Confusion prevailing in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) showed little signs of let up on Saturday, with just two days to go before the filing of nomination papers for the second and final phase of assembly elections comes to a close.
June 19 is All India Congress Committee General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's birthday. It would be his first after the party's almost decisive victory in the Lok Sabha elections. And the party wants to say 'thank you' to the young leader in style and substance.
Party sources in Delhi said Rahul Gandhi is keen to visit there on Wednesday, days after his sister and All India Congress Committee general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was detained by the Uttar Pradesh Police while on her way to Lakhimpur Kheri, where eight people died and several injured Sunday in the bloodiest clash since the farmers' protest over the Centre's agri laws began last year.
Gandhi alleged that assembly and Lok Sabha polls were being "stolen" across the country and there was a "conspiracy" in Bihar to do the same through the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
In a veiled attack on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, All India Congress Committee General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused him of practising "politics of anger" and said it was time people switch to the power of "love", preached by the Mahatma, to ensure progress of Gujarat.
The party in Uttar Pradesh is seeing the visit as the virtual launch of the Congress campaign in the state, ahead of the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Joining the debate on austerity, All India Congress Committee General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said politicians should be austere all the time -- a stark reminder to two the Union ministers who had to check out of five-star hotels in Chennai a couple of days ago following an embarrassing media exposure.
The Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi wants state leaders to pull up their socks and deliver results within three months or face consequences, reports Renu Mittal
A 62-year-old woman was killed on Tuesday when a rifle of an Armed Reserve Police constable went off accidentally at the corporation office in Madurai, giving anxious moments to security men deployed for the visit of All India Congress Committee General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to the city later in the day.
Sources said a couple of resolutions are expected to be passed at the crucial meeting, with an eye on the upcoming Bihar polls.
Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday said all the party rebels contesting against the official candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have been suspended for six years.
In his first formal interaction with the office-bearers of the revamped All India Congress Committee on Saturday, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi said the party would be working towards giving 50 per cent representation to women in party posts.
'Even if it is defeated and the Speaker remains, the Opposition parties that have lost faith in his impartiality will continue to have that feeling.' 'If the Speaker reflects on this and tries to be more neutral, more impartial, more objective in his conduct -- then one can say the resolution had a salutary effect. That would be the best outcome.'
Several top Congress leaders including party general secretary organisation K C Venugopal, Sachin Pilot, Randeep Surjewala and Shashi Tharoor, wished the former party chief on her birthday.
Senior Congress leader Motilal Vora on Monday hoisted the national flag at the party headquarters in New Delhi in the absence of Sonia Gandhi, who is recuperating in a hospital in the United States. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi, many senior Congress leaders and ministers were present on the occasion. Rahul Gandhi, who had accompanied his mother to the US, arrived in New Delhi on Sunday.
Workers from the BJP and Congress clashed in Patna during a protest march organized by the BJP against the use of abusive language towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's late mother. The protest turned violent, with stone pelting and vandalism reported. Police intervened to control the situation, and an investigation is underway.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi arrived in Beijing on Thursday to meet and exchange views with the newly-elected Chinese Communist Party leadership on a range of bilateral issues. She is accompanied by her son Rahul Gandhi on the five-day visit which is expected to boost bilateral relations that are already on the upswing. Gandhi is scheduled to meet Chinese President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Hu Jintao on Friday.
'It was very clear in the Parliament election that there was an erosion of Hindu votes in southern Kerala from the CPI-M to the BJP.'
The high court was hearing a plea moved by Swamy seeking to lead evidence before the trial court in the National Herald case, in which the Gandhis and others are accused.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi is likely to contest from Rae Bareli, but a final call is yet to be taken by the first family of the Congress.
The interim panel headed by him would take the place of the Congress Working Committee, the apex decision-making body, till a new CWC is formed after Kharge's election is ratified at the party plenary.
This interaction comes at a time when Sonia has launched a scathing attack on the Mulayam Singh Yadav government saying there was 'utter lawlessness' in the state.
The Congress has "consensus" over the leadership of Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate, a party spokesperson said on Monday amid speculation that he may be anointed as the party nominee at the All India Congress Committee meeting being held in New Delhi on January 17.
The crucial meetings come amid talks of the Congress leadership making efforts to bring all leaders together ahead of next year's Punjab Assembly polls and present a united face of the party.
The Congress announced on Thursday that it would not field candidates in the nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh where bypolls are being held and would support Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) nominees.
It begins with the position of All India Congress Committee member for which there was a price tag of Rs 1 lakh, followed by UPCC membership for Rs 50,000, District Congress Committee membership for Rs 5000 and Block Presidentship for Rs 20,000.
The President's Office and the All India Congress Committee sources confirmed that the one-hour meeting did take place, but were reluctant to speculate on the nature of the discussions.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who concluded his two-day tour of Karnataka on Saturday, took a dig at the state government before leaving for New Delhi.
Congress parliamentarian Rahul Gandhi is not happy about his countrywide sojourn being termed as a 'Discover India' tour, saying it was not a 'Bharat Darshan' for him. The 37-year-old All India Congress Committee general secretary also clarified that the tour, which has been seen as a launch of the party's election campaign, had nothing to do with any poll.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will kick off the Karnataka leg of his Discover India trip on March 25. During his four-day visit, Rahul's main agenda would be to lure the youth into joining the Congress, according to Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Mallikarjuna Kharge.Rahul will start his road show from Chamrajnagar on March 25. He would then travel to H D Kote, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Gadag, Bagalkot, Almatti and Raichur.
The Congress on Wednesday filed a police complaint over the recent statements of leaders belonging to the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) targeting Rahul Gandhi.
The ruling Bahujan Samaj Party, which has already crossed swords with the Congress, is all set to launch its campaign for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections from the bastion of Gandhi family -- Amethi and Rae Bareli -- on February 9. The party, while announcing its plan to organise Brahmin Sammelans across the state, has decided to organise its first convention in Amethi, parliamentary constituency of All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi, the All-India Congress Committee general-secretary and the man leading the revival of the party's youth wing, may have suffered a setback in the Bihar assembly elections. But his supporters are putting a distance between the Congress defeat and the 'Rahul effect'.
Rahul Gandhi may also contest from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Rae Bareli, a seat which was previously held by Sonia Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi mostly stayed away from the elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, choosing to focus on the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The agitational programmes include the 'Loktantra Bachao Mashal Shanti March' starting from Red Fort on Tuesday and a series of press conferences in 35 major cities across the country on March 28 and 29.
Making a veiled attack on the Mayawati government, Congress General Rahul Gandhi said an "elephant" in Lucknow was eating away all the money sent by the Centre for the poor in Uttar Pradesh.
Sources said Sidhu's resignation has not been received by the party and its leadership will take a call once it reaches them.
The Congress on Monday distanced itself from the controversial comments of some of its leaders on the Pahalgam terror attack, saying that only the recent CWC resolution and the views expressed by AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and authorised AICC office-bearers represent its position. The opposition party's assertion comes in the wake of remarks by leaders like Vijay Wadettiwar, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Shashi Tharoor, Tariq Hameed Karra and Saifuddin Soz that have triggered a row, with the BJP alleging that some from the opposition party were speaking "Pakistan's language".
Visiting Uttar Pradesh for the first time after Congress' debacle in the recent Assembly polls, Rahul Gandhi was on Monday flooded with complaints that groupism, poor candidate selection and neglect of grassroot level workers were mainly responsible.
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