Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that multiple data sources, including the government’s own statistics, had pointed out that “workers can buy less today than they could 10 years ago”.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Highlighting the “decline in real wages”, the Congress, ahead of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s Union Budget, raised the demand for nationwide minimum wage of ₹400 per day. 

In a statement, Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh said that multiple data sources, including the government’s own statistics, had pointed out that “workers can buy less today than they could 10 years ago”. The Labour Bureau’s Wage Rate Index, Mr. Ramesh said, showed that real wages for labourers stagnated between 2014-2023, and in fact declined between 2019-2024.

The Ministry of Agriculture’s data, Mr. Ramesh said, also pointed in a similar direction. “Under [former Prime Minister] Dr. Manmohan Singh, real wages for agricultural labourers grew at 6.8% each year. Under Mr. Modi, real wages for agricultural labourers declined by -1.3% each year,” he said.

A combination of slow wage growth and back-breaking inflation had caused an unprecedented decline in real wages adjusted for price rise, Mr. Ramesh added. The Congress had, he said, promised in its manifesto a nationwide minimum wage of ₹400 per day to break this cycle of stagnant wages. 

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“The self-anointed non-biological PM has been delivered a stinging rebuke by voters in his efforts to reach 400 paar (400 plus) in the Lok Sabha. The Union Budget offers him the chance to achieve what the INC [Indian National Congress] has called Asli 400 paar (real 400 Plus),” Mr. Ramesh said in a post on social media platform X. 

New Delhi:

The Opposition INDIA bloc won 10 of the 13 seats that went to polls across seven states, backing up their strong show in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP, which returned for a record third term at the Centre last month, managed to claim only two seats.

In Punjab, AAP’s Mohinder Bhagat scored a decisive victory in the Jalandhar West constituency, with a margin exceeding 23,000 votes. Meanwhile, in West Bengal, the TMC showcased its dominance by capturing all four seats contested.

Himachal Pradesh witnessed a notable debut as Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, secured victory in the Dehra constituency. The Congress further strengthened its position by claiming the Nalagarh seat, while the BJP managed to secure a win in Hamirpur.

Chief Minister Sukhu, after the win said that people of Himachal Pradesh have given a befitting reply to those hatching “conspiracies to topple the government”.

“People of Himachal gave us 40 seats in 2022. People have given a befitting reply to the kind of poaching that happened in state politics in the past,” Mr Sukhu said.

“This also gave the message that the people of the state are aware and awake and that such poaching will not work. Three independent MLAs had no reason to resign. They could have simply allied with the BJP, but even they learned their lesson,” he added.

In Tamil Nadu, the DMK’s Anniyur Siva won the Vikravandi assembly seat by a significant margin of nearly 60,000 votes. The Congress won both seats in Uttarakhand, while the BJP’s Kamslesh Pratap Shahi won the Amarwar seat in Madhya Pradesh.

Independent candidate Shankar Singh won the Rupauli assembly bypoll in Bihar’s Purnea, defeating JDU’s Kaladhar Prasad Mandal by a margin of 8,246 votes.

These bypolls were the first since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which saw the BJP winning 240 seats – 32 short of the majority. The NDA, however, managed to cross the halfway mark of 272 with a total tally of 293 seats. The Congress-led INDIA bloc clinched 232 seats.

New Delhi:

Slamming Congress and the Gandhi family over amending the Constitution during their tenure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that till the time he is alive, he won’t allow anyone to play with the basic fundamentals of the Constitution.

Prime Minister Modi said that four members of the Gandhi family- former Prime Ministers Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi fiddled with the Constitution for their own political goals.

When asked in an interview with India Today on the Opposition claims that the Constitution will be rewritten if BJP is voted to power, Prime Minister Modi said, “The question that should be asked- who was the first to play with the Constitution? Pandit Nehru did. He brought the first amendment which was meant to restrict freedom of speech. His daughter (Indira Gandhi) then overturned the court verdict by bringing an amendment. Then her son (Rajiv Gandhi) came and overturned Shah Bano’s verdict. He changed the Constitution.”

“He brought a law to restrict media. The opposition was strong, and the media was also growing strong. they said they will not allow the imposition of another emergency. this scared him and he had to withdraw,” he added.

He further slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for tearing apart a copy of the ordinance which was passed by the Union Cabinet in 2013. The ordinance was later withdrawn by Manmohan Singh led government.

“Then his son (Rahul Gandhi) came, a remote control government was being run at that time, they had a PM of their choice. A Cabinet formed as per the Constitution took a decision, a Shehzada came and publically tore apart the cabinet decision. Later Cabinet also overturned its decision,” he said.

PM Modi further assured that reservations based on religion will not be allowed under his tenure.

“Four members of the same family destroyed the Constitution at different times. Until Modi is alive, I will not allow any change in the basic fundamentals of the Constitution. I won’t allow reservation based on religion, you already partitioned a country on the basis of religion,” he said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that if the Bharatiya Janata Party wins the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and tries to change the Constitution, then the whole nation will be set on fire.

“If the BJP wins these match-fixed elections, and changes the Constitution, the whole country will be on fire. Remember this,” Gandhi said at an election rally in Delhi.

Former Union Minister and BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde said that his party needs a total of 400 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls if any changes are to be made in the Constitution.

Hegde called for re-writing of the Constitution stating that Congress earlier made changes to the Constitution to oppress the Hindu society and to undo that “act” his party needs a two-thirds majority in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well as in states.

“They (Congress) have changed the Constitution and brought laws to oppress the entire Hindu society. If all this is to be changed, it will not happen with this minority vote. Both sides need a two-thirds majority. This time PM Modi has said that we should win more than 400 seats. Why 400? We have a majority in the Lok Sabha, but not in the Rajya Sabha. We need 400 seats to make any changes in the Constitution,” the BJP MP said on Saturday.

“We need a two-thirds majority in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and also in the states. Just the majority in Lok Sabha is not enough,” he added.

BJP distanced itself from the remarks made by Anantkumar Hegde and said that his remarks do not reflect the party’s stance.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Guwahati:

The Congress believes India is a union of states where all religions, cultures, and communities must be protected, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said as he campaigned for his party in Mizoram today. Continuing his attack on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress leader raked up the Manipur issue, criticising PM Modi for not visiting the state even once since ethnic violence broke out on May 3.

The people of Mizoram don’t want the BJP, Mr Gandhi said. “What people want here is that they don’t want the BJP to enter Mizoram and so people are with us. We have a proven track record in Mizoram.”

Addressing a press conference in the capital city Aizawl, Mr Gandhi said, “Congress laid the foundation of the country and has a track record of protecting the country’s ethos. The BJP has attempted to capture the entire institutional structure of India.”

“The upcoming Mizoram election is about protecting the idea of Mizoram from the BJP-RSS entry,” Mr Gandhi said, referring to the BJP’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS). “We will defend the idea of India, protect the Constitution, and the value of the country. That’s the idea of the INDIA bloc and the alliance is ruling over 60 per cent of the country.”

The BJP and the RSS are attacking the religions and traditions of the people of the northeast, Mr Gandhi alleged.

“Different states in the northeast are being attacked by BJP and RSS. Your religion and traditions are under attack. In Mizoram, the two regional parties – MNF and ZPM – are serving as the entry points for the BJP. The MNF is already an ally of the BJP and the ZPM is not fighting the BJP and in fact, the Assam Chief Minister is also trying to do politics here through these regional parties,” he said.

Drawing parallels with Manipur, Mr Gandhi said that the neighbouring state was attacked by the BJP through local parties.

“My Manipur visit was the first time in my career to any part of the country where I saw this kind of a situation within a state; communities are so divided that Meiteis can’t go to the Kuki areas and Kukis can’t go to places dominated by the Meiteis.”

“The politics of division and hatred has created a division and it needs to be repaired. The hatred the BJP has spread needs to be removed and that is my point on Manipur. It’s been a puzzle that why, for months, as Manipur burned, the Prime Minister didn’t visit the state. It was his primary responsibility, was it not?” he said.

Responding to the BJP’s allegations of dynastic politics, Mr Gandhi said the BJP is full of dynasties and the party’s idea is to promote big players and kill small businesses.

“If you see the BJP’s politics, their idea is to kill small businesses and help the biggest players. What does Amit Shah’s son do? What does Rajnath Singh’s son do? Look at the leaders in the BJP and what they do. You will find that the BJP is full of dynasties. So the question of dynasties has to be objective,” he said.

The Congress MP also spoke about the Israel-Gaza war, days after a statement by the party’s working committee highlighted a rift within the party. “Our resolution on Palestine-Israel is very clear. We are against violence. Anybody who kills innocent people is a criminal,” Mr Gandhi said.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body, had expressed its “dismay and anguish” over the war and underlined its support of the Palestinian peoples’ right to “land (and) self-government, and to live with dignity and respect”.

Sources said the Congress’ statement highlighted divisions within the party, and that the section on the Israel-Gaza war was not well-received by all those at the CWC meeting. Sources also suggested the inclusion of that section in the statement was a major sticking point and that it was not part of the original draft.

Mizoram will vote on November 7 to elect 40 MLAs. The votes will be counted on December 3. Candidates have until October 20 to file their nominations. The candidatures will be scrutinised the next day, while the last date to withdraw a nomination is October 23.

New Delhi:
The Congress has come under attack for allegedly supporting the Hamas and the Palestine cause without referring to the attack on Israel. Over 3,000 people have been killed in the latest war between Israel and the Hamas group.

Here are 10 facts about the Congress row over the Israel-Palestine war:

Hyderabad:

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has hit back at the BJP for its continuous attack on the Opposition bloc’s new name, saying that the ‘INDIA’ name of the coalition has got under the ruling party’s skin.

Speaking to ANI on Friday, Mr Tharoor said that to apply ‘ghamand‘ (pride) to the opposition is ‘unnecessary’ and alleged that the ones who are in power are arrogant.

“…The arrogance of power has been very visible. So to apply ‘ghamand‘ to the opposition is a bit unnecessary and a bit futile because those who are arrogant are the ones who are in power. That’s what we’re seeing every day. I think that clearly, the name we have given to the alliance has got under their skin and that’s why they are reacting in this exaggerated way and even trying to privilege the name Bharat which is also both our names in the Constitution of India. So what is the problem with using either of them?” Mr Tharoor said.

At a public rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently referred to the Opposition bloc as “INDI alliance” instead of INDIA and also termed it “ghamandia” (arrogant) alliance.

On Friday, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi too called the Opposition bloc a “ghamandi” alliance.

“Only a few people are calling it INDIA. It ought to be called the INDI alliance. Since the word alliance is repeated in the name, it is INDI alliance. It is actually a ghamandi (arrogant) alliance,” the BJP leader said.

Mr Tharoor also claimed the government may advance the Lok Sabha elections.

“I think inevitably one of the key topics is going to be the current political developments in the country and the actual election prospects and certainly those who have been representing us in the India Alliance meetings, we want to brief the committee (Congress Working Committee) about what’s happening there…We hope that the elections are in the usual time which is six to nine months away. But it’s also possible that the government might advance the elections as we’ve been hearing and we need to be prepared sooner rather than later,” he said.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is holding its first meeting since its reconstitution in Hyderabad.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)