Tag: vote

Will vote for Indira Gandhi’s party, says farmer in Karnataka’s Gadag

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Gadag: He was not even born when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984, but farmer Surya Naik, 28 in Gadag district of North Karnataka, asked who will he vote for on May 10, said: “I will vote for Indira Gandhi’s party.”
The legacy of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is still lingers in the minds of people who were born much later after she was murdered. Many people whom this correspondent met in Gadag area said that they would vote for “Indira Gandhi’s party”.
However this does not mean that the Congress candidate and sitting MLA H.K. Patil is comfortably placed in the constituency which has a large Muslim population along with Hindu Lingayats and Dalits.

BJP’s Anil Menasinakai lost to Patil in the 2018 polls by a slender margin of 1,868 votes.
Talking to IANS, Patil said: “The campaign is good and people are angry against the BJP government which is mired in corruption. I hail from Gadag and know the pulse of the constituency.”
“In the 2018 polls, there was an anti-incumbency wave against the Congress and this led to my margin getting reduced.”
Menasinakai, however, refuted the claims of Patil. “In 2018, my candidature was announced ten days before the last day of filing nomination and I didn’t get time to campaign, still BJP could manage to reduce the margin to 1868 votes,” the BJP leader told IANS at a party office in Gadag.
“This time, the list was announced a month before and I have completed two rounds of campaign in all villages in the constituency. I’m certain to win and after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally at Haveri, there is an upbeat mood among the workers and voters.”

The election to Gadag is fought on state level corruption and about the BJP government withdrawing reservation for Muslims.
Nisar Ahamad, an RTI activist and social worker, told IANS: “The Muslim community will vote totally for H.K. Patil. There are more than 40,000 Muslim votes in the constituency and this will be totally cast in favour of the Congress. H.K. Patil will notch an easy victory”.
Sivanandan, an auto driver, however, supports the BJP. “I’m 26 years of age. H.K. Patil sir is an old generation politician who doesn’t have a connect with our generation and youths in large numbers will vote for BJP candidate Anil Menasinakai.”
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#vote #Indira #Gandhis #party #farmer #Karnatakas #Gadag
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 7, 2023
Say ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ while casting vote, PM says in Karnataka; Cong calls it attempt to polarise

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Ankola: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged the people of Karnataka to say ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ when they cast their vote to “punish” the Congress for its “culture of abuse”, as BJP leaders stepped up attack on the opposition party over its election manifesto promise of banning the Bajrang Dal.
Hitting back, the Congress alleged that Prime Minister Modi and his party are refusing to speak about the “scam-ridden” BJP government in Karnataka and are “merely looking for lame-duck excuses to polarise the election”. The party defended its stand against the Bajrang Dal, saying the Constitution prescribes action against any individual and organisation spreading hatred or enmity.
Addressing a public meeting in Uttara Kannada district, Modi said the Congress and its leaders hate and abuse him because he has crashed their “corrupt system”.

“In this election, Congress is seeking votes in the name of its leader who is retiring…the other way in which they are seeking votes is by abusing Modi… .
“Will anyone in Karnataka accept this culture of abuse? What will you (people) do this time? Will you punish them? Will you punish the abusers?… When you press the button in the polling booth, punish them by saying ‘Jai Bajrangbali’,” he added.
Prime Minister Modi also urged the audience at all his rallies to raise the chant of ‘Bajranjbali ki Jai’ with him, besides his usual slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘ Vande Mataram’, hailing the motherland.
Modi had come down heavily on the Congress on Tuesday after its poll promise of banning Bajrang Dal, saying the Congress in its manifesto “has decided to lock up Lord Hanuman. Initially, they locked up Prabhu Shri Ram (Lord Ram). And now they want to lock up people who say ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ (Hail Hanuman).”
On Wednesday, he made it a point at the beginning as well as at the end of his speech to raise the slogan praising Lord Hanuman in Mulki in Dakshina Kannada district, Ankola in Uttara Kannada and Bailhongal in Belagavi.

The BJP, its Karnataka unit and other party leaders also tweeted on Wednesday with the hashtag ‘HanumaBhaktaModi’.
The BJP had termed the Congress move as an “insult” to Lord Hanuman and the ‘height of appeasement”.
The Bajrang Dal has, meanwhile, announced it will conduct ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ recital programmes across Karnataka on Thursday.
“This is the time when ‘Dharma’ is in danger and standing together is the only way forward. We should set aside our differences and come together to protect dharma, and hold hands together,” the right-wing organisation said in a statement.
However, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said that the Constitution and law “are clear – any individual or organisation spreading hatred or enmity must be proceeded against in accordance with law”.
“The duty to follow Raj darma is of the prime minister and chief minister but they refuse to do so,” he tweeted.
He said Lord Hanuman depicts piousness, service and sacrifice. Comparing him “as synonymous to any individual or organisation is an insult, the Congress leader said and asked the prime minister to apologise.
“Kannadigas are ready for 40% Bhrastasura Dahana!,” he tweeted.
However, Karnataka Energy Minister V Sunil Kumar, who was the state convenor of Bajrang Dal, said the Congress’ move is aimed at appeasing the Muslims.
In a series of tweets, the minister said Bajrang Dal is not an anti-social organisation and it strives for the protection of the Hindu community and “gomata” (mother cow). He wondered whether the Congress wants to ban Bajrang Dal just because the BJP banned the Popular Front of India last year.
The political row over the issue has spread to other states too.
In BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state home minister Narottam Mishra said Congress’ state chief Kamal Nath should clarify his stand on the issue as he is a devotee of Lord Hanuman.
“What is its (being a Hanuman devotee) relation with this (banning Bajrang Dal)?” Nath retorted when reporters asked him about the BJP leaders’ remarks.
Asked if a similar poll promise will be made by the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, he said, “That will be decided by the manifesto committee. Even the Supreme Court and the entire state are saying that those who spread hatred and create controversies should face action. This is a matter of our social unity.”
In a letter to Nath on Wednesday, Mishra said, “The Congress may go to any extent for the politics of appeasement.”
“I have written a letter to Kamal Nath. I have seen his many tweets in which he posed himself as a Hanuman devotee. Congress equated Bajrang Dal with PFI. Nath should clarify his stance,” he said.
He said that this politics of appeasement of Congress has hurt the sentiments of “Rashtra bhakts” and devotees of Ram and Hanuman.
Chouhan called Bajrang Dal a “staunch nationalist organisation”.
Asking Nath to clarify his stand, he said, “No one will forget those who were pampering the network of SIMI in Madhya Pradesh. Those who opposed the surgical strike and glorified terrorists are now talking about banning Bajrang Dal.”
“They are talking of banning Bajrang Dal, which is a staunch nationalist organization, opposes terrorism and love jihad’. The organisation that creates a sense of patriotism, is involved in social service, works for self-respect and awareness towards one’s religion and culture is being compared with a terrorist organisation like PFI?”
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh too posted several tweets targeting Bajrang Dal.
“Modi ji’s Religion is Hindutatva’ and not Hindu or Sanatan Dharm. As Savarkar ji has said Hindutva has nothing to do with Hindu Religion’ Bajrang Dal has nothing to do with Lord Hanuman. It is an organisation of goons (sic),” Singh alleged.
Rajasthan minister Govind Ram Meghwal said the Congress is not against ‘Bajrangbali’ (Lord Hanuman), but is against the people who are committing a crime by forming an organisation in the deity’s name.
Rajasthan Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said that he is an ardent devotee of lord Hanuan.
“The Congress itself is a devotee of Bajrangbali. It bans those who try to create a situation of conflict in the name of religion,” Khachariyawas said.
Chouhan said that Congress was opposed to the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and had called Ram-Setu imaginary. The Congress opposed Hindutva on every occasion and now it stands exposed, he said.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur also targeted the Congress.
“For vote bank, they used to say that Lord Ram is imaginary… On the other hand, under the Narendra Modi government, Kartarpur Corridor was opened, ropeway reached Hemkunt Sahib…and now a grand Lord Ram temple is being built in Ayodhya. No power in the world has been able to stop Bajrangbali or his followers,” he said.
The Congress, in its election manifesto for the May 10 Karnataka polls, on Tuesday said it will take decisive action as per law including imposing a ban on organisations like Bajrang Dal and PFI and alleged that they were promoting enmity among communities.
Bajrang Dal is a right-wing Hindu outfit and has often courted controversies over vigilante action. Bajrang is another name for Lord Hanuman and the outfit’s insignia carries the picture of the Hindu deity.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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#Jai #Bajrangbali #casting #vote #Karnataka #Cong #calls #attempt #polarise
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 3, 2023
If you won’t vote for Cong, Yogi’s bulldozer will come to haunt Karnataka: Kharge

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Kalaburagi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday that if the people of Karnataka do not vote for the party, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths bulldozer will come to haunt the southern state as well.
Addressing a huge public rally in Aland in Kalaburagi district, Kharge stated that these days the UP CM is coming to Karnataka frequently. Giving the appearance of a saint, wearing saintly clothes, instead of showing the good path of humanity he instigates clashes between the people. CM Yogi says jo hamare baat nahi manenge, use bulldozer lagake nikal denge. Is desh mein nahin rah sakte. (whoever doesn’t listen to us, we will get rid of them through the bulldozer, they can’t live in this country), said Kharge.
“I think those who are foreigners should be asked to leave the country, not us who are the natives of this country. So I want to tell you, if you won’t give the vote to the Congress party then Yogi’s bulldozer will come here also,” Kharge stated.

Chief Minister Bommai should beware of Modi ji and Amit Shah. The BJP claims they will give a “Mazboot Sarkar” in Karnataka, but they changed multiple CMs. It is an important ‘do or die’ election for Karnataka. The 40 per cent commission state government is damned. It has cheated our people, Kharge said.
This election is not only significant for Karnataka, but for the nation. Karnataka must become corruption free. It must be freed from the 40 per cent BJP misrule, Kharge stated.
Modi ji often says in his speeches that ‘na mein khaunga, na khane dunga!’ (I won’t take bribes, I will not let others take bribes). But Bommai sits next to him. The PM should ask him for a 40 per cent commission, Kharge taunted.
“Modi ji complains about me, baap aur bete ne kuch kaha! (father and son duo have said something against me) He is our Prime Minister, how can we insult him? Irrespective of the party he belongs to, we accept our Prime Minister! We have not insulted him, instead Modi ji has insulted Karnataka, he said.
We brought a Central University in this area. We spent Rs 400 to Rs 500 crore for the building. But teachers are not in full strength. There are vacancies and the number of departments have gone down, he alleged.

We have constructed a Mega ESI hospital here. Later I requested the BJP government to start an AIIMS here. We had spent a thousand crores on the infrastructure. In the main hall in the hospital, 5,000 people can sit, it is such a grand building. But the BJP government does not care. The hospital is not being maintained. Now it has slowly started to turn into a cowshed, Kharge charged.
We had taken approval for the highway from Solapur to Bengaluru, from Bidar to Hiriur, and from Bidar to Mysuru. But the present government has halted all this work. Instead, they spent crores of money to inaugurate the old, already existing Bengaluru-Mysuru express corridor, Kharge alleged.
“Coming back to the issue of our area (Kalaburagi), Article 371(J) is my contribution to the people of this region and therefore, today they can enjoy the privileges in the education and employment sector,” he said.
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#wont #vote #Cong #Yogis #bulldozer #haunt #Karnataka #Kharge
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 3, 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
Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif secures vote of confidence

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Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif secured a vote of confidence from the National Assembly on Thursday, with 180 lawmakers reposing “full confidence” in his leadership as the premier, media reports said.
After the House reposed confidence in him, the premier spoke at length about the recent orders of the higher judiciary, expressing reservations on rulings that questioned the Parliament’s confidence in him and warned of “serious consequences”, Dawn reported.
The unexpected development came days after Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb vehemently refuted reports claiming that the premier had decided to seek a vote of confidence from the Parliament.

The resolution for the trust vote was moved by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. After it was moved, voting was conducted with lawmakers in favour of adopting the resolution rising from their seats.
Subsequently, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf announced that 180 members of the House had risen from their seats in favour of the resolution, Dawn reported.
In his address, Sharif went on to say that the Parliament’s decisions are being challenged today.
“This Parliament elected me as the Prime Minister. If this Parliament reaches a decision after debate and obliges the government and cabinet, it is mandatory for me to respect its decision. It is mandatory for me to stand by them,” he said, vowing to stand by the Parliament on its decisions, Dawn reported.
“My government is standing with them… No matter what,” he asserted.

In an apparent reference to a Supreme Court ruling, wherein the government was barred from implementing a bill clipping the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s powers following its enactment, the premier said: “It is not possible that the Parliament frames a law and the judiciary issues a stay order on it even before it is enforced.”
He was emphatic in saying that only the Parliament has the right to make and amend the Constitution, Dawn reported.
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#Pak #Shehbaz #Sharif #secures #vote #confidence
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 27, 2023
John Thune says Chuck Schumer’s plan for a vote on an Equal Rights Amendment resolution may not have an easy road ahead.

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“It only takes 41 to block [the measure],” Thune said. “I think it will be a heavy lift [for Democrats].”

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#John #Thune #Chuck #Schumers #plan #vote #Equal #Rights #Amendment #resolution #easy #road #ahead
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 26, 2023
Priyanka Gandhi holds roadshow in Karnataka, urges people to vote for Congress

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Mysuru: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday held a massive roadshow in Krishnarajanagara here waving at a large enthusiastic crowd along the route, seeking people’s support ahead of the May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka.
Standing atop a specially-designed vehicle, she was greeted by the crowd gathered on the sides of the roads and on nearby buildings.
Large number of party workers holding Congress flags were seen marching along with the vehicle, as it passed through the streets, amid drum beats and slogans like ‘Congress Congress’ and ‘Priyanka Gandhi ki jai’.

Vadra was accompanied by AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and other local party leaders.
She even clicked a selfie from the vehicle for an “admirer” standing on the road, and shook hands with a couple of them.
Addressing the people at the end of the roadshow, she urged them to change the government in Karnataka which is “looting” them.
“For the sake of your future, vote for Congress and bringing in a new government which will usher in a new hope in Karnataka,” she added.
Earlier in the day at a Congress public meeting, Vadra accused the BJP government in Karnataka of rampant corruption and charged that Rs 1.5 lakh crore has been “looted” from the state by the ruling dispensation.

The Congress leader later also interacted with women in Hanur town of Chamarajanagar district where she spoke to a couple of women personally and tried to understand their issues. She urged women voters not to take this election lightly, and said it is important for the future of their children and youth.
The Congress is going all out to unseat the ruling BJP in Karnataka and form the next government.
Voting is scheduled on May 10 and the results will be out on May 13.
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#Priyanka #Gandhi #holds #roadshow #Karnataka #urges #people #vote #Congress
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 25, 2023
A vote for BRS is a vote for Congress: Bandi Sanjay

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Hyderabad: Amid ongoing efforts by Telangana Chief Minister Bandi Sanjay to rally Opposition forces around the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections, BJP state president Bandi Sanjay on Sunday said “a vote for the BRS would amount to a vote in Congress’s kitty”.
The firebrand BJP state president made the remark at a press conference in state capital Hyderabad on Sunday.
Earlier on Sunday, Sanjay also lashed out at Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) for speaking in favour of slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed.

The jailed gangster and his brother Ashraf, who were accused in the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Raju Pal, and subsequently, in the killing of a key witness in that case, Umesh Pal, were shot dead in police custody while being brought for a medical in Prayagraj.
The chilling murder in full view of surrounding media crews drew censure from Opposition forces, who voiced concern over the prevailing law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh.
A day after the gangster siblings were sprayed with bullets by three gunmen posing as journalists, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had said Atiq was the second former MP from the Muslim community to be “murdered with impunity”.
He even compared Atiq’s assailants with Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.
“People in police custody were killed. Those who killed them are terrorists and are part of a terror module. They might kill more people. Why did they not slam UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) on the assailants? Who gave automatic weapons to the killers? Who gave firearms worth Rs 8 lakh to them?” Owaisi had said.

“They were radicalised people, following in the footsteps of Godse. They must be stopped or else they will kill more people,” Owaisi had said.
Coming down hard on the AIMIM chief over his remarks, Sanjay said it was shameful that the leader of the minority outfit spoke in favour of the slain gangster and his son Asad, who was killed earlier in an exchange of fire with a team from the UP STF in Jhansi.
Questioning the silence of the BRS and the Congress in the matter, Sanjay said, “Why haven’t the BRS or the Congress not condemned it (Owaisi’s statement)? Was Atiq Ahmed a patriot? He looted the poor and committed atrocities on them.”
He alleged further that Owaisi’s party nurtures “terrorists”.
Sanjay has stepped up his offensive against the ruling BRS government in Telangana since he was picked up past midnight hours from his residence and arrested on April 4 in connection with the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) paper leak case.
He was granted bail by a magistrate’s court in Warangal on April 6. The court allowed bail on the payment of Rs 20,000 as surety.
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#vote #BRS #vote #Congress #Bandi #Sanjay
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 24, 2023
McCarthy muscles toward vote on debt plan that ‘doesn’t even exist’

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House Republicans’ internal frustrations go beyond their long-stalled debt limit talks with President Joe Biden. The conference is near its breaking point over a contentious border bill that has exposed divisions between hardline conservatives and politically vulnerable purple-district members. Then there are the simmering tensions that no GOP lawmaker wants to talk about — the evident disconnect between the speaker and his budget chief, as well as chatter over the elevation of a new McCarthy lieutenant with a vast portfolio.
House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), who appeared to diverge from McCarthy last month on the GOP’s plans for its fiscal blueprint, said as he entered Tuesday’s morning meeting that “I hope we’re focused on our mission.” Arrington added pointedly: “We don’t need distractions. We need to unify.”
And he got his wish that McCarthy not bring up any behind-the-scenes drama before the rest of their colleagues. Talk of McCarthy-Arrington discord did not come up at the private conference meeting, according to six lawmakers in the room.
Instead, Republicans focused on presenting a unified front on the debt limit as they prepare for a new, more urgent phase of their political jostling with the Biden White House. The fact that no internal rifts got rehashed on Tuesday morning is a positive sign for McCarthy, who has almost no room for error on his debt plan given his four-vote majority.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a close McCarthy ally, dryly summed up the meeting’s tone: “It’s a chorus of unity and sunshine.”
Inside the room, according to one attendee, McCarthy ticked through a brief slideshow laying out the basic principles of his fiscal plan — which includes a passel of deregulatory and energy provisions as well as steep federal spending cuts in exchange for a one-year lift to the nation’s debt ceiling.
One major part of Tuesday’s private GOP conversation centered on whether leaders should try to pay down the national debt by repealing elements of Democrats’ marquee tax, climate and health care measure passed last year, including funding for new IRS enforcement and green tax incentives.
Many GOP lawmakers have demanded party leaders make those moves, though some aides and budget experts say it’s unclear whether they would yield any real savings. McCarthy addressed that topic by laying out pros and cons in his slides, per the meeting attendee who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Some of McCarthy’s closest advisers projected confidence that they would have enough support in a conference. Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), a confidant of the California Republican, simply said “yes” to reporters who asked if the speaker would get a majority.
Other Republicans, however, are preparing for the prospect that McCarthy’s plan fails to get enough traction within the conference.
At least one member, first-term swing-district Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), raised the idea of a separate discharge petition as a Plan B approach if the threat of an economically disastrous debt default began to loom over members.
As he left Tuesday’s meeting, though, Lawler insisted that he backs McCarthy’s plan: “The speaker has put forth a plan and I support it.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), one of McCarthy’s harshest critics in the past, said leadership doesn’t yet have the votes because members haven’t seen the full plan on paper.
“We still have to resolve major questions like the dollar amount, and the duration, and the policy concessions we are seeking from the Senate. So it couldn’t possibly have 218 votes, because it doesn’t even exist,” Gaetz said, adding that he won’t “prognosticate the end-zone dance before we draw the game plan.”
Those flashing yellow lights haven’t stopped McCarthy allies from bullishly predicting that a bill could be ready for a floor vote next week. Republicans close to leadership privately said text could be released as soon as Wednesday or Thursday — with some expecting the House to put off its next recess until passage of a debt plan that stands no chance of becoming law.
Yet in order to write that bill, GOP lawmakers still have to settle crucial questions like whether to lift the ceiling by a specific dollar amount and when the fight might come up again next year.
“Some had a few little tweaks they’d like to see to it. But I think, in general, everyone is supportive of it,” Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) said, adding that “everyone’s got good ideas. They are all supportive of the general idea and program that the speaker laid out.”
Meanwhile, an immigration fight is about to compete with the debt for the House GOP’s attention.
Republicans will formally kick off work on border security, with the Judiciary Committee slated to vote on an immigration package Wednesday and the Homeland Security panel set to follow with its own bill next week. But months after leadership initially vowed action within the first few weeks of the year, there are few signs that the GOP is any closer to a bill that can pass the House.
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who discussed the issue alongside the GOP-helmed Congressional Hispanic Conference earlier Tuesday, warned that the Judiciary Committee proposal isn’t ready for “prime time.” Gonzales, who’s taken a public stand against conservatives pushing for a strident border bill, pledged not to be sidelined by his party’s right flank.
“In this Congress, five votes is 100,” Gonzales said, referring to the ease with which only a handful of Republicans can derail a bill on the floor, given the party’s slim majority.
And even as House Republicans publicly brushed off reports of contention within their upper ranks, some leaders are hearing hush-hush questions about McCarthy’s confidence in his own team.
Some rank-and-file members, reading reports of internal strife, started asking leadership “‘This is terrible, is this true?’” said one senior House Republican, who requested anonymity to speak frankly.
“It’s not true,” this senior Republican added.
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#McCarthy #muscles #vote #debt #plan #doesnt #exist
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 18, 2023
Florida lawmakers vote to end state’s legacy as an abortion refuge

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The Florida House approved it on a 70-40 vote on Thursday. The state Senate approved it last week.
The six-week ban will help DeSantis show conservative voters in a primary contest that he’s solidly anti-abortion, but it also carries big risks in a general election. Republicans overall underperformed during the 2022 midterm elections, in part because Democrats and swing voters turned out in response to the high court’s abortion ruling.
Florida now joins at least 12 other states — including Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky and Louisiana — that have approved bans on abortions after six weeks, a point at which many people don’t yet know they’re pregnant. The Florida legislation provides exceptions for victims of rape, incest and human trafficking up to 15 weeks as long as they provide proof such as a police report. At least 13 other states have enacted near-total bans on the procedure.
The GOP-led Legislature’s move comes almost a week after a federal judge in Texas suspended the FDA’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, signaling that the battle over reproductive healthcare will continue long after the Supreme Court’s decision last year to overturn the constitutional right to abortion under Roe v. Wade. Late Wednesday, a federal appeals court ruled that the pill can remain on the market but restricted its availability.
Even after DeSantis signs the bill, the new six-week ban will face an additional hurdle at the Florida Supreme Court. The state’s high court is currently weighing a challenge to last year’s 15-week ban, with plaintiffs arguing the law violates a decades-old state privacy clause that previous justices cited in upholding abortion protections. The state is enforcing the 15-week ban as the court considers the challenge.
The six-week ban, once signed into law, will not go into effect until the court rules in the case because the legislation has a trigger provision that makes it dependent on the court’s ruling.
Much like the U.S. Supreme Court, Florida’s high court is dominated by conservatives after DeSantis appointed four of the court’s seven justices. Many court watchers expect the justices to uphold the 15-week ban.
“Here in the state of Florida we care deeply about life and we care about the most vulnerable in our society – babies in the womb,” said state Rep. Jennifer Canady, a Republican from Lakeland who co-sponsored the legislation in the House.

Canady also highlighted some of the other provisions in the bill, including providing $5 million to the state Department of Health for programs that promote causes such as contraception, and $15 million for programs that support mothers who give birth.
One of the most outspoken critics of the bill was state Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando), who told lawmakers that she grew up poor and first received contraception from Planned Parenthood when she was a teenager. She said the 6-week ban would unfairly punish poor women who can’t afford to travel out of state to have an abortion after six weeks.
“I’m a firm believer that bodily autonomy should not be dictated by how much money you have or where you live,” Eskamani, who previously worked at Planned Parenthood, said. “Those with means — we’ll figure out a way, but others won’t be able to do that.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement called the ban “extreme and dangerous” and said the administration “will continue to fight to protect access to abortion and defend reproductive rights.”
While House lawmakers were considering the bill, a group of abortion-rights protesters in the chamber shouted “abortion is healthcare!” before GOP Speaker Paul Renner cleared the room. Once outside the chamber, the demonstrators chanted “Hands off our bodies.”
Last year, when lawmakers voted on the 15-week ban, Capitol Police arrested a Planned Parenthood organizer on a charge of disorderly conduct and issued warnings to 25 others who were protesting. This year’s crowd appeared smaller and there were no arrests.
A handful of Florida Republicans who represent primarily Democratic areas voted against the ban but were outliers and like state Democrats, had no power to stop the GOP supermajority from approving the legislation.
House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa warned that Florida’s maternal death rate would increase if the 6-week ban becomes law and added that Republicans pushed through legislation even though voters don’t want it.
“It’s an imposition of the will of the minority on the majority,” Driskell said. “Do we not listen to our constituents and the people of Florida for what they’re asking for?”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 14, 2023