Rahul Gandhi has gone on a two-week leave, Congress said on Tuesday frowning upon attempts to give various meanings to the action and virtually snubbed party General Secretary Digvijaya Singh who had found fault with the "timing".
The refusal to allow the team, at least initially, to enter the hotel, prompted senior Congress leaders to charge that the BJP was part of the plan to 'topple' their government in Rajasthan.
The parties also said that the decision has come in late and had the Modi government shed its 'arrogance earlier' and repealed the laws opposed by farmers, a number of precious lives lost during the nearly year-long agitation could have been saved.
A party leader, who is known to be close to Rahul, said he would be elevated "sooner than you think".
The setback promises to have far-reaching ramifications within and outside the party as it is likely to fuel voices that have challenged the Gandhi family's leadership and also those who have been a votary of a non-Congress front to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The raids come as Rajasthan is witnessing an intense power tussle between chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot.
The Congress also has the support of 10 out of 13 independents, and other party MLAs like Rashtriya Lok Dal (1), which is its ally.
These parties also asked the Centre to present a revised comprehensive economic package that will be a 'true stimulus' and sought reversal of all unilateral policy decisions, especially pertaining to labour laws, as they put forth a 11-point demand charter before the government during a virtual meeting, called by the Congress to discuss the situation arising out of the pandemic as well as the lockdown.
The Supreme Court's verdict on the Rafale deal spurred a war of words between the BJP and the Congress.
Under attack over Janardan Dwivedi's pitch against reservation on caste lines, the Congress and the government on Wednesday distanced themselves from the senior leader's remarks, saying it was his "personal" view and they support, adhere and subscribe to the existing policy.
The crisis surfaced on Friday when the Rajasthan Police issued notices to Gehlot, Pilot and the government chief whip, seeking time from them to record their statements over an alleged bid to destabilise the state's Congress government.
While the Congress alleged that the Modi government was indulging in political vendetta, the Bharatiya Janata Party claimed that it is a legal matter.
Simultaneous protests were held in several other cities, and are also slated to be held elsewhere in the world, the organisers said.
The opposition parties also alleged that the gangster was killed to protect the UP government.
The party in Uttar Pradesh is seeing the visit as the virtual launch of the Congress campaign in the state, ahead of the coming Lok Sabha elections.
"This is not the appropriate time to be going ahead with political programmes., However, what really shocked us was as at this point in time when the nation is looking towards its leadership, when the nation wants its leadership to speak to it, the prime minister chooses to address the booth workers of the BJP rather than address the nation," said the Congress.
Rahul Gandhi, in turn, thanked all the leaders for reposing faith in him and said he would apply his mind on their request of becoming the Congress president, the sources said.
On a day Ashok Lavasa's decision to recuse from model code of conduct complaints became public, the EC said the 'full commission' would meet on May 21 to discuss the issue of dissent and 'related matters'.
Till the statue, made of granite, is completed, a hologram statue of his would be present at the same place.
The Congress on Wednesday lauded the armed forces and Indira Gandhi's 'lion-hearted leadership' for India's victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, with Rahul Gandhi saying it was a time when neighbouring countries recognised the mettle of the Indian prime minister and feared violating our borders.
The Opposition on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying his note ban decision was "reckless".
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal announced the decision to snap ties with the NDA on Saturday night, amid stepped up agitation by farmers in Punjab over the three legislations which were recently passed by Parliament amid Opposition protests.
In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the focus of Modi's remarks at the meeting on Friday was the events of June 15 at Galwan that led to the loss of lives of 20 Indian military personnel.
The incident, allegedly triggered by the local police objecting to a procession being taken out for immersion of a Durga idol late Monday night in flagrant violation of social distancing norms, had set off a pitched battle between security personnel and devotees.
Addressing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, Gandhi said it should worry every Indian and her party will have to work hard to repair this damage.
The party will mark four years of the completion of the Modi government with protests in every district of the country
Dhami, who is a two-time MLA from Khatima in Udham Singh Nagar district, replaces Tirath Singh Rawat who resigned on Friday night.
Sources said that despite senior leaders making serious attempts to convince him to rethink on his decision, Gandhi is said to be unfazed.
'Why don't you resign from the Lok Sabha? Why does the Akali Dal party not withdraw support from the Modi government?'
Among the 17 new AICC secretaries named so far, 10 are below 50 years of age, indicating the generational change in the 132-year-old Congress being brought in by 47-year-old Rahul, reports Amit Agnihotri.
The move is being seen as an attempt to forge opposition unity to defeat the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said democracy in the country will function in accordance with the Constitution and echo the voice of the people, who will reject the BJP's 'conspiracy of deceit and deception'.
The bitter war between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Rafale deal on Tuesday saw more name-calling with the opposition party dubbing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as a "babble blogger" and dismissing his "clown prince out-clowning himself" barb at Rahul Gandhi as "hollow rants of a court jester".
The campaign's main theme song 'Main hi toh Hindustan hoon' has been penned by Javed Akhtar.
Mandeep Punia was arrested from the Singhu border on Sunday for allegedly misbehaving with the police personnel on duty at the farmers' protest site there, officials said.
At a press conference, the Congress posed 11 questions to the PM over the Lalit Modi controversy, asking if the Modi sarkar would also extend such help to Dawood Ibrahim if he too sought such help.
The BJP offers Saifuddin Soz 'one-way ticket' to Pakistan
In his dare, the Congress president asked the PM to reduce the spiralling fuel prices in the country or face a nationwide stir by his party.
The Congress has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up the issue of former IPL chairman Lalit Modi's deportation during his ongoing visit to UK and to ensure that the "fugitive" and "black money exporter" is brought back.
The government on Monday faced flak for the Uri terror attack with both the Opposition and the Bharatiya Janata Party's ally in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
