Congress has done well in the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat and it has won in places where party general secretary Rahul Gandhi had campaigned, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said on Thursday. "We have done well, therefore, obviously, I think if anyone has the reason to celebrate it is the Congress party," Tewari said.
Another Punjab da Puttar may become a neta soon... Why Sonia's illness caused heartburn...Gossip from the Dilli Durbar.
Wearing black clothes, Congress leaders hit the streets on Friday to protest against price rise and unemployment with a host of them, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, being detained by police amid dramatic standoffs outside Parliament and the All India Congress Committee headquarters in New Delhi.
Expressing anger over the death of a Communist Party of India-Marxist student leader allegedly due to police action in Kolkata, Union minister Manish Tewari has said the West Bengal government should overcome partisan politics and ensure justice in the case.
Against the backdrop of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's attacks on the United Progressive Alliance and the Congress, Union minister Manish Tewari on Friday said the ruling party and the alliance know how to run a coalition. "The UPA and Congress have always shown that they know how to run a coalition and the current UPA government will complete its full term," the Congress leader told reporters.
With Press Council chief Markandey Katju asking Maharashtra governor to pardon film star Sanjay Dutt in 1993 Mumbai blasts case, government on Friday indicated that the matter will be looked into and an "appropriate" decision taken once such a plea is made by the actor.
Congress on Wednesday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party for giving a clean chit to its President Nitin Gadkari facing charges of owning shell companies, alleging it has shown the "bankruptcy" of the opposition party's leadership and the "mask" has now come off "exposing its real face".
Agitated over its finding in the coal mine allocation issue, Congress on Monday targeted the Comptroller and Auditor General again by utilising the opinion of the Supreme Court on the 2G spectrum issue. Noting certain observations of the apex court in the 2G case, spokesperson Manish Tewari said, "If the Supreme Court can be so circumspect in its observations, is it not essential that other constitutional bodies, especially the CAG, should follow suit?".
Against the backdrop of J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah voicing anger over the hanging of Afzal Guru, Union Minister Manish Tewari on Monday said that there was need for being "circumspect and responsible" as delicate scrutiny was involved in such cases.
The Congress on Monday disapproved of the arrest of cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on the charge of sedition, saying the action was a bit "over-stretched" and "not called for". At the same time, the All India Congress Committee advocated for "reasonable restrictions" on freedom of speech and called for respecting the national emblems.
Reacting sharply to former Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal's allegation that the Central Bureau of Investigation raids on certain coal firms were staged, the Congress on Thursday demanded evidence from the anti-graft activist.
Congress on Tuesday downplayed the issue of United Progressive Alliance ally Trinamool absenting itself from both houses of Parliament as the government battled opposition over NCTC with the help of Samajawadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party which did the rescue act.
Condemning the attack on students at a home-stay in Mangalore allegedly by members of the Hindu Jagran Vedike, the Congress on Monday said intolerance and violence has been on the rise in Karnataka ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2008.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday traded barbs over the government's direct cash transfer scheme after the Election Commission sought a reply from the Centre on the timing of the announcement.
Gearing up for an Opposition attack over FDI during the upcoming Parliament session, the government on Friday asserted that it was ready to face any situation, including a no-confidence motion, even as it was reaching out to political parties to ensure passage of key bills
After the flop 2G spectrum auction that yielded only Rs 9,407 crore, government and the Congress on Thursday questioned the Comptroller and Auditor General's estimated loss of Rs.1.76 lakh crore in the spectrum allocation of 2001, drawing fire from the opposition. Information and Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari led the government attack by asking CAG Vinod Rai why the spectrum auction had not yielded anything close to the loss it had estimated.
The Internal and external security agencies, Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing, should have professional and democratic framework that would enable the bodies to work more effectively, a draft report prepared by experts said.
Congress on Wednesday launched a fresh attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying the process by which the party top brass had given a clean chit to its President Nitin Gadkari was "strange" as the complainant and the judge belonged to the same side.
The Congress on Monday said there was "nothing unusual" in the Supreme Court's refusal to stay the Andhra Pradesh high court order quashing 4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities in central educational institutions. "I have not read the Supreme Court order. It asks the petitioner for more material. There is nothing unusual about it. Nothing much should be read into it," party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters.
Newly appointed Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Monday took charge of his ministry. After assuming charge, Tewari said he would try and evolve consensus on all contentious issues.
Though a first time Member of Parliament, All India Congress Committee spokesperson Manish Tewari has a long association of nearly 31 years with the Congress, since joining its youth wing in 1981. The 47-year-old leader was seen as a strong defence line of the Congress in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party's onslaught.
Despite allies striking discordant notes and virtually vetoing key decisions, Congress on Monday ruled out mid-term polls in the new year expressing confidence that it would find a middle ground through talks.
As controversies dogged Bharatiya Janata Party's national executive meeting in Mumbai, the Congress on Friday took a dig at the principal opposition terming it a "splintered and fractured" party .
Amid growing street protest and unease in the party over the steep hike in petrol prices, Congress on Thursday hinted at a partial rollback as Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy cut short his Turkeministan visit and met Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel.
Congress has rejected demands for a probe against Robert Vadra, Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law, in the wake of allegation by civil society activists Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan that he was favoured by realty major DLF.
Unfazed by the united Opposition ranged against it on the FDI in retail issue, Congress on Wednesday declared that the government has the numbers in Parliament to face any adjournment motion, indicating that the allies Trinamool Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will be brought on board.
In a stinging attack on the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Congress on Monday alleged the government auditor was as much responsible as the Bharatiya Janata Party for the disruption of the just-concluded monsoon session of Parliament on the coal mine allocation issue.
The Congress on Tuesday said nobody should politicise the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in comments that came after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's remarks that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was indirectly behind it.
"He is our leader and we look forward to him leading us into battle in 2014," Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said on Sunday when asked about Rahul Gandhi's role in the next year's Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress on Friday said Team Anna's decision to launch a political party was a face- saver to end the fast as the issues raised by the activists were "completely hollow". "Both the issues at this point in time were completely hollow in substance because the Lokpal is before a Select Committee. The allegations were not backed by evidence," Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said.
Congress Member of Parliament Vijay Darda is not yet off the hook for his remarks purportedly in praise of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress on Tuesday said the row between Salman Khurshid and Election Commission on minority sub quota issue is over with the Law Minister writing a regret letter to poll panel.
Amid allegations and counter-allegations over the Comptroller and Auditor General's figure of presumptive losses in 2G allocation, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Saturday demanded that the CAG explain the issue to clear the air over the matter.
The contentious bill providing for legal sanction to police to obtain physical and biological samples of convicts and detainees for investigation in criminal matters was passed by Lok Sabha on Monday, with Home Minister Amit Shah asserting it will act as a defender of human rights of law-abiding citizens.
As Trinamool's bid to bring a no-confidence motion over FDI fizzled out in Lok Sabha, Union Minister Manish Tewari on Thursday took a dig at the former ally saying it was a 'peculiar' situation as a 19-member party was trying to decide the 'course of action' in the house.
Social Activist Anna Hazare hit back at Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari for making false allegations against him and challenged the government to register a First Information Report against him and investigate the claims made by Tewari at a press conference.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, who is an MP from Punjab, on Friday quoted from an affidavit filed by the Punjab government in court which said that 70 per cent of the youth in Punjab are on drugs of various kinds. It is the same Akali-BJP government, which filed the affidavit in the court.
Dubbing Ramdev and Anna Hazare as 'masks' of destabilising forces, the Congress on Tuesday alleged a conspiracy of national subversion has been undertaken jointly by the forces of right reaction and left anarchism.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said during the 1962 war, then Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee demanded that a session of Parliament be convened to discuss it and then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru accepted his demand.
Buoyed by the trial court verdict, Congress on Saturday said the matter regarding Home Minister P Chidambaram's alleged involvement in 2G scam should be allowed to rest and asked the BJP to apologise to the nation for the "vilification" campaign.