Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president DK Shivakumar faced criticism from within the party for his participation in Mahashivaratri celebrations in Tamil Nadu, which was also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Shivakumar defended his attendance, asserting his Hindu faith while emphasizing his respect for all religions. He also clarified that he had not met Amit Shah and refuted claims of aligning himself with the BJP.
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 in India have criticized the imposition of President's rule in strife-torn Manipur, accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of failing to address the ethnic violence and using the measure to cover up internal conflicts within the party. They demanded a clear roadmap for restoring peace and questioned the government's lack of transparency and inaction on the issue. The violence, which erupted in May 2023, has left over 250 people dead.
Amidst rumblings within the state Bharatiya Janata Party seeking a change of leadership in strife-torn Manipur, Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday tendered his resignation to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla at the Raj Bhavan in Imphal.
'They want to keep the pot boiling all the time.' 'The BJP wants to set a political narrative that the Gandhis are doing wrong things.'
Hectic preparations were underway at the Congress headquarters for the ceremony where party president Sonia Gandhi will hand over the baton to her successor, Mallikarjun Kharge, the first non-Gandhi to head the outfit in 24 years.
Kharge also urged voters to take pride in the fact that he as a bhoomi putra of Karnataka had been made All India Congress Committee president, and sought a win for the Congress in that name.
A corrigendum to the joint parliamentary committee report on the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, was tabled in the Rajya Sabha after Opposition MPs alleged that dissent notes were redacted from the report. BJP MP Medha Vishram Kulkarni tabled the corrigendum, which included the un-redacted dissent notes. The Opposition MPs, led by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, had earlier accused the government of misleading the House by deleting the dissent notes. The government, however, denied the allegations. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar thanked the government for the corrigendum, saying it showed that parliamentary institutions are blossoming. Opposition MPs, however, said it was done under their pressure.
Ruling and opposition members in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday sparred over 'foul' remarks made by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Rajasthan's Alwar, with treasury bench members seeking an apology from him.
'While suppression of information is acceptable for the government, the Opposition's efforts at pinning the government and its leaders is labeled anti-national,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The electoral contest would take place between Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, and voting will take place on October 17 in every state capital through secret ballot.
The Delhi Police's Crime Branch will investigate the case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with a scuffle on the Parliament premises that left two BJP MPs injured. An FIR was registered against Gandhi after a BJP complaint accused him of physical assault and incitement. Police will also investigate a separate complaint filed by the Congress, accusing BJP MPs of misbehaving with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has banned demonstrations by MPs and political parties at any of the Parliament gates following the incident.
Kharge said this during an interaction with party delegates at Congress office in Srinagar, where he sought their support for the All India Congress Committee presidential election.
'Dr Shashi Tharoor by far is a much better choice.'
Kharge said he condemn this attitude of the government to threaten, scare and humiliate
Security was stepped up in Ramanagara, Shivakumar's home district, on Wednesday as a precautionary measure in light of his supporters staging protests at multiple places after some media outlets claimed that he lost the race for the chief minister's post to Siddaramaiah.
The meeting is believed to be called to chalk out the strategy of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
As part of the efforts to bring several opposition parties together on a common platform to defeat the BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Pawar met Kharge on Thursday evening.
The Supreme Court collegium has confirmed the transfer of Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Varma to his parent Allahabad High Court. This decision comes after an inquiry was initiated against Justice Varma regarding the alleged discovery of a large amount of cash at his official residence. The transfer recommendation was made public in a resolution uploaded on the Supreme Court's website. The alleged cash discovery occurred following a fire at Varma's residence in Delhi on March 14, 2025. The apex court collegium, headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, has also constituted a three-member inquiry committee to further investigate the matter.
Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has resigned as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, sources said on Saturday, a day after he filed his nomination papers for the All India Congress Committee president's election.
The less charitable in the party say he owes his appointment Sonia Gandhi -- the family wanted someone who wouldn't talk back and would not exert himself too much, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Senior leaders P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh are learnt to be the front-runners to take on the mantle of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.
The Congress has, however, countered this saying someone who is not an MP of Rajya Sabha cannot be called to the House and there cannot be any discussion/reflection on or about an MP of Lok Sabha.
The Indian National Congress, India's oldest political party, is moving from its longtime headquarters at 24 Akbar Road to a new building called Indira Gandhi Bhawan. The move marks the end of an era for the Congress, which has been headquartered at 24 Akbar Road for nearly 50 years.
Several opposition leaders on Monday wrote to the Rajya Sabha chairman claiming that Leader of Opposition in the House Mallikarjun Kharge was not accorded a seat commensurate with his position during the swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu.
The Congress party needs a safe pair of hands in the form of Kharge, Tewari said.
The Congress on Thursday objected to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar deleting some portions of Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge's speech from official records, saying he used no unparliamentary words and some of the expressions he employed were earlier used even by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The mortal remains of former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh were consigned to flames at the Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday amid the chanting of religious hymns. The funeral pyre was lit by his eldest daughter Upinder Singh.
Any direction or rule of the House cannot subvert the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech granted to members of Parliament, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, asserting that any criticism of the government and its policies can never be equated with the "dignity" of the Council of States.
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.
Kharge launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the Himachal Pradesh poll schedule was announced but not of Gujarat so that the PM can inaugurate many more bridges like the one that collapsed in Gujarat's Morbi.
Gehlot, one of the proposers of Kharge, said Tharoor is also a good man and has good thoughts but he is from the elite class.
After the meeting, Kharge said that there should be discipline in the party and the party has to be kept united.
Five soldiers were killed and five others were injured when an Army vehicle carrying them skidded off the road and rolled down into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. The accident occurred in the Gharoa area when the vehicle was on its way to Banoi in the district. Rescue teams have recovered five bodies. The vehicle plunged into a gorge, approximately 300-350 feet deep.
The complaint has been filed by Vineet Jindal, a Supreme Court advocate.
Rahul Gandhi would be pursued to return as Congress president as there is none in the party other than him who has a pan-India appeal, veteran leader M Mallikarjun Kharge has said.
In its Karnataka assembly poll manifesto, which was released on May 2, the Congress said it is committed to take firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations such as the Bajrang Dal and the PFI "spreading hatred" among communities on the grounds of caste and religion.
According to the sources, the meeting will be held at 10 am on Thursday in the chamber of Rajya Sabha LoP.
Gehlot said there is no such tradition in the party to offer posts to any leader in order to pacify him.
Talking to reporters in Bhopal, Kharge said he believes in collective leadership and if elected president, will consult party leaders Sonia Gandhi as well as Rahul Gandhi on organisational matters.
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