All India Congress Committee General Secretary Digvijay Singh's statement that even the worst of criminals should be buried or cremated according to their faith has kicked up a storm in the Congress.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party losing Biju Janata Dal as an ally in Orissa, the Congress on Monday gloated over the plight of its principal challenger alleging National Democratic Alliance was "virtually non-existent" and there was "no serious challenge" to the United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha polls.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane's suspension from Congress has been revoked with immediate effect, All India Congress Committee General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi revealed on Monday.Rane had been suspended for lashing out at the Congress' top brass, including party chief Sonia Gandhi, after he lost the Maharashtra chief minister's post to Ashok Chavan.
A case of criminal conspiracy, corruption practices and undue influence on election has been registered on the complaint of two Congress MLAs, police said on Sunday.
Bandopadhyay joined the party along with his followers at a function at Mahajati Sadan in Kolkata.
Inaugurating the solidarity rally, Venugopal, a Rajya Sabha MP, strongly condemned the war unleashed by Israel in Gaza and their attacks against hospitals and refugee camps there.
Hours after the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed in Parliament, 50 individuals embroiled in land disputes in Kerala's Munambam joined the BJP, hoping for a resolution to their claims. The residents, who have been protesting for 174 days, allege that the Waqf Board is claiming ownership of their properties. BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar assured them of the party's support and a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express gratitude. The BJP capitalized on the Catholic Church's support for the legislation, accusing the Congress and the Left of appeasement politics. The opposition, however, questioned the impact of the bill on the Munambam issue.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi, who were present at the meeting, asked party leaders to remain united and connected with the people, sources said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge Saturday said the Lok Sabha poll mandate is a "decisive rejection" of the politics of divisiveness and hate, and stressed that the INDIA bloc must continue functioning cohesively both inside and outside Parliament.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has announced its intention to challenge the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in court, labeling it a "black law" that threatens the community's rights. The AIMPLB, a major organization representing Muslims in India, asserts that the Bill, if passed, would lead to the seizure of Muslim properties and undermine the autonomy of Waqf Boards. The organization plans to launch nationwide protests against the Bill, echoing the farmers' agitation, and has urged all citizens to resist the legislation. The Bill has been met with criticism from various quarters, including opposition parties, who claim that the Centre is rushing it through Parliament without adequately addressing concerns raised by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).
Congress leaders at the All India Congress Committee presented Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram their most important wishlist for the coming budget, when he came calling at 24 Akbar Road on Thursday evening: 'Since they are now in the election year the Congress needs a people-friendly and a vote-friendly budget'.
"Our target was the decimation of the Samajwadi Party and we have succeeded in it," Salman Khursheed said, congratulating Mayawati on her party's performance.
All India Congress Committee general secretary Mukul Wasnik's face off with the Bihar Congress delegates has turned ugly with senior leaders alleging that Wasnik, reportedly, hit senior party worker Shashi Kant Tewari, an old timer of the party.
Former minister Virbhadra Singh, who resigned from the Union Cabinet after charges were framed against him in a corruption case, has been made the chairman of the Congress' campaign committee for Himachal Pradesh, ahead of the assembly polls in the state. Singh, a five time chief minister, had earlier said that his resignation should not be seen as an admission of guilt as he was going to fight the case to its logical conclusion.
Riding high on the euphoria generated by recent visits of All India Congress Committee general Secretary Rahul Gandhi and a battery of its Union ministers, the Congress is going it all alone this assembly elections in Bihar, hoping for a better showing.
The Congress is quietly dropping an All India Congress Committee session planned in New Delhi on December 28, to kick off the year-long celebrations of the party completing 125 years.
"We don't know whether it is elevation, promotion, demotion, deviation, dilution. We have no idea. We have no opinion. We are not concerned. It is their internal matter and good luck," party spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary told reporters at the All India Congress Committee briefing.
The Congress on Tuesday rejected the Central Information Commission order on bringing political parties under the Right to Information ambit, contending that such "adventurist" approach would harm democratic institutions.
The Congress on Thursday said the country will give a befitting reply to the tears of the wrestlers who sought justice from the BJP government.
The meeting was attended by CMs of Kerala, Punjab and Telangana -- Pinarayi Vijayan, Bhagwant Manna and A Revanth Reddy, Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar, and senior BRS leader KT Ramarao among others.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a two-thirds majority on the back of a hyper localised campaign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'AAP-da'(disaster) blitzkrieg.
With many claimants for the chief minister's post in Uttarakhand, the ball was on Saturday back in the court of All India Congress Committee chief Sonia Gandhi to take a call, as the party observers wrapped up their consultations with Congress and independent Members of Legislative Assembly on the leadership issue. Congress general secretaries Ghulam Nabi Azad and Chaudhary Birendra Singh, in-charge of the affairs in the state, held separate talks with each of the MLAs.
Congress's Lok Sabha members Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Karti Chidambaram, Pradyut Bordoloi and Abdul Khaleque said this list must be made available in order to verify who is entitled to nominate a candidate and who is entitled to vote.
Tharoor's close aide Aalim Javeri collected the forms from the office of the party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry on the first day of the start of the nomination process, all but confirming an electoral face-off for the top party post with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
Ahead of assembly polls in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of merger with Congress, terming as "cheap publicity" statements in this regard made by that party.
The Congress Working Committee finally accepted Rahul Gandhi's resignation during its second meeting of the day.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi of raising questions on sensitive defence matters in Parliament after his marriage to a British citizen. Sarma alleged that Gogoi's wife, Elizabeth Colburn, has links with the Pakistani establishment, including working for an organisation allegedly a front for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Gogoi has rejected the allegations as "baseless" and said the BJP is trying to divert attention from its own failures.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, the first elected government in the Union Territory since 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated.
Striking a different note from the government on last week's anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh that left 19 tribals killed, Congress on Tuesday blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state for the "botch-up", saying it has resulted in the loss of lives of innocent tribals and minors.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
The Congress had taken action against them on July 17 after three audio tapes allegedly pertaining to the conspiracy to topple the government surfaced.
Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Monday hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley for his criticism of Press Council of India Chief Markandey Katju over Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, calling it "unnecessary and outlandish".
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'.
"I sometimes think of leaving it, but the chief minister's post doesn't leave me," Ashok Gehlot famously said earlier this year, in part as a signal to the Congress top brass not to pick someone else for the job if the party wins the assembly polls.
The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) has confirmed that Kannada actor Ranya Rao, recently arrested for gold smuggling, was allotted 12 acres of industrial land in 2023 by the previous BJP government for setting up a steel plant. The allocation was approved during a state-level meeting in January 2023, when the BJP was in power. The Congress government, which came to power after the May 2023 elections, has released documents confirming the land allotment. Ranya Rao was arrested after gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore were seized from her at Bengaluru airport.
Jairam Ramesh, who quit as a union minister earlier this week, was on Saturday appointed the Congress' campaign coordinator in the Lok Sabha elections.He will be setting up a 'war room' near the All India Congress Committee headquarters to coordinate the movement of Congress leaders on the campaign trail and meet the requirements of candidates. A Rajya Sabha member from Andhra Pradesh, he is also a member of various AICC committees.
The Congress is all set to kickstart its campaign for the next year's Lok Sabha elections with its mega rally 'Hain Tayyar Hum' to be held in Maharashtra's Nagpur city on Thursday, the party's 139th foundation day.
Congress leaders and workers took to the streets on Monday in Delhi and various state capitals as Rahul Gandhi appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in New Delhi for questioning in the National Herald case, with the opposition party accusing the Modi government of 'trampling on democracy'.
The Meerut Conspiracy Case was aimed at curbing communist influence in India. However, it fueled nationwide sympathy, shaping the course of leftist politics in the country.
Two individuals claiming to be members of the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) in Bihar announced their "resignation" from the party, citing dissatisfaction with its support for the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. The JD(U) denied the resignations, claiming the individuals were not party members. However, some senior JD(U) leaders have expressed discontent over the passage of the bill, which they believe is detrimental to Muslims. The controversy over the Waqf Bill is likely to influence the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar.
