The party will hold the internal elections by October 15.
The plenary session in Chhattisgarh's Nava Raipur will start from February 24 and is expected to be attended by around 15,000 delegates.
The scenes at the party headquarters were indicative of the growing tumult in the Congress with the party deeply divided on the leadership issue.
The petition stated that the proposed project would affect the flow of the river Cauvery considerably and will severely affect the irrigation in Cauvery basin of Tamil Nadu.
'Soniaji is like a mother to the party. We revere her even now'
High drama played out at the nearly seven-hour Congress Working Committee meeting with sources saying that Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the letter writers and some leaders found it to be insinuating that it was written in cahoots with the BJP.
The Congress is seeking to give a strong political message to the nation from the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel, with the party leadership holding the prayer meeting at Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, followed by the CWC meet at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel national memorial in the state.
'Since we defeated their evil designs on July 10, their poaching approach became more aggressive with using blackmail and money power as tools to finish off the political opposition in Goa.'
Assam reeled under devastating floods caused by incessant rain, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking stock of the situation and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visiting several relief camps sheltering affected people on Saturday, officials said.
The Congress is gearing up to demonstrate a political show of strength on Monday when the party leader Rahul Gandhi will appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection in connection with a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper.
After holding meetings with senior leaders of the Congress on Monday morning, party president Sonia Gandhi has decided to convene a meeting of the Congress Working Committee on Tuesday at 9 am to discuss the difficulties before the United Progressive Alliance government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Amongst those who met Gandhi on Monday was Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.
In a jolt to the Congress ahead of Himachal Pradesh polls, senior leader Anand Sharma on Sunday resigned from the chairmanship of the party's steering committee for the state, saying he was left with no choice after the 'continuing exclusion and insults'.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday met Sonia Gandhi and expressed his intention to contest the upcoming AICC chief polls, while the Congress president conveyed that she would stay "neutral" in the elections, sources said.
'AAP is more acceptable to sections of the middle class because it has pragmatically tried to accommodate Hindu sensibilities.'
The rule based on which England were declared the winner, did not go well with the fans, who urged the International Cricket Council that the trophy be shared between both teams.
The toll due to the flood since mid-May is now 101, they said.
Glimpses of the CWC meeting, which was meant to formulate a plan to revive the party from the death throes of electoral irrelevance, but...
Rahul, 46, was appointed party vice-president in January 2013 at Congress's brainstorming session in Jaipur. The talk about his elevation has been going on for quite some time now.
Party sources said Gandhi is likely to be the sole candidate for the post and is 'deemed to be the next party chief on Dec 5.
The Congress had convened a meeting of its Lok Sabha members to evolve the party's strategy in the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday.
'Thank you @incredibleindia for all the wonderful memories'
Like the last time, Ghulam Nabi Azad is believed to have taken the lead in preparing and despatching the letter this time too.
The party last saw a contest for the post in November 2000 when Jitendra Prasada had lost to Sonia Gandhi.
One way forward could be for the CWC to name an interim working president for the party and then ideally dissolve itself, following which the main leadership positions within the party, including the CWC itself, should be opened up to fresh elections
Asked about the organisational changes made by Gandhi and the subsequent reported statements by some leaders who had written to her over party reforms, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said he had not seen a single statement by any Congress leader on the issue and cannot comment on that.
The Congress will reach out to civil society members and like-minded political groups for the 'Bharat Jodo' yatra from October 2 for rallying support to combat polarisation and protect Constitution, democracy and various institutions, senior party leaders said on Thursday.
This is the first World Cup for Virat Kohli as the captain of the side.
The BJP president also accused Congress leaders, including a chief minister, of trying to actively create vaccine hesitancy during the once-in-a-century pandemic.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal told the media after a meeting at party chief Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence that that the CWC was briefed on the discussion between NCP and Congress on Wednesday.
The UP Congress reportedly passed a resolution demanding action against Prasada, a leader from Uttar Pradesh, and has accused his family of being against the Gandhi family.
Even though it was stated that no action would be taken against the senior leaders who had written to Sonia Gandhi, they say that the retaliation had already begun, reports Aditi Phadnis
After the resolution was passed, Chaudhary said being a president of the Delhi unit he has seen the sentiments of Delhi Congress workers and supporters for Rahul Gandhi that only he can fight against the ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party.
"Only time will tell," was the cryptic reply from Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi to a question from media-persons at the end of a three-hour meeting of the Congress Working Committee. Asked if Patil offered to resign at the meeting, Dwivedi quipped, "I have not heard the question."
Party chief Sonia Gandhi has convened the meeting at a time when rising inflation and record international prices of crude oil have created serious concerns before the Congress as also the coalition government
Congress leaders from Maharashtra Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan and Pradesh Congress Committee chief Balasaheb Thorat attended the meeting along with the top brass of the party, including Ahmed Patel.
Besides Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and the CWC members also paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the Bapu Kuti.
The Centre directed Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on Sunday to prevent dumping of dead bodies in the Ganga and its tributaries, and focus on their safe disposal and a dignified cremation after corpses were seen floating in these rivers following a spurt in the number of coronavirus cases.
Gandhi on Friday chaired his first CWC meeting after being elected as the party chief.
The Congress dismissed as "mere speculation" reports that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are to offer their resignation at the Congress Working Committee meeting on Monday called in the wake of the party's worst-ever electoral defeat.
"The ruling establishment seems to have lost all sense of balance, and of proportion. It appears determined to undermine all democratic norms. It seems hell-bent to destroy the spirit of inquiry, the spirit of questioning, the spirit of debate and dissent, said the Congress president.
