The Congress' rebuttal came after the Gujarat police on Friday opposed activist Teesta Setalvad's bail application.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday held talks with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the issue of his election to the state legislative council, which is necessary for his remaining at the helm of affairs in the state.
Patel, who died on Wednesday at a Gurugram hospital where he was admitted with COVID-19, could have been the tell-all leader offering insights and information with his inside view of the workings of the Congress and the political world. But he would have none of it.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met and voiced his support for Deepak Kumar, dubbed 'Mohammad Deepak', an Uttarakhand gym owner who bravely confronted Bajrang Dal activists harassing a Muslim shopkeeper, symbolising unity and courage.
He secured required 44 votes after votes of two Congress MLAs who cross-voted for BJP were rejected by EC.
The EC maintained that use of none of the above in Rajya Sabha polls was not a new move as it was introduced in 2014 after the Supreme Court in 2013 made it mandatory to have the NOTA option in EVMs.
Top Congress leaders on Thursday held consultations with party chief Sonia Gandhi on the Telangana issue.
'He always avoided eating non-vegetarian food in presence of his deputies if they were fasting for the month of Shravan.' 'There were no Hindu, Jain, Parsi and Swaminarayan festivals he would forget.' 'He was a conservative Muslim and therefore could get along well with conservative Hindus.'
'There were any number of Congress leaders who disliked Sonia Gandhi, but they were very close to Ahmed Bhai and he would listen, and give a shoulder to cry upon.'
He also met Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Sonia's political secretary Ahmed Patel were also present.
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.
She met with Defence Minister A K Antony, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, her political secretary Ahmed Patel and others on Wednesday evening to take stock of the situation.
Kumar had sought central university status for it in keeping with public sentiments.
"No, she will not make me the PM," was Dr Pranab Mukherjee's cryptic response in a reference to Sonia Gandhi when he was asked by his daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee about his chances of becoming the prime minister in 2004.
'Whether she will remain CPP chairperson or not, that she will decide.'
Brushing aside speculation about a leadership change in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan virtually confirmed on Thursday that he is not going to be replaced.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prtihviraj Chavan, who has been strengthened politically after Nationalist Congress Party's Sharad Pawar and his colleague Praful Patel's personal attacks, had a busy day in New Delhi Monday.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh amid speculation that a reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers is on the cards later this week.
The Congress and the NCP are not comfortable with the name Maha Shiv Aghadi (a grand alliance comprising the Shiv Sena)
This is the first meeting chaired by Gandhi after relinquishing the post of Congress president last year.
Gandhi expressed deep pain and distress at the passing away of Jaitley.
Hours after the Union Cabinet decided to impose President's rule in Jharkhand, the Sibu Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha on Monday said all options are still open, indicating that the exercise to form a government is still on. "None of the United Progressive Alliance constituents -- the JMM, the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal -- want President's rule in the state," JMM general secretary and minister for parliamentary affairs Suman Mahato said.
This is the first meeting between the two leaders after the Shiv Sena formed the coalition government in Maharashtra with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.
Ahead of the crucial Congress meeting on Telangana, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kirankumar Reddy on Friday met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and briefed her about the political situation in the state.
The Congress Working Committee finally accepted Rahul Gandhi's resignation during its second meeting of the day.
Chidambaram said he was honoured that the two leaders visited him.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi rejected Tarun Gogoi's offer to resign after the party's poor performance in the state. Anurag Kashyap reports.
"I will miss his tantrums" is what Congress president Sonia Gandhi said while bidding farewell to Pranab Mukherjee from the Congress Working Committee at a meeting which formally approved his name as the United Progressive Alliance's presidential nominee in June 2012.
"We will keep an eye on the situation in Maharashtra. Congress and NCP leaders will hold further talks on the future course of action," he added.
Sources reveal that the Assam chief minister may be on his way out even as it seems that his Haryana and Maharashtra counterparts will survive the crisis. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports.
The coming weeks will be a tightrope walk for Gehlot who has 100 loyalists MLAs waiting to be rewarded on one side and the dissidents who wanted to be rehabilitated on the other, observes Prakash Bhandari.
"We (Congress and NCP leaders) discussed the nitty gritty of a (possible) common minimum programme to ensure the government functions smoothly," Pawar said.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday held parleys with the chief ministers of Maharashtra and Haryana amidst the possibility of a change of guard in some of the states where it is in power as the party prepares for a massive rejig in the wake of its unprecedented debacle in Lok Sabha polls.
NCP MLA Kandhal Jadeja said his party has decided to support BJP candidate.
The NCP skipped the meeting to express its displeasure over allegations by some Congress leaders that its two MLAs did not vote for Ahmed Patel in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha elections.
The Congress on Tuesday announced its second list of 43 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, fielding Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath once again from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara and Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot from Rajasthan's Jalore.
Congress reached out to Samajwadi Party Supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav for his support for passage of the Food Security Bill which is expected to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday coinciding with the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.
An anonymous letter threatening to kill Rahul Gandhi at an election meeting in Puducherry has been received by a senior Congress leader V Narayanasamy.
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