Congress President Kharge likened Modi to a venomous snake on Thursday at a public meeting, which had triggered a row, prompting the BJP to seek an apology from Kharge. Kharge later sought to clarify his remarks were not aimed at the PM but instead at his party, the BJP.
'I wholeheartedly condemn the statement made earlier today by Sri K R Ramesh Kumar. It is inexplicable how anyone can ever utter such words, they are indefensible. Rape is a heinous crime. Full stop,' she said on Twitter.
'I declined the generous offer of Congress to join the party as part of the EAG and take responsibility for the elections. In my humble opinion, more than me the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep rooted structural problems through transformational reforms,' Kishor said in a tweet.
The Shiromani Akali Dal skipped the meeting, besides the Aam Aadmi Party, the TRS and the BJD.
Karnataka chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister-designate D K Shivakumar on Friday discussed the modalities of cabinet formation in the state with the party leadership in Delhi and are learnt to have shortlisted some names of ministers and their portfolios.
Chief minister aspirant and Karnataka state Congress president D K Shivakumar on Monday cancelled his Delhi trip, hours after confirming he would be flying to the national capital, fuelling speculation that all is not well in the ruling camp over the CM contender issue.
The Congress on Saturday wrote to the Election Commission seeking action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his 'Congress shielded terrorism for vote bank' remark and said he has crossed the 'lakshman rekha'.
"I have seen Pilot's statement in the media that he will not join the BJP. If you do not want to go to the BJP, stop accepting the hospitality of the BJP immediately," Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said.
They said her son and former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is accompanying her during her travel to the US. Rahul is expected to return within a week.
Strengthening the party's communication strategy to improve public engagement is foremost on the Congress agenda after Rahul Gandhi had stressed that they "have to go back to the people" at the Udaipur meeting.
The Congress victory in Karnataka, its first big state since 2018, puts the party back in the game for general elections as it re-establishes primacy in the opposition space that is currently vastly fragmented despite efforts to cobble up a united front against the BJP.
Gehlot exuded confidence that all the three candidates of the Congerss will comfortably win.
The Congress has often accused the media of being "biased" towards the Modi dispensation.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has tested positive for COVID-19 and she has isolated herself under medical advice, party chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said on Thursday.
When the House was taking up private members' business, Chowdhury urged Rajendra Agrawal, who was presiding over the proceedings, to allow Gandhi to attend the House.
The complaint mentions "Gajendra Singh" but does not say if it pertains to the Union minister.
Senior party leader Ahmed Patel, general secretary in-charge for Rajasthan Ajay Maken and general secretary organisation KC Venugopal have been made members of the panel.
Congress leader and former union minister Captain Satish Sharma died in Goa on Wednesday after a brief illness. He was 73.
Rahul welcomed her in the party fold and wished her the best
With the election campaign in Karnataka witnessing a bitter war of words between the BJP and the Congress, both the parties rushed to the Election Commission, seeking ban on electioneering by top leaders of the other side.
'Because if a Dalit is made the chief minister, they ask who is taking the decisions in the Congress?'
Karnataka Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar on Tuesday met party president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi separately and discussed the modalities of government formation in the southern state.
The Congress hit out at the government, alleging that it was treating the EC as its "subservient tool".
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra left for Lakhimpur Kheri Wednesday evening from a PAC guest house in Sitapur where she was kept in detention since Monday morning.
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 group is also reported to be seeking the ouster of some Rahul Gandhi loyalists from key AICC positions and top on their target are AICC general secretary Organisation K C Venugopal, chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and general secretary Ajay Maken.
'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.
Congress leaders and workers took to the streets on Monday in Delhi and various state capitals as Rahul Gandhi appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in New Delhi for questioning in the National Herald case, with the opposition party accusing the Modi government of 'trampling on democracy'.
Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal, Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh of the Congress and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut were among the 16 candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha from four states where polling was held on Friday after tussle over cross voting and alleged breach of election rules delayed the counting by around eight hours in Maharashtra and Haryana.
While over 80 MLAs, including some of the independents, have reached a hotel in Udaipur, Soldier Welfare Minister Rajendra Gudha, SC Commission Chairman and MLA Khiladi Bairwa and MLA Girraj Singh Malinga expressed their displeasure in Jaipur.
A new cabinet in the state will be in place in the next 48-72 hours.
"Dear Naddaji, Stop losing cool and all sense of propriety. Please remember -- 10,000 security personnel were deployed for PM's rally. All arrangements were made in tandem with SPG and other agencies," Randeep Surjewala said on Twitter.
Gandhi has been posing some tough questions to the government and seeking answers from the Prime Minister on the stand-off with China on the LAC in Ladakh and allegations of Chinese incursions into Indian territory.
"This river-like journey will persist and in this river you will not find any trace of hate or violence. There will only be love and brotherhood as this is India's history and DNA," Gandhi told the gathering.
Congress MPs on Tuesday staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply to the motion of thanks on President's address, alleging he was only speaking against the Congress party and not on the address.
The leaders who Gandhi met included Deputy Leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma and Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari. She is likely to meet some other leaders of the G-23 as well in the coming days.
The counting of votes for the Rajya Sabha elections was delayed on Friday in Maharashtra and Haryana over alleged violation of rules, officials said.
A delegation of Congress leaders comprising Pawan Kumar Bansal, Vivek Tankha and Ranjeet Ranjan met the Election Commission and handed over a memorandum by Ajay Maken, its candidate for the Rajya Sabha poll in the state.
'The Modi government is trying to suppress the matter only to save its political image'
"Sanjay Jain has been arrested by the Special Operations Group (SOG) team of Rajasthan Police, under sections 124A and 120B of Indian Penal Code (IPC)," Police said.
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