Confirming his return, senior party leader M Veerappa Moily, who heads the panel said, "Ramesh is now a member of the group".
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, who has been under fire over his comments on the home ministry's stance on China, has offered to resign.But the Congress top brass has refused to accept his resignation, sources said. Ramesh got into trouble after he criticised the home ministry of being 'overly defensive' and 'alarmist' in its approach towards the entry of Chinese companies in India, while on a visit to Beijing last week.
In a major setback to the opposition INDIA bloc, Banerjee announced that her party has decided to go alone in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh hit out at Opposition-backed candidate P A Sangma and one of his key backers Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for playing the tribal card in the Presidential polls.
"The Modi government's approach to the entire crisis could be described as DDLJ: Deny, Distract, Lie and Justify," Ramesh said.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma has rejected the opposition's move to impeach Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, calling it an attempt to disrupt House proceedings. Sharma claims there are no valid grounds to impeach Dhankhar, who is also the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The opposition parties submitted a notice to move a motion for removing Dhankhar for allegedly conducting the Upper House in a partisan manner. However, Sharma defended Dhankhar's conduct and asserted that he has been impartial in his role as chairman.
In an unprecedented move which has left many red faces within the Congress party, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has publicly taken on the prime minister, the prime minister's office, and a senior party colleague alleging in black and white that under pressure he has to tolerate 'irregularities.'
The Kyoto Protocol is the "make or break" issue for UN climate talks in Cancun, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said, as he pointed not only Japan but many other countries are opposed to continuation of the treaty that legally binds industrialised nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The political and ideological differences between the Congress and Shashi Tharoor is no longer a matter of whispers.
Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a notice to move a motion for removing Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for allegedly conducting the House in a partisan manner.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh tendered written apologies to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for his recent remarks on the Union Home Ministry's functioning.
The opposition INDIA bloc is considering submitting a notice to move a resolution to remove Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar from office, sources said. The opposition had previously considered this in August but decided to give Dhankhar "another chance." The Congress is leading the charge, and the TMC and the Samajwadi Party are supportive. The decision comes after a contentious session in Rajya Sabha where BJP members protested alleged links between Congress leaders and George Soros.
The next Census' findings will help identify the extent of India's ageing population and vulnerability levels.
"This year the Ministry has received 579 proposals from all the State Governments under the National Afforestation Programme out of which 270 have been accorded sanction," Jairam said.
Kharge claimed that the wording as well as the tone and tenor of the remarks made by the Home minister "are clearly satirical and made in a very bad taste".
Agri export zones need to be replaced by a structure capable of pursuing a more pro-active marketing strategy and social organisation to increase agricultural exports and deliver benefits back to farmers.
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh for calling the former a 'super chief minister'.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Monday said he is not sure countries like the United States are prepared for sustainable development which for people of developing countries like India is a question of livelihood.
Noting Modi's "Har Ghar Tiranga" campaign, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X what he said is a "short history of the RSS's relationship with the Tiranga".
The Congress on Thursday accused the Modi government of aiding 'drain of wealth' from ordinary Indians to crony corporates, and said it will end this practice if it comes to power at the Centre.
Orissa can now divert forest land for the steel project.
Floor leaders of the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance met on Monday ahead of the start of Parliament's winter session and decided to raise the issue of alleged corruption in the Adani Group and demand a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the matter.11111111111111111111111111
While the tiger will most likely not go extinct in the next half-century, its current trajectory is catastrophic. A combination of poor governance, bureaucratic sloth and lack of leadership is leading us towards an ecological disaster.
In a 14-page letter to Mayawati, Ramesh cited the instances of alleged irregularities and corruption in implementation of the scheme in Balrampur, Gonda, Mahoba, Sonbhadra, Kushinagar, Mirzapur and Sant Kabir Nagar.
Raising questions over construction of Commonwealth Games Village and Akshardham Temple on the banks of the Yamuna River, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said the former should not have been given environmental clearance while the Temple never even applied for it.
Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh was on Sunday gheraoed in Hyderabad by people opposed to the introduction of Bt Brinjal in the country.The protesters from Left-affiliated farmers' outfits and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch raised slogans like 'Bt Go Back' and mobbed the minister on the dais at an event organised at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture in Hyderabad.
A notice issued on Monday to the Andhra Pradesh government to put on hold the government project is, in fact, meant to help out the Opposition-ruled states of Orissa and Chhattisgarh whose land is threatened to be submerged because of the project.
He described how India had negotiations with US for almost 36 hours over the words of the Accord.
A no-nonsense high profile minister, Ramesh, an IIT alumnus and an environmentalist, was perhaps the country's first independent thinking environment minister
Taking a dig at developments in the Bharatiya Janata Party, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh described Narendra Modi as 'Bhasmasur', a mythological character known for trying to destroy his creator, and said the Gujarat Chief Minister has "consumed" his mentor L K Advani.
Gandhi, who is being attacked by the BJP for his 'democracy under attack' in India remarks in the UK, had addressed a press conference in the national capital on Thursday, after being disallowed from defending himself inthe Lok Sabha and said if Indian democracy was functioning, he would be able to say his piece in Parliament, asserting that it is a 'test of democracy'.
The heightened activity on permissions to power and mining projects, which had been stuck for long, coincides with the run-up to a likely reshuffle of the council of ministers this month.
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