'Unlike in the sporting arena, where sports federations moved from partisan to impartial referees, in Indian democracy's biggest festival, it appears we are moving backward from unbiased and objective to one-sided and partisan,' observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
"Thirteen years of Modi rule, not two years of Anandiben are responsible for Gujarat burning. Sacrificing the scapegoat won't save the BJP," Gandhi said on his official Twitter handle.
The Congress Working Committee will meet on Sunday to discuss the outcome of the assembly elections in five states where the party received a drubbing, sources said.
Despite his statement that the word 'Hindu' is Persian and it has a 'dirty' meaning drawing widespread criticism, Karnataka Congress Working President Satish Jarkiholi on Tuesday sought to defend himself saying he was only referring to what has been written and published.
While all poll surveys point to an overwhelming anti-Congress mood in the country, there is a growing consensus in the grand old party that it has no reasons to be defensive and should instead run an aggressive campaign against Bharatiya Janata Party' prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi by questioning his administrative acumen and underlining the corporate support he enjoys, says Anita Katyal
The 65-year-old leader had taken over as general secretary of the CPI-M from Prakash Karat in the 21st party congress, which was held in Visakhapatnam, in 2015.
'The Congress today has lost contact with the Hindu clergy.' 'They go to to Hindu clergy only during the time of elections.'
Several opposition MPs on Wednesday demanded an explanation from Home Minister Amit Shah after two visitors jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery and opened canisters that emitted coloured smoke, triggering panic among the members.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy held discussions with Congress leaders after the meeting.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Digvijay Singh backtracked on his own remarks about retired Supreme Court judge Justice Santosh Hegde, who is currently on the Lokpal Bill draft committee.
A few former MLAs, considered to be his loyalists and a few supporters, turned up at Sidhu's residence in Patiala Friday morning to extend moral support to him.
At a time when none in Kerala's Left politics questioned the chief minister's authority, MLA P V Anvar hurled a series of accusations against Pinarayi Vijayan's government, notes Shyam G Menon.
The Congress on Tuesday used the resignation of D G Vanzara to attack Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi saying the Indian Police Service officer's statement proves that fake encounters were a policy of the state government.
Moving forward following the decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, the Congress on Tuesday night appointed separate Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs for Seemandhra and Telangana.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would accompany him to Wayanad.
Any decision taken by Congress president Sonia Gandhi will be acceptable to all, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Saturday as talk of Navjot Singh Sidhu being appointed chief of the party's state unit despite his oft-stated reservations gathered force.
Both the BJP and the Congress said they will seek support of the MGP in case they fall short of the majority mark of 21.
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.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has said she is not the only face of the party for Uttar Pradesh assembly polls and her remarks at a press conference on Friday about being the face of the party were made in a 'slight exaggerated way' in response to repeated queries from the media on the issue.
Deora had recently expressed disapproval at the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-UBT laying claim to the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat.
An anonymous letter threatening to kill Rahul Gandhi at an election meeting in Puducherry has been received by a senior Congress leader V Narayanasamy.
'The consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya has demoralised them.' 'And, now it is reflecting in their individual reactions as they are losing hope to take on the BJP in 2024.'
The Congress on Friday said its top leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Sonia Gandhi and General Secretary Rahul Gandhi will campaign in poll-bound Gujarat.
Factionalism has been made bitter by the level of personal attacks that warring senior leaders indulge in. Kavita Chowdhury reports.
'This is the victory of the people of Gujarat who want real development, not the hype of development.'
The polling started at 7 am and would continue till 5 pm.
Carter was in politics, but not a politician, certainly not a transactional politician, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
'There may be some planted stories here or there, people trying to create manufactured controversies but the party is fully united. We will make sure the yatra is even more successful than it has been in other states'
NCP spokesperson and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik said that AICC general secretary H K Patil was told about this scheduled meeting when he and other Congress leaders met Pawar in Mumbai recently.
Punjab Minister Anmol Gagan Mann on Wednesday said her Aam Aadmi Party will fight on all 13 parliamentary seats in the state.
Among the 17 new AICC secretaries named so far, 10 are below 50 years of age, indicating the generational change in the 132-year-old Congress being brought in by 47-year-old Rahul, reports Amit Agnihotri.
Congress on Monday appointed five new PCC chiefs.
Amid the row over Congress leader Sam Pitroda's remarks, the party on Wednesday asserted that it has no plans whatsoever to introduce an inheritance tax and cited former Union minister Jayant Sinha's remarks to allege that it is the Modi government that wanted to do so.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will hold a fresh round of consultations with the All India Congress Committee office bearers on March 6 during which a roadmap for future action for the party is likely to be unveiled as it prepares for Lok Sabha polls next year.
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram is Congress nominee from Maharashtra for the biennial elections to Rajya Sabha while senior leaders Kapil Sibal and Jairam Ramesh have been named from Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka respectively.
Thackeray and Pawar held parleys at a suburban hotel ahead of the 7.30 pm deadline set by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for the Sena to stake claim for government formation.
The impasse over government formation continued in Maharashtra on Friday, eight days after the state assembly poll results were announced, even as the Congress targeted the BJP for "cheating" the Sena.
The Opposition party asked whether the prime minister will take responsibility for the 'deadliest rail tragedy' of this century.
There is no threat to the Amarinder Singh-led government in Punjab and the party's victory prospects for the upcoming assembly elections, Rawat said.
According to party insiders, the revamp will be aimed at serving the dual purposes of fixing accountability for the loss and bringing in a new leadership in the run-up to 2014 polls. The demoralised Congress unit desperately needs a new lease of life, if it has to give any competition to the reenergised Bharatiya Janata Party under Narendra Modi.
