Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi slam Union Budget 2014-15

New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi slammed the Union Budget for 2014-15 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, saying it has nothing new to offer.

“It is a mere continuation of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s schemes. There is nothing new, they have merely continued our schemes," said Sonia Gandhi.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi echoed similar sentiments and called the Union Budget a laundry list of Rs 100 crore. "The budget is just a laundry list of Rs 100 crore proposals and is all about usurping UPA government ideas," he said."It will not quicken the economic pulse, in fact, it will slow it down," added Rahul Gandhi.

The Union Budget for 2014-15 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Parliament on Thursday left income tax rates unchanged but provided sops to small and marginal assessees by raising the threshold exemption limit from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh and investments under 80C by Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh while promising not to bring tax changes with retrospective effect.

Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh said the finance minister had gone overboard on mindless populism by allocating just Rs 100 crore each to more than 28 schemes. "While there is 12% increase in the allocation for defence, there is no increase in the budgetary provision for health and education and the finance minister has totally neglected women's sector," Singh said.

He said there was nothing extraordinary. "He has spoken of five more IITs and IIMs. The allocation for the purpose is just Rs 500 crore, when an IIT requires Rs 1,500-Rs 2000 crore," he said. Singh said as leader of opposition, Jaitley had demanded that I-T exemption limit be raised to Rs 5 lakh, which he had not been able to fulfill as finance minister. At the AICC briefing, Singh said the budget did have some minimalist attempts at new direction and new aspects, which Congress welcomed cautiously, like increasing FDI in defence and start up fund for village entrepreneurship for rural areas. "But if you see the vast landscape of the budget, it is a reasonless, directionless, impractical and unfeasible document. It is totally disproportionate to all the hype created during their election campaign... Full of sound and fury signifying nothing”.

"If with this mandate you are not able to give a new direction and momentum, can this nation expect better from them in future. From your statements it seemed as if you are going to offer a paradise or a least a mini paradise. At least you could have offered the promised achche din to people," the Congress spokesperson said. He also claimed that almost 90-95% schemes mentioned in the budget were continuation from the UPA regime.

Rahul Gandhi slams Rail budget, calls it vision less

New Delhi: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today slammed the railway budget, saying it lacks vision and offers nothing for the poor.

"It's a poor budget. Many states like Kerala and West Bengal have been left out," Gandhi told reporters in the Parliament building following the presentation of the railway budget by Rail Minister Sadananda Gowda. Kerala is a Congress-ruled state while West Bengal is ruled by Trinamool Congress, an erstwhile UPA ally.

Rahul Gandhi said there is "nothing for the poor" in the budget and that it is "unimaginative" and "lacks any strategic vision". The rail budget has come under a blistering attack from the opposition with Congress, Trinamool Congress and Left parties lambasting the government over the issues of FDI, privatisation and the PPP route.

Congress party too on Tuesday latched on to the Railway budget to claim there was a "capitalist" tilt to the functioning of the Narendra Modi government and that it was bent upon privatising the railways.

Looking to put the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) dispensation in the dock over railway budget 2014-15, Congress not only protested inside Parliament but also held an agitation outside the residence of Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda.

"(The NDA) government's direction for the country is diametrically opposite to that of the socialist path. Everything is being done to appease the capitalists. Social obligations of our (previous UPA) government have been criticised as if we'd committed a mistake in following them. We apprehend that the government is heading more and more towards privatisation," Congress MP and former Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told reporters at an All India Congress Committee (AICC) briefing.

Lop issue: Sonia Gandhi meets President, Congress Leaders

New Delhi: In order to leave no stone unturned to get the post of Lok Sabha's Leader of Opposition for her party, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday.

The UPA chairperson had yesterday raised a strong pitch against the silence of Narendra Modi-led NDA government on the subject. She had also held a meeting with party MPs in Lok Sabha yesterday. The meeting was held after UPA MPs decided to write to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan seeking an immediate decision on the issue.

Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma had yesterday said that the letter is ready and will be sent to the Speaker after all UPA MPs had signed it. Ahead of the Union Budget 2014, Gandhi has maintained throughout that her party was the single largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha and hence was entitled for the post of the Leader of Opposition in the Lower House.

Reacting sharply over no clarity of Congress getting the LoP status in Lok Sabha, senior leader Kamal Nath had indicated that the party could go to court if Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's decision went against it. As per reports, there were indications that the government may not give the LoP post to Congress in keeping with the Mavalankar formula according to which it was required for the largest Opposition party to acquire at least 10 percent of seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

According to formula, the post of LoP can be given to the party which has at least 55 seats and Congress has got only 44 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls which is 11 short of that number.

Earlier, Congress President Sonia Gandhi also had held a meeting with party MPs in Lok Sabha. The meeting comes after UPA MPs decided to write to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan seeking an immediate decision on the issue. Party leaders said that Gandhi's meeting with the MPs was informal in nature. Congress had said yesterday that the letter is ready and will be sent to the Speaker after signatures of all UPA MPs.

"We are the single largest party. We have got a pre-poll alliance. Hence, we are entitled to Leader of Opposition's post," Sonia Gandhi, who is also CPP chairperson, had said yesterday. Congress has already asserted that it would exercise all options to ensure a "democratically correct, logical conclusion" on the issue and has not ruled out the option of approaching the court on the matter.

The Congress party is also doubting the intentions of the Government. It is alleging that the government is attempting to subvert the appointments of Lokpal, CVC and other key posts by denying the LoP status to Congress. "Government's intention is not correct. The thinking is undemocratic... Government is trying to subvert the appointments of Lokpal, CVC and other key posts by denying the LoP status to Congress. We will not allow that to happen. We will take all the steps in Parliament and agitate on whatever forum is available. But let the reply of the Speaker come first," party spokesman Anand Sharma had said.

Sonia Gandhi: I will lead from the front to restore glory of Congress

Raebareli: Congress President Sonia Gandhi, in her first visit to her parliament constituency Raebareli after the recently held Lok Sabha polls, said that she would lead from the front to restore the party’s “Aan, Baan, Shaan (glory)”.

At an “aabhar samaroh” and dinner organised for workers, the Congress president said she was “saddened” by the party’s loss but had “mulled over the reasons for the past month”. “It was not that the Congress government did not work in the past 10 years but we failed to make our work to check inflation and corruption reach people. The Opposition kept telling lies and our talks left behind,” she said,

Praising workers for their hard work, she said they should not be disappointed with the loss of seats. “We should not be disappointed as we might have got less seats but 10.75 crore voters have voted for us. The vote share is important and seats are not everything.” The Congress president urged workers to “go house to house and win back the confidence of public” while underlining that the “road ahead is not easy”.

Targeting BJP, Sonia Gandhi said the time has now come for them to fulfill their promises. “As an opposition it is our responsibility to keep an eye on their promises as it is easier to make promises than fulfill them.” Party workers unanimously praised her daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, demanding that she be given charge of the organisation at the national level to revive the party.

Rahul Gandhi: Necessary steps be taken for women safety and security

New Delhi: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today called for taking all necessary steps to improve law and order to ensure safety and security of women in the wake of repeated incidents of rape coming to light across the country.

He also called for changing the people’s mindset, which, he said, is a “major challenge” and needs to be addressed urgently. “We must take all necessary steps to improve law and order to ensure safety and security for women. But changing mindset is a major challenge and one that we must address urgently. There can be no development, no prosperity and no progress if such barbarism is allowed to continue,” he said in a statement.

Rahul Gandhi said it was “deeply disturbing” to hear about “gruesome” incidents where women are made a target of such “extreme violence”. Referring to the brutal rape and murder of two young girls in Badaun in UP and the recent rape of a minor girl in Jhalawar in Rajasthan, he said an alleged rape, which had taken place in his Lok Sabha constituency Amethi yesterday, “is unacceptable”.

“I am extremely saddened to learn of an alleged rape in Amethi. The matter is under investigation. We are closely monitoring the situation and following up with the district administration to ensure that all the facts come to light and justice is meted out quickly,” he said.

Sonia Gandhi expresses shock, Rahul Gandhi keeping tab on situation on Himachal mishap

New Delhi: As search continues in Himachal Pradesh for the missing engineering students, who drowned in the Beas River in Mandi district last evening, Congress said that his party vice-president Rahul Gandhi was keeping a tab on the situation.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi too expressed deep anguish and shock over the tragedy in Himachal Pradesh in which 24 students were washed away in river Beas.

"In this moment of grief, my heart goes out to the parents and my prayers are with the families," Gandhi said in a message. Gandhi has been in constant touch with the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who has been monitoring relief, rescue and search operations.

She has expressed the hope that if the tragedy occurred due to negligence of any govt/private agency, the guilty should be brought to book at the earliest.

Maken, who is the AICC Communication Department in-charge, said Rahul Gandhi has also asked Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh during a telephonic conversation to ensure speedy relief and rescue. “RahulG keeping tab on situation in HP.  Spoke to CM Himachal to ensure speedy relief and rescue,” Maken wrote on his Twitter account.

Maken said that Rahul Gandhi does not want any guilty to be spared and urged the Chief Minister to ensure systems to avoid recurrence of any such accident. “RahulG said that guilty if any should not be spared. Asked CM to ensure systems to avoid recurrence,” Maken wrote. Meanwhile, the rescue workers recovered bodies of five students from Himachal Pradesh’s Beas River near Thalot on Manali-Kiratpur Highway, while the fate of 19 others, who were washed away on Sunday evening, is still not known, an official said. The toll in Sunday's accident has risen to five, Additional Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Rai said on Monday.

Rai said one of the bodies was recovered from Pandoh dam, whose floodgates were closed after the mishap. The dam is some 15 km downstream from the accident spot. The chances of survival of other students were bleak, officials added.

Hold BJP to its promises, Rahul Gandhi tells Youth Congress leaders

NEW DELHI: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday told partymen that BJP had made a mountain of promises and the coming months would be the time to hold them to their manifesto.

The Congress vice-president told leaders of Youth Congress that protests would be the way of politics in the opposition after the defeat in Lok Sabha polls. Rahul Gandhi said Congress should be ready to seize on the failings of the BJP government, of which non-fulfilment of promises would be a big component.

As far as Congress-led UPA government's record was concerned, the BJP could not touch the immense progress done under Manmohan Singh's regime, he said. Rahul was addressing a closed-door review meet of Youth Congress.

Further, a strong demand for Rahul Gandhi to take the role of the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha was today made at a meeting of Indian Youth Congress (IYC). "Youth Congress leaders want Rahulji should be Leader of Opposition. Demand raised before leadership at Youth Congress meeting," IYC chief Rajeev Satav said in a tweet following the meeting.

Satav said that although Rahul Gandhi assured them that he would be with them through thick and thin, he did not reveal his mind over the demand for him to be Leader of Opposition. The IYC members also told Gandhi that they would back him the way they had backed former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during her difficult days. The meeting saw Rahul Gandhi asking the youth Congress unit to be battle- ready even as he promised widespread changes in Congress. "Rahulji urges youth Congress leaders to be ready for struggle. He addressed Youth Congress at Constitution Club, New Delhi," Satav said in another tweet after the nearly three-hour-long meeting.

Rahul Gandhi also told the gathering that the party would see greater representation of the youth and discussed the reasons that led to Congress ending up with its worst-ever tally of 44 MPs in Lok Sabha. A number of Congress general secretaries have been pitching for Gandhi to become the Leader of Opposition saying that since the Lok Sabha polls had seen the Congress Vice President being pitted as the party's face against BJP's Narendra Modi, it was but natural for him to lead when the chips were down.

Rahul Gandhi at Kishanganj Bihar

Rahul Gandhi in Bihar: People have fine tuned radars to find out truths about claims of Modi

Kishanganj: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi continues his blistering attack on BJP and Modi’s ‘Gujarat model’ and hoped that the people have effective radars to find out the truth behind the ‘toffee model’.
“You must have heard about radars which are mainly used to track aeroplanes. Similarly the people, especially from Bihar, also possess fine tuned radars. It is highly technically effective so that truth can be easily found out” said Rahul Gandhi while addressing a huge Congress rally at Bihar’s Kishanganj as part of his ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
He once again slammed the much hyped ‘Gujarat model’ and said, “About 45000 acres of land, almost the size of Purnia, has been given for a mere Rs 300 crore to a single industrialist – Adani- by Modi govt. Today, a toffee costs Rs. 1 but Modi government gave lands at Rs. 1. This is the ‘toffee model’. Same is the case with the major coastal line in Gujarat. A loan of Rs 10,000 crore was given to Tata at 0.1% interest rate for the Nano project. But a poor farmer can get loan only at an interest rate of 12%, but Tata gets loan at 0.1% interest rate for 25 years!”
“Let us examine some more facts of this ‘toffee model’ of BJP and Modi. About 40 lakh people in Gujarat are under BPL. 40% of the people are not getting adequate drinking water facilities in Gujarat; one out of two kids starves” he added.
“This election is a battle of two ideologies; between love and hatred. Congress talks with love, encourages brotherhood. But on the other side BJP spreads hatred and promotes anger. It makes people fight each other. BJP’s friend Shiv Sena, beat up your people in Maharashtra. Just listen to BJP leaders’ speeches. You will hear not a single speech which doesn’t have anger. They never acknowledge the good works of others. BJP thinks that only one man in has the entire knowledge and rest knows nothing” explained Rahul Gandhi and continued, “For BJP, this coming election is not for India or its people. They are not bothered about the poor, farmers or women in our country. For them, this election is for just Modi. They are not bothered the people. They forgot the glorious contributions of the people of Gujarat for developing that state. Modi now claims that he is the only man behind the entire progress of Gujarat”.
“Congress wants welfare of entire people, especially the poor and downtrodden. We therefore initiated a right-based paradigm. But what ideology does BJP follow? Under its model, only one man has authority for entire decisions. He urges people to make him the chowkeedar of the country. BJP wants to make him a chowkeedar (watchman) to solve all the issues in our country; But Congress wants to make every citizen a chowkeedar of our nation” said the Congress Vice President.
“So, please open your radars to find out the truth. Vote for Congress and elect our candidates” concluded Rahul Gandhi.
Full text of the speech by Congress President Rahul Gandhi' in Lahra Chowk, Kishanganj, Bihar