Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra appears to have shed the maximum sweat among top leaders for over the last 45 days in the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh assembly elections campaign.
The clarification came amid a demand, including from Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, that the landslide tragedy in Kerala's Wayanad be declared a national disaster.
Priyanka Gandhi said that when the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic struck the country and people struggled for hospital beds, oxygen, vaccines and medicines, they expected the government to make efforts to save lives using earlier preparations and available resources.
Normally, the southwest monsoon makes its onset over Kerala by June 1 and covers the entire country by July 8. It starts retreating from northwest India around September 17 and withdraws completely by October 15.
This is the second time Sonia Gandhi joined the yatra that began in September from Kanyakumari.
When he turned 53 last year, celebrations were rather subdued. Two weeks after the Congress won 99 seats (including a personal double victory in Wayanad and Raebareli), hoardings and banners wishing Rahul Gandhi on his 54th birthday appeared around 10 Janpath (where his mama and Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi lives) and the Congress HQ in Delhi.
Despite heavy snowfall in Srinagar, the rally to mark the culmination of Bharat Jodo Yatra went ahead, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other prominent leaders of opposition parties addressing the march.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, accusing them of "speaking the language of urban naxals" and being "AAP-da" for the youth. He also took a swipe at former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, saying those who entertain themselves by getting photo sessions done in huts of the poor will find the talk about the poor in Parliament boring. Modi also hailed his government's decisions in the Budget and said that the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which his government started for the poor, has been stalled by some states, leaving poor people in hardship.
Will 'Bhaiyyaji', as Priyanka is called in UP, contest against Modi?
She said it was a strange thing for her to know that for the time being he has been disqualified from even fighting another election for eight years.
AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday brainstormed with senior Congress leaders from Uttar Pradesh on the preparations for next year's assembly polls, as the party resolved to hit the streets against the Bharatiya Janata Party government over issues such as unemployment, price rise and law and order.
The Congress, which criticised the amendment, walked out of Rajya Sabha saying it is dissatisfied with the home minister's reply on the amendment to the SPG Act.
Even Priyanka's formal entry into politics could not act as a saving grace for the Congress. She was made in-charge of the party's fortunes in eastern Uttar Pradesh, but despite her high-octane election campaign, Congress is ahead on just one seat -- her mother Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli.
'He is such a big defence expert that he alone decided that the Rafale aircraft will be manufactured by a company that has never built one ever'
The Congress on Thursday attacked the Modi government over the issue, alleging that it had been "caught snooping". The Opposition demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the "illegal hacking" of cellphones.
'The Election Commission's involvement in the avoidable SIR controversy has carried a message down to the last voter -- who just does not like it,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
She also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh of "complete failure" in handling the Kanpur ambush case and arresting Dubey, the main accused who fled the state and was arrested from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday morning.
Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday amid protests by opposition and treasury benches over the alleged insult to Dr B R Ambedkar and directions by Speaker Om Birla to members against holding demonstrations at any gate of Parliament.
Rahul, the sitting MP of Wayanad, said that he was always ready to bring the issues being faced by the people of the hill constituency to the attention of the nation and the world.
She released the party's manifesto "Unnati Vidhan", which she termed as "Jan Ghoshna Patra'.
The duo is unlikely to visit the neighbouring parliamentary constituency of Amethi, from where Congress president Rahul Gandhi lost the Lok Sabha polls.
The meeting started under the presidency of Mallikarjun Kharge but former presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were yet to arrive and are unlikely to attend the steering committee meeting.
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.
Priyanka said the presence of Gandhis in the party would impede the functioning of a non-family president only if her family wanted things to be that way.
'We waded through the wet mud into the school, and what we saw were dead bodies strewn all over.' 'We could also see parts of human bodies buried under the wet mud.' 'It was a sight I will never forget in my life. Total devastation everywhere.'
The Congress general secretary claimed that she was surrounded, held by the throat by a female cop and pushed by another female cop.
Ruling out the possibility of contesting the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said that she would actively campaign for her mother Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul Gandhi, in Rae Bareli and Amethi constituencies respectively. Priyanka visited Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies on a day-long tour on Tuesday, when she met party workers and discussed the LS polls.
Taking a 30-minute break from the Kanyakumari to Kashmir foot march at Sonawar, Gandhi drove to the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters on Maulana Azad Road before heading to the clock tower, locally known as 'Ghanta Ghar', to unfurl the tricolour.
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.
Ruling NDA and opposition INDIA bloc MPs clashed in Parliament on Thursday over Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on B.R. Ambedkar, leading to jostling and an injury to BJP MP Pratap Sarangi. The opposition demanded Shah's resignation, while the BJP defended him.
He referred to the Modi government scheme providing five kilograms of ration to the poor every month and said, "The Congress brought the Food Security Act, you did nothing."
"I want to peacefully meet the family members of the victims who had fallen to the bullets in the clash. I want to see the orders under which I have been stopped to meet them," Priyanka Gandhi said while sitting on the dharna .
Addressing a 'nukkad sabha' in favour of Congress nominee Rakesh Sachan in Fatehpur, the Congress general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh said, "The issue of patriotism is raised whenever elections come, but the real questions on farmers, unemployed, women safety are left behind."
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.
Days after violence erupted over a survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal, an imam of another mosque was fined Rs 2 lakh for allegedly using a loudspeaker at high volume. The incident occurred in the Anar Wali Masjid, prompting authorities to take action. The imam, identified as Tahzeeb, was fined and granted bail, with orders to refrain from similar conduct for six months. The incident comes amid ongoing tensions in Sambhal following the November 24 violence during a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, which resulted in four deaths and several injuries. The incident has become a major political controversy, with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra raising the issue in Parliament.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, calling it a direct assault on the values of the republic. The party accused the BJP of exploiting the tragedy to promote discord and polarization, while urging for unity and solidarity in the face of adversity. The CWC also demanded a comprehensive analysis of the intelligence failures and security lapses that led to the attack.
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (Phase II) go to the polls on Friday, November 17, 2023.
Speaking at a function in Varanasi on the occasion of Ravidas Jayanti, she urged the audience to take the teachings of the saint to the masses. "He (Sant Ravidas) had dreamt of a society, where there is no discrimination and where every person is respected. You all should take forward his teachings to the masses, especially at a time, when there is so much violence and hatred in the society. His teachings are need of the hour," Priyanka Gandhi said.
Addressing a prayer meeting in memory of the Dalit rape victim, she said her party will continue to exert pressure on the government till justice is delivered in the case.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances