Some of the Congress's new-found enthusiasm for hitting the streets will show its result in the Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka elections. That is when we will know if the Congress will go to the regional parties or the parties will come to the Congress.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced income tax relief for the middle class, a Rs 2 lakh crore outlay for job creation schemes over the next five years and a spending splurge for states run by her party's new coalition partners as she unveiled the Modi 3.0 government's first budget after the general elections.
The Congress party needs a safe pair of hands in the form of Kharge, Tewari said.
Taking note of a plea of an Aam Aadmi Party councillor alleging wrongdoing in the polls, the court issued notices to the Chandigarh authorities, including the civic body.
On Thursday, April 7, 2022, the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die. MPs from the Treasury and Opposition benches met thereafter in the Speaker's chambers for an exercise in enforced bon homie.
The apex court, which dealt with the submission advanced by Kumar's counsel that the former MP be allowed to undergo treatment at a private hospital at his own cost, observed that he cannot be treated as a 'super VIP patient'.
Congress members don't want Rahul Gandhi back as party chief. But the problem is that Sonia Gandhi won't have anyone other than her son to take over the Family Firm, notes Virendra Kapoor.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday defended its directive requiring eateries along the kanwar yatra route to display the names of their owners and staff, saying the idea was to bring in transparency, avoid 'potential confusion' and ensure a peaceful yatra.
The presentation of the Interim Budget (General) for 2004-05 was delayed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday after Congress and other Opposition parties raised certain objections to its introduction.
'Who are Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti to issue certificates?'
'If things don't work on the ground and they continue moving at this pace, it will vanish.'
The election process of the Congress president that was to end by September 20 is likely to be delayed by a few weeks with the party focused on the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' and some state units not completing the formalities, sources said on Thursday.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party falling short of a majority in the Lok Sabha and needing the National Democratic Alliance partners to form the government at the Centre, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United head Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party's N Chandrababu Naidu have emerged as potential kingmakers.
Asked how many seats INDIA bloc will get, Gandhi said, "Have you heard Sidhu Moose Wala's song '295'? So 295 (seats)."
Sources said besides giving approval to the polls schedule, the members of the CWC, the party's highest decision-making body, could also express confidence in the leadership provided by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
Sitharaman added that no Union finance minister can play with the Finance Commission's recommendations.
Also, with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra not in the running for the party president's post, a non-Gandhi would be at the helm after over 24 years following the polling on Monday and counting on Wednesday.
Amid the ongoing political turmoil in the Congress in Rajasthan, the party's chief whip in the state, Mahesh Joshi, on Tuesday said a meeting of the MLAs loyal to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was not called to mount pressure on the party high command.
Sitharaman, India's first full-time woman finance minister, had in July 2019 ditched the colonial legacy of a Budget briefcase for the traditional 'bahi-khata' to carry Union Budget papers.
The Aam Aadmi Party has sought the setting aside of Tuesday's election, alleging tampering of ballot papers, and fresh elections under the supervision of a retired high court judge.
Party leaders list three clear positive outcomes -- an activated Congress which has hit the ground running leaving the past inertia behind, an interactive top brass which is directly engaging the people, and a mobilised organisation which was dormant for many years.
While the Aam Aadmi Party is contesting on four seats, the Congress has fielded candidates for the remaining three seats.
A division bench of the high court of Karnataka has set aside an order of a designated economic court that ordered blocking of @INCIndia and @BharatJodo Twitter handles calling it "punitive action."
He furnished an undertaking before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan pursuant to a March 14 order by the apex court.
What we have in the Congress is a useful glue to hold a non-cultural, unified Opposition together. That is the sacrifice the Congress must be willing to live with if showing the BJP the door is what the collective Opposition wants, observes Shyam G Menon.
Senior leader P Chidambaram whose Rajya Sabha tenure is ending from Maharashtra is under consideration from Tamil Nadu as the Congress is all set to get the support of alliance partner the DMK. The G-23 leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Vivek Tankha, are also said to be in contention.
Ramesh alleged that through the "electoral bonds scam", the Bharatiya Janata Party has collected Rs 8,200 crore and used the route of "pre-paid, post-paid, post-raid bribes and shell companies".
'The Congress can exist without (someone from) the Nehru-Gandhi family being its president.'
The Congress on Monday deferred the election to the post of party president till the COVID-19 situation improves and decided to set up a group to assess losses in the recent assembly polls, with party chief Sonia Gandhi saying it has to put its house in order by facing reality and drawing lessons from the 'serious setbacks'.
In spite of his trying hard he is unable to connect not only with ordinary voters but with most party colleagues as well, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Anand Sharma said weaponisation of laws and their use to target and humiliate people should not happen.
Congress supporters celebrate the Supreme Court's interim order to stay Rahul Gandhi's conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case.
A 'White Paper' versus 'Black Paper' battle erupted on Thursday as the Centre and the Congress unveiled documents and crossed swords over the handling of the Indian economy during the nearly 10 years of the BJP-led NDA rule and the previous 10-year tenure of the Congress-led UPA government.
It appears that the party has some kind of political death wish, observe Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
Congress observers for Rajasthan on Tuesday recommended disciplinary action against three key loyalists of Ashok Gehlot but did not seek any action against the chief minister, as the party scampered to resolve the crisis that has cast a shadow on the election of the party president.
Purohit's resignation came a day after he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.
The Congress president also announced that a compact task force will be set up to drive the process of internal reforms that are essential.
Modi earned his spurs as a doughty leader of the Opposition in the assembly, a post he held till 2004 when he got elected to the Lok Sabha from Bhagalpur.
The government will come out with a White Paper on the mismanagement of economy prior to 2014 with an aim to draw lessons.
Tharoor also said that he certainly thinks Rahul Gandhi has the "mettle, capability and aptitude to once again lead the party", but if he does not wish to do so then the party must "take action" to elect a new chief.
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