The Congress on Friday said that the leaders of the opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, were not invited to the banquet, and took a swipe at Tharoor for accepting the invite.
Opposition parties in India are demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and national security in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament. They raised concerns about federalism, national security, and the purity of voter lists during an all-party meeting.
Hindus will offer prayers from sunrise to sunset on Basant Panchami while Muslims to offer namaz from 1 pm to 3 pm on Friday.
The Centre has rejected claims that the new definition of the Aravalli range will allow large-scale mining, asserting that 90 per cent of the region will remain protected and citing a Supreme Court-ordered freeze on new mining leases.
Sudha, who is staying at Tamil Nadu Bhavan in the area, was out on a routine morning walk when the unidentified persons snatched her gold chain and fled the spot, police said.
Former MLA Harshwardhan Sapkal has been appointed as the new president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), tasked with reviving the party in the state after its crushing defeat in the last year's assembly polls. Sapkal, a veteran politician, replaces Nana Patole, who held the position since 2021. The Congress aims to rebuild its base and prepare for upcoming local body polls, including those in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, and Nagpur. The party will also need to work with its allies, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), to strengthen the opposition against the ruling BJP-led alliance.
The last rites of veteran Congress leader and former Union minister Shivraj Patil were performed with full state honours in his home district, Latur, in Maharashtra on Saturday, with many top leaders in attendance.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday challenged Home Minister Amit Shah to debate with him on his three press conferences in which the Congress leader alleged 'vote chori' by the Bharatiya Janata Party in collusion with the Election Commission.
The Congress in Kerala on Sunday distanced itself from the controversy over Shashi Tharoor's decision to accept the Centre's invite to lead a multi-party delegation abroad, stating that it is for the party high command to comment on the matter.
The BJP has criticized West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee following Supreme Court observations regarding obstructions during ED raids at I-PAC premises, alleging abuse of power and shielding of those accused of corruption.
On speculations of Priyanka Gandhi contesting in the 2024 election, Rai said that Priyanka Gandhi will contest from wherever she wants to.
Democracy in India is too important to be left to a leader with a limited appeal. If Rahul Gandhi cares for India, he should step aside for a new crop of leaders, suggests Harishchandra.
Only in the event of the RSS managing to force Modi into accepting a consensual candidate, will the party not continue to 'being' the 'next Congress', observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Despite his influence, Pratik Jain avoids the spotlight. Credit is routinely passed on to colleagues. He maintains no visible faction within the TMC, no personal coterie.
With a series of Assembly elections scheduled in the next few months to be followed by the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress Working Committee met on Saturday to take stock of the political situation and discuss possible alliances to hammer out a winning strategy.More than 150 delegates, comprising party General Secretaries, Secretaries, CWC members, Pradesh Congress Committee Presidents, Congress Legislature Party along with union ministers deliberated on the political scenario.
'It would have polarised the Marathi-non Marathi divide further. 'Fadnavis had a very clear strategy: Let all Marathi people campaign for us (the BJP), and whatever results we get will be delivered by Marathi people only.'
Booth-level officers in Kolkata scuffled with police during a protest against alleged excessive work pressure related to the ongoing SIR process. The officers allege unrealistic deadlines and lack of support from the Election Commission.
Amidst growing protests from students and other groups over the Telangana government's plan to develop 400 acres of land adjacent to the University of Hyderabad (UoH) for IT infrastructure, the Congress party has urged the state government to hold discussions with all stakeholders. The Congress leader, Meenakshi Natarajan, who is in charge of party affairs in Telangana, said the government should also consider the objections raised by students and others and await the Supreme Court's ruling on the land issue. The matter is currently being heard in both the Telangana High Court and Supreme Court.
According to an FIR registered at Edachery police station, around 200 people marched towards the Congress office carrying dangerous weapons and vandalised the building, causing damage estimated at around Rs five lakh.
According to party workers, when the yatra reached near the SSB campus on Sunday, party workers were jostling with each other to come closer to Kanhaiya Kumar and take selfies with him. However, private security guards of Kanhaiya Kumar objected to it and they allegedly pushed some workers. It led to an alleged brawl between party workers and the private security guards.
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.
In a measured but scathing attack, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of committing a 'big sin' by creating a controversy over Vande Mataram and claimed that the government pushed for a debate on the national song as the West Bengal assembly polls were approaching.
The BJP-led government's decision to grant Kunbi status to individuals from the Maratha community has opened a Pandora's box.
Amid Congress leaders in Karnataka openly discussing possible change of Chief Minister in the state, All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said it is up to the party high command to decide on such matters and that one should not create any unnecessary problem.
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
The BJP has accused TMC MP Kirti Azad of vaping in the Lok Sabha, leading to a political spat. TMC demands the release of full video footage before commenting.
The Lok Sabha will debate the 150th anniversary of 'Vande Mataram' and electoral reforms after an all-party agreement, potentially breaking the logjam over discussions on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Congress party in India has alleged "serious and grave inconsistencies" in the data relating to the polling and counting processes for the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections. The party has sought an in-person hearing from the Election Commission to present evidence of alleged discrepancies, including the arbitrary deletion and addition of voters and inexplicable increases in voting percentages. The Congress leaders claim these irregularities benefited the ruling BJP-led alliance, which won a decisive victory in the polls.
'I don't want to be called a new Indian voter when I am an old Indian voter.'
An influential US lawmaker claims his visit to India helped catalyze "early signals" that New Delhi may reduce its imports of Russian oil, a step he described as "meaningful" in weakening Moscow's ability to fund its war in Ukraine.
A parliamentary panel on external affairs has expressed concern over China's growing presence and influence in the Indian Ocean Region, citing risks to India's national security and strategic interests. The panel also highlighted the strengthening China-Pakistan naval nexus as a cause for concern.
The Opposition in Maharashtra boycotted the government's customary tea party on the eve of the Winter session, citing its failure to appoint leaders of the opposition (LoPs) in both houses of the state legislature.
The Congress party has strongly criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks regarding the dropping of stanzas from 'Vande Mataram' in 1937, calling his statements shameful and demanding an apology. The party argues that Rabindranath Tagore himself suggested adopting the first two stanzas of the song.
Officials said the government-to-government engagement between the two countries on all other issues remains normal, but conceded rough spots over trade that need ironing out.
A day before the assembly poll results, the Congress on Friday appointed observers for Maharashtra and Jharkhand to oversee the post-election scenarios.
Rajiv Pratap Rudy secured another term as Secretary (Administration) of the Constitution Club of India, defeating Sanjeev Balyan in a closely watched election that saw participation from prominent political figures.
The flight AI2455, operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, was airborne for more than two hours, according to information available on the flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.
The Kerala government will review the implementation of the Centre's PM SHRI scheme in the state following controversies and concerns. A cabinet sub-committee has been formed to study the scheme, and further proceedings are on hold pending the committee's report.
Mandaviya addresses state of Indian football
Call it political opportunism or sagacity, his moves, in effect, have not allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party to appoint its own chief minister to date, despite enjoying a near hegemonic status nationally and the best performance in recently held assembly polls where the saffron party bagged 89 seats, followed by the Janata Dal-United with 85.