Kharge said that the BJP is trying to misuse his 'Ravan' remarks for electoral gains in Gujarat.
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 BJP had no option but to get Jagdeep Dhankhar out of its way for the sake of the Modi government's stability, reveals Sheela Bhatt, the legendary political journalist.
The disqualification of wrestler Vinesh Phogat in the Olympics after being found overweight before the final bout also saw the government and Opposition come to blows in Parliament.
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.
In the prevailing difficult circumstances, the Congress is the only party that can provide capable and decisive leadership to the country, Kharge asserted.
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.
As the Centre announced the inclusion of caste enumeration in the next census on Wednesday, opposition parties said it is a victory for their long-standing demand and sought time-bound implementation.
Senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, in the race for the post of Congress president, not only possess contrasting demeanour but have had an equally disparate political journey.
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.
"Gruha Lakshmi" scheme, rolled out amid fanfare, is one of the five pre-poll 'guarantees' of the Congress, which ousted the Bharatiya Janata Party from power in the May assembly elections.
Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his corruption jibe at the Opposition, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday accused him of running a "bhrashtachari bhagao abhiyan" (make the corrupt flee campaign), and said that he must stop his image makeover by posing as an anti-corruption crusader.
The development comes days after the party's humiliating defeat in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, where the Congress, led by Nath, failed to replace the BJP government.
'If the Congress gets to form the government in 2024, then Sonia Gandhi by virtue of being CPP chairperson will have the authority to decide who will be the prime minister and not Kharge.'
The Janata Dal-Secular demanded that the Congress government should sack Khan from the Cabinet for his racist slur.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said his statement on 'Shakti scheme' was distorted and presented as if the Congress government in the state wanted to withdraw it.
Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge, a staunch Gandhi family loyalist from Karnataka, has become the Congress' first non-Gandhi president in 24 years.
They said the meeting was necessitated after "some differences" cropped up in seat-sharing arrangement during the talks between the local leadership of the parties.
The birth anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, whose political influence has surged with the passage of time, on Monday was marked by bitter trading of charges between the ruling BJP and opposition parties as they fought for his legacy.
The sources said the opposition leaders would now plan joint rallies that were put on hold due to the assembly elections.
Kharge, who was popularly known as "solillada Saradara", (a leader without defeat) faced his first electoral loss in his political life spanning several decades against BJP's Umesh Jadhav in Gulbarga by a margin of 95,452 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Leaders of various INDIA bloc parties have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to allow leaders of the opposition in both Houses of Parliament to speak during the Constitution Day function to be held on Tuesday. The function will be addressed by President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The letter, signed by leaders of various opposition parties, states that they believe in the best traditions and interests of Parliamentary democracy, the Leaders of Opposition (LoPs) in both Houses should also be given an opportunity to speak on this historic occasion. Parliamenary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, however, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be addressing the event and accused "some of the Opposition parties " of giving reactions without knowing the actual arrangement. He added that sitting arrangements have been made for the Leaders of Opposition of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the dais.
Counting of votes began on Wednesday in the Congress presidential polls in which senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor faced-off for the post of All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief.
The Congress announced on Thursday that it would not field candidates in the nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh where bypolls are being held and would support Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) nominees.
After spending nearly 50 years in a colonial bungalow at 24, Akbar Road, the Congress moved into a new office on January 15. Rasheed Kidwai, who knows the history of the Congress better than the Congress, looks back at the people who breathed life into this address.
The party was reacting to Kumar's decision to resign as Bihar chief minister and leaving the Mahagathbandhan alliance in the state and also dealing a body blow to the opposition bloc INDIA.
Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attended the swearing in ceremony, while former AICC President Sonia Gandhi was absent. Chief Ministers of Congress ruled states Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan), Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and Sukhvinder Singh Sukku (Himachal Pradesh) and several top party leaders were also in attendance.
The decision on Rahul Gandhi's appointment as the Leader of Opposition was made after a meeting of the floor leaders of the INDIA bloc at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence.
What some of our leaders were up to this week.
A total of 20 forms were received during the nomination process. Four of them were rejected as signatures were repeated or did not match, he said.
Sources said the decision was taken at a meeting of INDIA bloc leaders, who met on Friday morning in the chamber of Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament House.
Media reports claimed that the arrival of the Congress MLAs is part of a precautionary measure taken by the party to prevent any poaching attempts as the newly formed National Democratic Alliance government in Bihar, headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, seeks a trust vote on February 12.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to Congress stalwart and former prime minister Manmohan Singh thanking him for his 'sheer presence' in Rajya Sabha despite his poor health to vote against the Delhi services bill.
The committee, of which Mukul Wasnik is the convener and has former chief ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel as well as Mohan Prakash and Salman Khurshid in it, held final talks and suggested the way forward to the party leadership.
The opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is unlikely to contest the Lok Sabha Speaker's post and the National Democratic Alliance nominee is likely to be elected unopposed, sources said Tuesday ahead of filing of nomination for the key post.
'Has the BJP not announced its candidates in Raebareli?'
Maken is considered a close confidant of Rahul Gandhi and was without any post ever since he resigned as Congress general secretary in charge of Rajasthan a few months ago.
Referring to Abdullah's comments, Saamana claimed that Congress actively contributed to AAP's defeat in at least 14 seats in Delhi, which could have been avoided.
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.
'There is some deep rot that has set in the Congress party. This requires an organisational surgery.'
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