The Congress has also asked the prime minister's office to co-ordinate better with various ministries over the issue of inflation.
"The decision has been taken. The ropes of retreat have been cut," Mushrif said
Skirting the issue of a pre-poll alliance with Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday kicked off her party's campaign for the October 13 Maharashtra assembly polls, with a call to workers to reach out to the people with renewed vigour.Sonia reaffirmed her party's irrevocable commitment to protecting the interests of the 'aam admi', which was the focus of the Congress' policies and programmes.
Embattled Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Dhananjay Munde on Thursday said he has been diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, a condition that causes sudden weakness in face muscles, which had severely affected his ability to speak.
Amid talks of cross-voting, three of the 37 Congress MLAs in Maharashtra skipped a meeting called by the party ahead of the legislative council polls on Friday.
The opposition party, however, said the four eminent Congress MPs and leaders who have been included at the instance of the Modi government will, of course, go with the delegations and make their contributions.
The high-level committee on 'one nation, one election' approached 62 parties out which 47 responded -- 32 in support of holding elections simultaneously, 15 against it.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Anmol Bishnoi, brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, after his deportation from the US. He is wanted in connection with several high-profile crimes.
"We have not even thought about merger. It is not on the cards," he said, complaining that the statements he issued after his recent trip to Delhi were misreported or misinterpreted.
"We (Congress and NCP leaders) discussed the nitty gritty of a (possible) common minimum programme to ensure the government functions smoothly," Pawar said.
The MLA physically blocked the police vehicle, demanding Deshmukh's release, alleging biased action by the law enforcement officials.
It is unfortunate that the Congress has taken a decision of contesting the elections in alliance with the JMM without even consulting allies in the UPA government, he said.
With key UPA allies -- the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Trinamul Congress and Nationalist Congress Party members -- clearly expressing their resentment to a new state, sources say the Congress is now looking to find a way out of the situation.
Senior Congress leader M Mallikarjun Kharge is not averse to running for the AICC president's election if party chief Sonia Gandhi asks him to contest, sources close to the veteran leader said on Wednesday.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has criticized his cabinet colleague, Nitesh Rane, for making "misleading" statements about Muslims not being part of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's army. Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, called for restraint from political leaders and stressed the importance of maintaining communal harmony in the state. He emphasized that Shivaji Maharaj never discriminated based on caste or creed and highlighted the contributions of Muslims during his reign.
With Nationalist Congress Party leader Chagan Bhujbal floating the idea of rotating the post of chief minister, senior Congress leader Vilasrao Deshmukh said on Thursday there was no doubt about his party getting the Chief Ministership in Maharashtra.
Neelam Shinde from Maharashtra's Satara was critically injured in the accident on February 14 and has been in a coma at a hospital since then.
The grand old party faces the onerous task of rebuilding its moribund organisation, which is struggling to overcome a leadership crisis and regain credibility with the voters.
This is to enable Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to reduce the size of his cabinet as per a Constitutional amendment.
The Congress on Monday refused to read any political overtures in the meeting between its ally Nationalist Congress Party's chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray in Mumbai, saying it was to ensure the conduct of a hassle-free IPL. Asked whether Pawar's meeting with Thackeray was a snub to the Congress, party spokesperson Abhishekh Manu Singhvi said, "Pawar has met Thackeray to prevent the politics of disruption in cricketing matters."
Senior congress leaders are underplaying the nationalist Congress Party-Congress face off saying all is well between the two parties and that the Pawar-Praful duo are merely positioning themselves and that there are really no real problems which need to be addressed. Renu Mittal reports.
Days before the first vote for the Lok Sabha polls is cast, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the rival Nationalist Congress Party factions led by party founder Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to abide by its directions on the use of symbols, party names and disclaimers in publicity material for the elections.
The next meeting of opposition parties will be held in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18, the Congress announced on Monday, and asserted their resolve to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party has been strengthened by the 'Mumbai operations' of the 'BJP washing machine'.
Congress candidates were leading over their Nationalist Congress Party rivals in two assembly constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh.
As the impasse over some seats for Maharashtra polls continues in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said if anyone needs the slogan 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', it has to be the opposition bloc.
Sulking ally Nationalist Congress Party on Monday kept the Congress guessing on its pullout plans from the government but made it clear that it will not rock the United Progressive Alliance boat and continue its support "till the end".
Scores of Nationalist Congress Party workers refused to leave the venue, where Pawar earlier in the day announced his decision during the launch of his revised autobiography.
The two parties have agreed to contest 26 and 22 seats respectively.
Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader and Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil came down heavily upon the Congress on Sunday and said the party has become "a pain" for the NCP.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Saturday refuted the allegation that the Nationalist Congress Party ditched the Congress in recent elections to the posts of Zilla Parishad chairman and vice-chairman in the state, saying it was the Congress which had failed to honour the `dharma' of coalition.
It asked the Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led faction to issue a public notice in newspapers in English, Hindi and Marathi saying that the 'clock' symbol is sub-judice and its use is subject to adjudication.
An unknown person sent a letter to his office in Nashik informing him about a contract to kill him.
Remarks by Congress and NCP (SP) leaders in Maharashtra suggesting the term 'Sanatani terrorist' have sparked a controversy, drawing strong criticism from the BJP, which accuses them of 'Hindu hatred' and 'appeasement politics'.
Former Maharashtra MLA and NCP leader Zeeshan Siddique has received a death threat via email, demanding Rs 10 crore and threatening to "kill him the same way" as his father, Baba Siddique, who was shot dead last year. The sender claimed to be a member of the D-company and warned Zeeshan not to contact police. Police have launched a probe into the death threat and extortion demand.
Democratic Indira Congress (K) state vice president and former Kerala minister P Sankaran on Wednesday announced that he was quitting the party and returning to the Congress.
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh on Wednesday alleged the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party of collusion with Raj Thackeray and sought to remind the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president that Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan had made immense contribution to Maharashtra.
The Nationalist Congress Party has claimed all the 28 Congress corporators in Malegaon city in Maharashtra's Nashik district, including the mayor, crossed over to the party on Thursday.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, has said that helming the NCP away from the shadows of his uncle and founder Sharad Pawar after the split is a huge responsibility.
