The opposition party is set to stage protests across the country against the questioning of its chief and has slammed the agency's action against its top leadership as "political vendetta".
The party was trounced in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and is now left with only Himachal Pradesh in the north. It is ruling in only three states on its own and is in power in Bihar and Jharkhand as a junior partner in alliance with regional parties.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday embarked on the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Thoubal in Manipur with a promise to bring peace and harmony in the ethnic violence-hit state.
As the Congress batted for a national caste census with an assertion that rights should be proportionate to population, its senior leader Abhishek Singhvi on Tuesday created a flutter by saying "it will eventually culminate into majoritarianism", a remark he later withdrew from social media and blaming it on his staff.
Consensus emerged on the appointment of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as the chairperson of the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), while Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar's name was proposed for the convener's post, pending approval of parties absent at the alliance meeting on Saturday, according to sources.
Pandian joined the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) in 2011, and since then, he has been Patnaik's private secretary.
Congress leader and All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala said on Sunday that the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) has unanimously passed the resolution and the observers will seek the opinions of all MLAs and convey it to the party high command.
The Congress' chief whip Jairam Ramesh, said, 'Today, too, the INDIA parties demanded the prime minister's presence in the Rajya Sabha to make a statement on Manipur, to be followed by a discussion.'
The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) on Thursday trained its guns on the Adani Group, alleging hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in publicly traded group stocks through Mauritius-based 'opaque' investment funds managed by partners of promoter family, charges the conglomerate denied vehemently.
"The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country's indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential," he said.
Amid his power tussle with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Pilot has announced that he will be among the people and Congress workers in various districts of Rajasthan between January 16 and 20.
The plenary session in Chhattisgarh's Nava Raipur will start from February 24 and is expected to be attended by around 15,000 delegates.
From issuing whips to arranging ambulances for their ailing leaders, opposition parties from the newly-formed Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc are making all-out efforts to ensure that they get 100 per cent attendance of their MPs in the Rajya Sabha to give the Bharatiya Janata Party a tough fight on the Delhi services bill next week.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a veiled dig at Azad who was conferred with the award.
...why are the government is running away from a Joint Parliamentary Committee
Mamata asserted that she has not spoken to anyone in the Congress on seat-sharing in the state for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
If they will allow I will speak inside the parliament, the Wayanad MP said.
The Congress, however, distanced itself from the statement made at the party's 'Satyagraha' protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against the Centre's Agnipath scheme, saying it does not endorse any indecent remarks against the prime minister.
The unusual timing of the session has left everyone wondering, even though the main standout feature on the listed agenda is a special discussion on Parliament's journey of 75 years starting from the "Samvidhan Sabha" (Constituent Assembly).
According to sources, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Anand Sharma and Jairam Ramesh reached out to other Opposition leaders for the boycott of the event.
The RSS, the political fountainhead of the ruling BJP, has been criticised by the Congress and other Opposition over its stand on the national flag.
The Opposition party said that Prime Minister Modi congratulating Eshwarappa for not rebelling despite not being given a poll ticket "is unacceptable".
The controversy over a Trinamool Congress member of Parliament mimicking Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar took political centrestage on Wednesday with the issue playing out both inside and outside Parliament and President Droupadi Murmu joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi in expressing dismay.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said the Congress and other opposition parties have brought the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government in the Lok Sabha at a 'wrong time and in a wrong manner'.
Ramesh said the local leadership and admitted there were shortcomings in the party's campaign there.
"Vishguru's latest salvo - D(h)arna Mana Hai!," Jairam Ramesh said.
The bill to amend the IIM Act of 2017 was introduced in the Lok Sabha last Friday amid disruptions by opposition members over the Manipur violence issue.
In a memorandum submitted to Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey, the 21 opposition MPs who signed the document demanded urgent rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected people to bring peace and harmony to the state.
Gandhi said the prime minister did not answer the questions he had posed to him.
'Entire process of meeting individual legislators of Congress party has been completed with great bohemia.'
The session is likely to see the proceedings of Parliament move from the old building to the new Parliament building.
Leaders of 38 parties have confirmed their participation in a meeting of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to be held in the national capital on Tuesday, Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda said.
Kharge said the BJP made all efforts to get him disqualified as he was speaking the truth.
He said Congress leaders had raised questions about the surgical strikes soon after the Indian Air Force said it hit terror camps in Balakot in Pakistan in retaliation to the Pulwama terror attack.
Union minister Smriti Irani reacted furiously to the Congress leader's barb at the prime minister over the Rafale purchase and the tense situation in Manipur.
Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on Friday visited Bastar in Chhattisgarh to understand the implementation of rural development schemes in the area.
The Union government on Tuesday gave formal clearance to upgrade 2,803 km of roads in Gujarat at a cost of Rs 992 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
This is the fifth consecutive day that the Parliament has been adjourned without transacting any business since the second part of the Budget session began on Monday due to uproarious scenes in the House.
Actor and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan said she was happy that the House was discussing the most important ambassadors of the country, the film fraternity.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday linked Congress leaders' protest in black clothes over the issues of price rise and unemployment to the party's "appeasement" politics to convey its opposition to the Ram temple foundation laying by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this day in 2020.
