Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party for stalling Parliament, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday made it clear its wishes would not be fulfilled through its tactics and dared it for a debate on coal block allocation to separate "fact" from "fiction".
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was given a rousing welcome by thousands of people, including United Democratic Front leaders and workers, at Kalpetta in Wayanad on Wednesday as she prepares to make her electoral debut by filing nomination papers for the coming Lok Sabha bypoll.
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.
Gandhi was unusually more proactive and practically led the Opposition protest against the rise in the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG cylinders during the Question Hour.
'What matters is policies, not personalities like Priyanka, Rahul or Modi.'
Rahul Gandhi said both Rae Bareli and Wayanad "will get two MPs".
The interim panel headed by him would take the place of the Congress Working Committee, the apex decision-making body, till a new CWC is formed after Kharge's election is ratified at the party plenary.
Describing the meeting as 'positive', Banerjee said she discussed the political situation in the country as well as opposition unity with the Gandhis.
Former PM Manmohan Singh and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also paid their tributes.
As an IAS officer in Kerala, Gyanesh Kumar -- who the Congress described as Amit Shah's 'right hand man' -- had a good working equation with the state's Congress and Left leaders.
On Tuesday, 49 opposition MPs were suspended for the remaining part of the session for disrupting proceedings, taking the total tally of suspended MPs in Lok Sabha to 95.
'Mr Modi has the power and pre-eminence in the BJP-RSS to choose how long he wants to serve, and he is definitely going to want to contest in 2029.' 'He will only be 79, as old as Donald Trump now, and fitter,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
The Congress' top leadership will deliberate on the Lok Sabha election results and chalk out its future strategy at a crucial meeting of the party's working committee on Saturday.
Under SPG protection, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were using Range Rovers.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said her "sympathies" were with the BJP as big leaders of the INDIA bloc who are known to be good speakers have made it to the House.
BJP and RSS leaders are once again pushing to remove the words 'secular' and 'socialist' from the Constitution's Preamble, showing a deeper effort to change India's identity from a diverse, multi-religious republic to a Hindu-first nation, even though they don't have the numbers in Parliament to officially change the Constitution, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Politics is a game of public perception and my father felt that by his long disappearances, Rahul Gandhi was losing the battle of perception.'
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Gandhi demanded immediate withdrawal of the objectionable question and a review into the 'gravest lapse'.
According to the sources, during their floor coordination meeting this morning, leaders of the INDIA parties decided to continue their aggressive stance in Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha.
The principal opposition party though appeared content securing 99 of the 543 seats in the 2024 national elections as against its all-time low of 44 in 2014 and then 52 in 2019.
Catch all the debates from the Upper and Lower House of Parliament.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi is likely to contest from Rae Bareli, but a final call is yet to be taken by the first family of the Congress.
By getting Jagdeep Dhankhar to resign at short notice, Narendra Modi has sent a message to his own ideological clan that he brooks no one trying to get too big for their boots, observes Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The former Congress president was asked to vacate the premises by April 22 following his disqualification after the conviction and two-year sentence by a Surat court for his 'Modi surname' remark.
Gandhi also highlighted the issues facing farmers and said the Congress stands with farmers' demand.
The Congress party on Monday defended its decision not to accompany the family of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the immersion of his ashes in the Yamuna, stating it was to ensure their privacy. Congress leader Pawan Khera said senior leaders did not accompany the family to gather and immerse the ashes of Dr Singh "out of our deference to the privacy of the family."
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge Saturday said the Lok Sabha poll mandate is a "decisive rejection" of the politics of divisiveness and hate, and stressed that the INDIA bloc must continue functioning cohesively both inside and outside Parliament.
Addressing party MPs at the general body meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the central hall of Parliament, she said when facing a significant national challenge, it has been the tradition in our country to bring Parliament into confidence.
The session is likely to see the proceedings of Parliament move from the old building to the new Parliament building.
Parliament's approval of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, a contentious piece of legislation aimed at reforming Waqf bodies, has sparked strong reactions from the opposition, who allege that the bill was "bulldozed" through Parliament. The bill, considered the government's most consequential legislation in its third term, was passed with comfortable majorities in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha despite opposition claims of a lack of consultation and an intrusion into religious affairs. Other notable bills approved during the session included the Finance Bill, Appropriation Bill, Immigration and Foreigners Bill, and Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill. The session, which saw high productivity, also witnessed debates on issues such as economic distress, delimitation, and the three-language policy. While the government touted its achievements, the opposition criticized the government's approach and vowed to challenge the Waqf bill in court.
Gandhi may shift to either Goa or Chennai for a few days, sources said.
The 52-year-old, who joins her mother Sonia and brother Rahul as an MP in what is a rare instance of three members of a family together in Parliament, would visit Parliament as a teenager to listen to her father Rajiv Gandhi speak as prime minister.
'Rahul Gandhi should have prevented Nitish Kumar from going.' 'He must pacify Mamata Banerjee if he has a cause of Mohabbat Ki Dukaan.' 'He should bring this Mohabbat Ki Dukaan on the political canvas.'
"Politics of revenge has recoiled back and Sonia Gandhi has become a victim of her own conspiracy. This grand standing will not help," party General Secretary Arun Jaitley told reporters.
Mother and son refuse to go away despite indications blowing in the wind that their leadership is ringing the death knell of the party, observes Ramesh Menon.
Prasad hit out at the Opposition, alleging that it starts getting upset the moment it hears "Kumbh" or "Sanatan".
As Congress President Sonia Gandhi turns 70, here's recalling her extraordinary life in pictures.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asserted that Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, will not be restored even if Congress stalwart and late PM Indira Gandhi comes down from heaven.
Rahul described the Rafale deal as a 'systematic robbery' from the Indian defence forces.
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