No one from the Gandhi family was present at the All India Congress Committee headquarters when the leaders filed their nominations for the election.
Opposition parties on Tuesday asked the government to call an all-party meeting to resolve the current impasse in Parliament, while sticking to their demands for a discussion on Pegasus snooping issue and a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the matter.
The National Democratic Alliance government is keen on the passage of the Insurance Bill before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US to send out a message that economic reforms are back on track in India. Anita Katyal reports
As the debate over the issue of leadership raged, another group of leaders put their weight behind the Gandhi family on Sunday, calling for Sonia Gandhi to stay or Rahul Gandhi to take charge again.
The remark by Agrawal was expunged by the chair even as it came for a strong condemnation from the BJP.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance were ranged against each other both inside and outside the Parliament on the opening day of the budget session on Monday.
The Congress on Monday strongly criticised the Union budget, saying Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's speech was oblivious to the declining GDP and the budget was a case of "wrong diagnosis and prescription".
The government wants to introduce a nationwide goods and services tax to revive its stalled reform programme.
It appears that the party has some kind of political death wish, observe Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
Rahul is scheduled to address a rally of the Congress-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alliance on Tuesday at Karaikal in Puducherry.
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Monday amid protests by Opposition parties over their demand to revoke the suspension of 12 members of the House.
'Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal are the two people who have been marked and punished'
During the debate on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party MP JP Nadda said that the leader of Congress in the house, Anand Sharma, was attempting to digress from the main topic.
In his attempt to revive a beleaguered Congress, Rahul Gandhi is trying to bring in new leadership in the form of Rajeev Gowda and BK Hari Prasad, whose names have been nominated for the Rajya Sabha, says Renu Mittal.
This is the first time that Gandhi will be meeting Congress leaders face-to-face, months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Members from Opposition and treasury benches had a heated exchange of words in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on foreign soil that he wanted to clean the dirt of 60 years forcing three adjournments in the pre-lunch session.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi also appointed Harsh Mahajan, Rajender Rana, Pawan Kajal and Vinay Kumar as the new working presidents of the Himachal Pradesh PCC.
The external affairs minister said all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan can be discussed only bilaterally.
A majority of Congress leaders said the party will face desertions if Rahul Gandhi does not remain the leader.
Congress leader Anand Sharma said the scheme was coming in the way of MPs discharging their duties and not being able to attend the meetings of Parliamentary Committees due to it.
A host of top Congress leaders wished him on his birthday, with former prime minister Manmohan Singh among the first to send his best wishes through a letter in the morning.
Tendulkar was slated to initiate a short duration discussion on the right to play and the future of sports in India, which was disrupted by the protests that led Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn the House for the day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not present at the all-party meeting convened by the government.
Congress members trooped into the Well of the House, raising slogans against the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Leader of the House and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said no discussion other than on proclamation of President's Rule in Uttarakhand can take place.
Congress said it will comply with all formalities to get the status of the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha even as the party has been kept on tenterhooks on the issue ahead of Budget Session beginning on Monday.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh puts it succinctly: "Arun Jaitley was every non-BJP person's favourite BJP-ite."
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar has already held telephonic talks with leader of the opposition in the Upper House Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly, was administered the oath as the deputy chief minister.
The Telugu Desam Party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam continued to raise the issue of the dam over the River Cauvery and special status for Andhra Pradesh in both the Houses. While the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day soon after it met at 11.00 am, the Lok Sabha saw repeated adjournments, but managed to pass the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill amid the din.
The chairman asked Swamy to produce documents he quoted from in the AgustaWestland debate after Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raised the issue.
The Congress on Friday described the Centre's announcement to repeal three farm laws as a victory against injustice, and said arrogance had to bow its head before the peaceful satyagraha of farmers.
Inviting EU lawmakers to J-K is the 'ultimate disrespect' to Indian Parliament's sovereignty, Sharma added.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the party stood united and together as a family and there are no dissensions pending after the announcement of elections to the party chief's post.
The G-23 group seems to have expanded with several senior Congressmen attending Wednesday's meeting.
The highlight of the five-hour meeting, which ended with a plan to hold a 'chintan shivir' at the earliest opportunity to chalk the Congress' future strategy, was a demand by Sonia Gandhi's loyalists that Rahul Gandhi should assume the party leadership again.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sumitra Mahajan will be appointed Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha on Friday. Other key parliamentary posts like that of Leader of Opposition, deputy Speaker, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and head of the all-important standing committee on finance will be keenly contested.
Accusing the Congress of creating obstacles in the path of growth and economy, he declared that the government would try to get the bill passed with the help of parties
Raising the issue, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the prime minister should come to the House and clarify on what he said, as his charges that his predecessor was "conspiring" with Pakistan was "a big issue."
Amid noisy scenes, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017 for discussion and passage, but pandemonium broke out in the Upper House with the opposition creating an uproar and the BJP countering it vociferously.
This is the first full-scale review of VIP protectees by the Union home ministry after the Modi 2.0 government took charge.
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