The grand old party’s crisis: Why Congress partymen are parting ways
NEW DELHI: The Congress’s internal churn burst into the open again recently after former Odisha MLA Mohammed Moquim wrote to Sonia Gandhi, calling for “open-heart surgery” in the party and flagging a growing disconnect between the leadership and its workers. Similar concerns were raised in the run-up to the Bihar assembly elections this year in November, where the distance between the “leadership” and the workers was on display during seat distribution talks. Since its formation in 1885, the Congress has had problem of plenty. There were too many popular leaders, too many dedicated party workers and too many loyal supporters during the country’s freedom struggle. After Independence, the country rallied behind Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress, helping the party win almost every election. To its credit, the party served as a broad canopy under which different ideologies co-existed. Cut to the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election: everything seemed to go against the grand old party. After a 10-year run at the Centre, the Congress found itself reeling under corruption charges, anti-incumbency and a sudden exodus of senior leaders just ahead of the polls. The final nail in the coffin was the “Modi wave”, which helped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sweep away the general election. Since then, the stars have not aligned for the Congress. The party continues to face more or less the same problems it did a decade ago. It remains plagued by infighting, disillusioned workers and senior leaders jumping ship after flagging serious leadership issues. In his letter to Sonia Gandhi dated December 8, ex-Odisha MLA Mohammed Moquim highlighted six consecutive election losses in Odisha and three in Lok Sabha while also questioning the selection of Mallikarjun Kharge as the party’s leader, claiming that the 83-year-old veteran “is unable to resonate with India’s youth.” In his five-page letter, he also complained that he had not been granted an audience with Rahul Gandhi for almost three years. “This is not a personal grievance … but a reflection of a wider emotional disconnect felt by workers across India, who feel unseen and unheard,” he wrote. This is not the first time a party leader has complained about not getting an audience with the Congress scion. The list has only grown longer. Leaders such as Himanta Biswa Sarma, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Jitin Prasada have quit the Congress and joined rival parties after raising similar concerns. This raises a key question: why are so many leaders disgruntled with the grand old party, and why is it steadily losing its cadre across states? Defeats after defeats After suffering a debacle in the 2014 general election at the hands of the BJP, the Congress has lost more elections than it has won. Even after a promising performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party soon lost steam. The sharpest slide came in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, where the Congress was reduced to just 16 seats. In Bihar, its tally halved from 12 to six, while in Haryana – where it hoped to convert Lok Sabha momentum into victory – it slipped from 42 to 37. Even in Delhi, where the Congress was trying to claw back to relevance, the party drew a blank for the third consecutive time. The only two states where the Congress did marginally better – Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand – were ones where it fought as a junior partner in a coalition. Unholy marriages In political alliances, chemistry between parties is paramount. Historically, however, many regional parties allied with the Congress were either born out of splits from it or emerged from anti-Congress sentiment. This unequal match often creates friction for the grand old party. For instance, the Congress’s alliance with the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir appeared to be on the brink of collapse following sharp differences. Chief minister Omar Abdullah has, on several occasions, publicly expressed displeasure over the Congress’s decision to launch a campaign for the restoration of statehood without consulting its ally. Similarly, the Congress’s relationship with the Aam Aadmi Party has been turbulent within the INDIA bloc. After prolonged seat-sharing negotiations and resistance from the Congress’s Delhi unit, the two parties fought together in Delhi, Gujarat and Haryana in the Lok Sabha polls, but against each other in Punjab. Last year, they failed to reach a consensus on seat-sharing in the Haryana Assembly elections and contested separately. In the Delhi Assembly elections earlier this year as well, both parties fought a bitter battle, raising questions over how the two would function as allies within the INDIA bloc. In such situations, party workers on the ground – wired to defend their own party – often find themselves confused while coordinating with alliance partners who hold opposing ideological positions. Decisions by the ‘high command’ The Congress ‘high command’ is also frequently accused of taking too long to act when power tussles erupt within state units. As an ongoing standoff between Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar forces the leadership into repeated deliberations, no decisive call has yet been taken. Similar leadership tussles played out in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where factionalism among state leaders eventually contributed to the party losing power. The common thread across these states has been the Congress leadership’s reluctance to act decisively in battles between the old guard and younger turks. In Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot – who as state president had led the party to a decisive victory in 2018 – staked claim to the chief minister’s post. The party, however, backed veteran Ashok Gehlot, who had led the Congress to defeat in 2013. Pilot and his supporters were left disappointed. When he intensified his campaign for the top job, Gehlot used his influence to quell the rebellion. Though the Gandhi family persuaded Pilot to stay, the high command’s bet on Gehlot failed, with the party losing the state in 2024. Who is the high command, anyway? Several Congress leaders, including Sanjay Nirupam, have alleged that the party
‘Anti-state, anti-village’: Rahul Gandhi hits out VB-RAM G bill day after passage; what he said
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Modi government a day after Parliament cleared the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, calling it “anti-state and anti-village by design” and accusing the Centre of dismantling the core of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In a post on X, the LoP in Lok Sabha said the government had “demolished twenty years of MGNREGA in one day”, arguing that the new law was being falsely presented as a reform. “VB–G RAM G isn’t a ‘revamp’ of MGNREGA. It demolishes the rights-based, demand-driven guarantee and turns it into a rationed scheme which is controlled from Delhi,” he wrote, adding that “it is anti-state and anti-village by design”. Rahul said MGNREGA had fundamentally shifted power in rural India by giving workers genuine bargaining leverage. “With real options, exploitation and distress migration fell, wages increased, working conditions improved, all while building and reviving rural infrastructure,” he said. According to him, that leverage was precisely what the government now wanted to weaken. “By capping work and building in more ways to deny it, VB–G RAM G weakens the one instrument which the rural poor had.” Pointing to the Covid-19 crisis, Gandhi said the original scheme proved its value when livelihoods collapsed. “When the economy shut down and livelihoods collapsed, it kept crores from falling into hunger and debt,” he wrote, noting that women had consistently accounted for more than half of all person-days under MGNREGA. He warned that rationing employment would hit the most vulnerable first. “When you ration a jobs programme, it is women, Dalits, Adivasis, landless workers and the poorest OBC communities who get pushed out first.” The Parliament on Thursday passed the Bill amid noisy protests from the Opposition. While the government insists the legislation will strengthen rural livelihoods, opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, have staged demonstrations, accusing the Centre of pushing the Bill through without consensus. Courtesy ; TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Dalit engineer assault: UP BJP worker granted bail, receives hero’s welcome
On August 23, Munna Bahadur allegedly attacked Lal Singh, a superintending engineer at the power department. The unprovoked assault, caught on video, went viral and drew widespread attention. Lucknow: A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker accused of assaulting a Dalit government official in Uttar Pradesh was released on bail on Friday, following which he was garlanded by party members and family supporters outside Mau district jail. The Allahabad High Court granted bail to the accused, Munna Bahadur, triggering sharp reactions after visuals of his welcome went viral on social media. Munna Bahadur is accused of attacking Lal Singh, a superintending engineer with the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited, on August 23. The incident, which was captured on video, shows Lal Singh being surrounded by a group allegedly led by Munna Bahadur. During the interaction, Munna Bahadur is seen standing up and striking the engineer with a slipper. Speaking to local media, Lal Singh said the assault was completely unprovoked. “People usually come to our office to report issues. Munna Bahadur arrived with 15 to 20 people and, without raising any complaint, began verbally abusing me. He did not explain any problem and suddenly started hitting me with his shoes. He also punched me. My colleagues intervened and rescued me,” Singh said. When asked whether the BJP worker had come to raise concerns related to electricity supply, the engineer maintained that no such issue was ever mentioned during the interaction. Following the circulation of the assault video and the widespread public outrage it sparked, Munna Bahadur claimed he was being unfairly targeted and described himself as the real victim. “We have been suffering from this problem for 17 years. We went there only to inform them about our electricity-related grievances. Instead, they accused us of netagiri and asked us to leave,” Munna Bahadur told reporters earlier. He further alleged that the situation escalated after one of the officers grabbed his collar. Based on Lal Singh’s complaint, a case was registered, and Munna Bahadur was arrested and sent to jail. Even before his release, several BJP leaders publicly came out in support of the accused. Former BJP MLA Ram Iqbal Singh, in a Facebook post, said Munna BahadurSingh had visited the power department to highlight electricity supply issues affecting dozens of villages and had been “falsely implicated” in the case. He also welcomed the Allahabad High Court’s decision to grant bail. Courtesy : Madhyamam Note: This news is originally published on https:/madhyamam.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
‘Behave responsibly’: BJP slams Rahul Gandhi over remarks in Germany, says shows his sentiments for India
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday criticised Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on India’s manufacturing sector during his visit to Germany, accusing him of “insulting India from foreign soil” at a time when Parliament is in session. BJP MP Sambit Patra said the LoP carries a “huge responsibility” and needs to behave in a “responsible manner”, especially while travelling abroad. “LoP has a huge responsibility. The LoP has to behave in a really responsible manner, especially when the LoP is on foreign soil. Parliament is in session here, several Bills are being discussed in the House and Rahul Gandhi is in Germany to address the Indian diaspora.” Patra said. Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the BMW factory in Munich, Patra alleged that the Congress leader praised German manufacturing while portraying India in a bad light. “Today, we saw Rahul Gandhi visiting BMW factory in Munich and there, he appreciated their manufacturing and said that he is sad that manufacturing is poor in India,” Patra said. The Puri MP rejected Rahul’s claims of Indian manufacturing being in a fragile state and declining, citing data. “Insofar as manufacturing is concerned, IIP (index of industrial production) is on a positive growth trend. In 2025 manufacturing in the country has grown at a record 5.4 per cent. Also right now our GDP is growing at 8.2 per cent, we’re among the fastest growing GDPs in the world, in which around 17 per cent contribution is of manufacturing,” he further added, “Rahul and responsibility can never move together. Whenever he visits abroad, he insults Parliament and India.” Earlier in the day Congress on X posted a video of Rahul Gandhi visiting the automobile major BMW’s headquarters in Munich. The post added that he inspected several cars and motorcycles at the plant. “He was pleased to see TVS’s 450cc motorcycle, developed in partnership with BMW—a proud moment to witness Indian engineering on display,” the post read. In the same post, Rahul reiterated his criticism of the Centre’s manufacturing policy. Congress quoted him saying, “Manufacturing is the backbone of strong economies. Sadly, in India, manufacturing is declining. For us to accelerate growth, we need to produce more – build meaningful manufacturing ecosystems, and create high-quality jobs at scale.” In a video shared by the party, Gandhi said, “India needs to start producing. Production is the key for the success of any country. And our manufacturing is declining which actually should be going up. Rahul Gandhi is currently in Germany as part of an outreach programme and is scheduled to address the Indian diaspora in Berlin on December 17. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Cong stages protest against ‘misuse’ of central agencies
Lucknow: Accusing BJP’s double-engine govts of misusing central agencies, the Uttar Pradesh Congress staged a demonstration on Wednesday. The protest came a day after a court setback to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Young Indian case involving Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Led by UP Congress president Ajay Rai, party workers marched from the Congress headquarters towards the BJP office. The protest was organised jointly by District Congress president Rudra Daman Singh ‘Bablu’ and city Congress chief Amit Srivastava Tyagi. However, the march was stopped midway by police, and the protesters were detained and taken to temporary jail at Eco Garden. Talking to reporters before his detention, Rai said: “The National Herald case was politically motivated and aimed at maligning senior Congress leaders. The judicial observations exposed the Centre’s ‘mala fide intent’ and misuse of investigation agencies to target the opposition,” he said. Adding that the Congress never bowed down to authoritarian and anti-democratic policies, Rai asserted that the party would continue its fight to protect the Constitution and democratic values. “Attempts to defame Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have failed. We will continue to foil BJP’s plans to malign their image,” he said. Congress functionaries, including former MLC Deepak Singh, criticised the state govt for using force against what they described as a peaceful democratic protest. They reiterated that the party would continue its agitation on the streets and in Parliament against “the BJP govt’s misuse of constitutional institutions”. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
HC transfers Rahul case to Lucknow
Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Wednesday transferred a criminal complaint case related to alleged British citizenship controversy of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli to Lucknow. A bench of Justice BR Singh passed the order on the petition of S Vignesh Shishir, a BJP worker from Karnataka. Shishir had filed a criminal complaint case before the Special MP/MLA court at Rae Bareli, levelling several allegations against Rahul Gandhi under BNS, Official Secrets Act, Foreigners Act and Passport Act. Filing the plea before the HC, the petitioner urged that when he goes to Rae Bareli, he gets life threat and so the said complaint may be transferred from Rae Bareli to Lucknow. It was said in the petition that a fair hearing is not possible due to local conditions. Citing security reasons, the petitioner had sought intervention from the HC. After hearing the plea, the bench ordered that the said case be transferred to Lucknow. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Cong protests decision to replace MGNREGA , dares BJP to remove Gandhi’s photo from rupee note
Belagavi: Governing Congress Wednesday protested the Union govt’s decision to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with a new law and challenged BJP to remove Gandhi’s picture from currency notes. Led by chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar, the protest, amid the winter session, was held in front of the Gandhi statue at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha. Members also targeted what Congress called “hate politics” against its party brass in the National Herald case. Ministers and legislators from both Houses participated. Launching a sharp attack on the BJP-led Union govt, Siddaramaiah accused it of repackaging Congress schemes under new names. “It won’t be long before we hear of ‘GModiG’,” he said, referring to VB-G RAM G, the name of the proposed law. “We have already seen renaming exercises — from Raj Bhavan to Lok Bhavan and Planning Commission to Niti Aayog — while the govt fails to address soaring prices of essential commodities.” He accused BJP of indulging in politics of hatred and foisting cases on Congress members, including Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. On Tuesday, a Delhi court refused to take cognisance of Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering charge against Sonia, Rahul and others, holding that the investigation stemmed from a private complaint and not an FIR. Shivakumar challenged BJP to remove photos of the Mahatma from currency notes. He said: “Replacing MGNREGA is a national problem. We have introduced MGNREGA through an amendment to the Constitution. You can’t change a constitutional amendment. We will take up the issue in the assembly.” Shivakumar, who received a notice to appear for questioning in the National Herald case, also alleged procedural lapses by Delhi Police. “I asked them only one question — please give me a copy of the FIR. They still have not provided me with one.” Health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao criticised the renaming of MGNREGA, saying it reflected BJP’s and RSS’s opposition to Mahatma Gandhi. Reacting to the protest, opposition leader in the council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy accused Congress of historically opposing Mahatma Gandhi. “We are not against Gandhi. Congress is against Gandhi. Gandhi had told them they had achieved independence, so dissolve Congress party immediately as it is not a political party. But they didn’t.” Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Kerala: Panchayat ‘Purified’ After Dalit President’s Removal? Controversy Erupts Over Sprinkling of Cow Dung Water, SC/ST Commission Demands Report
Outrage over the alleged humiliation of a Dalit Panchayat president in Kozhikode! Cow dung water sprinkled in the name of ‘purification’? SC/ST Commission demands report from the police. Learn the full story. Kozhikode: A case of alleged humiliating “purification ritual” against a former Panchayat president in Kozhikode district of Kerala is escalating. The Kerala State Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission has taken a strong stance on the incident that took place in front of the Changaroth Panchayat office in Perambra. The commission has directed the Kozhikode District Police Chief to investigate the matter and submit a detailed report within 10 days. It is alleged that the act was carried out with the intention of humiliating the outgoing Panchayat president, Unni Venjeri, who belongs to the Dalit community. What is the whole matter? According to media reports, cow dung water was sprinkled and a special ritual was performed outside the Changaroth Panchayat office. This is being seen as an insult to the president, who belongs to the Dalit community. The commission chairperson has given clear instructions to the police to register a case immediately based on the complaint, conduct an impartial investigation, and take appropriate legal action against the culprits. Police and Opposition’s Argument Perambra police informed that on Monday, during the election victory celebrations, a group of United Democratic Front (UDF) workers sprinkled water and cleaned the area outside the Panchayat office with brooms. The police said, “No formal complaint has been registered regarding this incident so far, therefore, no case has been registered.” On the other hand, leaders of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) have rejected these allegations. They argue that the youth used water and brooms only symbolically. Their intention was to convey the message that they were cleaning the dirt of corruption from the Panchayat, and not to target any particular individual. Allegations of Caste-Based Humiliation Outgoing president Unni Venjeri expressed deep sorrow over the incident and alleged that IUML (Indian Union Muslim League) workers were behind it. He questioned why similar celebrations or rituals were not observed in the three other panchayats that the UDF (United Democratic Front) had also won from the LDF (Left Democratic Front). According to Venjeri, this incident occurred in Changaroth because he was a Dalit president. Becoming emotional, Venjeri said, “If someone perceives this as caste-based humiliation, can they be blamed?” He stated that the panchayat, under the LDF’s rule for the past five years, had worked inclusively, but the IUML had orchestrated this act with a specific agenda. Protests Erupt The incident has fueled political protests in the district. The CPM’s (Communist Party of India (Marxist)) youth wing, DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India), marched to the Changaroth panchayat office on Tuesday, strongly condemning the act. According to the police, the protest was peaceful, and the situation in the area is under control. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has also announced that they will hold another protest march on this issue. Rajan Chaudhary Courtesy: Hindi News
‘Truth prevailed’: Relief for Rahul, Sonia Gandhi in National Herald case; court refuses to take cognisance of ED chargesheet
NEW DELHI: Delhi’s rouse avenue court on Tuesday refused to take cognisance in proceedings arising from a fresh FIR registered in the National Herald case, observing that the Enforcement Directorate’s probe is based on a private complaint and not on any FIR. The court also ruled that leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other accused are not entitled to a copy of the FIR at this stage. However, it allowed the ED to continue further investigation in the matter. The court noted that cognisance could not be taken as the ED’s case stems from a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and the magistrate’s summoning orders, and not from an FIR. Reacting to the court’s decision, the Congress said the proceedings initiated by the ED against its top leadership were politically motivated and legally untenable. The party said the court had found the ED’s action to be without jurisdiction, as there was no FIR, which it termed a prerequisite for such proceedings. “Truth has prevailed. The malafide and illegality of the Modi govt stands fully exposed. Proceedings of ED against the Congress leadership – Smt Sonia Gandhi Ji and Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji, in the Young Indian case have been found completely illegal and malafide by the Honourable Court,” the grand old party said in a post on X. “No case of money laundering, no proceeds of crime and no movement of property – all baseless charges that have been a part of political witch hunt, propaganda, reputation assassination and campaign which stands defeated today,” it added. The Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) registered an FIR against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others on a complaint by the ED as part of its money laundering probe into the high-profile National Herald case. Reacting to the FIR, the Congress accused the BJP of pursuing a “politics of harassment, intimidation and vendetta” against its top leadership. The party alleged that the “Modi-Shah duo” was misusing investigative agencies and maintained that the National Herald case was “completely bogus,” asserting that justice would ultimately prevail. Rejecting these allegations, senior BJP leader and former Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad termed the Congress’s claims “baseless.” He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not in office when the private complaint was filed, pointing out that the matter dates back to 2008. “Congress is levelling false and baseless allegations. We vehemently condemn it and request them to give an account of the loot they committee instead of giving speeches… Let the law take its course.” Prasad further added, “The country should know that in the FIR filed by Delhi Police, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been charged under section 120 (B) for criminal conspiracy and Section 420. The case has been filed under the old penal code because the case is old.” Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Judiciary has exposed BJP govt misusing central investigation agencies, says Stalin
Chennai: Stating that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi stand vindicated in the National HErald Case after the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet against them was rejected, Chief Minister M K Stalin said the case has exposed the misuse of central agencies by BJP. Stalin said on X that the BJP misused the agencies as tools of political vendetta. “In the National Herald case, the judiciary once again exposed the Union BJP govt’s misuse of central agencies to target opposition leaders. Without any legal basis, such cases are pushed only to harass and malign political rivals.” Stalin stated that the BJP was targeting Sonia Gandhi and her family through the investigative agencies. “With truth on their side and no fear, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi stand vindicated, even as the BJP remains hell-bent on hounding the Gandhi family for standing firm on secularism and constitutional values which it cannot tolerate,” Stalin said. The chief minister said that due to such cases, the credibility of the investigative agencies is questioned. “Time and again, this vendetta-driven approach is tarnishing the credibility of premier investigative institutions and reducing them to just being instruments of political intimidation,” Stalin said. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights