Latest news with #RandeepSinghSurjewala
Mint
2 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Parliament Monsoon Session: Surjewala gives suspension notice to discuss Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor
Congress Member of Parliament Randeep Singh Surjewala has given a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor in the Monsoon Session of Parliament that begins today. "I hereby give notice under Rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) of my intention to move the following motion for the suspension of business listed for July 21," Surjewala's notice reads. I hereby give notice under Rule 267... to discuss the concerns arising out of the tragic terror attack in Pahalgam. 'That this House suspends Zero Hour and the relevant rules pertaining to Question Hour and the businesses of the day to discuss the concerns arising out of the tragic terror attack in Pahalgam and India's response through Operation Sindoor,' it reads. The Parliament reconvenes today after a break of over three and a half months for the Monsoon Session, which will be held from July 21 to August 21. This will be the first session of Parliament after Operation Sindoor – India's precision strikes on terror camps in Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. Parliament Monsoon Session: I hereby give notice under Rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) of my intention to move the following motion for the suspension of business listed for July 21, Surjewala's notice reads. Opposition parties, including the Congress, have insisted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should speak on Operation Sindoor and US President Donald Trump's repeated claims that he brokered peace between India and Pakistan. They have also demanded a discussion on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The Parliament will table 15 bills throughout the session, including discussing the Demands for Grants (Manipur) for the year 2025-26 and introducing, considering, and passing/returning the related Appropriation Bill. Additionally, a resolution seeking the approval of extending the President's rule in Manipur will also be tabled in the session. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government has listed eight new Bills to be introduced in this session, in addition to taking up seven pending bills that were introduced earlier. The government's top agenda item is the Income-Tax Bill, 2025, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha during the Budget Session of Parliament on February 13 before being referred to a select committee led by BJP MP Baijayant 'Jay' Panda.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Organised crime is Haryana's biggest industry, claims Congress MP Randeep Surjewala
Congress Rajya Sabha member Randeep Singh Surjewala on Sunday (July 20, 2025) termed Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who also holds the Home portfolio, a 'complete failure' and demanded that he step down, alleging that 'organised crime is the biggest industry in the State today'. Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh on the prevailing law-and-order situation, Mr. Surjewala alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had turned Haryana, the land of the Bhagavad Gita, into the land of 'Gangs of Wasseypur', claiming that the State was ruled by 'mafias, guns, bullets and ransom' rather than by the Constitution. Asserting that crime cannot flourish without political patronage, Mr. Surjewala said the police functioned at the behest of the political leadership. Those in power, he alleged, were either 'weak', 'worthless' and 'incompetent' to govern or were offering shelter to criminal elements. 'In both cases, they should quit,' he said. Citing official figures, the former Haryana Minister claimed the deteriorating law-and-order situation was reflected not just in newspaper headlines but in official statistics. 'As per the National Crime Records Bureau, three people are murdered and five sexual offences are committed in Haryana daily. In 2024, 966 people were murdered and 16,743 crimes were committed against women, which means 46 women fell victim to these crimes every day. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, 4,137 people have gone missing, most cases being related to kidnapping,' he said. Mr. Surjewala further said that during a meeting of seven Directors General of Police in February this year, the State government admitted that 80 criminal gangs — including the Lawrence, Bhau, Kaushal Chaudhary, Goldy Brar, Rana and Vikas Gulia (Dubai) gangs — were active in Haryana. Blaming part of the situation on unemployment, Mr. Surjewala claimed that police officials had stated that these gangs, operating from India and countries such as Dubai, Canada, and Australia, were recruiting unemployed youth by offering amounts ranging between ₹5,000 and ₹20,000. Mr. Surjewala, who is also the All India Congress Committee general secretary, said a report compiled by him based on press reports from nine districts indicated a 'dangerous trend'. According to him, Faridabad had recorded 41 murders so far this year, followed by 38 each in Jind and Gurugram, 25 in Panipat, 21 in Kaithal, 20 in Karnal, 18 in Kurukshetra, 15 in Yamunanagar and 11 in Sirsa. 'It was a similar situation during the Indian National Lok Dal's rule in 2005, and has now even worsened,' he said. Comparing the situation with the previous Congress government, Mr. Surjewala said that prior to 2014, headlines were about sporting achievements, rising investments in the National Capital Region and Haryana's performance in development indices. 'After the BJP formed the government under Manohar Lal, the headlines changed to reports about paper leaks, corruption in jobs and atrocities on farmers. Under Nayab Saini, we are now reading about drug and sand mafias, an unbridled bureaucracy, and criminal extortion,' he alleged. Reacting to the allegations, Haryana BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli said the police had taken strict action against criminals and the process of arrests had been expedited. He added that action would soon be taken against those issuing threats from abroad.
India Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Siddaramaiah releases Rs 50 crore to each MLA amid pressure over fund shortage
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has approved the release of Rs 50 crore in development grants for each MLA, following weeks of internal discussions and mounting pressure from party legislators who had complained of fund shortages. The move comes after a series of one-on-one meetings that several Congress legislators held with state in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, where they expressed concern over the lack of financial support to carry out developmental work in their meetings took place at the Congress party office in Bengaluru, where the legislators reiterated that the delay in fund disbursal was stalling key infrastructure projects in both urban and rural segments. Following the MLAs' representations, Surjewala is learnt to have taken up the matter with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, during separate meetings held in Bengaluru and Delhi. After several rounds of internal deliberations, the Chief Minister has now sanctioned the long-pending allocation, as was originally proposed in the state budget. Each MLA will receive Rs 50 crore towards constituency development, with the funds earmarked for infrastructure works such as roads and July 17, fresh concerns were raised again, this time by an Independent MLA supporting the Congress-led government. Darshan Puttannaiah, who represents Melukote in Mandya district, said the funds released were not enough to meet the needs of rural areas. Acknowledging the fiscal pressure of the five Guarantee schemes, he said there was a need to balance social welfare commitments with infrastructure development.'You know the financial situation and why we are not getting funds. They have given money now but we need more funds. This is not adequate, you know how many villages don't have roads and drains. There are 236 villages and we need Rs 5-10 crore for each. It is going for that (Guarantees) as well. We have to give it to that (Guarantees) and give funds. Both can't be done together,' Puttannaiah month, Congress MLA from Kagwad, Raju Kage, threatened to resign over prolonged delays in executing development works in his constituency, blaming the state administration for inaction. Kage expressed frustration that not a single work order had been issued, two years after the Chief Minister approved a Rs 25 crore special MLA accused the state machinery of complete failure and said he was disheartened by the lack of progress. 'I am so disheartened that I am even considering resigning. Don't be surprised if I go and submit my resignation to the Chief Minister in the next two days,' he had timely release of the grants is likely to ease discontent within the Congress legislature party, where some MLAs had publicly criticised the government's delay. It is also expected to boost grassroots-level development in the lead-up to civic and local body elections across the state.- Ends IN THIS STORY#Karnataka
New Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Economy in distress, unemployment very high in country, says AICC General Secretary
BENGALURU: AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005), which is an instrument of livelihood for the poor, marginalised, SC/STs and OBCs, is under attack by the Union Government. The Congress leader also alleged that the economy is in distress and unemployment is very high. The Congress leader said that the budget for MGNREGA has stagnated at around Rs 86,000 crore. He said Aadhaar-MGNREGA card linking denied 7 crore registered workers their rightful wages and employment, and total person-days of work under MGNREGA fell from 312.37 crore in 2023-24 to just 239.67 crore by February 2025, he said. 'Congress guaranteed and had implemented 100 days of work, but the BJP has slashed it to just 45,' he said. Surjewala said Wednesday's Bharat Bandh, a nationwide strike by trade unions, was a protest against the Modi government's alleged anti-worker and anti-farmer policies. The Congress leader said the BJP government failed to provide adequate employment opportunities, with over 30 lakh vacancies across various departments of the Government of India and Public Sector Undertakings. Unemployment in India has reached alarming levels, but the government has failed to take effective action, he said. He said wealth inequality in India is worsening as the rich are getting richer while the poor continue to suffer. India has slipped to 111th out of 125 countries in the 2023 Global Hunger Index and India stands at 134th out of 193 on the UNDP's Human Development Index (2022), which measures life expectancy, education, and income.
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Business Standard
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Trade union strike: Normal life remains unaffected; sporadic violence in WB
Normal life was not impacted in most parts of the country due to a nationwide strike called by the 10 central trade unions to protest against the labour policies of the Centre, though some sporadic incidents of violence were reported from West Bengal. However, the trade unions claimed that the strike was successful, and a large number of workers abstained from work, impacting postal, banking, insurance, and mining sectors. Reports of violence were received from pockets of West Bengal after Left-wing activists clashed with police and supporters of the ruling Trinamool Congress in some districts. Left-leaning bank unions, All India Bank Employees Association, All India Bank Officers Association and Bank Employees Federation of India also supported the strike, leading to disruption in services in some parts of the country. However, there was no impact on private sector banks and many large public sector banks like State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda. The All India Power Engineers Federation claimed that over 2.7 million power sector workers hit the road across the country to protest against privatisation. In a statement, a forum of the 10 central trade unions said there was a bandh-like situation in many states of the country. They include Puducherry, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, Goa, Meghalaya, and Manipur. Reports of partial bandhs were also received from parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, among others, the forum said. There were industrial and sectoral strikes held in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat, it added. Several political parties supported the strike call, including the Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Communist Party of India. In Bengaluru, Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said the nationwide strike is aimed at opposing the Narendra Modi government's 'anti-worker and anti-farmer' policies, and its 'failures' to create jobs and fill existing vacancies. In Odisha, the Biju Shramik Samukhya, a trade union affiliated to the Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD), joined the protests. In Telangana, Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha said that her party and Telangana Jagruti supported the strike as the BJP-led government at the Centre has eroded workers' rights. The trade unions have said that the central government is implementing reforms that weaken workers' rights. They called the one-day strike in support of their demand for doing away with the four labour codes along with contractualisation, privatisation of public sector undertakings and increasing minimum wages to ₹26,000 per month, among others. The forum had last year submitted a 17-point demand to Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. The government has not been conducting the annual labour conference for the last 10 years, the forum claimed. However, the Confederation of All India Traders, which BJP Lok Sabha member Praveen Khandelwal leads, said there was no impact of the strike on commercial activity in the national capital.
