Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday challenged Home Minister Amit Shah to debate with him on his three press conferences in which the Congress leader alleged 'vote chori' by the Bharatiya Janata Party in collusion with the Election Commission.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will appear in a Delhi court on Saturday in the National Herald case amid speculation that they may not apply for bail.
Rahul Gandhi on hit the campaign trail in Delhi, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of resorting to "personal PR" without delivering anything concrete in 8 months and favouring only a few industrialists.
In a dig at Rahul Gandhi, Dubey said that the former Congress president was expected to initiate the debate but did not do so last minute as "probably he got up late".
"I am going to Raghopur to get feedback from the people of the constituency, which wants an end to the supremacy of one family. Before Tejashwi Yadav, a second-term MLA, his father Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi had represented that seat. Yet, it is crying for basic amenities," alleged Kishor.
By choosing not to declare her son Rahul Gandhi as the party's prime ministerial candidate, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has averted a Modi versus Rahul battle and effectively insulated her family against a backlash over a possible defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
The meeting assumes significance as the party high command has been trying to resolve the internal rift in the Punjab unit of the Congress and there is talk of its revamp, with just months to go for the assembly polls.
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.
"How many gods are there for Hindus? Three crores? There is Hanuman for those who are not married. There is another god for those who marry twice," Reddy said.
'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.'
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.
Sources said Sonia Gandhi referred to Azad and others twice during her brief address and the issues raised by them.
The senior Paswan sought an appointment and waited for more than three months but Rahul Gandhi did not relent, said Chirag Paswan, who at that time too was keen to leave the UPA and join the National Democratic Alliance.
The judge was also of the view that 'the gravity of the allegations levelled against petitioners (Sonia, Rahul and others) has a fraudulent flavour.
Venugopal is valued highly by Mrs Gandhi and Mr Gandhi. They consider him a loyalist, more to the point, one who can deliver.
If we have to elect Rahul Gandhi to rule the country because 'secularism', of all things, dictates it, we are strengthening the ugly aspects of the dynastic system of democracy that has come to infect India's body politic deeply, says Jaya Jaitly.
Rizwan Kadri, a member of the Prime Minister's Museum and Library (PMML) Society has written a letter to the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi requesting to give back the documents, that he called are 'important aspect of its history' and were withdrawn from the museum allegedly on the order of Congress senior leader Sonia Gandhi.
The HM said that Rahul went on foreign tours and informed the SPG at the eleventh hour, creating problems for it to provide proper security.
The Congress's performance in the Lok Sabha elections showed that it may be down but not out, and Modi is determined to ensure that in the next round in 2029, it is consigned to irrelevance, points out Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The 52-year-old, who joins her mother Sonia and brother Rahul as an MP in what is a rare instance of three members of a family together in Parliament, would visit Parliament as a teenager to listen to her father Rajiv Gandhi speak as prime minister.
Gursharan Kaur and daughter Daman Singh pay their respects to Dr Singh's mortal remains at the AICC HQ in New Delhi.
'I have always been a 'sevak' of the Gandhi family and whatever responsibility the Gandhi family has entrusted to its sevak, I will fulfil it'
Congress sources told ANI on the condition of anonymity that 'Rahul Gandhi left the country on May 19 to participate in various public programs in London that were held on May 20 to May 23. Since then, he has not returned to India'.
"Congress is the biggest party in the UPA. There is no question of NCP, Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam or Rashtriya Janata Dal or any other party coming close to their numbers and if tomorrow Congress decides to nominate Mrs Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi, it's not a question for NCP to decide," NCP General Secretary Praful Patel said.
Congress leadership would take a call on who would be its deputy chief minister on Tuesday.
Gandhi, 75, was earlier asked to depose on June 8 but she sought a fresh date from the federal probe agency after she contracted the coronavirus infection.
They said her son and former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is accompanying her during her travel to the US. Rahul is expected to return within a week.
'Rahul is not even a lamp before the sun'
She is reportedly suffering a stomach ache, a source close to Gandhi said.
Rahul Gandhi may also contest from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Rae Bareli, a seat which was previously held by Sonia Gandhi.
They said the filing of nomination papers will be a big show of strength and the top Congress leadership will be present.
Pranab's earlier fear of Sonia relying too heavily on a coterie due to her lack of experience turned out to be unfounded. As per Pranab, Sonia had her close advisers but she did not follow anyone's advice blindly. A fascinating excerpt from Sharmistha Mukherjee's Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers.
The party said it will 'not only challenge the order, but will take all legal recourse and avenues'.
'Rahul is a seasoned player of politics and chess. He makes his moves after careful consideration.
Congratulating Rahul Gandhi on his elevation, she said personal attacks on her son have made him fearless and voiced confidence that the young leadership will infuse new vigour in the party.
Even Priyanka's formal entry into politics could not act as a saving grace for the Congress. She was made in-charge of the party's fortunes in eastern Uttar Pradesh, but despite her high-octane election campaign, Congress is ahead on just one seat -- her mother Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli.
Though there is a full-throated clamour in the Congress that party vice-president Rahul Gandhi be formally named as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Nehru-Gandhi scion is personally not convinced that his projection will yield electoral dividends.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that some Congress leaders pressured individuals to donate funds to the Young Indian and Associated Journals Limited (AJL) on instructions from senior party functionaries. The ED's chargesheet in the National Herald case claims that these individuals made payments to the company "under the influence" from senior leaders who promised them "certain favours" in party politics. The chargesheet, filed on April 9 before a local court, names Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as accused, along with five others, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency alleges that these donations were not made voluntarily but in expectation of political benefits. The ED also found that YI and AJL received funds from various entities through "quid pro quo" arrangements, where individuals were asked to make payments for advertisements in the National Herald in exchange for past favours from Congress leaders.
In an apparent move to send out a message of austerity, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul on Friday took a bus ride along with other leaders to Surajkund in Haryana where the party is going to hold a brainstorming session.
The Enforcement Directorate 'simply inverted the template' of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by registering a first information report (FIR) in 2021, a Delhi court on Tuesday said while refusing to take cognisance of the ED's money laundering charge against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case.
