Congress expels writer for Sonia remarks
An SIT investigating the Sabarimala gold loss case has questioned former Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran. The interrogation has sparked political controversy, with opposition parties alleging interference in the investigation.
In West Bengal's electoral chessboard, governments are rarely made in the hills of North Bengal or the forested region of Jangalmahal. Power is usually decided in the crowded plains of South Bengal, where elections are won less by momentum and more by mathematics.
The opposition Congress in Karnataka will complete the process of identifying probable candidates in 150 assembly segments in the state by March-end in anticipation of a snap poll this year.
The Congress high command has called senior leader Kamal Nath to Delhi and he is likely to meet party chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday, sources said.
The Congress leadership is moving towards implementing the one-man one-post norm when the All India Congress Committee and Pradesh Congress Committees are reconstituted, said highly placed sources in the AICC.
In the past the Congress had cold-shouldered overtures from the Samajwadi Party chief, leading to bad blood between the two parties.
District Congress Committee (DCC) president Muhammed Shiyas confirmed that seven Congress workers from the Western Kochi area were taken into preventive detention by the police in the early hours of Monday.
They are Congress President Sonia Gandhi's field marshals -- the 100 men and women who will drive the party's campaign in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. The "war team" announced on Thursday night included state-wise screening committees constituted under the leadership of a dozen leaders for selection of candidates.
The BJP on Saturday accused the Congress of repeatedly supplying "oxygen" to Pakistan, and slammed the opposition party for its leader Charanjit Singh Channi's remarks questioning the veracity of Balakot air strikes after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the Congress is full of pro-Pakistan leaders who make statements against India's interests, and mocked the party for its letter that had advised its functionaries to toe the official line on the issue. Patra also criticized other Congress leaders for their comments on the Pulwama and Pahalgam terror attacks, accusing them of lowering the morale of the armed forces. He further slammed the Congress for claiming credit for the government's announcement of the caste census and said the party never carried out the exercise during its over 60-year stint in power.
Odisha's and Telangana's principal opposition parties, the Biju Janata Dal and the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi, on Monday announced that their MPs will abstain from voting in the vice presidential elections.
The committee comprises all the top leaders including Union ministers and AICC general secretaries from states.
In a major organisational revamp, the Congress on Friday appointed former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel as general secretary in-charge of Punjab and Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain as general secretary for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
As voting in the Congress presidential polls got underway, outgoing party chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday said she had been waiting for a long time for this day.
He added that the family is focused on the cremation process and gathering more information from the office staff.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi of having a 'deeper connection' with a Pakistani national and violating FCRA rules, prompting calls for a national probe.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that singing 'Vande Mataram' will be made compulsory in every school and educational institution of the state.
Sources said a couple of resolutions are expected to be passed at the crucial meeting, with an eye on the upcoming Bihar polls.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has approved the proposal for the candidature of Yadav and Jabbar, the All India Congress Committee said in a release.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday snubbed Kerala Chief Minister V S Achutanandan for his comment describing Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi as an 'Amul baby'.
The Congress under a 'no surrender' policy evolved by Rahul Gandhi has decided to play tough in all the states where the party is negotiating with prospective and even existing alliance partners. The aim is to bag the largest number of seats possible.
Asked about going with Raj Thackeray, who has spoken often against north Indians in Mumbai, Chennithala said, "We do not agree with Raj Thackeray's statement about ousting people from North from Mumbai."
...reopen for up to six months. Until then, the Strait stays nearly closed. The world pays. And no one, including the man who started this, can say when it ends, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
Dikshit would be assisted by three working presidents -- Devender Yadav, Haroon Yusuf and Rajesh Lilotia.
Filing of nomination papers ended on Monday for the second and final phase of Bihar assembly polls, with the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) appearing fractured, as constituents would end up fighting each other in a number of seats.
On Saturday, Delhi unit of the Congress unanimously adopted a resolution urging Rahul to take over as the president.
Fernandes was hospitalised in July after suffering a fall while doing yoga at his house.
The Congress was fighting the elections in a pre-poll alliance with National Conference and had fielded 32 candidates, mostly in Jammu region, compared to 51 by the regional party.
A revamp of the All Indian Congress Committee is also on the cards.
Senior Congress leader A K Antony, assisted by All India Congress Committee general secretary and former Union minister Mukul Wasnik mket party leaders from Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and held meetings daily and interacted with leaders individually
Shashi Tharoor has been removed as Congress spokesperson after the party high command received complaints that he had embarrassed the party with his praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Supreme Court's stay on the UGC equity regulations aimed at preventing caste-based discrimination on campuses has been met with mixed reactions. Opposition parties welcomed the decision, while some expressed concern over the implications for marginalized communities.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in the assembly on Tuesday that singer Zubeen Garg's death while swimming in the sea in Singapore is a case of 'plain and simple murder'.
Abhijit Mukherjee, son of former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, has rejoined the Indian National Congress after a four-year stint in the Trinamool Congress. He was welcomed back into the party by Congress leaders in Kolkata, marking a significant development in West Bengal politics.
Tanwar, former MP from Sirsa in Haryana, had quit the Congress in 2019.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and some of his cabinet colleagues, including Shanti Dhariwal, figure in the list of 63 Congress candidates for the forthcoming assembly polls, announced by the All India Congress Committee.
She said she had told the party leadership last year that it was difficult to travel in the three hill states due to her health.
Legislative Assembly election-bound Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand will be exempted from this exercise
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