The Congress' central election authority on Thursday issued a notification for the All India Congress Committee president polls, setting the ball rolling for electing the successor to the longest-serving party chief Sonia Gandhi.
'If the Congress gets to form the government in 2024, then Sonia Gandhi by virtue of being CPP chairperson will have the authority to decide who will be the prime minister and not Kharge.'
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.
Congress on Saturday slammed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi saying his appearance before investigators probing 2002 riots has brought 'ill-repute' to the high office he holds, while the Bharatiya Janata Party dismissed suggestions that it was an embarrassment for the party.
"The Opposition should introspect before resorting to such political opportunism. They raised prices of petrol 21 times, that of diesel 24 times and that of liquefied petroleum gas five times when the National Democratic Alliance was in power," party spokesman Manish Tewari said.
In the wake of the killing of 24 EFR jawans by the Maoists in West Bengal, the Congress has asked the civil society to ostracise individuals and organisations providing legitimacy to and "romanticising" such violence and described them as Fifth Columnists.
The Congress has offered conditional support to the United Progreess Alliance government on its decision to "commence" dialogue with Pakistan stating that the party was not "completely satisfied" with the approach and attitude of the Pakistani government and mandating that it wanted "terror to remain at the centre of the dialogue".
Members in the Lok Sabha, including from ruling Congress, on Friday questioned the government's silence over reports that 33 soldiers had drifted away to Pakistan during last week's flash floods in Leh in Jammu and Kashmir.
Rejecting Pakistan's allegations over non-selection of its players in the Indian Premier League, the Congress on Friday asked the neighbouring country to understand the "deeper import" of the decision.
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The Congress on Friday accused Indian National Lok Dal president and former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala of trying to politicise Ruchika molestation case.
Amid controversy over leakage of the Liberhan Commission report, the Congress targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party saying the indictment of those responsible for the incident is very clear.
The death sentence to Ajmal Kasab for the 26/11 attacks was welcomed by political parties on Thursday with Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and Left maintaining that it should send a strong message in the fight against terrorism.
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.
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.
The Congress on Wednesday sought to give credit to president Sonia Gandhi for the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha. "We thank the media for acknowledging the personal stamp of Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the passage of the Bill," party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters in New Delhi. The party also expressed its gratitude to the opposition parties which helped in getting the Bill passed. Tewari said the bill was historic.
Vodafone Group Plc won the Indian cabinet's approval for its $1.6 billion deal to buy out minority partners in its unit in the country, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said on Thursday.
Asked about the Opposition demand for discussion under Rules 167 which entails voting, he said Parliament runs under well established rules and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister has already made clear that what the Opposition wants is not permissible under the rules.
Against the backdrop of the proposed Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan, Congress said on Monday that the dialogue process should be allowed to unfold.
No one from the Gandhi family was present at the All India Congress Committee headquarters when the leaders filed their nominations for the election.
The Congress attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party's post-poll alliance with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha on Saturday dubbing it as "the high point of unprincipled and unethical politics".
Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari, who is not contesting Lok Sabha polls as he is ailing, has been made acting in-charge of the AICC Communication department along with party spokesman Randeep Surjewala.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said during the 1962 war, then Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee demanded that a session of Parliament be convened to discuss it and then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru accepted his demand.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will head a six-member United Progressive Alliance -Samajwadi Party Coordination Committee. The committee has Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony as its members.The constitution of the Committee indicates that the SP, like the Left, would support the government from outside. The development also suggests that they would exert influence like that of the Left.
The Congress on Friday indicated that it will not seek any action against Telecom Minister A Raja after raids on the office of Department of Telecom (DoT) in connection with alleged irregularities in allocation of 2G spectrum to new players, saying the FIR only named officials.
Describing Pakistan as "Somalia of South Asia", Congress today said the terror attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore is a result of Pakistan's long-standing policy of ceding its territory to fundamentalists and the Taliban.
Describing the Bharatiya Janata Party as a defeated army with vanquished generals, the Congress on Monday said it was the only party of governance and that the people of Maharashtra would repose their faith in its coalition with the Nationalist Congress Party.
CBI judge Shiv Pal Singh directed senior RJD leaders Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Shivanand Tiwari and Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leader Manish Tewari to personally appear before the court on January 23.
"Does he (Amitabh) condemn the role of Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gujarat pogrom of 2002 or he endorses it?...What does he say about the Gujarat massacre and fake encounters that took place since Modi took over," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari asked at a briefingin New Delhi.
Amid media reports about conferment of Qatar nationality on noted painter M F Husain, the Congress on Thursday said if the artist chooses to return to India, it is government's responsibility to provide him full security.
The Congress today said the government will take appropriate action on the report of Liberhan Commission which probed the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. "The Commission has submitted its report. The government will now study the report and take appropriate action," party spokesman Manish Tewari told PTI.
The Congress today said the government will take appropriate action on the report of Liberhan Commission which probed the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. "The Commission has submitted its report. The government will now study the report and take appropriate action," party spokesman Manish Tewari told PTI.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party taking Jaswant Singh back into its fold, the Congress on Thursday said the opposition party should explain to the country whether it endorses his views on Pakistan founder M A Jinnah. "The BJP has become like a revolving door of a hotel. It throws out people outside at one time and brings them inside the next time," said party spokesman Manish Tewari. Tewari added that the BJP should give an explanation to the country on the issue.
The Congress today said there was no contradiction between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's suggestion for tougher anti-terror laws and Union Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi's remark that existing laws are sufficient to tackle the problem. Asked whether the statements by the two leaders ran counter to each other, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said "there is no contradiction and they are only parts of various suggestions to fight terror.
A day after a stormy Congress Working Committee meeting, Sibal made the remarks in a cryptic tweet.
Some senior Congress leaders, including Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor, met at their senior colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad's house in New Delhi on Monday evening after the Congress Working Committee debated their letter to the party's interim chief Sonia Gandhi seeking urgent organisational reforms.
"It is a good step though taken rather late. The opposition has been bringing out the phantom of Bofors from the cupboard and slaying it again and again for the last 23 years," party spokesperson Manish Tewari said.
Congress spokesman Manish Tewari has expressed concern about the agreement between Pakistan and Taliban about the implementation of Shariat laws in the Swat region. Tewari was speaking at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The Congress on Wednesday accused Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami of being favourable to the Bharatiya Janata Party and cited two incidents -- the CD case and distribution of sarees during a rally -- to buttress its point. "For three years, the BJP has accused Election Commissioner Navin Chawla of supporting the Congress. The Congress has rejected it several times. Now, we would like to point out how the CEC has been favourable to the BJP," said a Cong leader.
Talking to rediff.com from Jammu, Abdullah said that this was a remote possibility unless the Congress decides to rig the elections. "The United Progressive Alliance government had assured us that it would hold free and fair elections which is the right of the people. If this is denied to the electorate then the government is going back on its words," he said.
