Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Dr K Keshav Rao has submitted his resignation to the party high command, after the Hyderabad police filed a case of murder against his son Venkat on Monday.
The Congress refrained from commenting on any peace formula between Gehlot and Pilot.
Hitting out at Congress leaders for the party's performance in the Lok Sabha polls, Baig, a MLA from Shivajinagar, had recently held Siddaramaiah's "arrogance" and KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao's "immaturity" responsible for the "flop show."
An inchoate anger is brewing within the party against the central leadership after the poor show in the assembly polls.
She also made a strong defence of Rahul Gandhi, who is on sabbatical for more than a month
Congress president Sonia Gandhi's much-anticipated public rally in Uttarakhand, the first after she underwent a surgery abroad, was cancelled on Wednesday owing to her indisposition.
With the Congress top brass in New Delhi likely to take a final call on Friday on the vexed Telangana issue, the development has sparked a flurry of activities in the Andhra Pradesh capital.
In an apparent message to the G23, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said she is a full-time, hands-on party president and there is no need for leaders to speak to her through the media.
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.
A local court in Ajmer has issued notices to the dargah committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India on a plea seeking to declare the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti a temple. The petition, filed in September, has sparked a heated debate, with politicians and community leaders weighing in on the potentially volatile issue. The dargah committee has declined to comment, but the Anjuman Syed Zadgan, a body representing the caretakers of the dargah, described the petition as a deliberate attempt to fracture society along communal lines. The petition comes just days after four people were killed in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, following a local court ordering survey of a Mughal-era shrine. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which fixed August 15, 1947, as the cut-off date for status quo on the character of religious places, is at the centre of much of the debate. Several politicians, including Union minister Giriraj Singh and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, have weighed in on the issue. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called the civil court's decision to entertain the petition unwarranted and has asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene.
Tharoor's campaign team has also raised 'serious issues' in the conduct of the election in Punjab and Telangana.
Tharoor on Friday called Kharge, 80, a "candidate of continuity", an apparent reference to the impression in some quarters that the Karnataka leader is the choice of the Gandhis.
They said that as Congress MPs, they are concerned about the transparency and fairness of the election process for the president of the party.
With battle lines between Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls firmly drawn, the principal opposition party has decided to hold its strategy meet on January 17, the day when the All India Congress Committee is holding a session on the issue.
A majority of Congress leaders said the party will face desertions if Rahul Gandhi does not remain the leader.
However, the AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the SC committee has limited terms of reference and 'cannot bring out the deep nexus between' the prime minister and the billionaire businessman.
The Congress, however, said state chiefs are free to take their decisions within the party's norms and constitution.
The crisis in the Delhi unit of the Congress was solved after party president Sonia Gandhi met CM Sheila Dixit and DPCC chief Rambabu Sharma.
Ahead of the assembly polls in Rajasthan, the Congress government on Saturday night issued an order for the conduct of a caste survey in the state.
Rahul Gandhi has set out to revamp the Congress party after the recent drubbing it received in the assembly elections. Renu Mittal reports
Supporters of the two leaders are competing in Hadoti to highlight their dominance, which is visible from the hoardings in the region. This has also led to blame games between leaders of the two factions.
Gandhiji asked me if I had sufficient warm clothes in view of the coming cold season. I said yes. But he verified my statement by asking Miraben to search my bag to make sure. Such was Gandhiji.
Cine actress and Telangana Rashtra Samithi MP M Vijaya Shanthi on Thursday joined Congress at a time when the possibility of TRS merging with Congress seemed to have hit a roadblock.
With this, the Cabinet will reach its full strength of 34.
'The Congress is not listening to its young leaders. That is why the situation of the party is worsening in all states'
Renowned Telangana folk singer and balladeer Gaddar, who was popularly known for his revolutionary songs during the 1980s and later during the Telangana statehood agitation, passed away in Hyderabad on Sunday due to ill-health. He was 77.
After Raj Babbar's comment -- that a hearty meal in Mumbai can be bought for Rs 12 -- another Congress leader on Thursday claimed that just Rs 5 was sufficient for a meal in Delhi.
After the party's near washout in assembly polls, the demand for a overhaul is growing with spokesman Abhishek Singhvi arguing for younger state leaders.
All India Congress Committee in-charge for Chhattisgarh P L Punia and AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal were also present during the meeting convened by Rahul Gandhi at his residence.
It will be clear whether the voters preferred the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led regime for a third term or the "six guarantees" by the Congress worked any miracles or the BJP's BC chief minister 'mantra' wooed the electors or if there will be a fractured verdict, by tomorrow evening.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a stinging attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of not addressing the problem of Manipur even during the debate on the violence in the northeastern state in Parliament a few days ago.
Opposition parties on Wednesday opposed the 'one nation, one election' proposal by calling it impractical and a 'cheap stunt' by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
While Kharge is considered the firm favourite with his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and a large number of senior leaders backing him, Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change.
Though a first time Member of Parliament, All India Congress Committee spokesperson Manish Tewari has a long association of nearly 31 years with the Congress, since joining its youth wing in 1981. The 47-year-old leader was seen as a strong defence line of the Congress in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party's onslaught.
Kharge said that while there are very responsible people in the party who were doing their duty, some people had assumed that lack of responsibility will be ignored.
"K Muraleedharan, who had been suspended from the party earlier, continues to indulge in anti-party activities. It has, therefore, been decided to expel him from the party for six years with immediate effect," an AICC statement said.
Abraham succeeds Dr Surinder Malhotra who served as president of the Indian National Overseas Congress for the last 12 years. George Joseph reports from New York
Conveying good wishes to people of the state and all political parties for the New Year, he however wished that the Congress comes to power.
The Congress top brass has accepted Suresh Kalmadi's resignation as secretary of the Congress Parliamentary Party with immediate effect. Kalmadi, the chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, has been in the eye of a storm following allegations of corruption in CWG-related projects.
Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu will meet senior party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Delhi on June 29, sources in his office said.
