Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday came out in support of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was involved in a face-off with Union minister Smriti Irani in the Lok Sabha, and said the 75-year-old leader was 'encircled and heckled pack-wolf style'.
Right to apprenticeship, legal guarantee for MSP, passing a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs, a nation-wide caste census and scrapping of Agnipath scheme are among the promises made by the Congress in its Lok Sabha polls manifesto released on Friday.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda and new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh will witness polling on February 27.
He said with a view to releasing a white paper on the state's finances, the cabinet has asked the officials to furnish information on the expenditure made by the previous government from 2014 to December 7, 2023 on all departments in the state government and the purposes for which the expenditure was incurred.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
The sources said some leaders may be attached to her to decrease her workload. With the CWC meeting held in the backdrop of the letter of 20 party leaders to Sonia Gandhi which raised some heckles, several leaders expressed their views in the meeting lasted for over seven hours.
Given the 2024 general elections, it is unlikely that the allegations around electoral bonds, raised by the Opposition, will disappear easily or with a shrug of the BJP's shoulders and fabled 56-inch chest, argues Shyam G Menon.
The Congress is all set to kickstart its campaign for the next year's Lok Sabha elections with its mega rally 'Hain Tayyar Hum' to be held in Maharashtra's Nagpur city on Thursday, the party's 139th foundation day.
Small gestures from Indira gave Sonia the confidence that she could be a daughter-in-law in the distinguished family.
An overwhelming number of new appointees across the party's organisational structure -- from the highest decision-making body CWC (Congress Working Committee) to the special committee formed to assist interim party chief Sonia Gandhi -- are known as Rahul Gandhi's confidantes.
The meeting comes ahead of the party's Punjab unit revamp and amid reports that Sidhu may get a key role in the organisation.
Mamata said that she raised the issue of violence in Tripura in which TMC workers were allegedly assaulted by BJP workers.
Besides Defence Minister Singh (Lucknow), Minister of Women and Child Development Irani (Amethi), those in the fray are Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishor (Mohanlalganj) and Minister of State of Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur).
The meeting of Congress's highest decision-making body is expected to be at a very 'high voltage' as Sonia's resignation will not be accepted by the CWC members.
The Congress on Tuesday suffered a major upset in Himachal Pradesh at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha elections which were marred by cross-voting in all the three states though it won three seats in Karnataka while the saffron party pocketed an extra seat in Uttar Pradesh.
Attacking the Modi government, Sonia said it has sought to erode our institutions.
'Not just Maharashtra, the Congress has not fielded even one Muslim candidate from Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa.'
'The 2024 election results will lead to much intense targeting of Modi, more intense debates, many more breakdowns in Parliament and many more movements on the streets.' 'The results have hit Modi's standing, and the politics of the Opposition parties will be sharply focused to ensure that Modi doesn't get back his charisma of being 'invincible' with help of State power.' Sheela Bhatt looks at the political situation through the prism of 2024 Lok Sabha election results.
The suspense over whether Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest the polls from Amethi and Raebareli respectively continued.
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.
After Congress president Sonia Gandhi met leaders of the G-23 grouping to resolve internal party issues, former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar on Wednesday said "indulging the dissenters too much" will encourage more dissent.
'He has emerged as a formidable leader who cannot be ignored anymore, who cannot be mocked.'
The BJP is leading in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah attended the ceremony held at the L B Stadium in Hyderabad.
'Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal are the two people who have been marked and punished'
The Bharatiya Janata Party's first list of 20 candidates for Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka has caused dissidence among leaders in the state with few claiming that they would switch over to Congress.
Rangeela's presence in the fray could have been trifle uncomfortable for Modi. He may not have posed an electoral challenge to the prime minister, but Rangeela's public meetings could have seen people flocking, if only to hear him mimic Modi. In a completely Modi-centric election, the presence of a 'rival' -- if only for a smattering of audience at his meetings -- would not have been particularly appreciated by Modi, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
'There was trust, but perhaps there was also this apprehension that given the supreme post of prime minister, Sonia Gandhi felt her authority may be a challenged.'
A resolution to this effect was passed unanimously in a meeting of the CLP in Chandigarh.
The authority said in its order that it believes that the movable assets and equity shares that were attached by the ED are proceeds of crime and linked to the offence of money laundering.
'Rahul Gandhi is showing an 'I-don't-care-attitude'.' 'He is showing the same attitude towards what is happening in Maharashtra or in various parts of the country.'
'Election funding needs a little more transparency.'
The Punjab chief minister said he was asked by Kejriwal to visit different places for campaigning for INDIA bloc candidates.
Sonia called for cancelling all public gatherings and poll rallies in view of the rising number of coronavirus cases.
Bollywood's mega stars came together to celebrate Producer Anand Pandit's 60th birthday in Mumbai.
According to insiders, their lack of enthusiasm is showing on the ground. There is nothing to suggest that their enthusiasm will return in the final four phases of polling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
On the 25th anniversary of the battle that made his war cry 'Dil Maange More' part of national lore, we republish that feature to salute Captain Batra's ultimate sacrifice for the nation.
The Congress said the rally by the INDIA will send a "strong message" to the Lok Kalyan Marg, where the prime minister's residence is located, that the BJP-led government's "time is up".
Just before the Congress Working Committee meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, an internal dispute had emerged regarding "leadership" issues in the party.
The central election authority of the Congress met and finalised the initial program of the process.
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