Congress party has alleged that Modi government is surreptitiously taking steps to protect the interests of six leading telecom companies.
'The Modi government is trying to suppress the matter only to save its political image'
Polling for 16 Rajya Sabha seats in four states will be held on Friday amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading by rival parties which have corralled their MLAs in hotels and scenic resorts, prompting the Election Commission to appoint special observers and order videography of the entire exercise.
Party leaders list three clear positive outcomes -- an activated Congress which has hit the ground running leaving the past inertia behind, an interactive top brass which is directly engaging the people, and a mobilised organisation which was dormant for many years.
Congress said ATF prices have been reduced by 31% while petrol only 16%.
'We try to connect people, but they disconnect people.'
'Blanket protection to MLAs, who are driven not by ideology but by far baser concerns, is unheard-of'
On being asked about the Swaraj-Qureshi meeting, the MEA sources said the two leaders only exchanged pleasantries.
"Rai is a grass root worker, who is a sitting Congress MLA and has fought a number of elections successfully and he will be the best candidate in Varanasi", party spokesman Randeep Surjewala told reporters announcing the candidature.
After yet another electoral drubbing at the hands of Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress sought to shield Rahul Gandhi from any blame even as it ruled out any leadership role for his sister Priyanka Gandhi.
Three private gunmen hired by Rathee for security also suffered injuries in the attack.
Under attack over Janardan Dwivedi's pitch against reservation on caste lines, the Congress and the government on Wednesday distanced themselves from the senior leader's remarks, saying it was his "personal" view and they support, adhere and subscribe to the existing policy.
The Twitter handles of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress which were recently hacked were operated from five countries including the United States, Delhi Police said on Wednesday.
He also said the Centre has not answered the questions raised by him in the Lok Sabha on the issues of farmers and said its reply was a 'joke'.
The refusal to allow the team, at least initially, to enter the hotel, prompted senior Congress leaders to charge that the BJP was part of the plan to 'topple' their government in Rajasthan.
The raids come as Rajasthan is witnessing an intense power tussle between chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot.
The Congress also has the support of 10 out of 13 independents, and other party MLAs like Rashtriya Lok Dal (1), which is its ally.
#MainBhiChowkidar was trending world wide on Twitter.
Preliminary reports suggest that the bus overturned while overtaking a vehicle in Kanina town.
After following Congress president Rahul Gandhi and the party's official Twitter handle, he began following senior leaders P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Ahmed Patel, Ashok Gehlot, Ajay Maken, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot and CP Joshi from this month.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala accused Modi of getting pictures clicked in corporate offices while farmers are protesting on Delhi roads.
Gandhi said around 400 Congress members will be attending the Chintan Shivir in Udaipur from May 13 to 15 and stressed on the message of every leader holding one party post.
"GST should not become a 'grossly scary tax'. It should be a 'good and simple tax'," Surjewala said.
With the election campaign in Karnataka witnessing a bitter war of words between the BJP and the Congress, both the parties rushed to the Election Commission, seeking ban on electioneering by top leaders of the other side.
Capping a visit that attracted controversy and opposition ire, EU parliamentarians visiting Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday termed Article 370 an internal issue of India and said they stand by the country in its fight against terrorism.
An overwhelming number of new appointees across the party's organisational structure -- from the highest decision-making body CWC (Congress Working Committee) to the special committee formed to assist interim party chief Sonia Gandhi -- are known as Rahul Gandhi's confidantes.
'It seems PM Modi is running a bank fraudsters settlement company for the likes of Nirav Modi'
After the party's drubbing in the just-concluded assembly polls in five states, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked its state unit chiefs in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur to put in their papers.
Congress said Modi once again "quickly and meekly" caved in to the pressure exerted by Rahul Gandhi.
A party leader, who is known to be close to Rahul, said he would be elevated "sooner than you think".
In an interaction with former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on the impact of lockdown on India's economy, Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto, said India tried to implement a hard lockdown which was still porous and ended up with the worst of both worlds.
Member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh Tapir Gao said on Wednesday that a teenager, identified as Miram Taron, was abducted by the People's Liberation Army from Lungta Jor area under Siyungla area on Tuesday.
Pilot has spoken to a senior party leader from southern India on Thursday laying conditions for his return.
Karnataka Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar on Tuesday met party president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi separately and discussed the modalities of government formation in the southern state.
Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said the Modi government's "cheap politics" was at display on Friday when it broke tradition and denied Gandhi a front-row seat.
BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimhra Rao noted that Priyanka's husband Robert Vadra is accused of using "shady methods to make windfall profits from dubious real estate transactions" and said the report of her receiving Rs 2 crore from Kapoor for a painting which was not her own shows that the powerful couple have leveraged their political power to make "private gains".
The opposition party also launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked why is he "so kind" to Chinese President Xi Jinping and "not showing loyalty towards the country".
Priyanka has been told that if she stays beyond August 1, she will have to pay penalty.
She said she had told the party leadership last year that it was difficult to travel in the three hill states due to her health.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday accused Ahmed Patel of having "deep relations" with a Gujarat hospital where an alleged Islamic State operative worked before his arrest, even as the Congress defended its senior leader, dubbing the demand for his resignation from the Rajya Sabha as "outrageous".
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