Making a veiled attack on the Mayawati government, Congress General Rahul Gandhi said an "elephant" in Lucknow was eating away all the money sent by the Centre for the poor in Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress on Monday promised that a government led by it will conduct a nationwide caste census and implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies at the earliest, including adequate representation for women belonging to the OBC community.
Voting for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held on Friday for 88 seats in 13 states with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking a second-straight term from Wayanad in Kerala.
All India Congress Committee General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, who is on a three-day visit to Tamil Nadu, visited Thanjavur on Wednesday and held meetings with Youth Congress activists and farmers.
In a move aimed at avoiding pressure from regional allies seeking seats in several states, the Congress on Thursday ruled out a national alliance in the coming Lok Sabha elections, limiting adjustments to the states. "We do not have an alliance at the national level. We have alliance partners and seat adjustments at the state level..." All India Congress Committee general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee in New Delhi.
Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday held discussions with office bearers in Goa, during his first ever visit to the state after his party faced humiliating defeat in the assembly elections early this year.
Pilot had claimed that the Ashok Gehlot government was in minority and more than 30 Congress and some independent legislators have pledged support to him.
The matter is being investigated, they said and added that so far, there is no evidence that the "Khalistani" slur was used.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has re-introduced the Special Public Security Bill in the state assembly, aiming to combat 'urban Naxalism'. The bill, which seeks to criminalize activities deemed to disrupt public order, has faced criticism from opposition parties who argue it could stifle dissent. The proposed law will be referred to a joint select committee for review and is expected to be passed in the monsoon session next year.
In a clear snub to All India Congress Committee General Secretary Digvijaya Singh for his remarks against Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, the Congress on Monday said that he was "not officially authorised" to speak to the media.
The party is very much united and working together, the AICC general secretary organisation said.
Ashok Gehlot has proved that a strong state leader can challenge the Congress high command.
Visiting Uttar Pradesh for the first time after Congress' debacle in the recent Assembly polls, Rahul Gandhi was on Monday flooded with complaints that groupism, poor candidate selection and neglect of grassroot level workers were mainly responsible.
The decision of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen to withdraw support from the Andhra Pradesh government has spurred hectic behind the scene activity in the ruling Congress party.
At a time when the party and the government are facing tough challenges at political and economic fronts, the Congress' day-long 'dialogue session' on Friday is likely to brainstorm on the strategy ahead and take a view on the issue of alliances in different states.
Former MP Dr Ajoy Kumar on Monday offered to resign from the post of president of Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee and Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar quit their posts.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi met Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot separately.
The war of words between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party over 'who is corrupt and who is not' is all set to increase by leaps and bounds in the days ahead, says Renu Mittal
The Congress and the government on Thursday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for its 'unnecessary and unwarranted' agitation over Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's remarks on Hindu terror, saying it was a 'diversionary tactics' to keep away media attention from its internal affairs.
On the eve of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's birthday on June 19, loyalists have once again raised the issue of Gandhi junior becoming the prime minister of India, a post for which there is no vacancy at the moment.
The Maharashtra Congress has convened a meeting of its legislators on Tuesday in view of the developments in the state that saw a split in the Nationalist Congress Party and Ajit Pawar being inducted as deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde government.
Targeting All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said the Congress leader has no prospects of becoming prime minister of the country.
The party in Uttar Pradesh is seeing the visit as the virtual launch of the Congress campaign in the state, ahead of the coming Lok Sabha elections.
APCC president Ripun Bora said following discussions with various parties, it has been decided that the Congress will join hands with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist and the Anchalik Gana Morcha.
What India needs more than one simultaneous election is better governance both at the central and state level. Yes, we need reforms, but our priority should be to make elections less expensive, make it more democratic, do away with freebies which are actually bribes before elections, allow only those who are educated to contest, and bring in a bill to make it impossible for criminals to contest, advocates Ramesh Menon.
Dikshit was elected at a meeting of 42 party legislators in New Delhi on Wednesday afternoon. The meeting was attended among others by All India Congress Committee General Secretary Mohsina Kidwai, Minister of State for Finance P K Bansal and Delhi Pradesh Congres Committee chief Jai Prakash Aggarwal.
The Sena-UB has fielded popular wrestler Chandrahar Patil from Sangli despite the Congress announcing Vishal Patil's name from the same seat.
Azad and Gehlot have reached Bengaluru and have met chief minister Siddharamaiah and other party leaders.
K Natwar Singh wore many hats as he straddled the worlds of diplomacy, politics and writing but what remained consistent across decades was his sharp-wit and plainspeaking.
A delegation of Congress leaders met EC officials and raised several issues, including the use of pictures and large cut-outs of the prime minister in government buildings and colleges and demanded that those be removed to maintain a level-playing field in the upcoming parliamentary election.
President Pratibha Patil's son and Congress Member of Legislative Assembly Raosaheb Shekhawat was on Tuesfay questioned by the Amravati police in connection with the seizure of Rs one crore unaccounted cash ahead of the civic polls. Accompanied by Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Ganesh Patil and a battery of lawyers, Shekhawat reached the police commissioner's office in Amravati on Tuesday morning, where his statement was recorded in the case.
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.
"Congress state in-charge Harish Rawat is my good friend but who gave him the right to take such a big decision about Punjab at his level? What is the meaning of Captain's leadership now after the Kharge committee's decision to contest elections under Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi?" Congress MLA Pargat Singh said.
With ally Nationalist Congress Party surging ahead of Congress in the recent local body elections in Maharashtra, All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi's one-day visit to Mumbai on Friday is being viewed in party circles as a move to put the state unit into a pro-active mode and retrieve lost ground.
With Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar both staking claim to the top post, they are lobbying hard for it with supporters of each one raising the pitch in support of their leader.
The Congress refrained from commenting on any peace formula between Gehlot and Pilot.
The CPI-M's allegations were termed a political conspiracy by the opposition Congress which accused the Left party of stooping low to target its political opponents.
Rahul Gandhi is not to be blamed if the Congress does not perform well in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, whose results will be out on Tuesday, party leaders said on Saturday. "A leader creates an atmosphere. To convert that atmosphere into votes and seats is the responsibility of candidates and the organisation," All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Digvijay Singh said.
United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi is said to be travelling abroad for a routine checkup in connection with her treatment.
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.
