With Press Council chief Markandey Katju asking Maharashtra governor to pardon film star Sanjay Dutt in 1993 Mumbai blasts case, government on Friday indicated that the matter will be looked into and an "appropriate" decision taken once such a plea is made by the actor.
Agitated over its finding in the coal mine allocation issue, Congress on Monday targeted the Comptroller and Auditor General again by utilising the opinion of the Supreme Court on the 2G spectrum issue. Noting certain observations of the apex court in the 2G case, spokesperson Manish Tewari said, "If the Supreme Court can be so circumspect in its observations, is it not essential that other constitutional bodies, especially the CAG, should follow suit?".
The Opposition on Thursday protested the government's move to extend the tenures of the directors of Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate up to a maximum of five years from the present two years, alleging it was 'arbitrary' and without any logic.
Against the backdrop of J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah voicing anger over the hanging of Afzal Guru, Union Minister Manish Tewari on Monday said that there was need for being "circumspect and responsible" as delicate scrutiny was involved in such cases.
The Congress on Monday disapproved of the arrest of cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on the charge of sedition, saying the action was a bit "over-stretched" and "not called for". At the same time, the All India Congress Committee advocated for "reasonable restrictions" on freedom of speech and called for respecting the national emblems.
Reacting sharply to former Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal's allegation that the Central Bureau of Investigation raids on certain coal firms were staged, the Congress on Thursday demanded evidence from the anti-graft activist.
Congress on Tuesday downplayed the issue of United Progressive Alliance ally Trinamool absenting itself from both houses of Parliament as the government battled opposition over NCTC with the help of Samajawadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party which did the rescue act.
Condemning the attack on students at a home-stay in Mangalore allegedly by members of the Hindu Jagran Vedike, the Congress on Monday said intolerance and violence has been on the rise in Karnataka ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2008.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday traded barbs over the government's direct cash transfer scheme after the Election Commission sought a reply from the Centre on the timing of the announcement.
The Internal and external security agencies, Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing, should have professional and democratic framework that would enable the bodies to work more effectively, a draft report prepared by experts said.
The meeting comes ahead of the party's Punjab unit revamp and amid reports that Sidhu may get a key role in the organisation.
Gearing up for an Opposition attack over FDI during the upcoming Parliament session, the government on Friday asserted that it was ready to face any situation, including a no-confidence motion, even as it was reaching out to political parties to ensure passage of key bills
After the flop 2G spectrum auction that yielded only Rs 9,407 crore, government and the Congress on Thursday questioned the Comptroller and Auditor General's estimated loss of Rs.1.76 lakh crore in the spectrum allocation of 2001, drawing fire from the opposition. Information and Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari led the government attack by asking CAG Vinod Rai why the spectrum auction had not yielded anything close to the loss it had estimated.
Congress on Wednesday launched a fresh attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying the process by which the party top brass had given a clean chit to its President Nitin Gadkari was "strange" as the complainant and the judge belonged to the same side.
The Congress on Monday said there was "nothing unusual" in the Supreme Court's refusal to stay the Andhra Pradesh high court order quashing 4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities in central educational institutions. "I have not read the Supreme Court order. It asks the petitioner for more material. There is nothing unusual about it. Nothing much should be read into it," party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters.
Newly appointed Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Monday took charge of his ministry. After assuming charge, Tewari said he would try and evolve consensus on all contentious issues.
Though a first time Member of Parliament, All India Congress Committee spokesperson Manish Tewari has a long association of nearly 31 years with the Congress, since joining its youth wing in 1981. The 47-year-old leader was seen as a strong defence line of the Congress in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party's onslaught.
Despite allies striking discordant notes and virtually vetoing key decisions, Congress on Monday ruled out mid-term polls in the new year expressing confidence that it would find a middle ground through talks.
No one from the Gandhi family was present at the All India Congress Committee headquarters when the leaders filed their nominations for the election.
As controversies dogged Bharatiya Janata Party's national executive meeting in Mumbai, the Congress on Friday took a dig at the principal opposition terming it a "splintered and fractured" party .
Opposition members in the Lok Sabha on Monday blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government's policies for the price rise and accused it of ignoring the plight of common people, saying kitchens will soon "see a lockdown" if the Centre does not take corrective measures.
Amid growing street protest and unease in the party over the steep hike in petrol prices, Congress on Thursday hinted at a partial rollback as Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy cut short his Turkeministan visit and met Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel.
Congress has rejected demands for a probe against Robert Vadra, Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law, in the wake of allegation by civil society activists Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan that he was favoured by realty major DLF.
Unfazed by the united Opposition ranged against it on the FDI in retail issue, Congress on Wednesday declared that the government has the numbers in Parliament to face any adjournment motion, indicating that the allies Trinamool Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will be brought on board.
In a stinging attack on the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Congress on Monday alleged the government auditor was as much responsible as the Bharatiya Janata Party for the disruption of the just-concluded monsoon session of Parliament on the coal mine allocation issue.
The Congress on Tuesday said nobody should politicise the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in comments that came after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's remarks that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was indirectly behind it.
The central government on Monday issued a Gazette notification to extend the tenure of defence secretary, home secretary, director of Intelligence Bureau, and secretary of Research and Analysis Wing for a period of two years.
"He is our leader and we look forward to him leading us into battle in 2014," Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said on Sunday when asked about Rahul Gandhi's role in the next year's Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress on Friday said Team Anna's decision to launch a political party was a face- saver to end the fast as the issues raised by the activists were "completely hollow". "Both the issues at this point in time were completely hollow in substance because the Lokpal is before a Select Committee. The allegations were not backed by evidence," Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said.
Congress Member of Parliament Vijay Darda is not yet off the hook for his remarks purportedly in praise of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress on Tuesday said the row between Salman Khurshid and Election Commission on minority sub quota issue is over with the Law Minister writing a regret letter to poll panel.
The ambit of the G-23 grouping increased this time as some more leaders -- Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, former Gujarat chief minister Shankar Singh Vaghela, former union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and former Haryana speaker Kuldeep Sharma -- joined them.
Amid allegations and counter-allegations over the Comptroller and Auditor General's figure of presumptive losses in 2G allocation, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Saturday demanded that the CAG explain the issue to clear the air over the matter.
As Trinamool's bid to bring a no-confidence motion over FDI fizzled out in Lok Sabha, Union Minister Manish Tewari on Thursday took a dig at the former ally saying it was a 'peculiar' situation as a 19-member party was trying to decide the 'course of action' in the house.
Social Activist Anna Hazare hit back at Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari for making false allegations against him and challenged the government to register a First Information Report against him and investigate the claims made by Tewari at a press conference.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, who is an MP from Punjab, on Friday quoted from an affidavit filed by the Punjab government in court which said that 70 per cent of the youth in Punjab are on drugs of various kinds. It is the same Akali-BJP government, which filed the affidavit in the court.
Dubbing Ramdev and Anna Hazare as 'masks' of destabilising forces, the Congress on Tuesday alleged a conspiracy of national subversion has been undertaken jointly by the forces of right reaction and left anarchism.
Buoyed by the trial court verdict, Congress on Saturday said the matter regarding Home Minister P Chidambaram's alleged involvement in 2G scam should be allowed to rest and asked the BJP to apologise to the nation for the "vilification" campaign.
In a stepped-up attack on Anna Hazare and the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Congress on Monday dubbed the Gandhian as an "unelected dictator" who is reading the script of forces attempting to destabilise the country".
'When armies start attacking with clubs and batons, then at some point this can take an escalatory spiral and spin out of control.'
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