Jairam Ramesh has taken over as the minister of state for power. According to him, the Tenth Five-Year Plan was a disaster in terms of capacity addition & so was the Ninth Plan. Of the target of around 41,000 Mw, only 23,000 Mw was added. In effect, the first 2 years will see an addition of almost the same capacity as the entire Tenth Plan. But achieving the Eleventh Plan target of 80,000 Mw is going to be a big challenge. He hopes to see at least 3-4 more projects in a year.
Terming the Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh as a 'holocaust', Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said the ultras resorted to such acts as they felt threatened with the pace of development work.
At the customary meeting ahead of the session beginning Monday, the opposition raised various issues, including voter roll revision in Bihar, the Pahalgam terror attack and Trump's 'ceasefire' claims.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, Ramesh said, has been a "real booster dose" for the public relationship of the Congress.
The petition was 'under process' to ascertain whether Ramesh occupied the NAC post after he became a Rajya Sabha member, sources said.
The delegations led by Baijayant Panda, Ravi Shankar Prasad (both Bharatiya Janata Party), Sanjay Kumar Jha (Janata Dal-United), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar) will visit a total of 32 countries and the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
Ramesh wants Maharashtra to be a pace setter.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that at a time when the BJP should be targeting Pakistan and terrorists, it is only interested in attacking the Congress.
A statement issued by the parliamentary affairs ministry earlier on Saturday said the all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations.
It was business as usual for Jairam Ramesh in his new rural development ministry where he held extensive meetings with officials on his first day that stretched past midnight.
The Congress party announced its intention to challenge the constitutionality of the recently passed Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the Supreme Court. AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh stated that the party will "very soon" file a petition, citing concerns about the bill's impact on constitutional principles. Ramesh highlighted the Congress's ongoing legal challenges against other legislation, including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), amendments to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, and changes to the Conduct of Election Rules. He emphasized the party's commitment to defending the Constitution's principles, provisions, and practices.
The opposition party's attack came after Shashi Tharoor, not part of the four leaders nominated by the Congress, was named as the head of a delegation to key partner countries to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism following Operation Sindoor.
In an interview with Suman Guha Mozumder, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh says a little less superiority and a little more humility on the part of India will serve us very well in the future.
The new rural development minister wants to use technology to force states to make payments. Critics suggest that he should fix existing problems first.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused the government of misleading the nation on the India-Pakistan conflict and demanded holding a special session of Parliament immediately, following Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan's acknowledgement of aircraft loss in the hostilities.
The caste and Below Poverty Line census has been suspended in the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh by Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, though it goes on nonstop in Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur also have simultaneous elections.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, calling it a direct assault on the values of the republic. The party accused the BJP of exploiting the tragedy to promote discord and polarization, while urging for unity and solidarity in the face of adversity. The CWC also demanded a comprehensive analysis of the intelligence failures and security lapses that led to the attack.
Ramesh sought to uphold the "prominence" of the Nehru-Gandhi family in the organisational matters in any sort of emerging situation.
"Both the Central and State governments have failed in saving the animal. Yet it appears to be a mystery. No bullet wound (was found)... I think there is a very preponderant possibility of poisoning," Ramesh said as he visited the sanctuary amidst the controversy over the government's tiger revival plan.
It seems odd that someone as erudite, articulate and suave as Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh should get entangled in to one controversy after another, in quick succession.
Jairam Ramesh said the Congress has to be the "fulcrum" of any Opposition alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections as it is the only political force with a pan-India presence.
Before the crucial United Nations conference on climate change in Copenhagen during December 2009, India is strengthening its argument to avoid any rigorous capping on its carbon emissions. Here, Minister of State Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh explains how forest cover of India will help.
In the first of a three-part interview, Jairam Ramesh, MoS, Environment and Forests, speaks about the meaning of the Copenhagen Accord.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Saturday acknowledged losses of aircraft in India's recent military hostilities with Pakistan but dismissed as 'absolutely incorrect' Islamabad's claim of downing six Indian fighter jets.
The Congress leadership is caught in a bind over Jairam Ramesh. While his support for a major Chinese telecom firm is being taken seriously by the party leadership, what has complicated the issue is the visit of President Pratibha Patil to China from May 26 on a five-day visit.
"Sir, my only purpose has been to open up windows of flexibility for India because the world is changing; different countries are taking different positions."
The Congress's second AICC session in Gujarat post-Independence is being held on the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's party presidency and the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Sources said the minister of state for power has resigned from the Union council of ministers to contest the elections. Ramesh is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh
The party's economic wizard will be fielded from Andhra Pradesh.
The latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24.
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has created a political buzz with his remark that ''election is not a beauty contest'' while commenting on reports on the pitching of Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi for the 2014 general elections by their respective parties.
Sources close to the top BJP leadership tell me that Tharoor has already had secret meetings with the BJP's top brass and is waiting patiently to make his next move, reports Ramesh Menon.
The Election Commission has issued a notice to Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh on a complaint seeking his disqualification as a Rajya Sabha member on the office of profit issue.
Speaking to Business Standard about the Land Acquisition Bill recently cleared by the Cabinet, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said though the farmers' protests in Uttar Pradesh provided the impetus, the Bill was as much a political response to a poll problem as a legal response to a social issue.
Days after he kicked up a row by stating that there are more temples than toilets in India, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday urged women not to get married into families that do not have toilets in their homes.
With this the only minister without a portfolio is Oscar Fernandes
The opposition party, however, said the four eminent Congress MPs and leaders who have been included at the instance of the Modi government will, of course, go with the delegations and make their contributions.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has sent a missive to the Comptroller and Auditor General, expressing concern over delayed audit reports adversely affecting the flagship National Rural Drinking Water Programme. In a personal letter to CAG Vinod Rai, he has drawn attention to the ministry not being able to release funds to the states as they are not submitting audits of accounts of grants-in-aid along with the utilisation certificates.
In a strongly worded letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Congress' Jairam Ramesh accused him of distorting facts.
Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has asked Indians not to blindly follow the American lifestyle which according to him is a 'recipe for disaster'.
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