As Election 2024 hurtles towards result day in a medley of mangalsutra, mujra, mutton, machli and other barbs, these may sound like character names from Hindi comics of yore. Instead, these are the mocking, sometimes vicious monikers given by political rivals to each other.
The Congress on Friday claimed that a 'silent undercurrent' is brewing across western Uttar Pradesh against the 'failures' of the Modi government, as it flagged issues such as 'neglect' of sugarcane farmers and examination paper leaks.
Maintaining that the INDIA alliance is for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and not for assembly polls in any state, the Congress on Friday asserted that the opposition bloc of 27 parties exists and will fight together.
Serious differences have emerged between India and Australia over the direction of talks at the climate summit in Copenhagen with Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh lashing out at Canberra, dubbing it as an "ayatollah" for its one-track approach.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said three months before the five state elections, where the 'BJP is staring at certain defeat', and six months before the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is literally clutching at straws.
Congress strategist and Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh in an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN has said that the 2014 general elections are not a battle between Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.
'We could of course call ourselves the Alliance for Betterment, Harmony And Responsible Advancement for Tomorrow (BHARAT). Then perhaps the ruling party might stop this fatuous game of changing names'
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday termed as "deeply disturbing" Narendra Modi-led BJP's massive victory in the Lok Sabha polls and said that "very difficult days" are ahead if he rules India the way he governed Gujarat.
Sources said the leaders during the meeting discussed the possible reasons for the "unexpected" results in Haryana and decided to set up the team to ascertain the reasons behind such results and also look into complaints of "discrepancies" in EVMs, as alleged by party candidates.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Wednesday announced five guarantees for women, including annual direct cash transfers of Rs 1 lakh to one woman from each of the country's poorest families and 50 per cent quota in all new recruitments in central government jobs.
At Copenhagen, attempts to arrive at a fair deal on climate change were deadlocked with countries refusing to budge from their positions on sticky issues like emission cuts. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, who is leading the Indian delegation, said the BASIC group -- comprising India, China, South Africa and Brazil -- "is united and we would like to reiterate that we want an equitable and fair agreement to emerge out of the summit".
Opposition leaders have slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party over its Lok Sabha member Ramesh Bidhuri, who is in the eye of a storm for his derogatory comments against Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali, being given poll responsibility by the party in Rajasthan's Tonk district.
The insensitive babus were not bothered and the politicians knew the tigers do not vote.... Please cancel the tiger as India's national animal as we are shamefully and disgustingly incapable of protecting the sanctity of its habitat.
While a tweet from a close aide of the Gandhi's and the Chief Whip of the party in Rajya Sabha, Jairam Ramesh took a dig on Azad for accepting the award, Congress stalwarts from the G-23 group have congratulated him for the 'well-deserved' award.
Veteran Communist leader and former Chief Minister of Kerala, V S Achuthanandan turned 98 on Wednesday.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had on Sunday said his party has always believed that the legitimate aspirations of the people of Palestine must be fulfilled through dialogue while ensuring the national security interests of the Israelis.
Our native brinjal has a medicinal value and once there is contamination, the medicinal value in the natural brinjal will automatically be lost.
The Congress will begin the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from the violence-hit Manipur on Sunday, in what is being seen as the party's bid to set the narrative in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls and put the spotlight on issues such as unemployment, price rise and social justice.
"Jairam Ramesh may not be the only minister to resign from the government and join the party for election work. You will know in the next one or two days", Sonia Gandhi said, minutes after attending the valedictory function of the 14th Lok Sabha where the strains of Vande Mataram brought the curtains down on five eventful years of the Congress heading the United Progressive Alliance coalition government.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said like other states, the BJP started the game of using money power, power of the government and muscle power to destabilise the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh but has failed.
Congress leader KC Venugopal said the opposition meeting is going to be a game changer for Indian political scenario
Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee will not be part of the virtual meeting on Saturday morning as she is preoccupied with prior engagements, they said.
The Congress on Wednesday asserted that the only way to comprehensively investigate the Adani issue is through a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) and claimed that the Supreme Court-appointed expert committee would be a 'clean chit' panel for the government.
Posting a picture of Gandhi walking with the girl wearing a hijab, Patra tweeted in Hindi, "When votes are accounted for on the basis of religion then it is called appeasement."
'Ashok Gehlot is a senior and experienced political leader. Whatever differences he has expressed with his younger colleague Sachin Pilot will be resolved in a manner that strengthens the Congress party,' All India Congress Committee general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh said in a statement.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi is likely to contest from Rae Bareli, but a final call is yet to be taken by the first family of the Congress.
Gandhi asserted that the Congress is going to defeat the BJP and its ideology.
Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Surjewala may attend the meeting on behalf of the party.
Soon after the suspension of 33 opposition Lok Sabha MPs, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said all democratic norms have been thrown into the dustbin by this "autocratic" government and it has shown zero accountability towards Parliament.
Government sources said Modi will also chair meetings to review the aftermath of the Cyclone Remal, especially in the north east region hit by natural disasters.
X claimed that the video in the social media posts which Sharma seeks to remove from its platform matches with his channel India TV's own livestream and is prima facie "authentic".
Three of the cheetahs have been born in June 2020, comprising two female and one male, while the second oldest of the lot is seven years and ten months old, they added.
A delegation of Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala, Abhishek Singhvi and Syed Naseer Hussain met the Election Commission and handed over a memorandum with complaints of alleged model code violations by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Renowned economist Arjun Sengupta and Congress Economic Affairs Secretary Jairam Ramesh are among the front-runners for the post of Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, which fell vacant following the resignation of K C Pant.
The Congress on Wednesday released a list of 40 leaders who would be the party's star campaigners for the May 10 assembly elections.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Monday dared the opposition to share evidence of allegations that returning officers and district magistrates were influenced to vitiate the poll process so the panel could take action against them.
Kharge alleged that Dhankhar is working as a government spokesperson and acting like a school headmaster, often sermonising experienced opposition leaders and preventing them from speaking in the House.
The satyagraha will begin at 10 AM and end at 5 PM on Sunday.
"Rahul Gandhi is de facto Congress chief but he should become de jure" and make the party battle ready without waiting for anti-incumbency to build up against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said.
"This is ENTIRE political science," Jairam Ramesh said apparently taking a dig at PM Narendra Modi.