Sankarshan Thakur, editor of The Telegraph whose prowess with words added that extra edge to his analyses and ground reports, died at a Gurgaon hospital on Monday after prolonged illness. He was 63.
'It is a crisis of BJP's own doing. This is an in-house fire.'
From royalty to a tea vendor-turned-politician's wife and from a first lady to a Bengali actress, the 18 Muslim women who treaded the hallowed corridors of power in the Lok Sabha are an eclectic mix, with each of them having an interesting backstory, but one common thread -- their path to power was always strewn with struggle and hurdles.
After spending nearly 50 years in a colonial bungalow at 24, Akbar Road, the Congress moved into a new office on January 15. Rasheed Kidwai, who knows the history of the Congress better than the Congress, looks back at the people who breathed life into this address.
Kasab's execution is part of the government's effort to demonstrate how it will deal with issues of national security strongly, political journalist Rasheed Kidwai tells Priyanka.
The original Mrs Gandhi -- Indira -- had delivered a second successive election victory for the Congress in 1971 but before that she had to win a war. The reigning Mrs Gandhi -- Sonia -- has also led the Congress to consecutive poll successes (in 2004 and 2009) but she hasn't had to go so far as to fight an external war, though there have been many domestic battles, writes Kidwai, whose second book on Sonia Gandhi, 24 Akbar Road, is soon to be released by Hachette Books
'Something very drastic must have happened.'
A host of conspiracy theories followed, involving Indira Gandhi, her younger son Sanjay, his favourite small car project, secret funding of the Bangladesh Mukti Bahini and even the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States.
In this interview with rediff.com's Sahim Salim, Kidwai talks about the book, the challenges he faced while researching for it and the state of the Congress party today. Talking about party general secretaries Rahul Gandhi and Digvijaya Singh's experiments in Uttar Pradesh, Kidwai says that it is interesting, but that Rahul has to reconcile with what the Central government is offering in terms of agricultural reforms, etc.
The Indian National Congress, India's oldest political party, is moving from its longtime headquarters at 24 Akbar Road to a new building called Indira Gandhi Bhawan. The move marks the end of an era for the Congress, which has been headquartered at 24 Akbar Road for nearly 50 years.
For two years beginning 1961, the Congress party's headquarters in New Delhi played host to Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel laureate and leader of the non-violent movement for human rights and democracy in Myanmar (the erstwhile Burma), who is currently on a visit to India. Suu Kyi was barely 15 when she arrived at 24 Akbar Road with her mother, recounts Rasheed Kidwai
Speaking on the issue, political commentator and the author of 'Sonia A Biography', Rasheed Kidwai tells Rediff.com's Priyanka that the accusations don't reflect state craft and whether government funds were misused.
Rasheed Kidwai captures the moment in the Congress party's history when Sonia Gandhi, in May 1991, who had just lost her husband to a political assassination, refused the leadership of the party. An exclusive excerpt from Kidwai's book, 24 Akbar Road -- A Short History of the People Behind the Fall and Rise of the Congress, to mark the 15th anniversary of Sonia Gandhi taking over the Congress presidency today.
It was a battle of wits between IBN-18 network editor-in-chief, Rajdeep Sardesai, and Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and Mani Shankar Aiyar.
Rasheed Kidwai, associate editor of The Telegraph newspaper who is the author of Sonia: A biography and 24 Akbar Road, made an exclusive appearance on Rediff Chat on Monday where he fielded wide-ranging questions about the Presidential poll. Here is the transcript from the chat..
According to reports even Rahul's brother-in-law Robert Vadera and his son Rehan were with him in South Africa. The Indian Embassy in Johannesburg was also asked to keep the Gandhi family members visit secret due to security issues.
'They want to keep the pot boiling all the time.' 'The BJP wants to set a political narrative that the Gandhis are doing wrong things.'
Speaking at a rally in Madhya Pradesh's Harda on April 24, Modi praised Chouhan saying the two had served together in the party organisation and also as chief ministers.
Sonia stated that it was not surprising that people would back one of their own, said Tharoor.
'...spent 1/10th of his time at 24, Akbar Road...' 'He would have met thousands of party workers and ordinary Congress supporters who have love for the party.' 'Left of Centre intellectuals have shaped Rahul's values, but he lacks earthiness.'
If Priyanka wins the Lok Sabha bypolls, it would be for the first time that three members of the Gandhi family will be in Parliament. Her mother Sonia Gandhi is a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan.
'...for success like the BJP.' 'The BJP's work for the next election begins the day one election ends.'
With all 29 under its belt, the BJP became the first political party to achieve such a feat after 40 years in Madhya Pradesh.
Electorally, the yatra seems to have paid dividends in the south, but the march does not seem to be helping the Congress in stopping the BJP's surge in the Hindi-heartland states.
Priyanka Gandhi in large part was at the centre of the Congress's action, giving a number of enduring images from this election campaign.
With many of his close associates leaving his side, it is virtually a lone battle for Congress stalwart Kamal Nath to help his parliamentarian son Nakul Nath win from Chhindwara for a second time amid the Bharatiya Janata Party's aggressive push to wrest the seat.
'There is some deep rot that has set in the Congress party. This requires an organisational surgery.'
Patel, who died on Wednesday at a Gurugram hospital where he was admitted with COVID-19, could have been the tell-all leader offering insights and information with his inside view of the workings of the Congress and the political world. But he would have none of it.
Indira Gandhi valued Rahul Gandhi's 'grit and determination' and often considered him mature enough to be taken into confidence on subjects she avoided discussing even with his parents when he was barely 14, according to a new book.
Some analysts also pointed out that "outsourcing" political management to regional satraps such as Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Haryana may have proven counterproductive and micromanagement by the Gandhi family was needed.
'Rahul Gandhi should have prevented Nitish Kumar from going.' 'He must pacify Mamata Banerjee if he has a cause of Mohabbat Ki Dukaan.' 'He should bring this Mohabbat Ki Dukaan on the political canvas.'
Will he, will he not? That is the question on every Congress leader's mind as Rahul Gandhi has still not indicated whether he is ready to take on the mantle of party president.
Rahul Gandhi is neither Congress president, office-bearer nor Congress leader in Parliament. This technical leeway provides adequate cover for Shiv Sena-Congress ties taking a nosedive, says Rasheed Kidwai.
Priyanka Gandhi addressed 209 rallies and roadshows, the maximum by any top leader during the UP election campaign, followed closely by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who spoke at 203 poll events.
'It is not his doing, but Rahul Gandhi is forced by circumstances.' 'In taking political decisions, everything has to get his clearance.'
'Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bengal can be the game changers of 2024.'
Will Priyanka contest against Modi in Varanasi? Will Rahul also contest from Karnataka? Rasheed Kidwai -- Sonia Gandhi and the Congress party's biographer -- reveals what is churning in the Congress.
'Rahul Gandhi is going to turn 54 and in India political leaders peak when they are around 60.' 'This 'bhai-behen ki jodi' has done a wonderful job for the Congress.' 'Priyanka Gandhi was a very effective campaigner.'
Senior state leaders of the two parties pointed to propping up of the "new set of leaders not having much political stature" and lack of communication for the failure to reconcile differences.
When Nehru came in active contact with Gandhi 100 years ago, he was a Westernised rationalist while Gandhi was deeply soaked in the Indian ethos and spirituality, notes Rasheed Kidwai.
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