The Congress needs to reorganise itself at the grassroots, infuse younger blood, and have more boots on the ground. Just offering freebies is not the answer anymore. Leadership matters, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'BJP sarkaar 5 saal mein Ram Mandir bhi nahi bana paayi. Ab Ram Mandir nahi toh Modi nahi'
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the 3,570km-long foot-march, expressed grief over the death of Seva Dal general secretary Krishna Kumar Pandey.
The tribal vote in Madhya Pradesh is crucial in any election. The BJP's loss in the 2018 assembly election has prompted it to take remedial action.
Nath said the foot march will enter the central Indian state from Burhanpur district on Wednesday morning.
After her controversial remarks that government officials are there only to 'pick up our (leaders') slippers', senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti has written a letter to Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh, saying she will improve her language and also urged him to do so.
The two main factions in Karnataka's Congress party -- one led by Siddaramaiah and the other by D K Shivakumar -- are both contenders for the chief ministership. Both groups have fought hard to get their choice of MLAs the party ticket, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Sources said that Congress leaders, including Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Mukul Wasnik, KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, AK Antony, Ambika Soni and Randeep Surjewala, are also taking part in the meeting at Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence.
Several opposition MPs have petitioned President Droupadi Murmu for immediate action over social media trolling of Chief Justice of India Justice D Y Chandrachud while he was deliberating on a case related to the Governor's role in Maharashtra during the last government formation.
No one from the Gandhi family was present at the All India Congress Committee headquarters when the leaders filed their nominations for the election.
Environmental activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk accused the BJP of reneging on its promise of including Ladakh under the sixth schedule.
The Congress on Monday said the 150-day Bharat Jodo Yatra from September 7 covering 3,500 km will be the party's biggest ever 'Jan Sampark' programme and Rahul Gandhi will walk 'all the way' from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
The Congress party needs a safe pair of hands in the form of Kharge, Tewari said.
"I don't need any certificate from Kamal Nath nor Digvijaya Singh. The facts are before the people how they looted the state in 15 months. They have taken everything for themselves. They (people) have also seen their history of going back on promises. But I would only like to tell them 'tiger abhi zinda hai (tiger is alive)," Scindia said.
The discussions are mostly one-on-one, party insiders said on Thursday, a day of many meetings.
Farmers participating in the ongoing protests against newly enacted three agri laws were not summoned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the government told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
As Germany took note of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday accused the Congress of 'inviting foreign powers' for interference in India's internal matters and the Opposition party hit back, alleging that its rival was attempting to divert attention from the Adani issue.
On the occasion, Gandhi said their campaign was against hatred, violence and fear being spread in society.
Tharoor's remarks came after several BJP leaders accused the Congress of 'Pakistan parasti (worship)' and Union minister Jyoritiraditya Scindia asked if this was part of the 'Haath Se Haath Jodo Abhiyan' with enemies.
With the deepening political crisis in Rajasthan over the appointment of Ashok Gehlot's successor, Congress Working Committee members have demanded from Sonia Gandhi to pull the state chief minister out of the race for the party chief and select another candidate for the top post, sources said on Monday.
Accusing Congress of 'abuse culture', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged the people of Karnataka to punish those indulging in abuse, while casting their vote in polling booths on May 10.
Tharoor said Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case has generated a 'surprising wave of Opposition unity' with many parties having begun to feel the truth of the adage -- united we stand, divided we fall.
Mamata's 'there is no United Progressive Alliance (UPA)' remark after a meeting in Mumbai with Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, an ally of Congress in Maharashtra, evoked a strong response from the party, currently being led by interim president Sonia Gandhi.
The interim panel headed by him would take the place of the Congress Working Committee, the apex decision-making body, till a new CWC is formed after Kharge's election is ratified at the party plenary.
Ahead of starting the much-hyped 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attended a prayer meeting at the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial in Sriperumbudur on Wednesday.
The cross-country foot march stayed in the news almost right through, mostly for the barbs between the BJP and the Congress and occasionally for other reasons, including infighting in the opposition party.
Swami Swaroopanand, who was the Shankracharya of Dwarka, Sharda, and Jyotish Peeth, was not keeping well for over a year, his aide said.
The video purportedly shows the accused asking the victim whether his name is Mohammed, besides demanding his Aadhaar card before repeatedly slapping him.
On Thursday, he broke a record which had been held by former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will meet the Congress high command in New Delhi on Wednesday amid suspense over whether he will file nomination for the post of party president, sources in Jaipur said.
The Congress on Thursday said former party chief Rahul Gandhi will file an appeal against a Gujarat court verdict holding him guilty in a 2019 criminal defamation case, and alleged that the government was after him for speaking the truth and bringing to light its 'misdeeds'.
Adani group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group. The group has maintained it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.
Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will head all the three committees.
Names of senior party leaders Kharge, Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Mukul Wasnik and Kumari Selja are now also doing the rounds for the post.
Scindia alleged that the Congress had betrayed the people of the state with false promises to come to power.
Interacting with civil society members at the Bharat Jodo Yatra Conclave at the Constitution Club in New Delhi, Gandhi said the yatra is like tapasya for him, according to sources.
The politically crucial Malwa-Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh played a key role in propelling the Congress to power in 2018 after a gap of 15 years and the party is utilising the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra to strengthen its position in the belt a year ahead of the assembly polls.
Senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, in the race for the post of Congress president, not only possess contrasting demeanour but have had an equally disparate political journey.
The BJP said it will seek a floor test in the Madhya Pradesh assembly on March 16.
The toast of the Congress for their tenacity and the difficult choices they made to fulfil a five-month political commitment, their stories are many.
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