The Congress resisted all temptation to comment on senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani's decision to step down from key party posts on Monday, but there was a palpable sense of relief that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's elevation had not been a smooth affair and had, in fact, triggered a major storm in the opposition camp, feels Anita Katyal.
Modi also accused the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist of covering each other's corruption.
Gandhi added the minimum income guarantee would be implemented across the country.
After a dream debut seven years ago when he was sworn in as deputy chief minister after being elected MLA for the first time was followed by a slump in his political fortunes, Tejashwi Yadav has finally come back to center-stage as the kingmaker and deputy to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The Janata Dal-United's decision to break its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party not only changed the political equation in Bihar but also created a buzz in the political circle from Patna to Delhi that whether Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman and JD-U MP Harivansh will continue on his post or going to resign.
"The prime minister is afflicted with an unhealthy mindset," Sharma said.
ED has submitted a chart of total $60.54 million received by the firms directly or indirectly owned by Talwar between April 23, 2008 to February 6, 2009.
Replying to a debate on Motion of Thanks on the President's Address which was adopted by the House later amid walkout by Congress, he replied point-by-point to the issues raised by the Opposition, including surgical strikes and allocations for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, agriculture sector and for Scheduled Castes. Opposition had moved 190 amendments to the Motion which were negated.
The days of coalition governments are here to stay, said the Congress general secretary, who is seeking a fresh mandate from the electorate of Madhya Pradesh's Guna-Shivpuri seat for a fifth term
With hi-tech Narendra Modi at the helm of Bharatiya Janata Party's election campaign, its Mission 272 plus is all set to cash in on the popularity of the Internet and the social media. The Congress has a lot of catching up to do. Anita Katyal reports
Narendra Modi's landslide victory gives him the mandate to deregulate diesel prices as well as raise natural gas rates with a clear road map towards free pricing to cut subsidies and shrink the budget deficit.
A G Perarivalan alias Arivu is now a free man following a legal battle, and that long fight provides scope for throwback moments of Tamil sentiment that propelled the struggle which was backed by most political parties and successive governments in Tamil Nadu.
While the United Progressive Alliance government is preparing to ignore the protests from anti-Telangana members of Parliament and push through the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill in Parliament on Tuesday, the Congress' grim internal assessment is that the move may not pay the requisite electoral dividends which it had originally hoped for, says Anita Katyal
Bandyopadhyay said senior Gujarat cadre officers had been deputed in the CBI and one of them 'shared' his name with Modi.
Amid mounting criticism of poverty reduction estimates by the Planning Commission, Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Saturday joined Union Minister Kapil Sibal in questioning the criteria for fixing poverty line.
Shah also mocked the Congress vice-president for "going to a bank in a Rs-4 crore car to exchange Rs 4,000".
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday accused the Congress of misuse and manipulation of the CBI to target it in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, which it termed as a "political conspiracy".
The INDIA bloc is also likely to announce a secretariat for smooth coordination between the constituents and it is likely to be set up in the national capital. Besides, the members will also discuss the issue of having a coordinator or a chairperson to head the alliance.
Madhavrao Scindia briefly left the Congress in 1996 and was later pacified to rejoin ranks
A weak and troubled United Progressive Alliance government has stumbled badly by issuing the ordinance to counter the fine judgment by the Supreme Court that forces the disqualification of lawmakers convicted for a criminal offence punishable with a jail term of over two years.
Addressing a press conference in London via Skype, the man, identified as Syed Shuja, said the BJP would have won Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh elections if his team hadn't intercepted the BJP attempts to hack the transmissions in these states.
The Congress, notwithstanding its depleted bench strength, failed to corner the government on a range of crucial issues during the just-concluded Parliament session, says Kavita Chowdhury
The Congress seems to have learned nothing from its defeats. At a time when its supporters worry that the idea of India is under attack, the party is still preoccupied with its own battles, notes Vir Sanghvi.
Vinai Kumar Saxena's current job as lieutenant governor of an Opposition-ruled state will raise the bar -- not just for him, but also for the Aam Aadmi Party government, which never says no to a fight with the representative of the central government in India's capital.
Rahul Gandhi-led Congress is undoubtedly making all efforts to correct the public perception about the party and the ruling alliance but it is proving to be an uphill task. Rediff.com's Anita Katyal reports
Scindia, who was also named as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh by the BJP, hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "competence and complete dedication" to serving India and asserted that the country's future is fully secure in his hands.
EC received the RBI proposal in the first week of this month, soon after the model code of conduct came into force on March 5.
The Chhattisgarh government has filed the original suit under Article 131 of the Constitution which empowers a state to move the Supreme Court directly in matters of dispute with the Centre or any other state. It is the first state to challenge the Act.
Mizo National Front, a constituent of the BJP-led NEDA said he was completely against the BJP as far as the ideology and other things are concerned.
The Sena also suggested that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should join Pawar's effort to unite the Opposition, only then can a consolidated front gain real strength.
He said that as the previous government could not do it, he had to do it.
As Maharashtra's main political players, the Congress-nationalist Congress Party alliance and Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena combine, brace for the Lok Sabha and subsequent state assembly polls this year, they would have to contend with a new opponent, the Aam Aadmi Party, which has decided to take the electoral plunge in a big way.
Sonia Gandhi has expressed her agreement with the concerns of Anna Hazare on the land bill and vowed to oppose it.
Efforts like the United National Progressive Alliance are a 'result of some honest efforts but the real third force will come into being only in the post-poll scenario', he said while disagreeing that a third force was already in place. The 75-year old veteran socialist claimed his relationship with Congress leadership was 'never strained' though he was pained by the fact that none in the Congress camp tried to 'acknowledge' his efforts to keep away BJP.
Congress demanded a judicial inquiry by a sitting high court judge.
She called on all "progressive forces" to join hands to fight the "oppressive BJP regime".
'The cousins do not have a good rapport with each other in politics, though they may be having a good rapport with each other in family life.'
While the Congress leadership will undertake the mandatory introspection exercise to pinpoint the reasons for the debacle, Anita Katyal offers five factors which led to the humiliating rout.
Despite the incessant disruptions and bitter clashes between political parties witnessed in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, lawmakers from across the political spectrum will display rare unanimity in the coming days to pass two bills aimed at protecting their interests.
Shah also said that the return of pilot Abhinandan was a diplomatic victory.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances