Monday was the 3rd anniversary of the terrorist attack on the apex seat of Indian democracy.
After meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Friday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah expressed reservations about the controversial yatra being undertaken by party Member of Parliament Jaganmohan Reddy.
The fear that Mamata might snatch the mantle of Opposition leadership which the Gandhis firmly believe to be theirs by birthright seems to have persuaded Sonia and Rahul to give up their hoity-toity ways, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda and new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh will witness polling on February 27.
There are concerns within the Congress with respect to the articulation of the party's demand for the caste census, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently accusing the grand old party of attempting to divide Hindus through its push for the Other Backward Classes.
A day before the July 19 Presidential poll, Congress President Sonia Gandhi will host a lunch for the members of Parliament of the United Progressive Alliance and supporting parties.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday rejected the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam and hit out at the opposition, saying that the country will not forget and forgive them for the wastage of an entire session of Parliament.Turning down the Opposition demand for a JPC into the 2G spectrum issue, Gandhi said there was no need for a JPC when the Public Accounts Committee and the Central Bureau of Investigation were probing the case.
Hitting out at the government, BJP on Wednesday scored a "double century" on price rise and questioned the "silence" of Congress President Sonia Gandhi on the "burning issue".
'Why should Khargeji work against the Gandhis for the sake of proving his independence?'
Rattled by the open defiance of its leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday asked Praja Rajyam Party president Chiranjeevi not to field any nominees for the Rajya Sabha polls, so that there is no threat to party candidates.Chiranjeevi, who met Gandhi on her invitation, assured her that he would get back within two days after holding talks with party leaders.
UPA-Left candidate Hamid Ansari who was also present at the dinner interacted with the members.
As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi launched an attack on parties opposing FDI in retail and other measures, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said FDI will be the central issue in the coming session.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who addressed party Members of Parliament on Thursday, backed Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the joint statement signed between Pakistani PM Yusuf Raza Gilani and him in Sharm-el-Sheikh.
Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge, a staunch Gandhi family loyalist from Karnataka, has become the Congress' first non-Gandhi president in 24 years.
Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani said that the Parliament House complex is a much safer place since last year's attack.
The oath taking took place as the House witnessed a virtual slogan-shouting contest between treasury and opposition benches.
A day after airing a news story criticising the Congress and its chief Sonia Gandhi, Sakshi television channel owned by Kadapa Member of Parliament Y S Jaganmohan Reddy took a U-turn on Sunday, re-telecasting it after deleting adverse references to her and claiming that it had not targeted her.
When Congress President Sonia Gandhi asked her ministers and people in authority in the 125-year-old Congress Party to take ordinary workers seriously, she immediately struck an chord with thousands of grassroots workers who have come from across the country to attend the 83rd plenary session of the party.
Opposition does not stall legislative agenda; Upper House passes two bills.
The gory memories of the 2001 Parliament attack came alive at a function to mark the martyrdom of the security personnel who laid down their lives to save the symbol of Indian democracy.Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of Opposition LK Advani, chairperson of United Progressive Alliance Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders of various political parties offered floral tributes.
Murmurs have begun with the Congress polity about the possibility of having a strong leader who can back Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 general elections.
Addressing a meeting of AICC general secretaries and state-incharges which she presided over, Gandhi also alleged that the country was being ruled by a government which was "systematically" handing over the rights of citizens to a handful of crony capitalists.
Ahmed Patel's third tenure in the Upper House ends in August this year. He has opted out of the election despite the Congress having enough votes from Gujarat to ensure his re-election to the Upper House. Naturally, his decision to not enter Parliament again has surprised many, and speculation is rife over the decision
It was a spectacle of bonhomie in the Central Hall of Parliament as Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted his political adversary Rahul Gandhi warmly grabbing his hand, while Congress President Sonia Gandhi chatted intermittently with BJP veteran L K Advani.
However, he pointed out that the manner in which Smriti Irani was taking the name of President in the House was not proper and in consonance with the status and position of the President.
Upset over political developments in Maharashtra, the Congress and other opposition parties boycotted Constitution Day celebrations in the Central Hall of Parliament and held a joint protest in front of the Ambedkar statue inside Parliament complex.
Asked about the organisational changes made by Gandhi and the subsequent reported statements by some leaders who had written to her over party reforms, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said he had not seen a single statement by any Congress leader on the issue and cannot comment on that.
Charges and counter-charges flew thick and fast minutes after the controversy in the Lok Sabha, when Samajwadi Party member Yashvir Singh snatched the copy of quota in promotion bill from Union minister V Narayansamy and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi intervened to stop him.
Addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting in Parliament House, she also attacked the governor of the state, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, saying he had acted in an "unprecedented and reprehensible manner".
Women politicians bring to politics and policy a sensitivity that most of their male counterparts, at least until a generation back, lacked.
A blame game began in the Congress on Tuesday as it failed in its bid to come back to power in Haryana after 10 years, with senior party leader Kumari Selja saying the party high command should assess all reasons that led to the disappointing result and identify the people responsible.
'The Congress president gets into samurai mode only when there is a direct attack on her and her family.' 'Is being the president of the oldest and one of the most respected parties in India only about personal reputation and survival?' asks Sudhir Bisht.
Sonia Gandhi has expressed her agreement with the concerns of Anna Hazare on the land bill and vowed to oppose it.
The amendments passed by the government will ensure that no Information Commissioner shall be free from interference and signalling by the Modi government, she said in a statement.
The meeting of the Congress Parliamentary strategy group was held at the residence of party President Sonia Gandhi.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned twice in the post-lunch period on Thursday as a war of words broke out between the treasury and opposition benches, triggered by Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi's spat with the Bharatiya Janata Party's Ravneet Singh Bittu.
For the first time, Modi is eyeball to eyeball with his bete noire, sitting a few feet across him. Given the last 10 years, a confrontation between them was unavoidable, inevitable, points out Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The Congress president was on August 26 admitted to AIIMS hospital after she was taken ill in the Lok Sabha where her dream welfare legislation and UPA's ambitious Food Security Bill was in the final stages of adoption.
From bhikshus of Ashokan 3rd century BC and medieval Sufis to Oxfam, Omidyar and Soros now, non-State actors have any real power only when they work in conjunction with a real State, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances