'The critical event signalling a new era for India was Dr Singh's 1991 Budget in which he quoted Victor Hugo to say that no power on earth could stop an idea whose time has come,' recalls T N Ninan.
The Congress on Saturday accused the Centre of insulting Dr Manmohan Singh, the country's first Sikh prime minister, by carrying out his last rites at the Nigambodh Ghat instead of a designated spot that could later become his memorial.
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.
Senior party leaders stressed that no one except the Gandhi family can hold the party together, the party will disintegrate and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should be given command after 2024.
The meetings come days after an open rebellion by Gehlot loyalists over a possible leadership change in the state, clouding Gehlot's chances of running for the presidency.
The Congress party alleged that the BJP government has asked social media platform 'X' to remove Home Minister Amit Shah's speech from the Rajya Sabha, which they claim insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar. The party cited an email from 'X' to support their claim. The BJP has not yet commented on the matter, and 'X' has refused to delete the speech, citing freedom of speech. The Congress accused Shah of insulting the architect of the Indian Constitution and demanded his resignation.
With party observers slamming some actions of loyalists of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, sources said decision on issuing show cause notices to miffed MLAs, who have been vocal in public, will be taken after interim chief looks Sonia Gandhi into the report by the observers sent to the state.
Nitin Desai, who has known Dr Singh from 1971, extends his 'deepest condolences to his wife Gurcharan Kaur and to his three talented daughters Upinder, the historian; Daman, the writer; and Amrit, the human rights activist.'
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday expunged the references made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to Sonia Gandhi in the House on July 28.
"He has already apologised," Sonia Gandhi responded to the media on party's Adhir Chowdhury's 'rashtrapatni' remark.
Congress Working Committee called the recent assembly election results of five states a "cause of serious concern" for the party.
Film folk visited Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's residence for Ganpati darshan over the weekend.
Delhi's air quality plummeted to alarming levels on Tuesday after 24 days, with many areas witnessing a significant spike in pollution despite the strictest measures, including a ban on construction activities and the entry of trucks into the city, coming into force.
The Congress, referring to Gandhi's speech at a campaign rally at Hubballi on Saturday, said in a tweet that the Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson "sends a strong message to 6.5 crore Kannadigas,' and also posted pictures of her speaking at the public meeting.
If the Indian son-in-law can become prime minister in another country, could the daughter-in-law have not become one here, especially considering that the Indian culture and tradition is for the bahu to live, think and act like her in-laws, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The opposition party was reacting after BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia asked Ansari and the Congress to come clean on the claims of Pakistani journalist Nusrat Mirza that he had visited India five times during the Congress-led UPA rule and passed on sensitive information collected here to his country's spy agency ISI.
K Natwar Singh wore many hats as he straddled the worlds of diplomacy, politics and writing but what remained consistent across decades was his sharp-wit and plainspeaking.
Gandhi was accompanied by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during their visit.
"We condemn this and resolve to continue and intensify our collective fight against the anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-Constitution policies of the Modi 'sarkar' that is destroying the social fabric of our society," they also said in the statement.
Gandhi, who is usually flanked by senior party colleagues, was also greeted by both President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
There was more to him than he let on, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
The Congress president had left on August 23 to visit her ailing mother, who was in her 90s.
Venugopal said a decision on the Rajasthan chief minister would be taken by Sonia in a day or two.
As a leader, he was ambitious, not for himself but for India and its people. His was not the short-term election cycle calculation of individual political gain. His was a practical vision of how to better the lives of his fellow citizens, asserts Ambassador Shivshankar Menon, who served as foreign secretary and national security advisor when Dr Singh was prime minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, accusing it of repeatedly "wounding" the Indian Constitution. He claimed that the Congress, driven by its "lust for power," has consistently undermined the principles of the Constitution. Modi, however, praised India's democratic journey since its independence, highlighting the country's strong democratic roots and its unwavering commitment to its founding principles. He underscored the importance of unity for India's future development and emphasized that the Constitution is the bedrock of that unity.
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.
Gandhi, then a newly appointed Congress chief, had staked claim to form the government at the Centre after the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had lost the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 1999.
Dharmender revved the throttle and hit Sandeep's motorcycle from behind, dragging him for some distance before hitting a stationary car and crushing the constable between the two cars, stated the FIR which was accessed by PTI. The gruesome incident was caught on CCTV camera.
The case was registered recently to probe alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper.
Sonia Gandhi said that in the last 75 years, India has left an indelible mark on the international arena in all fields including science, education, health and information technology through the hard work of its talented people.
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.
She urged the Congress workers to tackle the current regime with vigour and reach out to people to convey the party's message.
The incident occurred around 2.15 am near Veena Enclave when 30-year-old Sandeep was going towards Railway Road from Nangloi police station during duty hours dressed in civilian clothes, they said.
'Wait for more action the day after (the Friday meeting).'
As voting in the Congress presidential polls got underway, outgoing party chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday said she had been waiting for a long time for this day.
Congress observers for Rajasthan on Tuesday recommended disciplinary action against three key loyalists of Ashok Gehlot but did not seek any action against the chief minister, as the party scampered to resolve the crisis that has cast a shadow on the election of the party president.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi will travel abroad for medical check-ups and Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will accompany her, the party said.
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar had asked Rahul Gandhi to tone down the criticism of Savarkar and reminded the Congress leader that the real fight of the opposition parties was with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.
Gehlot expressed his sadness over the turn of affairs in the state.
Pilot, who spent around an hour at Gandhi's residence where Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal was also present, said he conveyed his sentiments and gave his feedback to the party president.
