Anand Sharma said weaponisation of laws and their use to target and humiliate people should not happen.
"He also gave verbal directions to make the necessary arrangements for the prevention of COVID-19 spread during the session," the spokesperson added.
Pilot was spied on after revolt, says Gehlot's OSD
Congress leader K C Venugopal and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's office, refusing to endorse NDA candidate Birla without being offered the Deputy Speaker's position.
The legislators will be staying at a luxury resort there and likely to visit the Somnath temple, sources said.
There is little doubt that the prime minister's own charisma exceeds that of his party, but 2024 is proof that no party can ultimately depend on one person to deliver victory all the time, points out R Jagannathan.
The controversy has sparked reactions across states. The famous Mankameshwar temple in Uttar Pradesh has now banned offerings of 'prasad' bought by devotees from outside and said they can offer homemade 'prasad' or fruits.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Friday stressed that the party would fight the Rajasthan assembly polls "unitedly" and said that a decision on who would lead the next government would be taken by the high command after consultations with the newly-elected MLAs.
It is wrong to say the Congress doesn't matter. Certainly one set of people who do not believe that for a minute is the BJP. That's why even in his speech in Parliament on Constitution Day, Mr Modi called dynastic politics a threat to democracy, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Chouhan and Raje were overlooked by the BJP for the chief minister posts in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan respectively despite ensuring the party's return to power in the assembly polls held recently.
Senior party leaders stressed that no one except the Gandhi family can hold the party together, the party will disintegrate and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should be given command after 2024.
While Tharoor declined to comment on whether he would throw his hat into the ring, he has written an article for the Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi calling for a 'free and fair' election.
The shifting of MLAs to Congress-ruled Rajasthan will allow the party to focus on drawing up its strategy for the crucial Rajya Sabha elections for which it has fielded two candidates, the source said.
'Shivakumar is an andhbhakt of Congress ideology and principles.'
Congress leaders and workers took to the streets on Monday in Delhi and various state capitals as Rahul Gandhi appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in New Delhi for questioning in the National Herald case, with the opposition party accusing the Modi government of 'trampling on democracy'.
RSS leader whipped up a political storm for stating that the BJP was restricted to 240 seats, well below the majority mark, in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, due to its "arrogance".
In a video, around Gehlot along with 10-12 MLAs are seen relaxing on couches and singing the song.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan gave Modi's aggressive campaign ahead of the assembly election for the party's performance.
In the presence of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, ace discus thrower Krishna Poonia joined the Congress at a rally in Rajasthan on Wednesday, ahead of the upcoming state Assembly elections, scheduled for December 1.
The NTA denied any irregularities and said the changes made in the NCERT textbooks and grace marks for losing time at the examination centres were some of the reasons behind the students scoring higher marks.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar on Thursday filed papers as an NCP candidate for Rajya Sabha elections.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday claimed he has the support of party workers from across the country for his bid to fight the AICC president polls.
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.
Truth is stranger than fiction, as far as Muslim politics in Rajasthan is concerned. The community which comprises more than 11 per cent of the state's total population, only one leader from the community has became a member of Parliament in the last 62 years. Shahnawaz Akhtar reports
The 10 who put in their papers include nine Lok Sabha MPs, including Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Patel, and the one Rajya Sabha member, officials said.
Gehlot also alleged that some other Union ministers, including Dharmendra Pradhan, are involved in the "conspiracy" against his government.
Under India's laws bigamy is disallowed and those in breach of the law don't submit affidavits testifying to this status.
The Congress is likely to get 11 Rajya Sabha seats in the upcoming election cycle with some of its top leaders, including P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh, eyeing another term.
The ruling BJP in UP, however, lost Khatauli to Samajwadi Party ally Rashtriya Lok Dal.
Congress and independent MLAs, who had expectations from the cabinet expansion but were not accommodated in the reshuffle, would be adjusted in political appointments.
The government on Saturday lifted the ban on onion exports but imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $550 per tonne, amid ongoing Lok Sabha elections in the country. Last night, the government imposed a 40 per cent duty on export of onions. In August last year, India had imposed a 40 per cent export duty on onions up to December 31, 2023.
'Nobody understands Gehlot's politics.' 'The Congress high command should wake up.'
In a communication, the ministry of home affairs told the Rajasthan chief secretary to send a report on the allegations of phone tapping, an official said. The chief secretary has been told to provide the details of the incident after two audio clips emerged, the official added.
What provoked Ashok Gehlot's belligerence was Sachin Pilot's participation in the Bharat Jodo Yatra with Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi in Madhya Pradesh. Gehlot was also aware that Rajasthan assembly Speaker C P Joshi had met Rahul in Maharashtra.
The 17th Lok Sabha, which was dissolved on June 5, did not have a deputy speaker for its full term, and it was the second consecutive term of the lower house without an LoP.
Surprisingly, the BJP's nearest rival in ad spend was not the Congress, but the Bharat Rashtra Samithi.
The state's former deputy chief minister has also demanded disbanding of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission and its reconstitution, and a compensation for those affected by government job exam paper leak cases.
The state government issued a notification requiring the CBI to take prior consent of the state government for investigation of an offence under Section 3 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946.
Ramesh, however, said it was too early to talk about all this right now as the Congress' first priority was the upcoming elections in Karnataka and the string of state polls this year.
Deora had recently expressed disapproval at the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-UBT laying claim to the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances