Latest news with #Surjewala
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Surjewala calls Tharoor 'part of Congress family' to pacify party leaders
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Thursday said that Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor's recent remarks about the surgical strikes were factually incorrect. Surjewala made these remarks after Tharoor, who is leading an all-party delegation across five countries, to partner nations to emphasise India's zero tolerance to terror and ' Operation Sindoor ', in Panama, noted that India has changed its approach in the past few years. Tharoor also made references to the surgical strikes India made in 2016 and 2019. Tharoor vs Congress Following Tharoor's remarks, some Congress leaders expressed their disagreement. Congress leader Udit Raj in a post on X said, 'How could you denigrate the golden history of Congress by saying that before PM Modi, India never crossed LoC and the International border?' Elaborating on it, Raj added, 'In 1965, the Indian Army entered Pakistan at multiple points, which completely surprised the Pakistanis in the Lahore sector. In 1971, India tore Pakistan into two pieces, and during the UPA government, several surgical strikes were unleashed, but drum beating was not done to encash it politically. How could you be so dishonest to the party that gave you so much?' Raj's sentiment was echoed by another Congress leader, Pawan Khera, who quoted from Tharoor's book 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister' stating, 'The shameless exploitation of the 2016 surgical strikes along the Line of Control with Pakistan, and a military raid in hot pursuit of rebels in Myanmar, as party election tool - something the Congress had never done despite having authorised several such strikes earlier - marked a particularly disgraceful dilution of the principle that national security issues require both discretion and non-partisanship.' Tharoor responds to criticism from Congress In response to comments from several Congress leaders, Shashi Tharoor took to X, clarifying that his remarks in Panama were 'only reprisals for terrorist attacks'. Tharoor explained, 'My remarks were preceded by a reference to the several attacks that have taken place in recent years alone, during which previous Indian responses were both restrained and constrained by our responsible respect for the LoC and the IB.' Surjewala's attempt at pacifying party leaders On Thursday, Surjewala told reporters that Tharoor is a senior Congress leader and part of the Congress family, but his remarks about the surgical strikes were factually incorrect. Defending the party leaders, Surjewala said the party had only tried to correct the record by pointing out that the surgical strikes in Pakistan and also at other dens of terrorists 'were regularly executed' during the Congress-led UPA government to give a befitting reply to terrorists. (With agency inputs)
Mint
3 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
‘No noise, no PR': Congress claims 6 surgical strikes in UPA era. BJP hits back - ‘must stop lying'
The Congress party has reiterated its claim that six such military operations were carried out across the border during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, responded quickly accusing the Congress party of 'lying.' The Congres-vs-BJP on social media comes amid tensions between the grand-old party and its leader Shashi Tharoor over India's surgical strikes before and after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the centre. Tharoor, who is leading an all-party delegation to foreign countries post Operation Sindoor, has invited criticism over his statement that India conducted its first surgical strike in response to a terror attack in 2016. Sharing a video on X, the Congress party wrote, 'No Noise. No PR. Only Decisive Actions. 6 Surgical Strikes were carried out under Congress Govt.' The BJP responded to Congress claims and accused the party of lying. 'Congress is corrupt, even when it comes to numbers related to national security. However, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐔𝐏𝐀 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐆𝐌𝐎 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐓𝐈 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟖. Darpok Congress must STOP LYING,' the BJP said in a post sharing a 2018 story from HT – 'UPA did 3 surgical strikes.' In December 2018, the then Congress president Rahul Gandhi had asserted that the Indian Army conducted three surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) when the UPA government was in power. On May 29, senior Congress leader and party general secretary Randeep Surjewala, though, backed the 'seasoned and experienced' Tharoor, he also insisted that the leader was wrong about the surgical strikes. "Congress party only corrected (him) by pointing out that surgical strikes against Pakistan and other dens of terrorists were a regular feature even during the UPA term – to give a befitting reply to terrorists by our armed forces and the Congress governments," Surjewala said. Instances of surgical strikes during the Congress-led UPA government have been detailed in the past by the AICC Communication department and by Tharoor himself in his 2018 book "The Paradoxical Prime Minister", the Surjewala said. "Even former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh in the past spoke about these surgical strikes. Mr Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera have set the record straight. It should not be matter of any acrimony or doubt," Surjewala said. Tharoor has come under stringent criticism by several Congress leaders, including media and publicity department head Pawan Khera and party leader Udit Raj, for not mentioning surgical strikes against Pakistan during the UPA government in his presentations abroad. Udit Raj said he should be made a "super spokesperson of the BJP". The Congress' digs continued on Thursday with Raj saying what the Kerala MP had said was a "lie and a conspiracy to destroy the Congress". Congress is corrupt, even when it comes to numbers related to national security. Tharoor, who is heading a multi-party delegation to five countries, including Panama and the US, had a ready riposte for the jibes by some of his party colleagues. For 'zealots' fulminating about his supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC, he was "clearly and explicitly" speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said in a post on X from Panama City on Thursday morning. Critics and trolls were welcome to distort his views and words as they see fit but he genuinely has "better things to do", he said.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
‘Shashi Tharoor part of Congress family, but…': Randeep Surjewala tries to defuse tensions over surgical strikes
As tensions between Congress and its leader Shashi Tharoor escalated on Thursday, the party's general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala tried to pacify frayed tempers, saying there is no acrimony among its leaders. Randeep Surjewala, however, erred in claiming that surgical strikes against Pakistan were held for the first time in 2016. Addressing the media, Surjewala said Shashi Tharoor's recent remarks about surgical strikes, made as the leader of an all-party delegation to expose Pakistan, were factually incorrect and that the Congress had only corrected the record by pointing out that the surgical strikes and also at other dens of terrorists 'were regularly executed' during Congress-led UPA government to give a befetting reply to terrorists. "Shashi Tharoor is a senior Congress leader and very much part of the Congress family. However, what he said about the surgical strike was factually incorrect," Surjewala told reporters. He said surgical strikes had been carried out by the armed forces, and when the Congress-led UPA government was in power. 'Congress party only corrected (him) by pointing out that surgical strikes against Pakistan and other dens of terrorists was a regular feature even during the UPA term – to give a befitting reply to terrorists by our armed forces and the Congress governments. Those instances have been detailed in the past by the communications department (when Surjewala headed the department). Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh as himself spoken about them; Tharoor himself in his book spoken about them, and Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera have only put the record straight. It is not a matter of acrimony and doubt,' Surjewala said. Shashi Tharoor, who is leading an all-party delegation to partner countries to highlight India's zero tolerance to terror and Operation Sindoor, said in Panama that India has changed its approach in recent years, and terrorists have also realised they will have to pay a price. Referring to 2016's surgical strike and 2019's Balakot airstrike in his address, the Congress MP from Kerala said, 'What has changed in recent years is that the terrorists have also realised they will have a price to pay; on that, let there be no doubt. When, for the first time, India breached the Line of Control between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base, a launch pad - the Uri strike. That was already something we had not done before. Even during the Kargil War, we had not crossed the Line of Control; in Uri, we did, and then came the attack in Pulwama in January 2019.' "This time, we have not only gone beyond the Line of Control and the international border. We have struck at the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by hitting terror bases, training centres, and terror headquarters in nine places," Tharoor added. Shashi Tharoor's statement led to some Congress leaders articulating their disagreement. Several Congress leaders, including media and publicity department head Pawan Khera and party leader Udit Raj, criticised Tharoor for not mentioning surgical strikes against Pakistan during the UPA government in his presentations abroad. Udit Raj said he should be made a 'super spokesperson of the BJP'. The Congress's digs continued on Thursday, with Udit Raj saying what the Kerala MP had said was a "lie and a conspiracy to destroy the Congress". "The delegations which have been sent are trying to destroy the name of the Congress... Shashi Tharoor says that before PM Modi's leadership, we never crossed LoC or any international border with Pakistan. It is a big lie and a big conspiracy to destroy the history of the Congress which needs to be replied to," Raj told PTI. "He should focus on his duty rather than criticising the Congress party… Congress took required measures in the past but never publicised it or used it as a medium of collecting votes in their favour," he said. Raj's remarks were reposted on X by Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh. Pawan Khera also shared a screenshot from Tharoor's book in which he criticised the Modi government for allegedly exploiting the 2016 surgical strikes politically. "I agree with that Dr Shashi Tharoor who wrote about surgical strikes in his book in 2018 - 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister'," Khera said. "The shameless exploitation of the 2016 'surgical strikes' along the Line of Control with Pakistan, and of a military raid in hot pursuit of rebels in Myanmar, as a party election tool--something the Congress had never done despite having authorized several such strikes earlier--marked a particularly disgraceful dilution of the principle that national security issues require both discretion and non-partisanship," Tharoor writes in the book. An apparently infuriated Tharoor also put out a lengthy post on X. "After a long and successful day in Panama, I have to wind up at midnight here with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don't really have time for this ''but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC in the past - 1. I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars." "My remarks were preceded by a reference to the several attacks that have taken place in recent years alone, during which previous Indian responses were both restrained and constrained by our responsible respect for the LoC and the IB," Tharoor said, while responding to the criticism.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Centre's MSP does not cover input costs, claims Congress
The Congress on Thursday (May 29, 2025) claimed that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Kharif crops did not even cover the input costs and accused the Modi government of deceiving farmers in the name of MSP. 'The MSP has become the maximum suffering for the producers,' Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala told reporters at a press conference. Mr. Surjewala said the Centre is crediting itself for declaring a higher MSP for crops, but the reality is that the MSP is far lower than the 'cost (C2) plus 50 per cent' formula recommended by the Swaminathan Commission. He said while the Centre has declared MSP, it is hardly buying crops at that rate and farmers are being 'cheated'. 'What is the point of announcing the MSP when there is no purchase?' he asked. Referring to the MSP on paddy announced by the Centre, the Congress leader claimed that it was ₹766 lower than the C2 plus 50% formula. Mr. Surjewala said the right MSP should have been ₹3,135, while the government had announced only ₹2,369 MSP for the paddy. He said even the NDA/BJP-ruled States had said that the input costs were more than the MSP and Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra had recommended MSP of ₹3,260, ₹3,000 and ₹4,783 respectively. Mr. Surjewala asserted that the 'marginal increase' in MSP by the government is less than the inflation rate as farmers' costs are rising due to the increase in prices of diesel, electricity, seeds and fertilizers. He also referred to the reduction of ₹24,000 crore in fertilizer subsidy by the government.
Hindustan Times
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Jobs of 30K permanent staff under cloud: Surjewala
Hitting out at the BJP government in Haryana for putting the jobs of about 30,000 permanent government employees at risk, Congress MP, Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday said that the high court's decision to quash the provision of providing bonus marks to candidates as per the socio-economic criteria have put the jobs of government employees recruited after 2019 under a cloud. At a briefing, the former state minister said that as socio-economic criteria stands quashed, a revised merit list will have to be prepared after deducting the marks awarded to candidates as per the socio-economic criteria. 'We demand that since the socio-economic criteria has been set aside, the government should create additional posts to protect the jobs of thousands of employees,' he said The high court in its May 22 order had set aside a 2019 provision of adding 10 or less bonus marks on the basis of socio-economic criteria and experience for those taking exams to get a government job in Haryana. The HC said that such a provision was in violation of fundamental rights - Articles 14 (equality before law), Article 15 (prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth) and Article 16 (equality of opportunity in matters of public employment) of the Constitution. 'Jobs of permanent employees recruited between 2019 and 2025 are under a cloud because if they do not get selected in the new merit list prepared after deducting the marks awarded for socio-economic criteria, then these employees will be considered as temporary employees,' Surjewala said. The Rajya Sabha MP alleged that BJP government has spoiled the future of the youth of Haryana in the last 10 years. Surjewala said that former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his successor Nayab Saini should apologise to the youth of Haryana for weaving a socio-economic criterion purely with a view to grab votes.
