The spiralling agitation over the NEET issue saw protests and counter-protests by Congress and BJP across the country on Wednesday, with clashes and tense face-offs at many places, a day after Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders were forcibly removed from a dharna outside the prime minister's residence.
The BJP protesters, carrying placards and raising slogans, slammed the Congress and its leader, Rahul Gandhi, calling them "traitors" for allegedly tarnishing the nation's image.
Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry and Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh also witnessed a tense atmosphere amid confrontation between the party workers.
The Sena-UBT pointed out that the Congress only spoke about itself in the Ahmedabad meet, and INDIA or Bharat was nowhere in the discussion.
He said the then prime minister Manmohan Singh had given a speech in which he had said Muslims have the first right to the country's resources.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's claim that animal fat was used in Tirupati laddus during the previous government has triggered a massive political row, with the YSRCP accusing Naidu of indulging in "heinous allegations" for political gains and the Telugu Desam Party circulating a lab report to back its claim.
With billionaire Gautam Adani charged in the United States with alleged bribery and fraud, the Congress on Thursday said it 'vindicates' its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation into the various 'scams' involving his conglomerate.
Naidu proposed to meet at Reddy's place to address unresolved bifurcation issues.
A united opposition is set to corner the NDA government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case to railway safety.
'Each state is unique, but when it comes to finance, the fundamentals cannot be different.'
Reddy slams the leadership of the Congress leadrship, saying they believe they are correct and all others, including the people of India, are wrong.
The BJP, which contested more seats this time than in 2019 but is likely to fall short of the magic figure of 272, garnered 36.91 per cent of the total votes polled, a drop of around 0.39 percentage points as of 6.15 pm.
In a sudden turn of political events in Andhra Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh Congress Chief YS Sharmila Reddy spent the night in her party office at Vijayawada as in an attempt to avoid house arrest.
The opposition party's remarks come after Bihar ministers claimed that the latest report of NITI Aayog's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index 2023-24 vindicated the state's long-standing demand for greater central financial assistance.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X that party chief Mallikarjun Kharge has accepted Pitroda's decision.
The humiliation for the Telugu Desam Party was such that it could cross the double digit in only five urban local bodies while other opposition parties Bharatiya Janata Party and Jana Sena Partymade little gains.
Reddy faced the biggest challenge of his political life in 2015 when he was allegedly caught on camera trying to bribe a nominated MLA to vote in favour of the TDP in a legislative council election.
Cracking the whip, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Thursday suspended 18 MPs from Andhra Pradesh for rest of the session after unprecedented pandemonium broke out in the House over the Telangana issue.
The Congress' top leadership decided to rally firmly behind the Kiran Kumar Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh as the party prepares to face the Telangana issue after an official committee submits its report on the statehood issue by this month-end.
The 'black paper', titled '10 saal anyay kaal' also alleged that issues such as rising prices, unemployment, subversion of institutions and farmers' 'distress' had plagued the country.
The Congress alleged that the claims made by the ED against Baghel are part of a "conspiracy" hatched by the BJP to tarnish the Chhattisgarh chief minister's image and asserted that the people of the state would give a befitting reply to such tactics in the upcoming Assembly poll.
Congress legislators from the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseeema would soon undertake a 48-hour hunger strike in Hyderabad in support of united Andhra Pradesh.
For renomination to the Rajya Sabha, Nadda will have to look for a seat outside his home state of Himachal Pradesh as the Congress is in power there.
Andhra Pradesh's opposition parties attacked ruling Congress for leaving a decision on Telangana statehood issue to the party's highest decision-making forum Congress Working Committee.
Congress members of Parliament from Telangana region on Thursday attacked Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy accusing him of adopting an "uncalled for vindictive attitude" towards the people agitating for a separate state.
Sharmila said it was her father's dream to see Rahul Gandhi as prime minister and she would be happy to contribute to it.
In a major organisational rejig ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Saturday appointed Avinash Pande the general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, replacing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while Sachin Pilot was made the general secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh.
Congress Member of Parliament L Rajagopal, who had threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike to oppose division of Andhra Pradesh, began his fast in Vijaywada on Tuesday.
Amdist claims of positive signal from the Centre over Telangana statehood, Congress leaders from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh will meet the party high command in New Delhi on January 21 to press their demand for a unified state.
The Congress will be wiped out in the next elections, Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, one of the six MPs who was expelled by the Congress for opposing the creation of Telangana, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
As the Congress and United Progressive Alliance government appear to be veering towards formation of a separate Telangana state, ministers and MPs from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday opposing any division of Andhra Pradesh.
Leaders from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh gave an exhaustive account of the reasons for the party's defeat to party general secretary Digvijaya Singh on Monday and enumerated the steps to be taken for rebuilding the party. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports.
Congress General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday met several party leaders in Hyderabad, including some ministers of N Kiran Kumar Reddy government who were understood to have voiced their displeasure about the style of function of the chief minister.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday elicited the views of their junior cabinet colleagues and Congress leaders from Andhra Pradesh on the Telangana statehood demand, which has virtually divided the party on regional lines.
Seema-Andhra Congress leader and MP Lagadapati Rajagopal on Tuesday withdrew his plea before the Delhi high court in which he had sought a direction to the Lok Sabha Speaker to take a decision on his resignation which was submitted on August 2.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Thursday dismissed reports of divisions within the ruling Congress on the emotive Telangana issue and asked everyone to wait till the Justice BN Srikrishna Committee report on the statehood issue is released on Thursday.
Serious trouble is brewing in the ruling Congress party against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy as a fall out of the ongoing probe by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in the alleged nexus between some ministers and the powerful liquor cartels across the state.
Extending its winning run in the south, the Congress on Sunday won 64 assembly seats to form government in the Bharat Rashtra Samiti-dominated Telangana, with the southern solace coming in the midst of a saffron sweep of the Hindi heartland where the Bharatiya Janata Party wrested two states from the grand old party and retained one.
The Congress in Andhra Pradesh has chalked out a new strategy to fight the force of Jaganmohan Reddy. Sources say the party has decided to take a backseat while the Telugu Desam Party ups ante against the YSR Congress president.
