The Congress will not participate in the exit poll programmes scheduled to be telecast by several news channels on Monday evening.
The Congress on Friday criticised L K Advani for describing Manmohan Singh as the "weakest" prime minister and said the Bharatiya Janata Party leader's Jan Chetna Yatra was "a ploy" to keep himself in "national politics and power".
Apparently under pressure from Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, Congress on Thursday asked its candidate Abdul Mannan to withdraw from the Rajya Sabha elections in West Bengal.
A day after the Congress sought to reach out to its allies, party general secretary M Shakeel Ahmed on Saturday called on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to discuss 'things important to the state and general national scenario'. Emerging from a meeting with Banerjee, which lasted for about 45 minutes, Ahmed told reporters, "It is a courtesy call. We discussed things which are important to West Bengal and the general national scenario."
Congress President Sonia Gandhi will not be attending the swearing-in of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee as West Bengal Chief Minister in Kolkata on Friday.
Undeterred by the controversy surrounding its seat sharing talks with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, the Congress has begun moves for an 'honourable alliance' with the Trinamool Congress in poll-bound West Bengal.
Congress on Saturday doubted the veracity of a 'WikiLeaks' cable, which said that a section of the party leadership was seen playing religious politics after one of its leaders, A R Antulay, raised suspicion on the truth behind Anit-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare's killing during 26/11 attacks.
Striking a strident note, the Congress has renewed its attack on the Sangh Parivar asking the government to take strong and tough action against them, in the wake of a top Sangh functionary Swami Aseemanand admitting that he and his colleagues were involved in the Samjhauta Express blasts.
Main opposition in Bihar, Rashtriya Janata Dal, on Tuesday accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of implementing a "secret agenda" of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha by "cheating and befooling" Muslims in the state.
The Congress virtually gagged its Maharashtra leaders on the issue of the housing society scam, in which Chief Minister Ashok Chavan is under scanner.
Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha, who was a minister himself in the previous National Democratic Alliance government, was visibly shaken at the disdain shown towards the Chair by Samrat Chaudhary who holds the Panchayati Raj portfolio.
Senior Congress leaders from Haryana have asked for the resignation of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda before the assembly elections in the state slated to be held by October this year.
The Congress indicated on Friday that it might seek President's Rule in Jharkhand if the "standstill" over government formation continued there without any solution.
The Congress on Friday downplayed the issue of the government tapping the phones of several politicians, including those in power, and said it is for the government to explain. However, the party admitted that illegal phone tapping was unjustified. "Illegal phone tapping is unjustified but in this case, it is for the government to explain whether phone tapping was done or not or whether it was legal or not," party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said.
The Congress rejected as absurd the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand that Union Minister Shashi Tharoor be sacked over the IPL controversy and said it was up to the cricket board to decide on allegations of impropriety over his role in the Kochi IPL team.
A clear indication to this effect was given by senior Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed, who is in charge of the party affairs in West Bengal. "We are preparing three lists -- for 64 seats, 90 seats and all 294 seats... As a political party must have candidates for all seats," Ahmed told reporters in Kolkata
Congress on Thursday dubbed as 'vulgar display of money' in politics the garlanding of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati with currency notes.
The Congress on Tuesday distanced itself from senior party leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's remarks that he would be "unhappy" if the Commonwealth Games was a success and that only "evil" will patronise such events.
The Congress on Tuesday sought to downplay the tough stand adopted by the Nationalist Congress Party in the distribution of key portfolios in Maharashtra, saying there was no problem with its alliance partner.
The Congress dubbed the latest Twitter remark by Union Minister Shashi Tharoor as his "personal view". Tharoor had remarked on microblogsite 'Twitter' that people should work rather than enjoy a holiday on Mahatma Gandhi's birthday.
The Congress on Thursday took a jibe at Bharatiya Janata Party leaders for singing songs during a cultural evening after their national executive in Indore, saying they have "no serious job left". "They are doing it because they is no serious job left for them to do now. But there is nothing wrong if they are engaged in entertainment. For some time at least, they are not busy in dividing people in the name of religion," party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said.
The Congress on Tuesday remained undecided whether to go it alone in poll-bound Jharkhand or tie up with regional parties.
There's a quiet before the storm within the ruling party. Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com.
"In a country of 800 million voters how can few lakh sample size surveys predict the result? Let's wait for May 16 (when votes will be counted)," Congress leader Digvijay Singh tweeted in the morning.
The Congress on Monday refused to read any political overtures in the meeting between its ally Nationalist Congress Party's chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray in Mumbai, saying it was to ensure the conduct of a hassle-free IPL. Asked whether Pawar's meeting with Thackeray was a snub to the Congress, party spokesperson Abhishekh Manu Singhvi said, "Pawar has met Thackeray to prevent the politics of disruption in cricketing matters."
Against the backdrop of US-based hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal getting a Padma Bhushan, the Congress on Tuesday said these awards should be given to people who enhance its prestige and not to those with a "taint".
First Additional District and Sessions Court Judge V G Bopaiah passed the order when nine of the 16 were produced in the Hubli court. The nine who were produced before the judge were: Asadulla Abubaker, Shakeel Ahmed Mali, Allabakhsh Yadawad, Yaha Kammukutti, Syed Sadiq, Mohammad Yasin, Mohammad Ansar, Muroz alias Mulla and P A Shaduli.
Prachanda will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday, particularly reviewing the 1950 bilateral Trade and Transit Treaty, which the Nepalese leader wants to be replaced by a new one.
With most United Progressive Alliance constituents disfavouring early polls, Congress on Friday said it wants to take the Left allies along while pushing the Indo-US nuclear deal and that there would be "no loss of face" if the agreement fails.
Playing down the fresh ultimatum from Communist Party of India-Marxist to end negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the Indo-US nuclear deal by this month-end or risk early polls, Congress on Monday noted that the talks could even be over by the year-end.
A day after External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the days are not far off for the young leader to follow the footsteps of his father to become the prime minister, Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told media persons in New Delhi, "It is true that Rahul Gandhi has all the qualifications, which are necessary to lead the country. All feel that way. But he (Rahul) has to decide on when and how (to take on the leadership mantle)."
After scotching speculation that Rahul Gandhi may be its prime ministerial candidate, the Congress on Wednesday remained non-committal on whether or not the young leader would don this role in the next Lok Sabha elections, saying no one knows what is in store in the future.
The department of post is planning to offer banking services by starting a full-fledged bank, to be named Post Bank of India.
In a unique attempt to promote his new film, Welcome To Sajjanpur, Shreyas Talpade visited Mumbai's General Post Office and met some letter-writers.
Minister of State for Home Affairs and Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said the general view in the Congress party is that BJP leader Sushma Swaraj should be tried for treason for alleging that the "Centre has role in the blasts in Karnataka and Ahmedabad".
Those who were held guilty included Safdar Nagori, Javed Ahmed and Atikur Rehman. Among those acquitted were Mohammad Irfan, Nasir Ahmad and Shakeel Ahmed.
The Congress on Monday emphasised once again that the United Progressive Alliance was not scrapping the India-United States nuclear agreement right now and said that it was making efforts to allay the apprehensions of the Left allies over the agreement. "There is no backing off right now," said All India Congress Committee spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed. He was responding to questions on whether the Indo-US nuclear deal had been put on hold in view of the opposition.
To check cyber crimes like publishing sexually explicit material in electronic form, government introduced a Bill in Lok Sabha on Friday to amend the IT Act to enable service providers to set up and maintain e-signature facilities.
APCC president Ripun Bora said following discussions with various parties, it has been decided that the Congress will join hands with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist and the Anchalik Gana Morcha.
Prices of computers and charges for Internet connections may be reduced soon, Union Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology, Shakeel Ahmed said on Tuesday.
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