Latest news with #JairamRamesh
New Indian Express
8 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Congress slams Centre over Indian defence attache's 'lost jets due to imposed constraints' remark
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday cited the reported comments of India's defence attache to Indonesia that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor and accused the government of having "misled" the country. The party also asked why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi "refusing" to preside over an all-party meeting to take the Opposition into confidence and why has the demand for a special session of Parliament been rejected. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X which quoted Captain (Indian Navy) Shiv Kumar, speaking at a seminar in Indonesia recently, that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025 during its targeting of terror-linked sites in Pakistan. Kumar's remarks in the media report could not be independently verified and there was no immediate reaction from the government or the defence establishment on it. "First the Chief of Defence Staff makes important revelations in Singapore. Then a senior defence official follows up from Indonesia," Ramesh said in his post on X. "But why is the PM refusing to preside over an all-party meeting and take the Opposition into confidence? Why has the demand for a special session of Parliament been rejected?" he said.
India Gazette
12 hours ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Ecologically devastating": Congress' Jairam Ramesh on Centr's plans to redraw Sariska Tiger Reserve boundaries for mining
New Delhi [India], June 29 (ANI): Congress leader and party's General Secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh attacked the Centre on Sunday for a proposed plan to redraw the boundaries of the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, allowing 50 mining companies to resume operations. In a post on X, Ramesh said, 'Now the boundary of the tiger reserve is about to get redrawn. This will enable 50 mining companies which have been closed down to resume operations. Getting the full involvement of local communities in the sustainable management of tiger reserves is essential and goes without saying. But this particular move to reopen the 50 mines (marble, dolomite, limestone, and masonic stone) will adversely impact the tiger habitat - a habitat that has been regenerated in the face of great odds.' The reopening of mines will fragment the critical tiger habitat, potentially devastating the ecosystem and threatening the tiger population. The Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, once on the brink of collapse due to poaching, has made a remarkable recovery with a current tiger count of 48. However, a new threat looms large as the boundary of the reserve is set to be redrawn. Taking a jibe at the 'double-engine' government, the party leader pointed out that both the union and state environment ministers are from Alwar district, where the reserve is located. 'The Union Environment Minister is from Alwar. So is the Environment Minister of Rajasthan. Surely this double engine cannot be supporting such corridor fragmentation to benefit the mine owners,' the Congress General Secretary's post read. The Rajya Sabha MP further praised the previous Manmohan Singh-led government for working to preserve the Tiger population. 'The tiger population at Sariska had been reduced to exactly zero by December 2004 thanks to an hyper-active poaching network. This created a nation-wide shock and led to the creation of the Tiger Task Force in April 2005 and to a meeting of Manmohan Singh with chief wildlife wardens of different states at the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in May 2005. Subsequently the National Tiger Conservation Authority came into being in Dec 2005 and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau in June 2007,' his post read. He also praised the efforts for increasing the tiger population, despite certain earlier doubts regarding relocation of Tigers from Panna reserve to Sariska, 'Thereafter along with the Panna Tiger Reserve, relocation was initiated at Sariska -in the face of considerable scepticism from some experts themselves- and today the tiger count stands at a historic high of 48.' Congress leader Jairam Ramesh suggests that the Supreme Court may need to intervene to prevent the destruction of the tiger habitat, citing violations of its directives. In May of last year, SC had forbidden any mining activity within a 1 kilometre radius around Sariska Tiger Reserve and also asked the states to formulate closure plans to comply with its order. Sariska Tiger Reserve is situated in the Aravalli Hills, one of the world's oldest mountain ranges. The reserve is 35 km from Alwar, 250 km southwest of Delhi and 110 km northeast of Jaipur. The former hunting reserve of the Maharaja of Alwar, the Sariska valley, is home to a variety of flora and fauna. The park has populations of tigers, leopards, Nilgai, Sambar, chital etc. The place is a paradise for bird lovers as it shelters a large population of Indian peafowl, crested serpent eagles, sand grouse, golden-backed woodpeckers, great Indian horned owls, tree pies, vultures and many others. (ANI)
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Investment depression inevitable consequence of Modi govt's policies of suppression: Congress
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday said the country's economic and investment growth is sluggish due to the Narendra Modi government's "policies of suppression and oppression". In a post on X, Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said India's economic growth "stubbornly refuses" to accelerate at the desired and perfectly feasible rate. The most important reason for this failure, he said, is that private corporate investment continues to remain sluggish in spite of the generous tax cuts in September 2019 and the PLI (production-linked incentive) cash handouts. Ramesh said the Modi Government's own survey indicates that private sector capital expenditure may well be 25 per cent lower in 2025-26 as compared to the previous year. "Informed analysts have opined that while banks are willing to lend, companies are unwilling to borrow since the investment environment is not seen to be conducive to expansion.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"Mask Of RSS Has Come Off Again...": Rahul Gandhi's Jab On Preamble Row
New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi weighed in Friday on the row over the words ' secular ' and ' socialist ' in the Preamble to the Constitution. The Congress MP attacked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh - the ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party - after it called for a 'debate' over retaining the terms. "The mask of the RSS has come off again," Mr Gandhi said on X, picking up where party comms chief Jairam Ramesh left off this morning. "The Constitution irks them because it speaks of equality, secularism, and justice. The RSS-BJP don't want the Constitution... they want the Manusmriti." "They aim to strip the marginalised and the poor of their rights and enslave them again. Snatching a powerful weapon like the Constitution from them is their real agenda." "The RSS should stop dreaming this dream - we will never let them succeed..." RSS का नक़ाब फिर से उतर गया। संविधान इन्हें चुभता है क्योंकि वो समानता, धर्मनिरपेक्षता और न्याय की बात करता है। RSS-BJP को संविधान नहीं, मनुस्मृति चाहिए। ये बहुजनों और ग़रीबों से उनके अधिकार छीनकर उन्हें दोबारा ग़ुलाम बनाना चाहते हैं। संविधान जैसा ताक़तवर हथियार उनसे छीनना इनका… — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 27, 2025 This chapter in the row over the terms 'secular' and 'socialist' - added to the Preamble in 1976 - began after Mr Hosabale's comments Thursday, and as the BJP upped attacks on the Congress over the Emergency imposed by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi a year earlier, i.e., 1975. Critics of these terms' inclusion believe the political background - Mrs Gandhi's Congress government curtailed Parliament's powers - mean there are questions over the legitimacy of the amendment itself. RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, demanded a 'debate' be held on retaining the terms. Jairam Ramesh responded first for the Congress, drawing the RSS leader's attention to a Supreme Court judgement quashing a petition to remove the terms from the Preamble. The RSS has NEVER accepted the Constitution of India. It attacked Dr. Ambedkar, Nehru, and others involved in its framing from Nov 30, 1949 onwards. In the RSS's own words, the Constitution was not inspired by Manusmriti. The RSS and the BJP have repeatedly given the call for a… — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 27, 2025 "The Chief Justice of India himself delivered a judgment on November 25, 2024, on the issue now being raised by the leading RSS functionary. Would it be asking too much to request him to take the trouble to read it?" the Congress leader posted on X. The reference was to a ruling by a two-judge bench in November last year; then-Chief Justice Sanjiv Kumar noted that past decisions by the court, including the landmark 1973 Kesavananda Bharti and 1994 SR Bommai cases observed "secularism is a basic feature of the Constitution". The court similarly defended inclusion of 'socialist' in the Preamble. Its interpretation, it said, "should not be restricted to the economic policies... rather 'socialist' denotes the State's commitment to be a Welfare state... ensuring equality of opportunity and social justice." The court also pointed out the petitions had been filed in 2020, "... 44 years after the words 'socialist' and 'secular' became integral to the Preamble", and that made the plea "particularly questionable". The Congress has repeatedly accused the BJP of wanting to alter fundamental tenets of the Constitution, a charge it made into a poll issue before last year's federal election. Mr Gandhi, in fact, began appearing at public events with a small, red-bound copy of the Constitution, which he would wave for emphasis during campaign speeches. The BJP also issued equally repeated denials; Home Minister Amit Shah told NDTV the party had no intention of ever doing that, and pointed out it had already won two consecutive elections. Each time the party had an overwhelming majority and could have changed the Constitution at will, but did not, Mr Shah told NDTV.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Donald Tusk's ‘Daddy' Jab Sparks Press Room Frenzy, EU Leaders Struggle To Keep Calm
'Led To End Of Op Sindoor': Cong Jabs Centre As Trump Teases Trade Deal, Takes Shot At Jaishankar As US President Donald Trump declared an imminent 'very big deal' with India, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticised the Centre, linking it to the "abrupt" conclusion of Operation Sindoor. The US president has consistently stated that he utilised trade discussions with India and Pakistan to halt confrontations following the Pahalgam terror attack, although India has consistently rejected these assertions. Jairam Ramesh demanded transparency from the government and urged Jaishankar to focus on addressing what he called a collapse in Indian diplomacy, instead of speaking about the Emergency imposed 50 years ago. #donaldtrump #indiadeal #jairamramesh #operationsindoor #pahalgamattack #sjaishankar #indiandiplomacy #transparency #tradetalks #usindia #congress #modigovt #foreignpolicy #bilateralrelations #nationalsecurity #politicalcriticism #internationalaffairs #pakistan #emergency #indiapakistan #toi #toibharat 34 views | 47 minutes ago
