'I left the party with heavy heart. If a party is working against national interest, there there is no other option but to leave it'
The ceremony, held at the famous St Peter's Basilica and attended by clergy and dignitaries from around the world, witnessed the induction of 21 new cardinals from various countries.
Gandhi also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over unemployment, farmers distress and alleged corruption in the Rafale deal with France.
'Pappa (A K Antony) was seen sitting with utmost pain in a corner of the house. I have never ever seen him so weak like this in my life. He did not shed tears, that's all'
'This business of monopoly of one family must end.' 'Here, they picked up a few leaders for him as he needed support which was okay, but later, they became his cronies.'
Union Minister Anurag Thakur hit out at Gandhi over his claims of being under surveillance by intelligence agencies and accused him of maligning India on foreign soil.
"It seems the BJP has opened a Lalit Kala Academy to train its spokespersons in how to defend Lalit Modi," party spokesman Tom Vadakkan told media persons.
The party has also expanded its list of spokesperson to 23, with MP Anil Baluni being elevated as the chief spokesperson and remaining its media head.
BJP leader Kailash Vijaywargiya said Rohith did not commit suicide due to expulsion from hostel.
The Congress on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "silence" on the Lalit Modi controversy, saying he should come out of his 'meditation' and answer the nation as he too is "liable".
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.
Till now, Vadra, 46, the businessman husband of Priyanka Gandhi, an SPG protectee, was exempted from frisking at airports when he travelled with an SPG protectee.
Congress had last month issued a show-cause notice to the magazine's editor Nirupam.
The BJP firebrand also suggested that the actor should go to Pakistan.
Former Union minister C K Jaffer Shareif, in a letter to Mukherjee, expressed surprise over the move and said he like other secular people was 'stunned' to hear about his attending the RSS function.
Known for making controversial remarks, senior Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan outdid himself when he alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met wanted underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in Lahore at the residence of his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif last December. Sharat Pradhan/ Rediff.com reports from Lucknow.
A senior official of the premier Central technical institute told reporters that the students had "violated" defined guidelines of IIT-Madras.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Phadnavis on Sunday faced flak for "brokering the deal" with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena instead of enforcing law and order, amid the row around the release of Karan Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil".
Former India cricket captain Bishen Singh Bedi said the appointment "defies all logic".
'I don't have the confidence that Emergency cannot happen again,' says BJP veteran LK Advani days ahead of the 40th anniversary of the imposition of Emergency.
'These guys did not even issue an apology to me and were taken back into the party.' 'They were reinstated on the grounds that they will contribute to the Congress campaign.'
An article published by the party's Mumbai unit has caused a stir as it blames Jawaharlal Nehru for the state of affairs in Kashmir, China and Tibet.
'If the leadership gets wrong information, what results you can expect?'
'In Rajiv Gandhi's time, out of every Re 1 spent by the government only 15 paisa reached the public.' 'At this moment, I cannot say that the entire Re 1 reaches the common man's pocket, but yes, two-thirds of that money definitely reaches the common man.' 'And the rest of the money will also reach soon.'
Minister of State for Home Kiran Rijiju had said the cabinet was forced to take the decision because of a constitutional breakdown as six months had lapsed between two sessions of the state assembly.
Supreme Court's ruling favouring Haryana on the contentious Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal issue has set political temperature soaring in Punjab, with the state Congress chief Amarinder Singh quitting as Member of Parliament and all MLAs following suit, as Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal asserted "not a drop of water" will be allowed to be taken out of the state.
'Under the present Defence Procurement Procedure, it would have been a nightmare, and a long, long one at that, to build 108 Rafales in India. Modi realised this and took the wise decision, though it is a definitive setback for his Make in India scheme.'
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