President Droupadi Murmu said the nation will benefit from Dhankhar's long and rich experience in public life and extended her best wishes for a productive and successful tenure.
After Punjab, the party high command has shifted its focus to Rajasthan, where demands for Cabinet expansion and political appointments gained momentum after reports of resentment in the camp led by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who along with 18 MLAs had rebelled against the leadership of Gehlot last year.
'On a visit to the hospital for a separate procedure, I have tested positive for COVID19 today,' he tweeted. 'I request the people who came in contact with me in the last week, to please self isolate and get tested for COVID-19,' Mukherjee said.
Several ministers, including Parsadi Lal Meena, B D Kalla, Mamta Bhupesh and some independents like Suresh Tak, are present at the hotel in the lake city.
"He also gave verbal directions to make the necessary arrangements for the prevention of COVID-19 spread during the session," the spokesperson added.
He also said his equation with the Gandhi family will remain the same as it has been for the last 50 years.
The cross-country foot march stayed in the news almost right through, mostly for the barbs between the BJP and the Congress and occasionally for other reasons, including infighting in the opposition party.
Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly, was administered the oath as the deputy chief minister.
Singh, a veteran Congress leader, was a member of the Upper House of Parliament from Assam for almost three decades.
'Adivasi seats will sound the bugle of the end of the BJP regime in Gujarat.'
There is an atmosphere of tension and violence in the nation, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said in Jaipur on Thursday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also countered the narrative that "nothing was done in the past 75 years" in the country.
Prominent G-23 members including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal and Manish Tewari have not been included in the Congress list of star campaigners for West Bengal assembly elections.
Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot said the manifesto was prepared after taking opinions through multiple platforms such as social media.
'But unlike Punjab, the rebels have an alternative -- the BJP'
Naidu said that efforts are on to bring together all non-BJP parties and that he had met Congress president Rahul Gandhi to discuss measures on protecting democracy.
The notification for the Congress president's election will be out on September 22 by when all the PCC delegates will be finalised and electoral roll published and the election, if required, will be held on October 17.
Who will win in the end? The Dashing Pilot or the elderly warhorse?
Two other Rajasthan ministers Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena were also sacked from the state cabinet after a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party, its second in the last two days. The meeting was billed as a 'second chance' for Pilot, who had turned down appeals from the party's top leadership -- including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi -- to return to the fold.
'The government is scared of this Congress yatra, that is why various orders and letters are being issued'
The current crisis began Friday night when the Rajasthan Police sent a notice to Pilot, asking him to record his statement over an alleged attempt to bring down the government.
"We condemn this and resolve to continue and intensify our collective fight against the anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-Constitution policies of the Modi 'sarkar' that is destroying the social fabric of our society," they also said in the statement.
The police, who conducted preliminary investigation at their village, suspect it to be a case of 'revenge' and 'witness harassment' by a former teacher of the school, who was arrested last December on charges of molesting three girl students.
Addressing a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting at a resort in Jaisalmer, he said, "We are all democracy warriors. We are going to win this war and also win the (assembly) election after three-and-a-half years."
Dr Archana Sharma committed suicide on Tuesday due to alleged harassment after police filed an FIR against her under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
Parliamentarians and legislators across the country voted on Monday to elect India's 15th president, choosing between opposition pick Yashwant Sinha and National Democratic Alliance nominee Droupadi Murmu who is favoured to win the battle to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The new chief minister, if from the Congress, will have little or no time for political administration, to ensure that he does not lose the voter's goodwill even before the Lok Sabha polls. He can count only on one thing. That the BJP may not want to upset him too early lest an early failure should become an added problem for the party in all the polls to follow, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
In a series of tweets, Gehlot said the party has seen various crises, including in 1969, 1977, 1989 and 1996, but has come out stronger every time due to its ideology, programmes, policies and the firm belief in its leadership.
A day after Congress leader Gourav Vallabh taunted Shashi Tharoor over his probable All India Congress Committee president poll bid, the party on Friday urged all its spokespersons and communication department office bearers to refrain from commenting on any colleague contesting the elections.
Pilot's statement came amid reports of his discontentment with the Congress leadership.
The Congress is blaming the BJP to deflect criticism for its inability to keep its house in order, but truth is clear before the masses, the BJP said.
He has also convened the first meeting of the extended CWC on July 22 to chalk out the party's future strategy.
It was a high-stakes three-cornered fight between the BJP, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party.
'It was disappointing on two counts. One is on the leadership issue and second is how the Congress must win elections.'
The Congress on Thursday said former party chief Rahul Gandhi will file an appeal against a Gujarat court verdict holding him guilty in a 2019 criminal defamation case, and alleged that the government was after him for speaking the truth and bringing to light its 'misdeeds'.
BSP legislators were earlier supporting the Ashok Gehlot government from outside and were in constant touch with the chief minister.
Opposition presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha on Monday filed his nomination papers for the July 18 election, with a host of leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav and Farooq Abdullah accompanying him.
Singh met Congress president Rahul Gandhi before joining the party.
Voting will be held on Thursday for the first phase of Gujarat Assembly elections in 89 seats spread across 19 districts in Saurashtra-Kutch and southern parts of the state where 788 candidates are in the fray.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi met Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot separately.
Before the launch of the 'Bharat jodo yatra, former Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will on Wednesday take part in a prayer meeting at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's memorial in Sriperumbudur.
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