The letter was not a challenge to leadership but a parchment of action to strengthen the party, Congress MP Vivek Tankha asserted, while former union minister Mukul Wasnik said those who saw the letter as an "offence" will also soon realise that the issues raised are worth consideration.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at pre-election promises to reduce power and water bills, saying he wondered how such promises could be made in states which were dependent on electricity from outside.
US President Barack Obama, who visited India in January, in his speech on Thursday referred to violence against followers of various religions in India in the past few years.
As the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party battle it out over the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Information and Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari hit out at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying the United Progressive Alliance's record in issuing advertisements to commemorate Patel was far better than that of its rival National Democratic Alliance.
A court asked for further investigation into an illegal coalfield allocation case involving Hindalco Industries on Tuesday, rejecting an earlier report from the CBI that said the probe was likely to be closed.
Congress on Tuesday said that the Supreme Court order on the black money issue has exposed the Centre's "lame excuses" by directing it to disclose to it by Wednesday the names of all those who have black money stashed abroad.
The Congress on Friday claimed that that "vitriolic tirade" against RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan by Subramanian Swamy has the "full backing" of NDA government and Bharatiya Janata Party.
"I would not react on what is the popularity measure of any other leader (Narendra Modi), but I assure you whenever Congress does a rally whether by party President Sonia Gandhi, party Vice President Rahul Gandhi, or the Prime Minister, we will not charge Rs 5," the Union Finance Minister said in Jaipur.
Declaration of Rahul Gandhi as prime ministerial candidate cannot be ruled out, Congress hinted on Monday in the backdrop of conflicting statements from party leaders including Digvijay Singh.
Congress charged that there has been a rise in communal incidents in the country during the National Democratic Alliance coalition's first 100 days in power even as it questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" over the matter.
The Centre's move to celebrate Teachers' Day as 'Guru Utsav' and the planned interaction of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi with school children on that day have kicked up a controversy with opposition Congress and others, including Bharatiya Janata Party allies Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Pattali Makkal Katchi, slamming the government.
The prime minister also said the government has offered to discuss clause by clause of the three farm laws and if there are any shortcomings it was ready to make changes.
'Dear PM, INC supports the salary cut for MPs. Please note that MPLAD is meant to execute developmental works in the constituency. Suspending it is a huge disservice to the constituents and will undermine the role and functions of MP,' Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said on Twitter.
In his first media interaction after assuming the position of the CDS, Rawat also said that his focus as the CDS will be to integrate the efforts of the three services and to work as a team.
'We demand immediate release of all public representatives of mainstream political parties and innocent citizens,' the resolution said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday expressed "delight" at the decision of Nawaz Sharif to attend the oath taking ceremony of Narendra Modi as the prime minister while the Congress asked the new government to raise issues such as cross-border terrorism, slow pace of trial of 26/11 attacks and handing over of Dawood Ibrahim with the Pakistan premier.
The Congress has launched an offensive against the Bharatiya Janata Party government over the Rafale deal, alleging corruption and violation of rules by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded answers from him.
The Opposition on Tuesday slammed Minister of State for External Affairs General (retd) V K Singh for his tweets of 'duty' and 'disgust' after attending the Pakistan Day celebrations in New Delhi.
He said the migrants and poor people had great expectations after the prime minister's address to the nation, but sadly...
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been made the Chairperson of the party's 50-member Campaign Committee for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in which Rahul Gandhi will be the Co-Chairman, the party announced on Tuesday night.
Tewari said BJP's Hindu-Muslim and India-Pakistan rhetoric is the only way for the ruling party to cover up for its failure in improving the economy of the country which is in a shambles right now due to its policies.
A row erupted over a Republic Day advertisement issued by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry which carried a picture of the Preamble to the Constitution as it appeared before the 42nd Amendment, without the words 'secular' and 'socialist'.
The government on Thursday approved a proposal for sending a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court for conducting a probe into an allegation of sexual harassment against retired apex court judge A K Ganguly.
The party also made it clear that no one will be permitted to undermine or weaken the party and its leadership. The CWC also resolved that inner-party issues cannot be deliberated through the media or in public fora and all such issues must be raised within the party 'in the interest of propriety and discipline'.
Launching a fresh attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Gujarat snooping row, Congress leader Manish Tewari on Monday asked why no private security officer was provided if the woman in question was being protected at her father's behest.
The Congress, Left parties, Trinamool Congress and some others were in the forefront of this attack on the government, which is set to garner around Rs 7,900 crore through the decision.
The nation on Friday remembered former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 30th death anniversary with President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari and other leaders paying tributes to her.
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The ministry's move to intervene in the matter comes 20 days before implementation, after broadcasters complained they would suffer huge loss because digitisation was still in the first phase across the country.
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Controversial Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Legislative Assembly Sangeet Som, an accused in Muzaffarnagar riots, has been accorded Z category security by the Centre, a move that came under scathing attack from Opposition on Tuesday which termed it as a "license for killing" and a cruel joke with the victims.
Congress slammed former Comptroller Auditor General Vinod Rai for his claim that he was pressurised to drop names of those involved in scams during the United Progressive Alliance regime, saying "sensationalizing" things has been his staple.
Congress attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for delivering a "zero effect" speech and getting bogged down in "pedestrian issues" on Independence Day, saying it had "no new ideas, no new schemes, and no new initiatives".
The Punjab government has refused to pay a bill of Rs 6.35 crore to the Center for deployment of paramilitary forces during and after the terror attack at Pathankot air force base.
'The minority community has been used only for political gains.'
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Thursday refused to react to R K Singh's allegations against him, saying he no longer considered the retired bureaucrat as being a former home secretary but saw him as a politician and Bharatiya Janayt Party man.
Congress on Friday termed as "disgusting" and "petty-minded" the way the Narendra Modi government marked the death anniversary of Indira Gandhi while the ruling BJP wondered if that party prefers to see history through the "perspective" of Nehru-Gandhi family.
The people of Delhi are the victims, Gandhi alleged.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday came under attack from political parties for his controversial remarks that India is a Hindu nation and Hindutva is its identity.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday came in for flak from non-Bharatiya Janata Party parties for his suggestion that all Hindustanis are Hindus with many leaders wondering if he has read the Constitution and really believes in it.
Union Minister Manish Tewari made a strong pitch to take forward the "secular agenda", asking spokespersons to talk strongly on issues related to communalism. The Congress has been gearing up to tone up its media strategy ahead of the next general elections.
The government has ruled out amending the RTI Act to give immunity to political parties from providing information after the recent CIC's landmark order brought them under the ambit of the transparency law.
