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Tag: Congress

  • Uyughur woman, teacher testify of torture, brainwashing in Chinese camps to US Congress

    Uyughur woman, teacher testify of torture, brainwashing in Chinese camps to US Congress

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    Washington: Two women who say they experienced and escaped Chinese “re-education camps” have provided first-hand testimony to members of the US Congress, giving harrowing detail while imploring Americans not to look away from what Washington has declared a continuing genocide of Muslim ethnic minorities.

    Testifying before a special House committee on Thursday, Gulbahar Haitiwaji, an Uyghur woman, said that during her nearly three years in internment camps and police stations, prisoners were subjected to 11 hours of “brainwashing education” each day, the Guardian reported.

    It included singing patriotic songs and praising the Chinese government before and after meals.

    Haitiwaji said detainees were punished for speaking in Uyghur and endured routine interrogations during which they were hooded and shackled to their chairs.

    On one occasion, she said, she was chained to her bed for 20 days.

    Female prisoners were told they would be vaccinated, when they were being sterilised, the Guardian reported.

    “There are cameras all over the camp,” Haitiwaji said. “Our every move was monitored.”

    She said in written testimony that after her head was shaved, she had a feeling of “losing my sense of self, losing my ability to even remember the faces of my family members”, the Guardian reported.

    Qelbinur Sidik, a member of China’s ethnic Uzbek minority who is now a human rights activist living in the Netherlands, told of being coerced by Chinese authorities into teaching classes at one of China’s internment camps.

    Through a translator, she described the detention facilities as “like a war zone” with razor wire fencing and armed guards.

    Sidik recalled hearing the “horrible screaming sounds” of Uyghur prisoners as they were tortured, the Guardian reported.

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    #Uyughur #woman #teacher #testify #torture #brainwashing #Chinese #camps #Congress

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Rahul conviction: Congress calls meeting of senior leaders

    Rahul conviction: Congress calls meeting of senior leaders

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    New Delhi: The Congress party has called a meeting of its steering committee members, senior leaders, state chiefs and legislative party leaders on Friday to devise a strategy after Rahul Gandhi’s conviction by a Surat court.

    The party has planned mega protests in the coming days, taking all like-minded parties along.

    Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, has also called a meeting of the opposition parties on Friday, following which the MPs will march to the Vijay Chowk.

    On the same evening, all the state Congress presidents and legislative party leaders will meet to chalk out plans for nationwide protests.

    According to sources, the Congress leadership has also sought time to meet President Droupadi Murmu on this issue.

    The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Congress MPs and steering committee members held at Kharge’s residence on Thursday evening.

    Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “This is not just a legal issue, but political as well since the ruling party wants to intimidate the opposition leaders.”

    On Thursday morning, Rahul Gandhi was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname. The Congress leader, however, was granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to allow him to appeal the Surat court verdict.

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    #Rahul #conviction #Congress #calls #meeting #senior #leaders

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Congress stages protest in Hyderabad over Surat court’s verdict against Rahul

    Congress stages protest in Hyderabad over Surat court’s verdict against Rahul

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    Hyderabad: Congress staged a silent protest in Hyderabad against the Surat court sentencing Rahul Gandhi to two years imprisonment in a defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark made in 2019.

    Senior leaders of Telangana Congress, Youth Congress, National Students Union of India and party’s Mahila Morcha staged silent protest in front of Gandhi Bhavan in the city.

    Telangana Congress vice president Chamala Kiran Kumar said, “Surat court sentenced Rahul Gandhi for two years. Earlier during the Congress rule, we have given ample space for opposition parties to talk on behalf of the people. Rahul Gandhi had spoken two years back against the scam happening in the country related to Gujrat and related to the name ‘Modi’.”

    “So he was not intentionally talking but talking on behalf of the people as a public representative. This verdict is nothing but shows democracy is in danger. Colonial rule is coming back after 75 years in this country. So we staged a silent protest against the verdict,” he added.

    Speaking to ANI, Telangana Congress Mahila Morcha president Sunitha Rao stated that allegations against Rahul Gandhi are baseless and the verdict came on the instructions of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Centre.

    “The verdict on Rahul Gandhi has come on the instruction of PM Modi. So we Mahila Congress condemn the verdict that has come against Rahul Gandhi. It is a baseless allegation they made,” Rao said.

    Congress leader Pushpaleela said that the BJP is scared of Rahul Gandhi. She said Rahul Gandhi is working for the poor of the country.

    “They are scared as the elections are coming close. If we are stopped, then it will become easy for them. We have people with us. In the 8-year BJP rule, everything has become zero,” she added.

    A Surat court on Thursday sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years imprisonment in a defamation case filed against him over his ‘Modi surname’ remark made in 2019 during an election rally for Lok Sabha elections.

    The court approved Rahul Gandhi’s bail on a surety and stayed the sentence for 30 days to allow him to approach the higher courts.

    While the BJP leaders attacked Rahul Gandhi after the verdict saying whatever he speaks it affects the Congress party and the country in a negative way, Congress leaders said that an attempt was being made by the BJP government to suppress the voice of Rahul Gandhi and that he will move the higher courts against the verdict.

    Congress leaders also alleged that the judiciary is under pressure.

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    #Congress #stages #protest #Hyderabad #Surat #courts #verdict #Rahul

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Congress is kinda lame, TikTok-verse decides

    Congress is kinda lame, TikTok-verse decides

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    2023 0323 tik tok 11 francis 1

    For a lot of those watching — and live-tweeting, or replying on TikTok itself – the spectacle looked like a CEO being hectored by out-of-touch legislators over issues that plenty of companies face.

    It’s a common theme that Congress can look out of touch on technology in social media hearings — it’s a critique that comes up whenever tech executives get hauled in front of committees. The questioners themselves make easy targets for tech-savvy watchers.

    There are reasonable arguments, of course, that lawmakers don’t need to be tech experts to make effective laws. But a key twist, this time, was China.

    Behind all the questions about kids’ safety and misinformation, a central thread of the hearing was that TikTok is owned by a Chinese parent company, and its data might — might — end up in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. Or might be there right now.

    Politically, this feels like a winning issue in Washington. But it also struck a lot of TikTok users and tech insiders as pretty alienating — even xenophobic:

    Even the founder of Parler chimed in:

    Does it matter what TikTok users think of Congress? It might, if Congress cracks down and the app’s loyal users get mad.

    It probably won’t in the near term: the House has little authority and less willpower to do something right now, and on the one Senate bill that might make a difference to social-media regulation, House members haven’t even even picked up the pen to write their own draft.

    And in the bigger war of political theater versus real public opinion, aggressive questioning of the TikTok CEO won them very few fans anywhere else. Across the political spectrum, those watching — from a Bernie supporter to a MAGA supporter — pointed out how little Shou Zi Chew was actually allowed to say without being cut off (even when the question was relevant to TikTok). A prominent influencer made a TikTok about it. Rep. Maxwell Frost and a Gen Z activist both called out the performative nature of the hearing.

    Call it, at best, a generational draw. Chew’s performance did not sway the House Energy and Science Committee — but they didn’t come across well to their digital audience either.



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    #Congress #kinda #lame #TikTokverse #decides
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Congress plans mega protests against Rahul’s conviction

    Congress plans mega protests against Rahul’s conviction

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    New Delhi: Following senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction by a Surat court in a criminal defamation case on Thursday, the party has planned mega protests in the coming days, taking all like-minded parties along.

    Congress President and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, has called a meeting of the opposition parties on Friday, following which the MPs will march to the Vijay Chowk. On Friday evening, all the state Congress Presidents and legislative party leaders have been called for a meeting to chalk out plans for nation-wide protests.

    According to sources, the Congress leadership has also sought time to meet President Droupadi Murmu on this issue.

    The decisions were taken at a meeting of Congress MPs and steering committee members held at Kharge’s residence.

    Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “This is not just a legal issue, but political as well since the ruling party wants to intimidate the opposition leaders.”

    On Thursday morning, Rahul Gandhi was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname. The Congress leader, however, was granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to allow him to appeal the Surat court verdict.

    The case was filed against Rahul Gandhi by BJP MLA and ex-Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for saying “how come all thieves have the common surname Modi” while campaigning in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

    Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “This government is clearly relying on one set of tactics to throttle opposition voices inside the Parliament, and a second set of tactics outside it. So if you say something outside the Parliament, they wouldn’t allow the House to run.”

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    #Congress #plans #mega #protests #Rahuls #conviction

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Paper leak case: KTR sends legal notice to Congress, BJP leaders

    Paper leak case: KTR sends legal notice to Congress, BJP leaders

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    KTR shares old video of BJP Telangana chief after he hails 'RRR's Oscar win

    Hyderabad: Telangana’s cabinet minister K.T. Rama Rao on Thursday sent legal notice to state Congress chief A. Revanth Reddy and BJP president Bandi Sanjay for making baseless allegations against him in the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) paper leak case.

    KTR said he sent legal notice to Congress and BJP leaders for dragging his name into the paper leak case to drive political mileage and defame the government.

    The minister slammed both the leaders for being ignorant of the fact TSPSC is a Constitutional body and it works independently.

    KTR said TSPSC was formed to independently conduct exams for recruitment of government employees with no role for the government but ignoring these facts, Bandi Sanjay and Revanth Reddy hatched a conspiracy by projecting as if the exams are conducted by the government.

    The minister made it clear that he would not tolerate such cheap attempts to drag his name into the case for political mileage.

    The BRS leader said with their ridiculous statements in the past both Bandi Sanjay and Revanth Reddy had become a laughing stock in the public.

    KTR alleged that Congress and BJP were spreading lies with a conspiracy to stop the process of recruitment of employees.

    He said the same leaders had earlier stated that the job notifications issued by the government are a conspiracy and had appealed to youth to leave the exams and join them in politics.

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    #Paper #leak #case #KTR #sends #legal #notice #Congress #BJP #leaders

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Does Congress want complete freedom for Rahul to abuse people: BJP

    Does Congress want complete freedom for Rahul to abuse people: BJP

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    New Delhi: The BJP Thursday asserted that the law will take its course if Rahul Gandhi abuses people and slammed the Congress over its criticism of his conviction in a defamation case, asking whether the opposition party wants “complete freedom” for him to “abuse” others.

    BJP leader and former law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hit out at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for questioning the court’s order by reportedly noting that several judges hearing the matter were changed.

    Making such comments show that the party does not believe in the judiciary, he said and asked, “Does it want to keep even the judiciary even in its pocket.”

    Asked whether Rahul Gandhi will be disqualified from the Lok Sabha, Prasad said it is for Speaker Om Birla to decide.

    A court in Surat in Gujarat on Thursday sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his “Modi surname” remarks.

    The case was filed against Gandhi for his alleged “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remarks on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.

    Prasad said Gandhi insulted people with Modi surname with his comments, asserting that it is very much defamatory. His lawyers argued before the court before the verdict was given, he said, noting that a similar case against the Congress leader is also proceeding at a court in Patna filed by BJP leader Sushil Modi.

    Prasad accused Gandhi of insulting people by citing their caste.

    In a swipe at Gandhi for his comments after the conviction that he believes in truth and non-violence, he asked if this means insulting people by targeting them for their surname.

    “Does Congress want Rahul Gandhi to have complete freedom to abuse people? There is rule of law in the country and it will prevail,” he said, alleging the former Congress president has a history of making defamatory comments and unfounded allegations.

    “The law of India has it that if an individual or an organisation has been defamed with scurrilous statements, scandalous comments, abuses or any defamatory remarks, then he has a right to seek redress. But the Congress party has an objection. It wants complete freedom for Rahul Gandhi to throw abuses,” Prasad said.

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    #Congress #complete #freedom #Rahul #abuse #people #BJP

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Connect with people during Ramzan: Telangana Congress’ minorities dept asks cadre

    Connect with people during Ramzan: Telangana Congress’ minorities dept asks cadre

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    Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) minorities department chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail on Wednesday directed the district units of the department to intensify their activities in view of forthcoming Assembly elections.

    He was addressing the Quarterly Review Meeting with Chairmen of all district units and State office bearers at Gandhi Bhavan on Wednesday. He said that AICC minorities department chairman Imran Pratapgarhi and Telangana in charge Farhan Azmi have directed that all district units should actively participate in the Congress party’s programmes especially the ongoing Haath Se Haath Jodo Yatra across Telangana.

    Abdullah Sohail asked the party cadre to connect with the people during the holy month of Ramzan. He also asked them to compile district-wise information about minority candidates who were denied subsidised loans, 2BHK units, pensions and other benefits by the BRS Govt. He said that the Congress party would approach all those candidates and aspirants who were deceived by BRS Govt in the last 9 years.

    “In the first tenure, BRS government received loan applications from 1.54 lakh jobless youth. But it did not provide them with a single rupee. Those applications were later thrown in a dustbin. More than 2.16 lakh jobless youth applied for loans when fresh applications were called recently. With a budget of just Rs 120 crore, BRS Govt could give loans to lucky 12,000 applicants through a draw of lots. The remaining ‘unlucky’ candidates will get nothing. Congress party will meet those ‘unlucky’ candidates to tell them that their luck got infected after BRS came to power. In order to change their luck, they must change the government and bring Congress party back to power,” he said.

    Similarly, Congress activists would meet the applicants of the 2BHK scheme to expose how BRS government ‘cheated’ them. “We will also give an assurance that they will be provided housing after Congress party comes to power in the next elections,” he said.

    Abdullah Sohail said that the minorities department of the Congress party would focus on nearly 40 minority-concentrated seats, including 15 seats in the Hyderabad district. He said it has been decided to fill all the posts in the organization in the next month and an aggressive campaign would be launched immediately after Eid-ul-Fitr.

    The Congress leader also announced that the TPCC minorities department would launch a series of chargesheets highlighting the failures of the BRS Govt in minorities’ welfare. He said that the first chargesheet was likely to be released by this month’s end.

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    #Connect #people #Ramzan #Telangana #Congress #minorities #dept #asks #cadre

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Key BJP leader Baburao Chinchansur joins Congress just before Karnataka polls

    Key BJP leader Baburao Chinchansur joins Congress just before Karnataka polls

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    Bengaluru: Two days after resigning from the Karnataka legislative council, BJP legislator Baburao Chinchansur on Wednesday joined the Congress.

    Two weeks ago, another BJP legislator, Puttanna, too had resigned from the council and the party, and joined the Congress.

    Chinchansur, who had played a key role in the defeat of Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge from Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency in 2019, returned today to the Kharge-led Congress.

    According to Congress state president D K Shivakumar, Chinchansur had expressed his desire to join the party on Ugadi, the new year day observed according to the Hindu calendar in Karnataka.

    “Today, Baburao Chinchansur who comes from Mallikarjun Kharge’s home district has joined the Congress reposing faith in Kharge’s leadership. I welcome him to the party,” Shivakumar said.

    Chinchansur had been a Congress man till 2018 and served as a minister in the Siddaramaiah government from 2013 to 2016. After his defeat in the 2018 assembly election, he joined the BJP and played a key role in defeating Kharge at the hands of BJP candidate Umesh Jadhav.

    Besides lauding the leadership of Kharge, Chinchansur also expressed his gratitude to Shivakumar. “For the favour he has done for me, I will remain indebted to him in my next seven births,” Chinchansur said.

    He also vowed that he would ensure that the Congress would win at least 20 to 25 seats in the Kalyana Karnataka region bordering Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the upcoming assembly elections.

    “I will demonstrate the strength of Baburao Chinchansur to the people of Karnataka in 2023,” the new entrant to the Congress said.

    To a question regarding his differences with Kharge, Chinchansur said his fight with the Congress president was like the one between a father and a son, which has now been resolved.

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    #Key #BJP #leader #Baburao #Chinchansur #joins #Congress #Karnataka #polls

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Why is Kavitha not arrested yet, asks Telangana Congress leader

    Why is Kavitha not arrested yet, asks Telangana Congress leader

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    Hyderabad: Telangana Congress campaign committee chairman Madhu Goud Yaskhi on Tuesday sought to know why Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K Kavitha, who is being questioned in the Delhi Excise policy case, has not been arrested so far.

    His reactions came hours after K Kavitha was summoned for her third round of questioning in the case.

    Speaking to ANI, Yashki said, “When the beneficiary was arrested Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia, other culprits were arrested, why the kingpin who supposedly held 65 per cent of stake, and the co-accused gave a statement that there were benamis to K Kavitha. Why is she not arrested so far?”

    Kavitha on Tuesday said that she submitted all the phones she used so far as she went for the third round of questioning in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) New Delhi office.

    The BRS leader ahead of a third round of questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi Excise policy-linked money laundering case on Tuesday, also showed mediapersons the mobile phones she used.

    On Monday, the BRS MLC was grilled by the ED for almost ten hours in New Delhi.

    Yashki further backed Rahul Gandhi over his remarks about Indian democracy in the UK, and said that the Congress leader said nothing that demeaned India.

    “I was a live witness, I travelled with Mr Gandhi to London. All Rahul Gandhi said and questioned about Freedom of speech being suppressed, and that the democratic institutions under the current government in Delhi are also being suppressed, and the fundamental rights of the people are being suppressed. He said nothing demeaning India,” he said.

    Gandhi alleged that various institutions in the country were under threat.

    “It shocked me how successful they have been at capturing the different institutions of our country. Press, Judiciary, Parliament, and Election Commission are all under threat and are controlled in one way or the other,” Rahul Gandhi said.

    Previously, during the interaction at the Chatham House in London recently, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the microphones of Opposition leaders in Parliament are often silenced. He attacked the BJP-led government at the Centre and levelled several allegations.

    He also termed the RSS a “fundamentalist” and “fascist” organisation alleging that it has captured pretty much all of India’s institutions.

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    #Kavitha #arrested #asks #Telangana #Congress #leader

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )