Chief ministers of Congress-ruled states gave a presentation on steps taken to control price rise.
'I would personally like to see Rahul Gandhi continue as party president.' 'I genuinely believe he has far more to offer to the party still, particularly in leading us in these challenging times that we find ourselves in.'
The decision was taken at a three-hour meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the party's highest policy making body, which discussed ways and means to deal with the problem, party sources said.
Over the past week, Rahul Gandhi has replaced office-bearers in charge of party units in Gujarat and Karnataka and Goa, and brought in young leaders as secretaries. These changes are unlikely to be a one-time exercise and poll-bound states would get the primary attention.
The austerity bug seems to have bitten the Delhi Government also with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit asking her ministers and Congress MLAs to voluntarily take 20 per cent less salary, on Tuesday.
It was Rahul Gandhi's day out in Mumbai as he hopped out on to a local train and mingled with the people of Mumbai. Rahul's little detour send turned out to be a nightmare for Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who set alarm bells ringing all the way to Delhi and forced Sonia Gandhi out of the Congress Working Committee meeting, being held at 24 Akbar Road.
In the backdrop of the drought situation across India, the Congress and the United Progressive Alliance government on Wednesday planned to go on an austerity mode, with party chief Sonia Gandhi asking her Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly to accept a 20 per cent cut in salaries for a year. During the meeting of the Congress Working Committee, Sonia Gandhi asked partymen and the government to observe austerity measures.
Concerned over the drought conditions likely to affect its electoral prospects in the forthcoming assembly polls in four states, the Congress Working Committee on Wednesday met in New Delhi to explore ways and means to deal with the situation.
The former Union minister had suffered a stroke in 2008 and was hospitalised since then.
An audio clip of Chhattisgarh CM's son-in-law, Congress' Ajit Jogi and his son Amit, points at their involvement in "fixing" the by poll to an assembly seat last year.
A meeting of the Congress Working Committee, to be held on August 19, is scheduled to discuss price rise and drought. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already held intensive discussions with chief ministers from across India and senior ministers in his Cabinet on drought, price rise and the measures that need to be taken by the government to minimise the effects of drought.It was initially decided that the CWC would be held last week.
'Although the Congress party ethos resembles a court with courtiers, Sonia Gandhi's style was to be consensual.'
Treading a cautious path on the Telangana issue, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said in Hyderabad on Thursday that the Centre should address the complicated issues concerned with the bifurcation of the state first before it embarks on the process.
The Congress dismissed as "mere speculation" reports that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are to offer their resignation at the Congress Working Committee meeting on Monday called in the wake of the party's worst-ever electoral defeat.
The maharaja's win in Punjab after 10 years has also rekindled the hopes for the revival of the grand old party.
They are Congress President Sonia Gandhi's field marshals -- the 100 men and women who will drive the party's campaign in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. The "war team" announced on Thursday night included state-wise screening committees constituted under the leadership of a dozen leaders for selection of candidates.
The Congress stalwart could not have asked for a better gift on his 75th birthday.
Legislative Assembly election-bound Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand will be exempted from this exercise
The war of conflicting ideas has broken out within the Congress party. Though there is no official confirmation available, reliable sources in the United Progressive Alliance government say that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh disagree on certain issues, which had come to the fore over the sacking of Home Minister Shivraj Patl.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi's adverse comments on the internal security situation was the proverbial last straw that saw the exit of Shivraj Patil as Union home minister.
The Congress is all set to appoint Siddharamiah as its new Legislative Party leader in Karnataka, in place of Kharge who is tipped to make it to the apex decision making body of the Congress party, the Congress Working Committee.
Asked if it would not result in UPA disintegrating, Dwivedi snapped back: "Of course, there is UPA. But UPA does not fight elections. It is the political parties in UPA which contest elections."
In a move aimed at avoiding pressure from regional allies seeking seats in several states, the Congress on Thursday ruled out a national alliance in the coming Lok Sabha elections, limiting adjustments to the states. "We do not have an alliance at the national level. We have alliance partners and seat adjustments at the state level..." All India Congress Committee general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee in New Delhi.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi is said to have appeased two Telangana MP's who met her on Thursday on the Rayal-Telangana issue.
Sixteen Congress secretaries drafted a letter on September 2 to be sent to party general secretaries and Congress Working Committee members, criticising senior leaders (without names, of course!) for their comments, asking the old guard to introspect about what went wrong at the general election.
In the first major action after its massive drubbing in Lok Sabha polls, Congress on Tuesday dissolved the state unit of politically key Uttar Pradesh signalling a drastic overhaul.
Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi of being a "fake" leader who wishes to "dominate" the country through the media.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil offered to quit at the Congress Working Committee meeting on Saturday night held in the backdrop of the Mumbai terror strikes, party sources said on Sunday.
"Only time will tell," was the cryptic reply from Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi to a question from media-persons at the end of a three-hour meeting of the Congress Working Committee. Asked if Patil offered to resign at the meeting, Dwivedi quipped, "I have not heard the question."
All India Congress Committee General Secretary Digvijaya Singh will preside over a meeting of the Congress Coordination Panel with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday evening.
A crucial meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the highest decision making body of the party, began on Thursday on issues relating to firming up of alliances, finalising the manifesto and coining the winning strategy for the Lok Sabha polls. This is the first meeting in the recent past in which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would not participate as he has recently undergone a coronary by-pass surgery.
With the Lok Sabha polls drawing near, the Congress Working Committee meeting here on Thursday is expected to finalise the strategy to take on the challenges from the Left and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Going to the Parliamentary polls for the first time after sharing power at the Centre, the Congress is likely to give finishing touches to its poll manifesto as also decide on the campaign theme.
Former union minister Natwar SinghNatwar Singh on Saturday hit back at the Congress saying the party has conveniently forgotten that it too was named in the Volcker report as a "non-contractual beneficiary".
The Congress, in its application termed the governor's action as a "brazen unconstitutional" act to appoint "a junior MLA as the pro tem speaker.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged party leaders in Kerala to shed their differences and fight the coming assembly polls unitedly
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali has kicked up a controversy with his remark that the historic 'Charminar' will be razed if it becomes dilapidated while defending his government's decision to rebuild the 90-year-old Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad.
Apart from taking stock of the political situation in the country, the CWC discussed the upcoming presidential and vice presidential elections.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi will lead a march to Rashtrapati Bhavan to appeal to President Pranab Mukherjee to use his constitutional powers to end the "atmosphere of intolerance".
'We will have a big say in Delhi in 2018 or 2019 (whenever the elections are) in the Lok Sabha.'
UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi praised the courage and spirit of Kashmiri women who had "been through the worst during the violence in the state."
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances