NEW DELHI:  Hope floats for Congress as 2022 has woken up the grand old party from its deep slumber. Two important events the election of a non-Gandhi as the party president and Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra are expected to give a fresh lease of life to its sagging fortunes.

With the next two years packed with several Assembly elections and the crucial Lok Sabha polls, it is set to be a do-or-die battle for Congress. Challenges are plenty for the party, as it hopes to cash in on the goodwill and momentum gained by the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which covers 3,500 km over 150 days between Kanyakumari and Srinagar. Though the party hopes that the yatra will give Rahul a makeover from a party leader into a national leader, it is too early to say if he can translate the march into votes.

However, the recent Gujarat Assembly election results and Delhi MCD poll have illustrated Congress’ unpreparedness and complacency while taking on the mammoth machinery of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The win in Himachal Pradesh polls may be a consolation for the party which has seen successive electoral setbacks. 

However, the Gujarat debacle turned out to be a big blow. With the party facing an unprecedented challenge from Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, Gujarat, Delhi and Goa, the Congress machinery will have to work overtime to turn the tide in its favour.

For the new party president Mallikarjun Kharge, the immediate challenge is to reclaim the seat of power in Karnataka, his home state. The upcoming elections in Tripura, Meghalaya, and Nagaland will also be a litmus test as the polls will set the tone for the general elections.

Besides bracing for the poll battle, setting the house in order will be the Karnataka stalwart’s crucial test in the days to come. Though the party has been successful in keeping factionalism in poll-bound Rajasthan under control for now, the cracks may resurface anytime.

Likewise, the internal strife in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana may spell trouble for its electoral prospects there. The Congress is also aware that the battle against the BJP can be won only through a strategic alliance with regional satraps. Many feel that Kharge can work out a mutually beneficial tie-up with regional parties.

In terms of internal workings, Congress has a long way to go as its presidential poll was marred by charges of lack of democracy. The questions raised by the ginger group G-23 are still relevant, they say. With the party’s plenary session scheduled in February, the key question of holding an election to the Congress Working Committee will be keenly watched.

Party facing do-or-die battle in next two years
With the next two years packed with several Assembly polls and the Lok Sabha polls, it is set to be a do-or-die battle for Congress. Challenges are plenty for the party, as it hopes to cash in on the goodwill and momentum gained by the Bharat Jodo Yatra

BHUBANESWAR: Expressing concern over the impact of the deaths of two Russian tourists in the Rayagada district, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HARO) wrote to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik urging him to ensure a proper investigation.

In a letter to Patnaik, it said that a strong action plan should be chalked out for the safety and security of visitors, especially foreign tourists, coming to the state during the Hockey Men’s World Cup, which will begin on January 13.

“We request your esteemed office to kindly examine the case Of two Russians who Daied under mysterious circumstances and necessary steps and investigation may kindly be taken immediately to avoid further spreading of the negative news,” HARO chairman JK Mohanty said in the letter.

Noting that the deaths of the two tourists were having a negative impact on the prospects of tourism in Odisha in terms of safety, he said the incident is likely to slow down the arrival of foreign tourists to the state.

Prior to the pandemic, Odisha witnessed around 1.5 lakh foreign tourist arrivals each year, Mohanty said.

The state CID has stepped up its investigation into the deaths of Pavel Antov (65), a Russian lawmaker who died after allegedly falling from a Rayagada hotel’s third floor on December 24, and Vladimir Bidenov, his fellow traveller who was found dead in his room at the same hotel on December 22.

They were part of a four-member group, which along with their Delhi-based travel guide Jitendra Singh had checked in to the hotel on December 21.

The post-mortem report of the Russian MP indicates that he died of internal injury after a fall, while that of Bidenov points to a heart attack as the cause of death, police said.

CHENNAI: Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Wednesday exhorted the office-bearers of 23 wings of the party to ensure victory in all the 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Sources said DMK deputy general secretaries A Raja, I Periyasamy and Kanimozhi Karunanidhi have been tasked with overseeing the functioning of the 23 wings. 

According to sources, Stalin told the office-bearers to begin election preparations and counter the disinformation campaign of the BJP and the AIADMK. Stalin, in a tweet, directed the party apparatus to protect TN from reactionary forces that were attempting to establish themselves in TN by exploiting caste and religious inequalities. The functionaries and cadre should take the achievements of the Dravidian-model government and its welfare schemes to the people.

The DMK president also underscored the importance of strengthening booth committees on a war-footing and bolster social media activities to counter allegations against the incumbent government. DMK general secretary Durai Murugan, treasurer TR Baalu, youth-wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin and headquarters office-bearers attended the meeting. 

Later, responding to the charge of BJP national president JP Nadda that DMK was functioning for a single family, DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said: “I say the BJP is a party functioning as a broker for the two rich men in Gujarat and to hand over public sector undertakings to them; let Nadda respond to this view.” Asked whether there was any discussion on the Lok Sabha elections, Elangovan said the DMK’s task went beyond elections. “With the arrival of the BJP, the DMK has responsibilities like protecting Tamils.” 

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on January 2 a fresh plea seeking directions to the Centre and states to take stringent steps to control fraudulent religious conversions by “intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits”.

A bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar is likely to take up the plea filed by advocate Ashutosh Kumar Shukla which has also sought creation of a special task force to keep check on deceitful religious conversions.

Contending that the State is obliged to protect fundamental rights of the citizens, the plea said the right to propagate one’s religion does not give a right to convert any person to one’s own religion.

“The tribal belts are mostly illiterate regions. According to research statistics, conditions of health, education, diet and drinking water are rated as poor among the tribals who inhabit these areas.

“These areas are the most socially backward. This social backwardness opens opportunities for missionaries to work among deprived classes for their socio-economic, cultural, educational development and through that spread message of gospel which eventually results in conversion,” the plea alleged.

The PIL contended that the State must take appropriate steps to prevent the religious conversion of socially and economically underprivileged sections of society, particularly belonging to Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes.

Asserting the purpose of charity should not be conversion, the top court had earlier reaffirmed that forced religious conversion is a “serious issue” and against the Constitution.

Forced religious conversion may pose a danger to national security and impinge on the religious freedom of citizens, the apex court had said recently and asked the Centre to step in and make sincere efforts to tackle the “very serious” issue.

The court had warned a “very difficult situation” will emerge if proselytisation through deception, allurement and intimidation is not stopped.

KOCHI: After the Union Government banned the Popular Front of India (PFI), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is continuing its crackdown on PFI and on Thursday conducted raids on the premises of those who were earlier associated with PFI in Kerala. A special team of NIA raided the residences of several PFI leaders across the state.

Official sources said the simultaneous raids began on Wednesday night in 56 places spread across Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Palakkad, Alappuzha and Malappuram districts. The raids were conducted following inputs that a few leaders were still actively coordinating the functioning of the PFI despite the ban.

The raids were specifically focused on the premises of those leaders who were earlier active functionaries of the PFI. Sources said the NIA has been tracking the activities of several PFI leaders after the ban and received inputs that many of them have been conducting secret meetings at various places in Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram. As part of the raids, the NIA team is also collecting the bank account details of a few suspects to track fund transfers.

NEW DELHI: The Serum Institute of India (SII) has offered two crore doses of Covishield vaccine to the central government free of cost amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in some countries, official sources said on Wednesday

According to an official source, Prakash Kumar Singh, Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Serum Institute, has written to the Health Ministry offering the doses worth Rs 410 crore free of cost.

It is learnt that Singh has sought to know from the ministry how the delivery can be made.

SII has so far provided more than 170 crore doses of Covishield to the government for the national immunisation programme.

Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in some countries, including China and South Korea, the government has sounded an alert and asked states and Union territories to prepare for any eventuality.

India has stepped its surveillance and genome sequencing of Covid positive samples.

With only 27 per cent of the eligible adult population having taken the precaution dose, government officials have appealed to those due for it to take it.

Official sources on Wednesday cautioned that the next 40 days will be crucial as India may see a Covid surge in January.

Even if there is a wave, deaths and hospitalisation will be very low, the Health Ministry sources said.

The government made random coronavirus testing mandatory for two per cent of passengers arriving in each international flight from Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya have held meetings to assess the country’s preparedness to deal with a fresh surge in cases.

Mock drills were held at health facilities across India on Tuesday to check operational readiness to deal with any spurt in COVID-19 infection.