'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.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has intensified his criticism of the government, demanding the immediate removal of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi following alleged pellet gun injuries to student protesters.
Sources said Sonia Gandhi referred to Azad and others twice during her brief address and the issues raised by them.
Siddaramaiah has resigned from his position as Chief Minister of Karnataka, following instructions from the Congress high command. D K Shivakumar is expected to succeed him. The decision follows internal discussions and political manoeuvring within the Congress party.
She was down with viral fever and doctors advised her to be under medical supervision.
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday resigned from all party positions, including its primary membership, delivering another blow to the embattled party that has seen a series of leaders leave it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'dimagi Naxal' (intellectual Naxal) remark, made during his Independence Day address, has ignited a significant political debate, with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju clarifying that the comment targets those who support Maoists and separatists, not opposition leaders, while opposition figures like P Chidambaram have embraced the label in defiance.
The Congress-led UDF government's decision to appoint a defence lawyer for the accused in the Sabarimala gold loss case as a Devaswom advocate has drawn strong criticism from the opposition CPI(M), which alleges the move is an attempt to sabotage the ongoing probe and protect political figures.
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.
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."
'It was my first day in office, so you cannot blame me for the missing photos.' 'I had to join the office and sit on the chair at a particular mahurat time.'
Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Gandhi is stable and will be in the hospital for a few days.
The Congress on Monday said it welcomed the reported move as the party has been raising the demand for long.
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.
Her medical condition was stable and she has been advised rest.
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.
'Both Rahul and Modi are the same in the way they run their parties. Modi too wants faceless people and so does Rahul Gandhi.'
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."
Following Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation amidst widespread student protests over the NEET paper leak, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi congratulated the youth, calling it a crucial step for education reform, and urged broader public action to hold the government accountable, demanding an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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.
BJP state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar dismisses Rahul Gandhi's charge of a BJP-CPI(M) understanding in Kerala as baseless, asserting the NDA is competitive and criticising Congress's performance.
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.
'You have all the qualities to become a world champion.'
AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge addressed speculation about a change in Karnataka's Chief Minister, stating that there would be no change 'for now' and that the leadership issue would be resolved soon. The statement comes amid rumours of a possible leadership change and cabinet reshuffle after the results of assembly elections in other states are announced.
She was born in 1946 in the town of Or Orbassano, near Turin (Italy) and married Rajiv Gandhi in 1968.
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.
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
Leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc met in New Delhi on Monday and decided to write to the chief justice of India on the Special Intesive Revision exercise and "vote loot", besides demanding the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-CBSE row.
BJP sources said the government would introduce a fresh Bill on the issue and has reached out to parties that opposed the earlier legislation.
"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.
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
The meeting came a day after Rashtriya Lok Dal president Ajit Singh met the Congress chief for a tie-up in Uttar Pradesh.
There was a celebratory mood outside her Delhi residence.
'It all depends on how Shivakumar uses him and treats him.'
'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.
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.
The 77-year-old former Congress president is set to enter the Upper House for the first time from Rajasthan.
