The BJP may be ready and waiting to pounce on another key state of the Hindi heartland, but it is the Congress's holy trinity that issued them an invitation to the beheading, notes Sunil Sethi.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were on Tuesday stopped by police from entering Meerut on their way to meet the families of those who died during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other senior party leaders, including All India Congress Committee general secretary Avinash Pande and spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, also moved to Jaisalmer along with the MLAs in five chartered flights.
Scindia's departure from the Congress also raises question marks about delayed decision-making and status quo in the Congress.
The apex court, in a plethora of verdicts, has given varying judicial opinions on Speakers' powers ranging from refusing to intervene in the matter to assuming the role of the Speaker itself and going to the extent of disqualifying lawmakers under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
Countering the opposition claim that farmers across the country are agitated over the three new laws, he said that those in just one state are being misinformed and instigated.
'Sachin Pilot has revived the Congress.' 'What goes in favour of Ashok Gehlot is experience.'
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of indulging in "shout and scream" practices to disrupt Parliament, Union Minister Sachin Pilot has said government is more than willing to "walk the half way" to debate issues raised by the opposition.
Owaisi's five seats in Bihar's Muslim-majority Seemanchal region ought to ring alarm bells, observes Virendra Kapoor.
'I realised what a great leader he was by the way he took decisions to undertake the most-risky of missions.'
Surjewala said the party's 10-day agitation was formalised at a meeting in which Rahul Gandhi participated in, but neither he nor Sonia Gandhi would be participating in the state and district level programmes.
Congress sources also said speculation that Motilal Vora would be appointed as interim party president are incorrect.
'We have to work for our victories.' 'We have to offer a better alternative governance model.' 'Not just criticise the current government.' 'You have to build bridges, learn from what has gone wrong and create a party for all people.'
While some in the Congress were apprehensive that land grab allegations against her husband Robert Vadra could turn out to be Priyanka's Achilles heel, much of the BJP leadership opted not to bring up the issue at the current juncture.
Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi however failed to get any interim relief on his plea alleging that the high court cannot interdict the disqualification proceedings undertaken by him under 10th schedule of the Constitution.
Governments in most of the world saw their approval ratings dip as they struggled to contain the raging virus, which hit economy hard everywhere, but Indian politics followed a different script, with the outgoing year marking further shrinking of a rudderless Congress while the ruling BJP soared riding on Modi's enduring appeal.
In some ways, Jyotiraditya parting ways with the Gandhis was similar to the saga of the Gandhis and the Bachchans, largely a story of friendship that turned sour. A fascinating excerpt from Rasheed Kidwai's The House Of Scindias: A Saga Of Power, Politics And Intrigue.
However, Jaitley's son-in-law had earlier issued a statement stating that his law firm had returned the retainership the moment they came to know that the company was involved in a scam.
Congress members don't want Rahul Gandhi back as party chief. But the problem is that Sonia Gandhi won't have anyone other than her son to take over the Family Firm, notes Virendra Kapoor.
'It can be said without hesitation that Rahul, Priyanka and Sonia Gandhi enjoy perfect relations of mother-daughter-son all together in the family.' 'But their worldview is different and their style of functioning is different and their favourites in the party are different people.'
'As long as a Hindu rashtra is not formalised, one can live in hope,' says Amulya Ganguli.
Former Indian cricket team captain Mohammad Azharuddin, who is contenting the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Rajasthan's Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, was on Sunday accompanied by his wife and former Bollywood actress Sangeeta Bijlani.
The mortal remains of former Union Minister Arun Nehru, who died in News Delhi on Thursday night, were consigned to flames on Friday in the presence of his relatives, including family of his cousin Rajiv Gandhi, and a host of leaders.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other political leaders across the country on Wednesday mourned the demise of actor Irrfan Khan, calling him a 'rare talent' who will be greatly missed.
Gandhi, on the other hand, has also reached out directly to the party workers in the three states to know their top choice for the chief minister post through an internal mobile messaging app, party leaders said.
Sticking to the demand for the sacking of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje over 'Lalitgate', Rajasthan Congress on Friday submitted a memorandum to Governor Kalyan Singh charging that her position has become "untenable" in view of the controversy.
'The stimulus packages, sector reliefs, loans etc are coming to industry, but state governments have not got any money from GST, no money from excise, no money from any income source.'
'In spirit, and more importantly in its DNA, this is the Congress Inc, or Incorporated, a family-run entity,' notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Gehlot said the CAA is against the Constitution and divides people in the name of religion.
The Congress seems to have learned nothing from its defeats. At a time when its supporters worry that the idea of India is under attack, the party is still preoccupied with its own battles, notes Vir Sanghvi.
The National Democratic Alliance government will completely review the security provided to more than 150 VIPs by the previous United Progressive Alliance regime following completion of the upcoming budget session of Parliament.
A senior official said that Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje gave the direction in this regard to the home department yesterday following which remarks of the director general of police were sought on Wednesday.
The people suspected that Khan was smuggling cows but the allegation is yet to be verified, police said.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who have extended support to the Congress to form the government in the state, were not present.
'Anti-incumbency against sitting MPs and the government is a big issue here. We will win all seats in Mumbai'
All India Congress Committee General Secretary Gurudas Kamat on Saturday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the alleged money deals worth crores of rupees between Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, her MP son Dushyant Singh and the tainted former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi.
At places in the border districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer, people walked miles through the desert to cast their votes.
"Rahul Gandhi is a traitor; such a traitor should be punished and should be hanged ...and shot," said BJP MLA from Baytoo in Barmer Kailash Choudhary.
The Congress, who has presently become a "leaderless" party, has also been facing multiple shocks at the state levels.
The erstwhile royal family of Jaipur on Thursday took its battle with Jaipur Development Authority over Raj Mahal Palace to the streets with 'Rajamata' Padmini Devi taking out a rally in which scores of her supporters participated.
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