Several opposition leaders hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party following the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as an MP on Friday, alleging the ruling party was involved in vindictive politics, and said it was a new low for democracy.
The leaders attacked the BJP, accusing it of trying to create "Hindu-Muslim disturbances" to benefit politically and making false claims and promises.
Miffed over the Congress central leadership nominating poet-politician Imran Pratapgarhi, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, as its candidate from Maharashtra for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, party functionary Ashish Deshmukh on Tuesday resigned from the post of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary.
Sibal, who quit the Congress last year, said the party's Kanyakumari to Kashmir Yatra "optically" seems to have succeeded and gotten the support of non-Congress elements as well.
They are likely to meet Sitaram Yechury following the meeting with Gandhi.
Over 400 incumbent Lok Sabha members including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Lal Krishna Advani and Rajnath Singh have not yet declared their assets and liability details, according to an RTI reply.
These workers do not have jobs and the Railways should not charge train fare from them, Deshmukh said in a video message. The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said the Railways has subsidised 85 per cent of ticket fare for special trains being run to transport migrant workers and the state governments have to pay the remaining 15 per cent.
Senior Congress leader and Maharashtra Minister Narayan Rane, who had accused ally Nationalist Congress Party of not co-operating during the Lok Sabha polls in the state, where the two parties were routed, is expected to meet AICC chief Sonia Gandhi in a day or two.
Upset over political developments in Maharashtra, the Congress and other opposition parties boycotted Constitution Day celebrations in the Central Hall of Parliament and held a joint protest in front of the Ambedkar statue inside Parliament complex.
Even though it was stated that no action would be taken against the senior leaders who had written to Sonia Gandhi, they say that the retaliation had already begun, reports Aditi Phadnis
The Supreme Court on Monday permitted the Maharashtra government to withdraw an appeal filed by the state during the previous Uddhav Thackeray dispensation against a Bombay high court's 2020 order suspending the probe in two FIRs filed against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami for allegedly making inflammatory comments.
The joint statement was issued by senior leaders of 13 opposition parties, including interim president of Congress Sonia Gandhi, the Nationalist Congress Party patriarch Sharad Pawar, and the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
It appears that the party has some kind of political death wish, observe Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
'Those who had no participation in the freedom struggle and creating history are keeping out one of the heroes of the independence struggle. This act, done out of political vindictiveness, is not good and shows their narrow mindset. It is an insult of each and every freedom fighter,' Raut claimed.
Sparks flew on the first day of the debate on the no-trust motion moved by the Congress with the Opposition on Tuesday asserting that it was forced to do so to break Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'maun vrat' (vow of silence) on Manipur and the treasury benches hitting back saying it was a no-trust vote against a 'poor person's son' who has worked for the welfare of the people.
Voices of resentment resonated in the camps of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress criticising the choice of new faces by the leadership. Sena leaders have expressed disapproval over party seniors and former ministers not finding a place.
The Opposition said the judgement will strengthen the hands of a government.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi greeted him on the occasion, NCP's Praful Patel blamed the Congress party's internal culture for Pawar missing the opportunity to occupy the top post in the 1990s.
The Maharashtra HM had said on Tuesday that the Mumbai police will probe allegations by actor Adhyayan Suman that Ranaut took drugs.
Congress-NCP-Sena leaders discount reading too much into the meeting between the Maharashtra CM and prime minister.
Thackeray spoke to the prime minister over the phone and invited him, Shiv Sena party sources confirmed.
'Fixing accountability in the Congress must be addressed on a war footing.' 'It is impossible for Sonia Gandhi to know each and every party worker, so she has to rely on advisors.' 'If they guide or misguide, the blame should go to them.'
'The Maharashtrian Congressmen's decision to break away from their reluctant leaders in Delhi to side with the Shiv Sena is seemingly the first sign that the 'high command' is not as powerful as is believed,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'The Congress can exist without (someone from) the Nehru-Gandhi family being its president.'
'I want to thank Sonia ji also. Parties with different ideologies have come together...those who were friends for 30 years, did not trust us. But those against whom we fought for 30 years have trusted me,' Thackeray said.
Rahul Gandhi is neither Congress president, office-bearer nor Congress leader in Parliament. This technical leeway provides adequate cover for Shiv Sena-Congress ties taking a nosedive, says Rasheed Kidwai.
The Congress leader said democracy allows dissent and debate and not monologues in an apparent barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Amid a brewing political storm in Bihar, the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal on Monday said it was ready to "embrace" Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Janata Dal-United if he broke ranks with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
More than the Uddhav Thackeray-led ministry, two coordination committees will approve and disapprove big projects, contracts and political decisions.
It is clear to any observer that the BJP risks its demolition drive boomeranging on itself. Except for one unpredictable factor in the works -- Rahul Gandhi himself, observes Shyam G Menon.
Patole, the MLA from Sakoli in Bhandara district, had resigned as speaker of Maharashtra assembly on Thursday.
Besides the four ministerial berths, the Congress has also sought the post of Speaker of the state assembly, but Kumar is not keen on giving that, sources said.
Sharad Pawar reckons that the NCP has value as a united, going concern, not as a gaggle of leaders in search of followers, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
Addressing a press conference, BJP leader and former Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar taunted the Sena-NCP-Congress for "identification parade" of their MLAs and termed it as a cruel joke on the people of the state and democracy.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal told the media after a meeting at party chief Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence that that the CWC was briefed on the discussion between NCP and Congress on Wednesday.
The Congress protested vociferously both inside and outside Parliament on Monday against the political developments in Maharashtra as it stalled proceedings and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of "murdering democracy" in the state.
Dhankar wins vice presidential election by bagging more than 500 votes.
The Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party allegedly shared the personal details of the girls from Udupi including their residential addresses who had approached the Karnataka high court against the ban on wearing of hijabs in classrooms.
Patel, who died on Wednesday at a Gurugram hospital where he was admitted with COVID-19, could have been the tell-all leader offering insights and information with his inside view of the workings of the Congress and the political world. But he would have none of it.
The black bands were worn as a mark of protest against the alleged attack on the Constitution of India with the passage of the amended citizenship act by the government, leaders said.
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