Congress leaders say that controversies like the one triggered by Janardhan Dwivedi could be damaging for the party in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
The Congress welcomed the resignation of Andhra Pradesh Governor N D Tiwari in the wake of a sting operation that purportedly showed him in a compromising position with three women.
"The Bhartiya Janata Party wants to use the Joint Parliamentary Committee as the political tool. It's the issue of ego. It's a political demand so the Congress is not agreeing to it," says Janardhan Dwivedi, chairman of media cell of the Congress, while talking exclusively to rediff.com about why Congress is not agreeing to a JPC to look into allegations related to the allotment of 2G spectrum.
It is said that the UPA chairman is concerned about the ASI's stand on Lord Ram and Ram Sethu.
Sonia Gandhi is once again 'in charge' of the Congress party with the group of four set up by her to run the party 'in her absence' having been disbanded on her return from the USA where she was underwent a surgery for an undisclosed ailment.
"Sonia Gandhi remained in the ICU for 24 hours and has thereafter been moved out. Her family has expressed gratitude on her behalf for all the messages and good wishes that have been sent to her," Congress media department head Janardhan Dwivedi said in a statement on Saturday.
The meeting between Dr Singh and Kalam came ahead of the Congress Working Committee session, which discussed the situation in UP.
Dwivedi ducked questions whether any ally or supporting parties had a right to veto any decisionof the coalition. This was significant in the backdrop of the Left opposition to the dismissal of the Yadav government.
Congress on Saturday downplayed the resignation of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhajan Lal saying the party had not received any communication from him.
With Sonia Gandhi putting her seal of approval on his name, Harish Rawat was elected on Saturday the Congress Legislature Party leader in Uttarakhand, paving the way for Haridwar MP's swearing in as new chief minister of the hill state.
The Congress is in introspective mood, especially after the Karnataka debacle. The Congress Working Committee which met in New Delhi on Saturday to discuss the poll drubbing has decided to form committees to suggest ways to revive the party.
A reshuffle of the All India Congress Committee office bearers and the Union Cabinet is on the cards and is likely to take place "soon" say highly placed sources in the Congress. Renu Mittal reports.
Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday joined her brother Rahul Gandhi during a meeting he was having with senior party leaders, sending a buzz in political circles.
On the eve of Congress President Sonia Gandhi's birthday on December 9, the party handed over a 4-0 defeat to her in the assembly elections in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
But the ways of the Congress high command are never so simple. It behaves as a State by itself, reports Sheela Bhatt from New Delhi's Talkatora stadium after witnessing how the clamour was kept up to name Rahul Gandhi as the Congress PM candidate.
Congress members of Parliament from Seemandhra on Friday hit out at the party leadership for not allowing them to move a resolution at the AICC conclave against the Centre's decision to divide Andhra Pradesh.
Harish Rawat, a Union Minister, was on Saturday sworn in as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand, succeeding Vijay Bahuguna who was asked by the Congress high command to step down in a bid to boost the party's prospects ahead of the April-May Lok Sabha polls.
'Modi has been successful in convincing people that from a social point of view, he is closest to Indian citizens. His is a victory of Indian-ness.'
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who has been spearheading the UPA's ambitious Food Security Bill, left the Lok Sabha while the voting was underway on Monday night on various amendments moved by the Opposition.
Rahul has been impressed by the way former Union minister C P Joshi uses the computer to cull out figures and facts.
Several in the Congress party are asking whether Vice President Rahul Gandhi is really interested in politics. Renu Mittal reports
Informed sources in the Congress party feel that had Priyanka cared about keeping this meeting a secret, it would have remained so. But the attempt to alert the media, thus setting off wide speculation, is part of the Congress's design to enthuse its workers that Rahul's candidature for the top job would bring in Priyanka as well.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday alleged that some former prime ministers had compromised the country's 'deep assets' on national security but refrained from naming them.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she is not in favour of taking any decision in haste on the issue of nominating Leader of Opposition but has to take a call before the coming budget session.
With Manmohan Singh clarifying that he will handover the baton after his term comes to an end, the Congress is all set to name Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate for the Lok Sabha elections. However, before making the final announcement, the party would consult its members like the Aam Admi Party, reports Renu Mittal.
The divide between 'teams' of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's and that of vice president Rahul Gandhi is increasing by leaps and bounds, according to party sources. There appears to be no common ground between the two sides, with both blaming the other for the state of affairs in the party. Renu Mittal reports
With party Vice-president Rahul Gandhi's relations with senior party leaders deteriorating, Priyanka Gandhi is now being tipped to be the bridge between the organisation, the government, and the family. Renu Mittal reports.
More and more Congressmen are breaking their silence and coming out in the open blaming party vice president Rahul Gandhi for the poll drubbing. Renu Mittal reports.
Already facing severe criticism over its poor show in the elections and now fighting for the Leader of Opposition's post in Lok Sabha, the Gandhis, the first family of Indian politics, is now facing new battles with the BJP in the form of notices being served to the family in the National Herald case. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports on the growing confrontations between the government and the shaken up family.
Two films will release on Diwali.
L K Advani's observation on Narendra Modi, an attempt to cut the BJP's prime ministerial nominee down to size, billing him a mere event manager like Vijay Raaz in Mira Nair's film Monsoon Wedding, speaks volumes about their differences... In the coming days, the Congress and BJP may lock horns over the AgustaWestland chopper deal. In an Italian court, Guido Haschke, one of the accused middlemen who allegedly bribed the Indian side, has sought a plea bargain to reduce his jail term if convicted. On or around April 11, we will know how much Haschke is ready to reveal. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt detects which way the political wind is blowing these days.
'In Hindu society, marriage is not between a man and a woman, but between their castes; politicians do not ask for human votes, but for caste votes....' 'Have you heard of such nonsense anywhere else in the world? And we claim we are civilised!' 'One or two or a few people becoming President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Speaker etc from the downtrodden do not mean that the untouchables are uplifted and caste-based slavery is over.'
It is not in the Lok Sabha, where the BJP has a clear majority, but the Rajya Sabha that the Opposition has ganged up to checkmate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious plans.
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