I’m a Brahmin & Congress’s general secretary: Rahul Gandhi to party

April 14, 2012

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New Delhi, April 14: Post Congress's poor show in UP, recrimination has been mixed with the hunt for a stable vote bank in a state where caste remains a key arbiter of power.

While UP Congress leaders are waiting to see how the party reinvents its caste appeal, the competition and jostling among social groups like OBCs, dalits and upper castes has become the party's focal point. The lament of Brahmin leaders has been particularly loud with Congress's minority-mandal push coming a cropper.

Matters came to an interesting point during a recent review meeting when the upper caste/Brahmin argument was invoked by a local UP leader saw Congress leader Rahul Gandhi rebutting the claim by remarking "I am a Brahmin...and general secretary in the party."

The comment was read as a counter to the argument that the party had ignored its traditional, albeit alienated base, in its quest to regain salience in UP. Although upper castes have lost their dominance in the state, leaders from these sections remain vocal and pushy in their advocacy.

A week after Rahul Gandhi conducted the review of the UP election, leaders are counting on two decisive steps for moving forward - action against non-performers and a clear idea on which social group to lean on. The urgency stems from the view that there should be enough time for party message to reach the grassroots for 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

The upper caste, OBC and dalit camps in Congress are vying for the leadership's attention. According to sources, Rahul's review saw leaders speaking of the need to fashion a "base vote" like Yadavs for Samajwadi Party and dalits in case of BSP. Upper castes felt Congress could not ignore its traditional catchment group, particularly as it has switched loyalties and seems open to being wooed.

The poll defeat seems to have complicated the Congress search for a social combination to renew its appeal among voters two decades after the Babri demolition pushed it to the margins. Congress pegged the election campaign on backwards and Muslims. Dalit leaders feel Rahul's strategy to win over key social group, initiated by his visits to their huts, would pay off in the long run. That has led to suspense over the Congress leadership's new choices.

The post-poll audit brought out common refrain from all contending groups: Congress needs a base vote. But sources said it was easier said than done to come up with a target constituency.

While backwards, including MBCs voted for SP, dalits stuck to BSP which, despite the scale of its defeat, was only 3% votes behind the winner. Thakurs, a dominant upper caste, sided with SP. In contrast, Congress bid to woo the Mandal classes, with steel minister Beni Prasad Verma being projected as a mascot of sorts, did not work while the approach put off upper castes.

Sources said the brainstorming evoked sharp reactions with senior leader Ram Lal Rahi saying that focusing on Jatavs and Yadavs was a waste of time as they were not ready to leave BSP and SP. Some others felt Congress needed to keep trying. A leader quoted an election survey to argue a section of Jatavs had left BSP.

No leader opposed the Muslim gambit but most felt it failed because the 4.5% quota was brought up too close to elections and the message did not percolate down to the masses.


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News Network
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he is "deeply grateful" for the overwhelming support shown by the global community for India''s membership of the UN Security Council.

India will work with all member countries to promote global peace, security, resilience and equity, he said.

India garnered 184 votes out of the 192 ballots cast in the General Assembly to win the election for the non-permanent seat in the powerful Security Council.

India''s two year term will begin on January 1, 2021.

This is the eighth time that India will sit at the UN high-table, which comprises five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members.

"Deeply grateful for the overwhelming support shown by the global community for India''s membership of the UN Security Council," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

India will work with all member countries to promote global peace, security, resilience and equity, he said.

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News Network
June 24,2020

Kolkata, Jun 24: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Tamonash Ghosh, who had tested positive for Covid-19 in May, died at a hospital here on Wednesday, party sources said.

He was 60.

The three-time MLA from the Falta assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district was admitted to a hospital after he tested positive for the disease, they said.

He had several complications related to the heart and the kidney, the sources said.

"Very, very sad. Tamonash Ghosh, 3-time MLA from Falta & party treasurer since 1998 had to leave us today. Been with us for over 35 years, he was dedicated to the cause of the people & party. He contributed much through his social work," West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee tweeted.

"He has left a void that will be difficult to fill. On behalf of all of us, heartfelt condolences to his wife Jharna, his two daughters, friends and well-wishers," she added.

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News Network
April 8,2020

New Delhi, Apr 8: The death toll due to the novel coronavirus rose to 149 and the number of cases to 5,194 in the country on Wednesday, according to the Union Health Ministry.

While the number of active COVID-19 cases is 4,643, as many as 401 people were cured and discharged and one had migrated, it said.

The total number of cases include 70 foreign nationals.

According to the ministry's data updated at 9 a.m., 25 new deaths have been reported since Tuesday.

Sixteen deaths were reported from Maharashtra, two each from Delhi, West Bengal, Haryana and Tamil Nadu and one from Andhra Pradesh.

Maharashtra has reported the most coronavirus deaths at 64, followed by Gujarat  and Madhya Pradesh at 13 each and Delhi at 9.

Telengana, Punjab and Tamil Nadu have reported seven fatalities each.

West Bengal has registered five deaths, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have reported four each, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan have recorded three deaths each.

Two deaths each have been reported from Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala.

Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha reported one fatality each, according to the health ministry data.

However, a PTI tally of figures reported by various states as on Tuesday 9.45 p.m. showed 5,192 testing positive across the country and at least 162 deaths.

There has been a lag in the Union Health Ministry figures, compared to the numbers announced by different states, which officials attribute to procedural delays in assigning the cases to individual states.

The highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 1018, followed by Tamil Nadu at 690 and Delhi with 576 cases.

Telengana has reported 364 COVID-19 cases followed by Kerala at 336.

Rajasthan has 328 cases, Uttar Pradesh has 326 and Andhra Pradesh reported 305 coronavirus cases.

Novel coronavirus cases have risen to 229 in Madhya Pradesh, 175 in Karnataka and 165 in Gujarat.

Haryana has 147 cases, Jammu and Kashmir has 116, West Bengal has 99 and Punjab has 91 positive patients so far. Odisha has reported 42 coronavirus cases.

Thirty- eight people were infected with the virus in Bihar while Uttarakhand has 31 patients and Assam 27.

Chandigarh  and Himachal Pradesh have 18 cases each while Ladakh has 14 positive patients so far.

Ten cases each have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Chhattisgarh. 

Goa has reported seven COVID-19 infections, followed by Puducherry at five cases. Jharkhand has reported four cases and Manipur two. 

Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported one case each.

"State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation," the ministry said on its website.

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