'Temperamentally, they are quite alike.' 'Ahmed Patel avoided the limelight and was not a power seeker.' 'The Gandhis too are not power wielders, but trustees of power.'
Amidst alleged power struggles within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala has called for discipline within the party, emphasizing that the party is paramount. This comes as the state's chief minister and deputy chief minister submitted a consolidated report on the performance of 31 ministers to Surjewala, fueling speculation about a potential cabinet reshuffle.
The Congress on Monday said it welcomed the reported move as the party has been raising the demand for long.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Sunday night hosted her first Iftar in three years, which saw the Congress president sharing a table with leaders of RJD and its new-found ally Janata Dal-United.
Sources said Sonia Gandhi referred to Azad and others twice during her brief address and the issues raised by them.
The Delhi high court on Monday asked Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others to respond to a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging the order of the trial court that refused to take cognisance of its chargesheet against them in the National Herald case.
Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Gandhi is stable and will be in the hospital for a few days.
She was down with viral fever and doctors advised her to be under medical supervision.
'The script for Raajneeti 2 is ready, and the time is ripe.'
'You have all the qualities to become a world champion.'
This is the third time the Thiruvananthapuram MP has skipped the party meeting.
Several top Congress leaders including party general secretary organisation K C Venugopal, Sachin Pilot, Randeep Surjewala and Shashi Tharoor, wished the former party chief on her birthday.
The situation in the Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party appears to be grim with 21 leaders (9 Members of Legislative Assembly and 12 Members of Parliament) expressing their open support to former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa in case he decides to quit the party. But what has taken everyone by surprise is the open praise lavished upon Congress president Sonia Gandhi by Yeddyurappa.
The meeting also includes some of Sonia Gandhi's close associates and is the first effort by the Congress leadership for a reproachment with those who raised questions over the leadership.
Inaugurating the new terminal for the Srinagar international airport from where the first direct flight to Dubai was undertaken, Sonia Gandhi said, " The people of Jammu and Kashmir have shown their faith in democracy by an overwhelming participation in the recently held assembly elections in the state."
Congress president Sonia Gandhi was discharged from the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi on Monday evening and was advised rest at home, the party said.
The Congress president had left on August 23 to visit her ailing mother, who was in her 90s.
Whether Vijay has the political spine to stitch together a stable government from this patchwork of conditions, demands, and midnight drama is the question Tamil Nadu is living through right now.
Her medical condition was stable and she has been advised rest.
The 77-year-old former Congress president is set to enter the Upper House for the first time from Rajasthan.
Asked what role she will assume after Rahul Gandhi takes over the reins of the party, Sonia Gandhi told media persons in the Parliament complex: "My role is to retire."
Congress leader V D Satheesan has accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of targeting Rahul Gandhi to curry favour with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging blackmail and compromised investigations.
China's ruling Communist Party on Tuesday confirmed that Congress president Sonia Gandhi has accepted President Hu Jintao's invitation to visit the country, saying the event will further enhance friendship between leaders of the two countries.
Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has been at loggerheads with the chief minister, attacking him on issues like the alleged delay in the completion of a probe into the 2015 desecration of Sikh texts and the subsequent police firing on protesters.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demonstrates his commitment to rural communities by attending the wedding of a farmer's daughter in Haryana, fulfilling a promise made during a visit to understand the challenges faced by farming families.
Mamata Banerjee, the outgoing Chief Minister of West Bengal, has refused to step down after her party's defeat in the assembly elections, alleging a conspiracy and irregularities in the counting process. She also accused the Election Commission of working in favour of the BJP and announced a fact-finding committee to investigate post-poll violence.
She was born in 1946 in the town of Or Orbassano, near Turin (Italy) and married Rajiv Gandhi in 1968.
Party sources said United Progressive Allinace chairperson Sonia Gandhi is likely to reach Delhi on Wednesday from Himachal Pradesh and is expected to meet some leaders who are part of the decision-making process in Karnataka.
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
Her move comes after doctors advised her to get away from the heavy pollution in the national capital in view of her chronic chest infection, party insiders said.
For the second consecutive day on Friday, several Indian journalists went to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre on 68th Street and York Avenue in Manhattan, New York, where Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has reportedly undergone a surgery
"We met Gandhi and sought her intervention on the Maharashtra government's decision to ban dance bars," Bharatiya Bar Girls Union chief Varsha Kale said.
There was a celebratory mood outside her Delhi residence.
The meeting came a day after Rashtriya Lok Dal president Ajit Singh met the Congress chief for a tie-up in Uttar Pradesh.
'The way Congressman feared her, they don't fear her now. That is why you see how she took time to take action in Andhra, Maharashtra and corruption in the Commonwealth Games,' says Arun Shourie.
Amid speculation over leadership change in Karnataka, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the issue will be resolved after discussions with senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, while deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar claimed there is unity in the party.
A new book reveals that Atal Bihari Vajpayee rejected an offer to become President of India, a move that would have made Lal Krishna Advani Prime Minister. Vajpayee believed that a sitting PM becoming President would set a bad precedent for Indian democracy.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who has been spearheading the UPA's ambitious Food Security Bill, left the Lok Sabha while the voting was underway on Monday night on various amendments moved by the Opposition.
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