Tag: Ramesh

Karnataka needs performance not polarisation: Jairam Ramesh

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New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said that while the BJP was seeking votes in the Karnataka Assembly polls in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress had adopted the PM’s “vocal for local” slogan and was raising issues of the people of the state.
In an interview with PTI, Ramesh said Karnataka, after four years of the BJP rule, needs ‘Vitamin-P’ in which the P stands for “performance” of the Congress and not “polarisation” of the BJP.
Using armed forces’ terminology, Ramesh said the Congress is not worried about the “carpet bombing” campaign strategy of Prime Minister Modi and other senior BJP leaders as it has enough “anti-aircraft guns” to deal with it.

The more the carpet bombing campaign the BJP indulges in, the more clearly it indicates its “despair and desperation”, the Congress general secretary-in-charge of communications said.
Ramesh, who is a star campaigner for the party, said the Karnataka polls were about the BJP’s “threats” versus Congress’ governance guarantees.
He claimed that Congress would get a “clear majority” that would render “Operation Lotus” totally unnecessary.
Operation Lotus is the term used by opposition parties to describe what they call the “poaching” of MLAs by the BJP to topple state governments.
Asked about reports of former chief minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar looking to outdo each other for the post of CM, Ramesh said, “This time around, the dissidence in the Congress is at a minimum. There are only a few rebel independent candidates and many of them are withdrawing.”

“In any case, the dissidence in the Congress is nothing as compared with the dissidence in the BJP which has lost its former chief minister, deputy CM, members of the national executive and many other national, state and local level leaders,” Ramesh said.
He said five top Congress leaders – party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar – would probably cover the 224 constituencies among them during the campaign.
“So, I think we are presenting a united front and this I think is the impact of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Some people criticize the Bharat Jodo Yatra that it would not pay electoral dividends but I think the yatra is giving electoral dividends as it gave a sense of solidarity and a sense of purpose to the Congress,” he told PTI over the phone from Karnataka where he is on the campaign trail.
Today the story of Karnataka politics is the “dissidence and disunity” in the BJP, not in the Congress, he stressed.
“Right now everybody is focused on getting the Congress back to power. We are not focussing on individuals. This is not a beauty contest for individuals, this is a choice between political parties, a choice between competing ideologies, a choice between competing visions for Karnataka’s future,” Ramesh said.
Noting that the Karnataka electorate is very wise and knows whom to vote at which level, the Congress leader pointed out that it was not a vote to elect the prime minister but a vote to install a government in the state.
“I think we have taken the PM’s slogan more seriously than he has himself – ‘vocal for local’,” Ramesh said.
He said this time the Congress campaign has been very strategic and focussed on “vocal for local”.
“This is not a national election, it is an assembly election, and I think the BJP has tried to make the prime minister the issue. They are asking for votes in the name of Narendra Modi. What we have been saying is that you are electing MLAs, you are electing the party which will appoint a CM. This is for an engine in Bengaluru not an engine in Delhi,” Ramesh asserted.
This whole double engine argument of the BJP is “bogus”, particularly in Karnataka because 94 per cent of revenues generated for the state are its own or its share of central taxes which is constitutionally mandated, he said, adding that this is not a vote for a “double engine”.
“The BJP’s double engine is a bogus one, it is an engine of ‘garam hawa’ of economic growth, creating the illusion of economic growth, on one hand and the other engine of social polarization and divisive politics. The Congress is the only party that internalizes the double engine – the double engine of economic growth that is sustainable and equitable on the one hand, and the other engine of social harmony,” he said.
So the Congress’ is the real double engine, Ramesh stressed.
On the number of seats the Congress was likely to get, Ramesh said he did not wish to give a number but was confident of a clear majority that would render “Operation Lotus” totally unnecessary.
“In Chikkamagaluru district, where I am campaigning, we have only one assembly seat, but this time we are headed to get three or four out of a total of five seats,” Ramesh said.
He claimed that there is a “very strong current” in favour of the Congress and a widespread sentiment for change.
“I don’t agree with the assessment that it’s going to be a hung verdict. I think it is going to be a clear majority for the Congress. I think the type of campaigning the BJP is doing is just about polarization and harking back to divisive issues with which the people are fed up. You can’t do this over and over again,” he added.
On Kharge’s “poisonous snake” remark, Ramesh said the party chief has clarified that remark, as well as the context in which it was made.
“But what Mr. Basangouda Patil Yatnal said about former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was simply unacceptable. What do you make of the Union home minister (Amit Shah) coming and telling people that ‘if you vote for the Congress you will have communal riots’. What do you make of the BJP chief coming and saying that ‘if you vote for the Congress, the blessings of Mr. Modi are not going to be there’,” he said.
The people who have dragged the campaign down to this level are Home Minister Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the prime minister himself, he alleged.
Voting will take place in the state on May 10 and the results will be out on May 13.
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#Karnataka #performance #polarisation #Jairam #Ramesh
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 30, 2023
PM raising ‘tired themes’ in Karnataka, people will vote for Cong’s guarantees: Ramesh

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New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was playing the “victim card” and pleading for a “discredited” double-engine government in Karnataka but the people of the state have made their mind up to oust the BJP.
The opposition party also alleged that the first day of his campaign was about “despair and desperation” and he raised “tired themes”.
Launching his poll campaign from Humnabad in Bidar district, Modi trained his guns on the Congress over its president Mallikarjun Kharge’s ‘venomous snake’ barb at him, saying till now the opposition party and its leaders have hurled at him different abuses 91 times.

Reacting to it, AICC general secretary Communications Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter, “Predictably PM Modi has begun his much-delayed Karnataka campaign by playing the victim card, pleading for a completely discredited so-called ‘double engine’ sarkar and abusing Congress.”
“These will be his tired themes no doubt as he leaves the dirty tricks to Shah and Yogi to polarise,” the Congress leader alleged, targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
“The PM’s first day of campaigning in Karnataka is a story of 3 DEs. 1. Double Engine. 2. DEspair. 3. DEsperation.
“His speeches were full of Only Nataka, nothing concrete for people of Karnataka (sic),” Ramesh alleged.
Hitting out at the Congress, Modi, who was on his first visit to the state for campaigning after elections were declared on March 29, accused the party of abusing the dominant Lingayat community, Babasaheb Ambedkar and freedom fighter V D Savarkar.

The people will respond to its abuses with votes, and as much mud they sling at BJP, the lotus will bloom, he said.
“The Congress hates everyone who speaks about the common man, who brings out their corruption, who attacks their politics of selfishness. The Congress’ hate against such people will become permanent. In this election too, the Congress once again has started abusing me,” Modi said.
Earlier, Ramesh put out a tweet saying, “5 years ago in his Karnataka election campaign PM Modi did what comes naturally to him – lie”.
“Today he will do so again. But the people of Karnataka know better. They will vote for Congress guarantees, not for BJP threats,” he said.
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#raising #tired #themes #Karnataka #people #vote #Congs #guarantees #Ramesh
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 29, 2023
No country other than India has made its G20 presidency an ‘election campaign’: Jairam Ramesh

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New Delhi: Taking a swipe at the Narendra Modi government, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Friday that no other country has made its G20 presidency an “election campaign” as has been done by India.
“G20 has 19 countries + European Union as members. Its Annual Summit has been held in 17 countries & India is holding the 18th. No other country has made it an election campaign like India has, proving Mr. Advani’s insight on the man he prevented Mr. (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee from sacking,” he tweeted.
The Congress leader also attached a media report on BJP veteran L K Advani claiming in April 2014 that Narendra Modi was not his protege and was a “brilliant events manager”.
Prime Minister Modi had said earlier that India’s G20 presidency was a unique opportunity to showcase the country’s strengths to the entire world.
The G20 summit is not merely a diplomatic meeting, he had said, adding India takes it as a new responsibility and as the world’s trust in it.
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#country #India #G20 #presidency #election #campaign #Jairam #Ramesh

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 31, 2023
Jairam Ramesh seeks CBI probe into Amit Shah’s ‘Sangma govt most corrupt’ remark

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New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to summon Home Minister Amit Shah over his remark describing Meghalaya government headed by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, in its previous term, as “most corrupt” and to investigate the claim.
Attaching his letter to CBI Director Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, he tweeted: “I have written to the Director of CBI asking CBI to question the Home Minister further on his categorical assertion that Conrad Sangma’s Govt in Meghalaya was the most corrupt in the country
“That of course did not prevent BJP from supporting the same Conrad Sangma again”.
Ramesh, in his letter to Jaiswal, said that Shah had said in his public speech on February 17 that the then Meghlaya government headed by Sangma was the most corrupt government in the country.
“Amit Shah is also the Home Minister of India. In his capacity as the Home Minister, he would surely have had access to information and facts that led him to the above conclusion. For some inexplicable reasons, the Home Minister, who is also the former national President of Bharatiya Janata Party, has failed to act upon the information regarding the corrupt practices and instances of the then Meghalaya government,” he said.
Ramesh requested the CBI Director to summon Shah and ask him to submit all the information and facts that led him to state assessment and investigate the matter.
“We also urge you to investigate if the Home Minister of India was under any undue duress from his party or other forces, to suppress the information related to the corruption of Meghalaya, in order to enable his party Bharatiya Janata Party to support the same Chief Minister after the recent Meghalaya elections,” the letter said.
The Congress letter also attached media reports on Shah’s remarks during the campaigning for Meghalaya Assembly polls, held on February 27.

The Congress leaders in Meghalaya have been criticising the BJP for supporting a government led by National People’s Party chief Sangma even after terming the previous government led by the same party as the “most corrupt”.
The Congress also termed the NPP led coalition formed for the second consecutive term as a “marriage of convenience”.
The BJP with two MLAs is a part of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government dominated by the NPP, which secured 26 seats in the 60-member Assembly. Various other local parties are supporting the MDA government.
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#Jairam #Ramesh #seeks #CBI #probe #Amit #Shahs #Sangma #govt #corrupt #remark
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 23, 2023
UK govt failed miserably in its basic responsibility: Jairam Ramesh

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New Delhi: As the Punjab government cracks down on self-styled radical preacher Amritpal Singh, the tricolour flying atop the Indian High Commission in London was grabbed at by a group of protesters on Sunday, who were waving separatist flags and chanting pro-Khalistani slogans.
The Congress on Monday condemned the incident in London and blamed the UK government for failing to protect the Indian High Commission there.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “The pulling down of the national flag at the Indian High Commission in London by pro Khalistani elements is totally unacceptable and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The British government has failed miserably in its most basic responsibility and must be held accountable.”
Several opposition parties have said that the responsibility of protecting the Indian embassies and high commissions abroad lies with the host country, and the Indian government must take up the matter diplomatically with these countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia, the US etc.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, “This can’t be allowed and the External Affairs Ministry should take the matter to the host countries to protect the high commissions and embassies.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, “UK government should apologise to India and take action against the miscreants.”
Late on Sunday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had summoned the senior-most UK diplomat in India to lodge its protest after some pro-Khalistani groups allegedly took down the tricolour at the Indian High Commission in London.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had tweeted: “India lodges strong protest with the UK,” along with a MEA statement.

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#govt #failed #miserably #basic #responsibility #Jairam #Ramesh
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 20, 2023
No Opposition front is possible without Congress: Jairam Ramesh

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New Delhi: No Opposition front to take on the BJP is possible without the Congress and if a coalition is formed for the 2024 general elections, the party will have a central role in it, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said.
In an interview with PTI, Ramesh, however, said it was too early to talk about all this right now as the Congress’ first priority was the upcoming elections in Karnataka and the string of state polls this year.
Ramesh’s remarks come after both Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Uttar Pradesh’s Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) said the two parties would stay away from both the Congress and the BJP, and indicated possible talks with other regional players ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Asked whether the TMC and SP’s actions could jolt Opposition unity, Ramesh said, “The TMC, Samajwadi, people keep meeting, the Third Front, Fourth Front will continue to be formed, but it is necessary to have the Congress in the Opposition.”
“If an Opposition coalition is formed, the Congress will play a central role in it. No front is possible without the Congress. But it is too early to talk about this,” he told PTI.
First, there is an election in Karnataka. After that, there are elections in Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram, he noted.
“This year, we will be completely busy with state elections, we will see about 2024 elections later,” the former Union minister said.
“Right now meetings will continue, positioning will continue… ‘I will form a third front, I will form a fourth front, I will form a fifth front’, all this will continue,” he added.

Ramesh asserted that a strengthened Congress is necessary for any opposition alliance, but the party’s priority at the moment was the Karnataka elections, followed by the elections in other states.
“Our (party) president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leaders will work on whatever strategy has to be prepared and carry out talks with parties regarding the 2024 elections,” he said.
Asked whether the TMC staying away from protests by the Opposition on the Adani issue and the NCP not coming all out in support has dented the Opposition unity, he said, “No, I do not think so. The TMC may have its own logic, I do not want to say anything more than that.”
He said 16 political parties are united on the demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) did not sign the letter to the director of the Enforcement Directorate, but they were with us in spirit if not in body, he said.
“There are 16 parties and let me say one thing very categorically that the Supreme Court committee is no substitute for a JPC. The terms of reference of the Supreme Court committee are limited in scope, it is only a JPC that can unravel the full dimensions of this politico-economic scam,” he said on the Adani issue.
“Whatever Mr Adani has done in India and abroad, he has done with the full blessings, support and patronage of the prime minister. The Supreme Court-monitored inquiry is not going into any of these issues,” he said.
So far, the Congress party has raised 93 questions, soon we will be reaching 100, Ramesh noted, talking about the party’s ‘Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun’ series under which it has been asking questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Adani issue.
“We have raised 93 questions so far. Those types of questions which are highly minute, pointed, granular, and specific, go beyond the terms of reference of a Supreme court-monitored inquiry. So this JPC is absolutely essential. The Supreme Court inquiry is no substitute, it is only an attempt at legitimisation and exoneration,” Ramesh alleged.
Asked if attempts of a third front would undermine the fight against the BJP, Ramesh said right now the Congress is focused that its demand for JPC is met.
“Right now efforts are on to ensure that our voices get heard and this false propaganda and canards that are being spread, this intimidation, this harassment that is being attempted against Mr Gandhi particularly, we are able to counter. All other issues can wait,” he said.
Asked whether the Adani issue will resonate with the people on the ground, Ramesh said, “We have to do what we have to do.”
The party has held press conferences across the country, raised three questions daily over the last about 31 days and will continue to raise them, the Congress general secretary said.
“Mr Gandhi has spoken extensively on this in the Lok Sabha, Mr Kharge raised these issues extensively in the Rajya Sabha, although their remarks were subsequently expunged. So we will continue to do what we have to do. We believe these are fundamental issues,” he said.
The Congress believes in liberalisation and in giving full incentives to private companies and private entrepreneurs, he said.
“India’s economic growth is going to be fuelled by private investment, by entrepreneurs, by startups, but what the Congress party is against is this type of cronyism where one business group gets complete favourite treatment from the prime minister,” he said.
The Congress wants liberalisation, decontrol as the country needs faster exports, and vastly greater amounts of private investments, but it is against this type of blind privatisation which we have seen in the case of airports, he said.
On disruption rather than debate becoming the norm, Ramesh said the Opposition does not have a say as it is also not allowed to discuss issues such as Adani, China as well as economic matters.
“One of the fundamental rules of parliamentary democracy is that the Opposition must have its say and the government will have its way. We know we do not have the numbers in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, but we are not even allowed to have our say,” he said.
Ramesh also said that the BJP was “worried and rattled” because due to the Bharat Jodo Yatra, there was a “massive change” in not just the Congress party’s image but that of Rahul Gandhi.
“It (the yatra) has been a booster dose for our organisation and people are looking at Rahul Gandhi from a new perspective. That is why all these efforts are being made to defame the Congress and Rahul Gandhi. This is the BJP’s strategy,” he said in a reference to the BJP’s attack on Gandhi over his remarks in the UK.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 19, 2023
No ‘middle path’, our demand for JPC is ‘non-negotiable’: Jairam Ramesh

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New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said he does not see a “middle path” to end the logjam in Parliament as the Opposition’s demand for a JPC probe into the Adani issue was “non-negotiable” and the question of an apology over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in the UK does not arise.
In an interview with PTI, Ramesh said the government is rattled by 16 Opposition parties coming together to demand a joint parliamentary probe into the Adani issue and is resorting to a “3D orchestrated campaign — distort, defame and divert”.
The former Union minister also hit out at BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s efforts to seek termination of Rahul Gandhi’s membership of Lok Sabha over his remarks in the UK, saying all this was “intimidation” and part of efforts to distract from the real issues.
The remarks by the Congress general secretary in-charge communications come amid the logjam in Parliament over Gandhi’s remarks during his recent trip to the UK, with both houses failing to transact any significant business on the first five days of the budget session’s second half.
Also on Friday, Home Minister Amit Shah said the current logjam in Parliament can be resolved if the Opposition comes forward for talks and that the government will go “two steps ahead” if the Opposition takes “two steps forward”.
Asked if there is any chance of finding a middle path to break the current logjam in Parliament with the BJP sticking to its demand of Rahul Gandhi’s apology and Congress seeking a JPC probe into the Adani issue, Ramesh said, “I don’t see any middle path because our demand for a JPC is non-negotiable and the question of an apology does not arise.”
“In order to divert attention from this legitimate and reasonable demand for a JPC, the BJP is insisting on an apology. An apology for what, the current prime minister (Narendra Modi) has repeatedly in China, Germany, South Korea, and various parts of the world used forums to raise domestic political issues and to criticize his political opponents. He should be making an apology why should Rahul Gandhi be making any apology for highlighting what the state of democracy is in our country today,” he said.
There is an “undeclared emergency” prevailing in the country, Ramesh alleged.

Asked about the BJP’s charge that Gandhi sought intervention from foreign countries, the Congress leader dismissed the charge, calling it “absolute bunkum and nonsense”.
He argued that whatever Gandhi said in the UK is a matter of record with its videos and transcripts available.
“He (Gandhi) is very clear, he said ‘India’s problems have to be solved internally through the electoral process, these are internal issues’. But he also said democracy in India is a public good and if India is democratic, not only India benefits but the world also benefits,” Ramesh said.
“This is a canard, an absolute lie that is being propagated by the BJP,” he said of the BJP’s foreign intervention charge.
Whatever remarks are being attributed to the former Congress chief, he never said it, Ramesh said.
“What the BJP has been doing in the past couple of days is that it is distorting Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in order to divert. This is the 3D orchestrated strategy of Mr. Modi — distort, defame, and divert. Why divert, because there is growing evidence daily of the complicity of the establishment, the PM himself, in this massive scam of Adani in which crores and crores of rupees of public institutions LIC, SBI, and other financial institutions are involved and crores of Indians are suffering because of this cronyism,” Ramesh alleged.
Asked about BJP MP Dubey’s demand that Gandhi be expelled from the House for his remarks in the UK, Ramesh said, “This is intimidation. If they want to give a motion to the Speaker, they are welcome to do so. Mr. Gandhi will reply.”
According to rule 357, Gandhi is allowed a personal explanation in Parliament, Ramesh said, citing that in 2015, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad was allowed a personal explanation in response to some remarks made against him by Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was in the Congress back then.
“Yesterday, for almost 15 minutes the microphones went off, it was collective mute,” he alleged.
On disruption rather than debate becoming the norm, Ramesh said the Opposition does not have a say as it is also not allowed to discuss issues such as Adani, China as well as economic matters.
“One of the fundamental rules of parliamentary democracy is that the Opposition must have its say and the government will have its way. We know we don’t have the numbers in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha but we are not even allowed to have our say and now efforts are being made to tarnish the Opposition’s (image), saying that the Opposition is responsible (for the adjournments),” he said.
Ramesh said that it was the treasury benches that forced the adjournments, and not the Opposition.
During his interactions in the UK, Gandhi alleged that the structures of Indian democracy are under attack and there is a “full-scale assault” on the country’s institutions. He also told British parliamentarians in London that microphones are often “turned off” in the Lok Sabha when an opposition member raises important issues.
Gandhi’s remarks triggered a political slugfest, with the BJP accusing him of maligning India on foreign soil and seeking foreign interventions, and the Congress hit back at the ruling party by citing instances of Modi raising internal politics abroad.
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#middle #path #demand #JPC #nonnegotiable #Jairam #Ramesh
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 18, 2023
Government did not want Parliament to function: Jairam Ramesh

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New Delhi: After proceedings at both Houses were adjourned for the day, the Congress on Monday alleged that the government did not want Parliament to function.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “Parliament was adjourned for the day because the Government simply didn’t want it to function. It created a completely bogus diversion to keep the attention away from the combined Opposition demand for a JPC into PM-linked Adani MahaMegaScam.”
Earlier, the Opposition members staged a march towards Vijay Chowk and Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that there is no rule of law under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing a press conference at Vijay Chowk outside Parliament, soon after both Houses were adjourned over protests related to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in London, Kharge said, “There is no rule of law and democracy under Modi ji. They are running the country like a dictatorship, and then they talk about democracy.”
Those “crushing and destroying democracy” are talking of saving it, he added.
Over the Adani issue, Kharge said, “We are demanding the constitution of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Adani stocks issue. When we raise the issue, then mikes are switched off and a ruckus erupts in the House.”
However, he added that the Opposition is united and will continue to demand the JPC on the Adani issue.
Ramesh wrote a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the questions that the Opposition parties were unable to ask due to the ruckus created in the Parliament.

“The PM got his drumbeaters to get Parliament adjourned today so that the demand for JPC into the Adani MahaMegaScam does not get raised. But that will not stop HAHK( Hum Adanike Hain Kaun)-27. Chuppi Todiye Pradhan Mantriji,” Ramesh tweeted.
The PM got his drumbeaters to get Parliament adjourned today so that the demand for JPC into the Adani MahaMegaScam does not get raised. But that will not stop HAHK( Hum Adanike Hain Kaun)-27.
Chuppi Todiye Pradhan Mantriji pic.twitter.com/XSrwztcEe7
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 13, 2023

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#Government #Parliament #function #Jairam #Ramesh
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 13, 2023
Wasn’t consulted on appointing V-P’s personal staff to house committees: Jairam Ramesh

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New Delhi: After Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, attached eight officers from his office to various standing committees and other parliamentary committees under the jurisdiction of the Upper House, senior Congrese leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday categorically denied that he was consulted on the matter.
Ramesh is the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment, Forests & Climate Change.
“The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha has said that the decision to have his personal staff attached to various parliamentary committees was taken after consultations with the respective chairpersons. I chair a standing committee and I can categorically say that I wasn’t consulted at all,” Ramesh said.
Speaking at an event earlier on Thursday, Dhankar had said that the appointments were made after taking feedback from the committee members and chairpersons, adding that to optimise the functioning of the committees, he has appointed the best IAS and IFS officers.
The Congress has termed the appointment of Dhankhar’s personal staff to the Rajya Sabha committees as “unprecedented”, saying that it shows the lack of confidence in the existing staff.
Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh said, “Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar appoints his staff on standing committees… Yes, this is unprecedented. But the explanation given is also quite inappropriate. Doesn’t it reflect Rajya Sabha Chairman’s lack of confidence in the existing staff of the RS secretariat?”
“VP is Chairperson of Council of States Ex-officio. He is not a Member of House like Vice Chairperson or Panel of Vice Chairpersons. How can he appoint personal staff on Parliamentary Standing Committees? Would this not tantamount to institutional subversion,” Congress’ Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari tweeted.

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#Wasnt #consulted #appointing #VPs #personal #staff #house #committees #Jairam #Ramesh
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 9, 2023
Ghulam Nabi Azad Sends Legal Notice To Jairam Ramesh For His Derogatory Remarks

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SRINAGAR: Former colleagues, Jairam Ramesh and Ghulam Nabi Azad are at loggerheads once again, as Azad has slapped the Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh with a defamation notice for reportedly calling him a “slave”, “Mir Jafar” and a “vote- cutter”.
In the notice, which has been sent through Azad’s legal counsel Naresh Kumar Gupta, the DAP chief seeks compensation of Rs 2 crore from the Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh for causing damage to his “unblemished reputation”.
“That you Mr Jairam Ramesh (Notice Receiver)… always remain in search of occasion to tarnish and harm the growing dignity, respect, honour conferred upon him (Azad) at national level, by way of repeated posts in your Twitter account word ‘Ghulam’ in order to inflict injury to lower him in the estimation of others, soon after Mr Azad was honoured by Padam Bhushan Award,” the notice read.
Its pertinent to mention that earlier in January , the senior Congress leader took at jibe at Ghulam Nabi Azad’s DAP by calling it “ Disappearing Azad Party” after the exit of the leaders from the newly formed DAP.
Earlier during Bharat Jodo Yatra’s J&K leg, Ramesh had called DAP chief “Mir Jafar” and alleged that he had been propped up by the BJP to cut the Congress’ votes in J&K.
The notice emphasized that the name calling was a deliberate attempt to defame Azad in public and tarnish his image and said that the Congress General Secretary had committed an offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 500 ( punishment for defamation) and was liable to pay monetary compensation.
Mr Ramesh used the name “Ghulam” that translates to “slave”, deliberately and intentionally, to defame the leader in the public, Gupta said in the notice.
The notice stated that the “imputation and defamatory aspersions” remarks made against Azad in press statements were based purely on malice, and have caused the DPAP chief “mental agonies, torture, harassment” and tarnished his image, “which can’t be repaired”.

Mir Jafar, who served as the commander of the Bengal army under Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, betrayed him during the Battle of Plassey, paving the way for British rule in India. Since then, his name has become a synonym for “traitor.”
Gupta advised Jairam Ramesh to tender an “unconditional apology” through print-electronic media and on social media to Azad, or through any sort of communication, within two weeks from the date of receipt of the legal notice.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

February 25, 2023