Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday hoisted the national flag at the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' camp site in Srinagar and followed it with a fun snowball fight with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Till now, he was being guarded by a small team of the central paramilitary force SSB.
Marking her political debut ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrived at Lucknow airport Monday afternoon to a rousing reception by party leaders and workers. A 30-kilometre long roadshow is planned in Lucknow as a grand welcome for the top three Congress leaders, through some of the most congested areas of the city.
As Uttar Pradesh gears up for assembly elections early next year, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will address a public rally on October 10 in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a party spokesperson said.
Several opposition MPs in India have criticized the government's handling of the deportation of Indian citizens from the United States, questioning the treatment they received. A US military aircraft carrying 104 Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar, India, on Wednesday, marking the first batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration. The deportees reported being handcuffed throughout the journey, sparking protests from opposition leaders who staged a demonstration in Parliament wearing handcuffs. While the government maintains it will address the issue at a later time, opposition members condemned the treatment of the Indians and questioned the government's handling of the situation.
"The President was getting very tired by the end... she could hardly speak, poor thing," Sonia Gandhi, the former Congress chief, was heard saying in clips in what appeared to be a reference to how long the address was.
"Leave phone tapping, Instagram account of my children have also been hacked," Priyanka told reporters when asked about allegations of phone tapping of opposition leaders by the government.
'I know, you did it all for love,' Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Wednesday in an Instagram tribute showing her mother Sonia Gandhi, who on Wednesday handed the party's reins to a new Congress president, holding a photograph of the late Rajiv Gandhi.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday filed her nomination papers in Jaipur for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls from Rajasthan.
'Morning, Just want to say thank you to all my friends and acquaintances who have reached out in support from all over the nation, at this time,' Vadra said in a Facebook post.
In a major organisational rejig ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Saturday appointed Avinash Pande the general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, replacing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while Sachin Pilot was made the general secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh.
Rahul accompanied by Priyanka Vadra arrived in Shimla on Tuesday by road to see the latter's under-construction house at Chharabra, a local Congress leader said.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has said she is not the only face of the party for Uttar Pradesh assembly polls and her remarks at a press conference on Friday about being the face of the party were made in a 'slight exaggerated way' in response to repeated queries from the media on the issue.
The Congress' new headquarters located at 9A, Kotla Road in New Delhi was inaugurated on Wednesday, as the grand old party turned a page in its history after operating from its iconic 24, Akbar Road premises for the last 47 years.
The AAP on Wednesday last had posted a video story on 'X' featuring industrialist Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Modi. The next day, the party posted a picture of Adani and Modi, and alleged that the prime minister works for the industrialist and not the people.
The controversy followed after another Madhya Pradesh minister, Vijay Shah, came under fire for remarks about Col Sofiya Qureshi who conducted media briefings on Operation Sindoor along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.
An FIR has been registered in Meerut against Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's personal assistant on a complaint from party member and actor Archana Gautam's father who alleged that his daughter was threatened with death, the police said on Wednesday.
The Congress national general secretary was responding to a question on Uttar Pradesh Chief minister Yogi Adityanath remarks that there might be a rift between Priyanka and Rahul.
The President's office has condemned comments made by Congress leaders regarding President Droupadi Murmu's address to Parliament, stating that they hurt the dignity of the high office. The statement clarified that the President was not tired during her speech and that the comments were in "poor taste" and "unacceptable." The Congress leaders had reportedly discussed the speech, with Sonia Gandhi commenting on the President's alleged tiredness. The statement suggested that the leaders may have misunderstood the President's speech due to their unfamiliarity with Indian languages.
Congress Working Committee called the recent assembly election results of five states a "cause of serious concern" for the party.
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.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has strongly criticised Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane for calling Kerala a "mini Pakistan", saying the remark is "highly provocative and condemnable". Vijayan said Rane's comments expose the Sangh Parivar's approach towards Kerala, which he said involves alienating and spreading hate campaigns against the state. He also criticised the leadership of the ruling party for not reacting to Rane's "serious breach of oath". Vijayan called for all democratic and secular forces to unite against the Sangh Parivar's "hateful propaganda".
If her mother anoints her as the Congress's chief ministerial candidate for the UP assembly election, it could be Game On! in Lucknow.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's mortal remains were brought to the Congress headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday, where top party leaders paid their last respects. Singh, who headed the Congress-led UPA government and is considered the architect of India's economic reforms, died on Thursday at 92. A seven-day national mourning will be observed throughout the country in his honor.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asserted that the party's Kerala leaders 'stand as one' and were 'united' by the light of purpose ahead.
His mother Maureen was also questioned for some time.
No answer for the time being, will see later, Vadra said.
Vadra was directed by a Delhi court to cooperate with the investigation being carried out by the central probe agency after he knocked on its door seeking anticipatory bail in this case.
On May 24, the agency had requested the Delhi high court for custodial interrogation of Vadra for questioning him about the source of funds used for the purchase of a London-based property worth 1.9 million and ascertain the role of certain other people, who allegedly helped him launder money.
Vadra said that he will also be present with his mother-in-law Sonia Gandhi and brother-in-law Rahul Gandhi during their filing of nominations.
Without taking names, in a tweet in Hindi, Priyanka Gandhi said the law of the country is written in the Constitution and this law is paramount.
The party in Uttar Pradesh is seeing the visit as the virtual launch of the Congress campaign in the state, ahead of the coming Lok Sabha elections.
By pronouncing, without an enquiry, that Vadra is innocent, the Congress ministers can be held to be trying to influence the investigating agencies not to go into the matter because Robert Vadra is a privileged person related to Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi and is above the law and any investigation, notes B Raman.
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.
Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said the former chief minister Amarinder Singh-led Punjab government had to be replaced as it was being run by the BJP from Delhi.
Vadra is expected to be questioned again on either Friday or Saturday.
Several opposition MPs on Wednesday greeted their Bharatiya Janata Party counterparts in Parliament premises with the tricolour in one hand and a red rose in the other, as they urged the ruling party to ensure that the House functions and all issues, including the Adani matter, is discussed.
Priyanka Gandhi's husband Robert Vadra joined the campaign trail on Monday, taking out a motorcycle rally to drum up support for the Congress in Amethi. Vadra and his daughter arrived in Amethi on Sunday night. He took part in the rally in Gauriganj area on Monday morning and later addressed the electorate in Salon assembly segments of Amethi, which is a Gandhi family pocketborough.
