The Maharashtra unit of the Congress party is divided over the nomination of Commerce Minister Anand Sharma to the Rajya Sabha from the state.
In a jolt to the Congress ahead of Himachal Pradesh polls, senior leader Anand Sharma on Sunday resigned from the chairmanship of the party's steering committee for the state, saying he was left with no choice after the 'continuing exclusion and insults'.
In his attempt to revive a beleaguered Congress, Rahul Gandhi is trying to bring in new leadership in the form of Rajeev Gowda and BK Hari Prasad, whose names have been nominated for the Rajya Sabha, says Renu Mittal.
Former Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday appeared all set to become Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha after his appointment as Leader of Congress in the Upper House.
During the debate on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party MP JP Nadda said that the leader of Congress in the house, Anand Sharma, was attempting to digress from the main topic.
The 77-year-old former Congress president is set to enter the Upper House for the first time from Rajasthan.
The Congress is likely to get 11 Rajya Sabha seats in the upcoming election cycle with some of its top leaders, including P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh, eyeing another term.
It was after a gap of two decades that saw such an occasion where MPs of the upper house enthralled their fellow colleagues at a dinner hosted by Chairman and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu for 72 retiring members.
Senior leader P Chidambaram whose Rajya Sabha tenure is ending from Maharashtra is under consideration from Tamil Nadu as the Congress is all set to get the support of alliance partner the DMK. The G-23 leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Vivek Tankha, are also said to be in contention.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar has already held telephonic talks with leader of the opposition in the Upper House Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma succeed in convincing Rahul Gandhi of zero returns in blocking Parliament.
Facing isolation in Rajya Sabha over its stand against the Judicial Appointments Bill, Congress on Monday said it was "not opposed" to the amendments but would take a decision in the matter only after "examining" the changes.
Opposition charged the government with making Parliamentary Standing Committees irrelevant.
Sources said the Congress may consider opposing the bill when it is introduced in Parliament. The Aam Aadmi Party, which is in power in Delhi, has been seeking the support of various political parties on the matter.
This is the first time that Gandhi will be meeting Congress leaders face-to-face, months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The former finance minister, who walked out of jail on Wednesday night, joined other Congress MPs voicing their protest against the steep hike in onion prices.
Angry members of the Congress and other opposition parties forced adjournments of the proceedings as they questioned the NOTA provision for these elections.
"Horse trading band karo (Stop horse trading of MLAs)," Congress members shouted from the well.
The government on Tuesday decided to cancel the examination for appointment of postmen held on July 14 to hold it in all local languages including Tamil.
In a public show of dissent, the 'G-23' leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Kapil Sibal, who have been pressing for a leadership change and organisational overhaul in the Congress, gathered on one stage in Jammu on Saturday, saying the party is weakening and they have come together to strengthen it.
Usually, the chair in the Upper House reads out obituary references before members rise as a mark of respect to the memory of the departed.
The meeting also includes some of Sonia Gandhi's close associates and is the first effort by the Congress leadership for a reproachment with those who raised questions over the leadership.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the party stood united and together as a family and there are no dissensions pending after the announcement of elections to the party chief's post.
Jha will contest against National democratic Alliance's nominee Harivansh of the Janata Dal-United.
Ahmed Patel, K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh will be part of the Rajya Sabha Committee, which will also include Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and party's deputy leader Anand Sharma. Azad and Sharma are signatories to the letter that demanded an overhaul of the Congress party and a new 'full-time and visible' party president.
Party justifies total washout of day's proceedings in Rajya Sabha, citing Dalit atrocity, insult to Congress CMs and the GST bill.
Trinamool members trooped into well of the House immediately after the upper House assembled.
A united Opposition on Tuesday tore into an ordinance promulgated to amend land acquisition rules, calling it an "anti-farmer" move brought by "bypassing" Parliament to benefit corporate houses, a charge vehemently denied by the government.
The prime minister, who spoke in the Upper House as it bid farewell to 53 retiring MPs, noted that Rajya Sabha members are representatives of the states and the interest of their state should be a priority for them.
Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar also attacked the Congress, which had not opposed the bill in Lok Sabha but voiced its strong opposition in the Upper House.
Jaitley said the resort was not an area where the Karnataka minister can get 'immunity from the law'.
The highlight of the five-hour meeting, which ended with a plan to hold a 'chintan shivir' at the earliest opportunity to chalk the Congress' future strategy, was a demand by Sonia Gandhi's loyalists that Rahul Gandhi should assume the party leadership again.
Opposition led by Congress on Thursday upped the ante against the government on the bugging issue demanding a judicial probe and a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the matter which, they said, has put NDA's credibility at stake.
Ariz Khan, who has been awarded death penalty for the murder of Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma in connection with the sensational 2008 Batla House encounter case was allegedly associated with the Indian Mujahideen.
The issue of alleged bugging at Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's residence rocked Parliament on Wednesday with Congress alleging that the methods used in Gujarat to keep tabs on ministers and MPs were being employed at the Centre, a charge stoutly rejected by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi could only manage 244 votes.
What Rajya Sabha can do for the states, no other House can do, the Prime Minister said.
Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad made this assertion outside Parliament while speaking to reporters and said the revocation of suspension of the Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs was not a demand, but a 'request'.
Trinamool Congress members stormed the Well of the House raising slogans, with Naidu asking them to go back to their seats, saying he has allowed Shah to conclude his speech.
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said he likes leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi who are proud of their roots and noted that Modi speaks frankly about his past as a tea-seller.
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