Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had been "defanged" by the Congress party in his second term with Sonia Gandhi deciding on key appointments to the Cabinet and to the PMO as he seemed to "surrender" to her and to the United Progressive Alliance constituents.
According to our Delhi correspondent, following the fallout with the Dravida Munetra Kazhagam, Congress president Sonia Gandhi told outgoing Fertiliser Minister M K Alagiri that she was taken by surprise after the DMK withdrew support from the United Progressive Alliance chairperson.
Sonia's possible visit assumes significance as it comes ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Scenes from the Opposition leaders' dinner meeting, in Bengaluru on Monday, July 17, 2023.
Gandhi said the budgetary cuts were weakening the legal guarantee of timely payment and employment. She noted that the Supreme Court had likened the delay in MGNREGA payments with forced labour.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the Election Commission of failing to uphold the 'one man, one vote' principle, citing irregularities in voter lists. He claims the issue is widespread and systematic, with the opposition protesting the Election Commission's voter roll revision in Bihar.
Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide of the Gandhi family, has been fielded from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, the party said in a statement.
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.
Addressing the party's mega "Bharat Bachao Rally" (Save India) at Ramlila Maidan, she also targeted the government over the economic situation and exhorted people to raise their voice to protect the country and its Constitution.
A delegation of Muslim leaders led by Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari met Congress President Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi during which she asked them to ensure that secular votes did not split in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The poll is witnessing a direct contest between ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy, with the BJP-led alliance having a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.
The letter, drawn on her official letterhead, is addressed to Muslim leaders all over UP
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday filed her nomination papers in Jaipur for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls from Rajasthan.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on Tuesday blamed Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her Congress General Secretary son Rahul for the FDI decision. Jaitley said that the decision on FDI was taken without bothering that it will hurt the interests of farmers, small traders as well as consumers, and would in no way help the economy.
Faisal Patel, son of late Congress stalwart Ahmed Patel, has announced he will stop working for the grand old party, claiming that he tried to follow in his father's footsteps but was denied at every step. Ahmed Patel, who had served as a Rajya Sabha MP, All Indian Congress Committee treasurer and former party president Sonia Gandhi's political secretary, died in November 2020. Faisal had aspired to contest from the Bharuch seat in Gujarat in last year's Lok Sabha elections but the Congress did not nominate him.
Workers from the BJP and Congress clashed in Patna during a protest march organized by the BJP against the use of abusive language towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's late mother. The protest turned violent, with stone pelting and vandalism reported. Police intervened to control the situation, and an investigation is underway.
Bangladesh's prime minister met Advaniji and Soniaji on her short visit to New Delhi.
INDIA bloc MPs protest against the Election Commission's voter roll revision in Bihar, alleging irregularities and disenfranchisement of voters.
A bench headed by Justice A R Dave said a seven-judge Constitution bench was already hearing a matter on a similar issue and therefore it will not be appropriate to take a view in this matter now.
This is Gandhi's first visit to Varanasi after Modi became prime minister.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi Tuesday appointed former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad as the party's campaign committee chief in the union territory, but he declined the offer.
Gandhi cited the example of Maharashtra assembly elections, claiming there was an addition of 65 lakh voters to the voter list in two hours, "which was impossible."
Several BJP voters say the Ram temple sentiment may give the ruling party a fillip but are also aware of the herculean task at hand and concede that it is a daunting electoral contest for Dinesh Singh, who lost to Sonia Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi does not think she has anything worthwhile to tell her party MPs even though Congress MPs have been more than keen to listen to her views on a number of issues, including the numerous controversies hitting the party and the government.
The case was registered recently to probe alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper.
After many months the UPA leadership seemed to exude a sense of confidence that they could get the better of an adverse situation in which they have found themselves for the last two years, writes Neerja Chowdhury
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday confirmed reports of an invitation to Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi for the Ayodhya Ram Mandir consecration ceremony, adding that she was 'very positive on this matter'.
'What matters is policies, not personalities like Priyanka, Rahul or Modi.'
Party sources said that she left for abroad on Wednesday night for a "routine medical check-up" and will return only after Holi on Monday.
Dr Singh's eldest daughter Professor Upinder Singh gently reminded the gathering that this was a moment for prayer, not accolades.
There is nobody like Jaipal Reddy in Congress party. He is slotted to be the first Congress chief minister of Telangana if and when the Congress gets hold of the reins of power. Ten minutes after the Lok Sabha passed the Bill Reddy spoke exclusively to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt in the corridors of Parliament.
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.
Objections were being raised by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh, Communist Party of India's Gurudas Dasgupta, Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool Congress) and Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy over the deal, each of whom had shot off separate letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Priyanka Gandhi in large part was at the centre of the Congress's action, giving a number of enduring images from this election campaign.
The Congress on Friday said it will take a decision at an 'appropriate time' whether its senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi will attend the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.
The Congress's second AICC session in Gujarat post-Independence is being held on the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's party presidency and the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
After announcing Kumar Vishwas's candidature against Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, there is a buzz that the party might pit Shazia Ilmi against Congress President Sonia Gandhi in the upcoming general elections.
Trying to strike an emotional chord with the voters, Sonia asked the people to consider Rahul Gandhi too as their own.
Rahul Gandhi claimed a leader from Maharashtra cried in front of his mother Sonia Gandhi, saying he felt ashamed that he could not "fight this power any more and didn't want to go to jail".
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