"Religious festivals seem to have become occasions to intimidate and bully others -- a far cry from when they were occasions for joy and celebration. Instead, there is intimidation and discrimination only on account of their religion, food, caste, gender or language," Gandhi said.
As many as 28 out of 41 sitting women MPs, including Sonia Gandhi, Hema Malini and Kirron Kher, retained their seats in Lok Sabha.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concerns about the Congress party's leadership role within the INDIA bloc, raising questions about their ability to justify their position. Abdullah highlighted a sense of disquiet among some allies, who feel the Congress isn't doing enough to earn its leadership position. While praising Sonia Gandhi's leadership, he also criticized the alliance's lack of consistent engagement and called for more structured communication to address potential disagreements. Abdullah's comments suggest underlying tensions within the opposition alliance, particularly regarding the Congress's electoral performance and seat distribution strategies.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday said the Preamble to the Constitution is very well there in NCERT textbooks of Class VI as he refuted charges made in this regard by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Congress, which has seen over the years a gradual appropriation of some of its stalwarts by the BJP, launched a counter-drive and projected the saffron party as an unworthy champion of the ideals of the father of the nation.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday met Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi, seeking her party's cooperation for smooth functioning of the Parliament session beginning June 17.
Amid continued speculation about Rahul Gandhi's elevation as Congress president, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said Sonia Gandhi was the "unifying factor" without whom the party would have "disintegrated".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now the only person to be protected by the about-4,000-personnel-strong SPG.
'Leave aside the negative fallouts of phraseology like 'urban Naxals' and 'terrorists', both the BJP and the Congress have to re-discover themselves in the context of the 2024 election results, including those of the upcoming ones for Maharashtra and Jharkhand,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Congress had won over 400 seats in the 1984 Lok Sabha election after which Rajiv Gandhi became the prime minister.
Rahul Gandhi was defeated by BJP's Smriti Irani in 2019 elections.
According to official sources, family members of former prime ministers will not be guarded by the elite SPG commandos, as per the amendments approved by the Union cabinet.
Gandhi expressed deep pain and distress at the passing away of Jaitley.
Reacting to his win, Sharma expressed his gratitude to the people of Amethi and the Congress party, saying the 18th Lok Sabha election in Amethi will be the biggest example of a strong and empowered democratic country.
While 39 members of the all-important panel are general members, it has 32 permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state and 13 special invitees.
So strong and caustic was the PM's reprimand, sources say that Singh broke down as the former looked on. But Singh denied it.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday met President Pranab Mukherjee in the midst of a raging speculation over a reshuffle of the Union Cabinet, which now appears to be on the cards only late this month or early next month.
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties on Saturday announced that they will participate in the exit poll debates on television on Saturday evening after the grouping's top leaders met and deliberated on the issue at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, while addressing a rally in Jaipur Rural on Monday, attacked the BJP and Narendra Modi and said they are not seeing the achievements of the UPA government. She also sought to point out, in a barb at Modi, that running a state and a country are two different things. Shanawaz Akhtar reports.
The BJP knows how to play with people's lives and bodies, former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said.
Rahul Gandhi succeeds his mother Sonia Gandhi, who remained in the post for 19 years.
'It would indeed be difficult for someone from outside the Gandhi family to run the party'
Prime Minister Manmohon Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi arrived in Imphal on Saturday on a day's visit to Manipur, official sources said.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda and new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh will witness polling on February 27.
Earlier in the day, rich tributes were paid to Yechury at the Communist Party of India (Marxist) headquarters at the AKG Bhavan here, where his mortal remains were brought from his residence in the morning.
The Election Commission on Monday asked the Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party to provide "verifiable and traceable" facts by Tuesday evening regarding its newspaper advertisement describing the Congress as "the most corrupt party in the world".
He also targeted the Congress government in Rajasthan, saying that had it set up a special court in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case, which happened in Udaipur last year, the accused would have been hanged by now.
Before filing her nomination papers at the Collectorate Rae Bareli, the UPA chairperson held a roadshow and offered puja at the Congress central office.
Jitin Prasada was once considered as among Rahul Gandhi's 'young Turks' and was a minister in successive Manmohan Singh governments but defected from the Congress to the BJP in 2021, where he has again established himself as a prominent Brahmin face of Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress on Monday released a list of 30-star campaigners for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
As Manipur is still witnessing incidents like arson since May 3, the state government has extended the ban on the internet by five more days till June 25. Data services have also been banned in view of the persisting unrest in the state.
Without naming Pakistan, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said that India's neighbours wanted to weaken the country, but they were not aware that India can give them a befitting reply. Sonia was addressing a public rally in Silvassa, the capital of union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
The rout of Sharad Pawar-led faction has raised questions over his political future with a potential risk of a further slide in the party flock in future.
The less charitable in the party say he owes his appointment Sonia Gandhi -- the family wanted someone who wouldn't talk back and would not exert himself too much, notes Aditi Phadnis.
The Congress on Tuesday announced its second list of 43 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, fielding Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath once again from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara and Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot from Rajasthan's Jalore.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi greeted Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on his 71st birthday inside the Lok Sabha on Monday, minutes before it resumed session.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday held parleys with some Union ministers and senior party leaders amid indications of a Cabinet reshuffle.
This is the first meeting chaired by Gandhi after relinquishing the post of Congress president last year.
Besides Defence Minister Singh (Lucknow), Minister of Women and Child Development Irani (Amethi), those in the fray are Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishor (Mohanlalganj) and Minister of State of Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur).
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