The Congress on Thursday accused Bharatiya Janata Party MPs of subjecting Sonia Gandhi to "brutal heckling, verbal assault and physical intimidation", and demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On balance, RG contesting from Raebareli instead of Amethi isn't the masterstroke the party's adherents are touting it to be, but neither is it the blunder the BJP and its tame media is framing it as, points out Prem Panicker.
Breaking her silence over her educational qualification controversy, Union Human Resources and Development Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday said "extraneous circumstances" were created to deviate her attention from work and asked the people to judge her by her work.
Eight railway stations in the Lucknow division of Northern Railways were officially renamed after saints and freedom fighters on Tuesday, officials said.
Congress on Friday disapproved of its MP Sanjay Nirupam reportedly using defamatory and indecent language against Bharatiya Janata Party MP Smriti Irani during a TV debate, saying it was "very regrettable".
'Rahul is a seasoned player of politics and chess. He makes his moves after careful consideration.
'Has the BJP not announced its candidates in Raebareli?'
Kanhaiya, who is out on bail in a sedition case, has been leading a movement demanding justice for Rohith Vemula, a Hyderabad university scholar who was found hanging in his room earlier this year after he along with five others were suspended.
The notable names in the BJP's first list include Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow, Hema Malini from Mathura, Ajay Mishra Teni from Kheri, Smriti Irani from Amethi, Lallu Singh from Faizabad (Ayodhya) and Mahendra Nath Pandey from Chandauli among others.
Glimpses from the At Home reception hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Republic Day.
Seven women, including two in the Cabinet role, have been inducted into the new council of ministers in the 18th Lok Sabha.
She also tagged a video in which an elderly women is seen alleging that her hand was forcibly put on 'panja' (hand) election symbol of the Congress though she wanted to vote for the 'kamal' (lotus), the BJP's symbol.
A number of high-profile electoral battles, starring veterans and debutants, formidable opponents and unlikely contestants, feature in Tuesday's outcome.
For the second straight day, HRD Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday made a strong defence of the government's actions with regard to the Jawaharlal Nehru University issue and suicide of Dalit student in Hyderabad University in the face of intense attack by the opposition which alleged that attempts were being made to suppress dissent.
Goa Excise Commissioner Narayan Gad on Thursday disallowed a complaint demanding suspension of the excise licence of a restaurant which the Congress claimed was linked to Union minister Smriti Irani's family.
As the results for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 were declared on Tuesday, here is how some of the big faces fared in the contest.
'I have always been a 'sevak' of the Gandhi family and whatever responsibility the Gandhi family has entrusted to its sevak, I will fulfil it'
The government on Wednesday rejected the Congress demand for resignation of Union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Smriti Irani over 'Lalitgate' and 'fake degree' controversies, saying "our ministers do not do all that their (the United Progress Alliance) ministers used to do".
The Delhi high court has said that Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, Netta D'Souza along with others conspired to 'launch a tirade of false scathing and belligerent personal attacks' on Bharatiya Janata Party leader Smriti Irani and her daughter, who are neither owners of the restaurant in Goa nor have they ever applied for the licence for food and beverages at the eatery, as alleged.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on the bitter face-off between the frail Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who will be 76 in December, and Union Minister Smriti Irani, 46, in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, July 28, 2022.
"I had said it earlier and reiterating it now that educational institutions should not be made 'rajiniti ka akhada' (political battlefield) as it affects the life and progress of our students," Irani told reporters when asked about the violence in the campus. "I hope students will not be used as 'rajnitik mohre' (political tools)", the Amethi MP said. "A probe has started in the matter and it is not justified for me to comment on it as I am in a constitutional post," she added.
As many as 37 ministers have been dropped from the government in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term and these include seven with cabinet rank -- prominent among them being Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur and Narayan Rane.
The last time a non-Gandhi was in the fray from the constituency was in 1998, when Satish Sharma, a close aide of Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, contested the polls but lost to the BJP's Sanjaya Sinh.
As many as 28 out of 41 sitting women MPs, including Sonia Gandhi, Hema Malini and Kirron Kher, retained their seats in Lok Sabha.
The festival of Rakshabandhan is being celebrated across the country on Thursday.
Irani said urgent steps are needed to ensure that such "mockery of justice" does not take place anymore.
Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh, popular TV-star-turned-politician Smriti Irani, actor-turned-politician Shatrughna Sinha and senior leader Venkaiah Naidu will campaign for the party in Arunachal Pradesh, which goes to polls on October 13.While Irani has already addressed a series of election meetings in Itanagar, Sinha is scheduled to address a poll meeting at Along in Pasighat on Wednesday. Singh will hit the campaign trail on October 2.
Gujarat Assembly has issued notification for elections to three seats of Rajya Sabha, to be held on July 22. Elections were necessitated as terms of Patel and BJP MPs Surendra Patel and Pravin Nayak would end in August.
A Delhi court on Tuesday took cognisance of the criminal defamation complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata party Member of Parliament Smriti Irani against Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam for allegedly using derogatory and indecent language against her during a debate on a private news channel.
The dazzling ladies who stunned at the reception.
Would you work at a job like what Smriti Malhotra once did to earn a living, when you start off in life, rather than ask your parents for financial help? Do you think you would lose your self-respect if you cleaned tables at a restaurant or worked in a mall, as you worked your way upwards in your career?
Under intense attack, HRD Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday made a forceful statement in Lok Sabha, saying Kanhaiya Kumar and some other students had been found indulging in anti-national activities by the Jawaharlal Nehru University authorities themselves.
Campaigning continues for the final three phases of the Lok Sabha election.
Referring to Swaraj as "didi" (elder sister), Irani expressed her shock at the untimely death of the former Delhi chief minister.
Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani is headed to the Bahamas to attend a Commonwealth Education Ministers' meet where she is to address the main plenary session.
Entertainers can be good politicians if they treat the citizens as the audience, and treat their job like a live show, and work hard to make sure the audience likes them, asserts Sandeep Goyal.
In a fresh twist to the row over an upscale Goa bar which the Congress has linked with Union minister Smriti Irani's daughter, the district administration has issued a notice to the local village panchayat seeking relevant documents in response to a complaint alleging the outlet was built illegally.
A day after the Budget was presented, chaos is expected to return to Parliament on Tuesday with the Opposition prepped to target Education Minister Smriti Irani in both Houses over her statements on the death of Hyderabad Central University student Rohith Vemula and the Jawaharlal Nehru University controversy.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi is likely to contest from Rae Bareli, but a final call is yet to be taken by the first family of the Congress.
The government's endeavour, she said, is to protect women in this country in collaboration with state governments.
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