The Congress is all set to kickstart its campaign for the next year's Lok Sabha elections with its mega rally 'Hain Tayyar Hum' to be held in Maharashtra's Nagpur city on Thursday, the party's 139th foundation day.
Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said that Mukherjee, in his speech at RSS headquarter in Nagpur, reminded them of India's pluralism, tolerance, secularism and inclusiveness.
The INDIA bloc in Bihar has announced Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate, signaling a united front after weeks of internal disagreements. The move aims to challenge the incumbent NDA government, with both sides engaging in political maneuvering and accusations.
Noting Modi's "Har Ghar Tiranga" campaign, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X what he said is a "short history of the RSS's relationship with the Tiranga".
A simulated security scare situation was created wherein four "terrorists" entered the RSS building, the official said late night.
The election took place at the two-day annual meeting of the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the Sangh's highest decision-making body that began here on Friday.
Senior BJP leader L K Advani today met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and discussed in detail the reasons behind the party's defeat in Lok Sabha elections and strategies for its revival.
The Bharat Mata controversy in Kerala shows how political and symbolic fights between the state and the Centre have taken attention away from education, throwing the state's oldest university into confusion and disorder, observes Shyam G Menon.
Pingle, who hailed from Nagpur, had worked closely with RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar.
Former Union minister C K Jaffer Shareif, in a letter to Mukherjee, expressed surprise over the move and said he like other secular people was 'stunned' to hear about his attending the RSS function.
Former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief K S Sudarshan died in Raipur, Chhattisgarh on Saturday after suffering a heart attack.
According to insiders, their lack of enthusiasm is showing on the ground. There is nothing to suggest that their enthusiasm will return in the final four phases of polling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Maharashtrians are facing a dual battle -- numerical battle with North Indians and financial battle with Gujaratis and Marwaris.' 'This has created anxiety about survival and ownership over Mumbai and Maharashtra.'
Leaders of the Sangh Parivar and the BJP met in Delhi on Thursday morning to sort out the differences.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday met Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh top brass, including its chief Mohan Bhagwat, but brushed aside suggestions that the issue of projecting him as prime ministerial candidate for 2014 general elections was discussed.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said his party was fighting the 'Bharatiya Janata Party, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Indian state itself', triggering a row with the BJP alleging that everything the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha does or says is in the direction of breaking India and dividing the society.
"In India, we derive our strength from tolerance, and respect our pluralism. We celebrate our diversity," he said.
Launching a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party in light of its high-profile leaders visiting the RSS headquarters in Nagpur of late, Congress today said the saffron party was working as a "call centre" of RSS to hardsell "product" Narendra Modi ahead of 2014 elections.
'It is our right to not go there and pay a visit. It is the prerogative of every party on whether to visit a particular place or not'
He arrived at the RSS headquarters in Mahal area in Nagpur around 9.25 pm and left after one and a half hours.
Seshadri's book holds Patel and Nehru responsible for partition, which is what Jaswant Singh has done in his book, Jinnah: India, Independence, Partition. And since both the books come to the same conclusion, people argued that the Gujarat Government should ban Seshadri's book as well.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the arrest of Kurulkar is a "very serious matter" and alleged that it exposes the "anti-national face" of the RSS.
'For the last 10 years the Congress made the RSS an idea of intolerance, anti-minority, especially anti-Muslim, and an idea of fascism.' 'That has been demolished now by Pranab Mukherjee.'
The Nagpur Anti Terrorism Squad unit has arrested a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist from Jammu and Kashmir who had allegedly conducted a recce of Dr Hedgewar Smriti Bhawan of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur, Maharashtra, last year, an official said on Wednesday.
Speaking at an event in Nagpur, he also said the 'Akhand Bharat' or undivided India will become a reality before today's youngsters become old, as those who separated from India in 1947 are now feeling that they made a mistake.
They were convicted under various sections of TADA and IPC.
Madhya Pradesh Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Shah has sparked a major controversy with objectionable comments that appeared to be directed at Colonel Sofia Qureshi, whom he tried to project as a 'sister of terrorists'.
'Mohan Bhagwat's reaffirmation of the RSS's Hindu rashtra ideal has shown that nothing has changed, that it remains firmly rooted in its fundamental beliefs, that the willingness to listen to voices from outside its fold was a pretence about being openminded,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi held a closed-door meeting with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat and General Secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi, his first interaction with the top Sangh leadership after his elevation in the Bharatiya Janata Party.
A delegation of Congress leaders met EC officials and raised several issues, including the use of pictures and large cut-outs of the prime minister in government buildings and colleges and demanded that those be removed to maintain a level-playing field in the upcoming parliamentary election.
The BJP has lauded the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, as a testament to "New India's" zero-tolerance stance against terrorism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, the Congress has countered the claim, stating that the extradition was the result of diplomatic efforts initiated during the UPA government's tenure. The BJP highlighted Rana's return as a tribute to security personnel who lost their lives fighting Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and a step towards justice for victims of the attack. The Congress, however, asserted that the Modi government did not initiate the extradition process but benefited from the UPA's groundwork. The exchange of accusations has added a political dimension to Rana's extradition, with both parties vying for credit for the development.
The RSS has accused CPI-M workers of 'carrying out' the attack.
The birth anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, whose political influence has surged with the passage of time, on Monday was marked by bitter trading of charges between the ruling BJP and opposition parties as they fought for his legacy.
Sharmistha Mukherjee disapproved of his decision, saying he was giving the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sangh a handle to plant false stories, as his 'speech will be forgotten' but the 'visuals will remain'.
Indications that Gandhi could be invited came on a day the RSS criticised him for drawing parallels between the Sangh and Islamic radical outfit Muslim Brotherhood.
To me he always symbolised the sincere, confident, face of a Bharat whose rise is unstoppable. Ratan Tata was a Rishi who was unquestioningly trusted by people who never saw him and never met him, asserts Tarun Vijay, the former BJP MP.
Hailing the Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi assembly polls victory as 'historic', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a stinging attack on the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress, saying the country needs a serious political transformation and not politics of 'dhoort-ta (deceit) and moorkhta (foolishness)'.
The Sena leader further said the RSS's agenda behind inviting Mukherjee as the chief guest to one of its event, held in Nagpur on June 7, would only be clear after the 2019 general elections.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh office, Keshav Kunj, was abuzz with activity on Sunday as Bharatiya Janata Party leaders kept visiting it ahead of government formation under leadership of Narendra Modi.
Rahul Gandhi made the statement on January 15, 2025, during the inauguration of the Congress Party's new headquarters at Kotla Road in Delhi.
