Jairam Ramesh says Congress will not extend 'blind support' to Aam Aadmi Party

December 26, 2013

Jairam_RameshRanchi, Dec 26: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said the party is not blindly supporting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the formation of next government in Delhi, and called for a programme or a committee to look into the coordination between the two parties.

“It is unfortunate but true that the voters in Delhi against the Congress. We did not get the mandate as it was against us. Extending support to the AAP is different issue and it is not decided by me. It is decided by the party high command. A final decision is taken after considering all the issues. All this is done by party high command,” said Jairam.

“But when we extend support to some other party, then there should be some programme or committee to look after the coordination between the parties. It is not that we will close our eyes and will give support blindly to the other party,” he added.

“There are different opinions in the party and this is what Janardhan Dwivedi has conveyed.

Few leaders want us to continue support and few are against this decision. So, a final decision will be taken soon,” he said.

Congress leader Janardhan Dwivedi on Tuesday admitted that a group within the Congress thinks we shouldn't have extended support to the AAP.

"There were divergent views within the Congress on extending support to the Aam Aadmi Party. There is an opinion in the Congress that the decision to support AAP was not correct," Dwivedi said.

"It is true that there are certain opinions in the party that we should not have extended support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi. The reason behind this is that the voters of Delhi did not support Congress to such an extent that we did not even come up as the main opposition," he added.

The Congress general secretary further said: "Since now a proposal (to support AAP) has already been made, we have to carry on with that as well. Perhaps we will have to find out a middle path.

Several Congress workers had earlier protested in front of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) headquarters against the decision of the party to support the AAP.

The workers also burnt effigies of Kejriwal, protesting against the abusive language used by several AAP leaders.

In a letter written to the Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung, the Congress, which has 8 MLAs, decided to extend unconditional support to the AAP, which have 28 MLAs, to form the next government in Delhi.

On Monday, Kejriwal met Lt. Governor Jung and staked a claim to form the next government in Delhi with Congress support.

The AAP had bagged 28 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly. The BJP had emerged as the single largest party by winning 31 seats while the Congress had stood a poor third with eight seats.

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News Network
July 19,2020

New Delhi, Jul 19: Blaming the BJP for the political drama in Rajasthan, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday asked Sachin Pilot not to leave the grand old party.

In an interview to news agency, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said Pilot should not follow Jyotiraditya Scindia into the BJP, as he has bright future in Congress.

His remarks follow Pilot's open rebellion against the Ashok Gehlot government, which has been on shaky ground with at least 18 legislators backing the rebel leader.

Pilot was sacked as Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the state Congress chief recently and the Congress has accused the BJP of making efforts to topple the Gehlot-led government by indulging in horse-trading.

"The BJP is behind the crisis in Rajasthan," Singh said.

The Congress veteran said he tried to call Pilot but his calls and text messages went unanswered.

"Age is on your side. Ashok (Gehlot) may have offended you, but all such issues are best resolved amicably. Dont make the mistake that Scindia made. BJP is unreliable. Nobody who joined it from any other party has succeeded there," Singh said.

He said this is the first time that Pilot hasn't responded to him.

"Sachin is like my son. He respects me and I also like him. I called him three-four times and also texted him. He didn't revert. He used to respond immediately earlier," he said.

"It is good to be ambitious. How can one move forward without having ambitions, but along with ambition, one must also have commitment to your organisation, ideology and the nation," Singh said.

For latest updates on the Rajathan Political Crisis, click here

"I heard that he (Pilot) may form a new party. But what is the need for it. Has Congress not given him anything? He was made an MP at 26, a Union minister at 32, the state Congress president at 34 and deputy chief minister at 38. What else does he want? Time is on his side," Singh said.

If Pilot had any issue, then as the state party unit president, he should have called a meeting and discussed the matter, he said. Pilot could have involved Congress national general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande in talks with Gehlot to resolve differences, he added.

"If you have faith in your legislators, why have you have confined 18-19 of them in ITC Grand hotel at Manesar in Haryana," Singh said.

This is the same hotel where the BJP kept MLAs from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (during political dramas in those states), he said.

Pilot should forget whatever has happened, come back and sit across the table to discuss how Congress could be strengthened, he said

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News Network
March 26,2020

Jaipur, Mar 26: Two new COVID-19 positive cases were registered in Rajasthan taking the total number of coronavirus cases to 38 in the state.
The Union Health Ministry had on Wednesday reported 606 positive COVID-19 cases in India including 43 foreign nationals.

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Agencies
June 10,2020

New Delhi, Jun 10: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday brought back over 2,300 kg of polished diamonds and pearls worth Rs 1,350 crore of firms belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi from Hong Kong, officials said.

Out of the 108 consignments that landed at Mumbai, 32 belong to overseas entities "controlled" by Modi while the rest are of Mehul Choksi firms.

Both the businessmen are being probed by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with an over USD 2 billion alleged bank fraud at a PNB branch in Mumbai.

The valuables include polished diamonds, pearls and silver jewellery, and is worth Rs 1,350 crore. 

The ED completed "all legal formalities" with authorities in Hong Kong to bring back these valuables, the agency said.

These will formally seized under the PMLA now, it said.

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