Maharashtra Revenue Minister Narayan Rane on Friday lashed out at the Congress leadership, after state Industry Minister Ashok Chavan beat him to the chief minister's post."Chavan cannot handle even his ministry. He can't be my competitor for the CM's post, he said, adding that he was opting out of the chief ministerial race.Rane, a well-known detractor of former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, also accused the Congress high command of reneging on its promise.
Sonia's possible visit assumes significance as it comes ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had been "defanged" by the Congress party in his second term with Sonia Gandhi deciding on key appointments to the Cabinet and to the PMO as he seemed to "surrender" to her and to the United Progressive Alliance constituents.
According to our Delhi correspondent, following the fallout with the Dravida Munetra Kazhagam, Congress president Sonia Gandhi told outgoing Fertiliser Minister M K Alagiri that she was taken by surprise after the DMK withdrew support from the United Progressive Alliance chairperson.
The BJP has criticised the Congress party for allegedly prioritising its vote bank and outdated ideologies over India's national interest and citizen safety in its foreign policy approach towards Iran.
"Rae Bareli and Amethi were the 'karma bhoomi' of Feroze Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. It is also the 'karma bhoomi' of mine and Rahul. Rae Bareli and Amethi are like my home. I want to ask, can anyone prevent me from coming to my home? No one can," she said in a brief interaction with reporters near the railway station in Lalganj, about 20 km away.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday left for the US for medical check-up.
The CBI will challenge the suspension of life sentence and bail granted to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case in the Supreme Court. The decision follows a Delhi High Court order suspending Sengar's sentence. Rahul Gandhi has criticized the decision and met with the survivor.
A bench headed by Justice A R Dave said a seven-judge Constitution bench was already hearing a matter on a similar issue and therefore it will not be appropriate to take a view in this matter now.
The Congress is holding a 3-day conclave in Shimla as part of preparations for the November assembly polls and next year's general election.
Rahul Gandhi hosted the India blind women's cricket team to celebrate their triumph in the T20 World Cup.
'Narendra Modi -- a man with deep and vital experience of Indian politics -- has seen the BJP lose many elections between 1975 and 2015, and with every defeat, he learned lessons that made sure he would never allow his party to be defeated so easily again.'
The Lok Sabha witnessed a heated debate between BJP and Congress members regarding the handling of Naxalism, with the BJP accusing the previous UPA government of failing to contain left-wing extremism and the Congress defending its efforts to curb the threat.
Gandhi said the budgetary cuts were weakening the legal guarantee of timely payment and employment. She noted that the Supreme Court had likened the delay in MGNREGA payments with forced labour.
He also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" on the issue.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi jokingly mentioned ongoing discussions with RJD president Lalu Prasad regarding marriage, following a suggestion from Prasad's son to Union Minister Chirag Paswan.
Addressing the party's mega "Bharat Bachao Rally" (Save India) at Ramlila Maidan, she also targeted the government over the economic situation and exhorted people to raise their voice to protect the country and its Constitution.
Objections were being raised by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh, Communist Party of India's Gurudas Dasgupta, Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool Congress) and Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy over the deal, each of whom had shot off separate letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others on charges of money laundering in the National Herald case. The chargesheet, filed on April 9, names Congress leaders Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey as accused persons. The case pertains to the alleged fraudulent takeover of properties valued over Rs 2,000 crore belonging to the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald news platform. The ED alleges that Young Indian, a private company "beneficially owned" by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, "acquired" AJL properties for a mere Rs 50 lakh, significantly undervaluing its worth. The case has been transferred to Special Judge Vishal Gogne's court for further proceedings.
A delegation of Muslim leaders led by Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari met Congress President Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi during which she asked them to ensure that secular votes did not split in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday urged all political parties, including the Congress, to unite against anti-India forces, and raise their voice if they find their leaders working against the country's interest.
A Delhi court has ordered the confiscation of several properties belonging to UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, following his declaration as a fugitive in a money laundering case.
"Notwithstanding my personal anguish, I hope this will not cause any damage to the hard-earned peace and development in the state," Singh wrote in his letter to Gandhi
The letter, drawn on her official letterhead, is addressed to Muslim leaders all over UP
Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders of Young Indian with 38 per cent shares held by each one of them. They were questioned for hours by the ED in this case a few years back.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'chaiwala' narrative, leading to a sharp response from the BJP.
United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and India-origin PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi figure among the top 10 in the global list of most powerful women, in the league of leaders like Angela Merkel, Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla criticized former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's remarks about the Waqf (Amendment) Bill being "bulldozed through" the Lower House. Birla said a senior member casting aspersions on the House proceedings was "most unfortunate" and against the dignity of parliamentary democracy. He pointed out that the bill was debated for 13 hours and 53 minutes with several members participating and was passed after multiple divisions.
This is Gandhi's first visit to Varanasi after Modi became prime minister.
After many months the UPA leadership seemed to exude a sense of confidence that they could get the better of an adverse situation in which they have found themselves for the last two years, writes Neerja Chowdhury
Sonia Gandhi, her son, her daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter and a relative relished Chole Bhature during a family lunch at the Kwality restaurant in New Delhi on Sunday, December 22, 2024.
'...spent 1/10th of his time at 24, Akbar Road...' 'He would have met thousands of party workers and ordinary Congress supporters who have love for the party.' 'Left of Centre intellectuals have shaped Rahul's values, but he lacks earthiness.'
There is nobody like Jaipal Reddy in Congress party. He is slotted to be the first Congress chief minister of Telangana if and when the Congress gets hold of the reins of power. Ten minutes after the Lok Sabha passed the Bill Reddy spoke exclusively to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt in the corridors of Parliament.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on Tuesday blamed Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her Congress General Secretary son Rahul for the FDI decision. Jaitley said that the decision on FDI was taken without bothering that it will hurt the interests of farmers, small traders as well as consumers, and would in no way help the economy.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met the Unnao rape survivor after she protested the bail granted to Kuldeep Singh Sengar, criticizing the treatment of survivors and calling India a 'dead society'.
The Congress party has accused the BJP government of disrespecting opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge by seating them in the third row during the Republic Day parade. BJP leaders have responded by questioning Rahul Gandhi's attendance at other important events.
There is something that makes the Uthiramerur assembly constituency in Kancheepuram district special.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi does not think she has anything worthwhile to tell her party MPs even though Congress MPs have been more than keen to listen to her views on a number of issues, including the numerous controversies hitting the party and the government.
"Just wait and see. Halfway through 2-G spectrum case I will bring in Sonia Gandhi into it. Nothing is going to go wrong in this case. This case is going to make a modern, new and clean India," Janata Party president Dr Subramanian Swamy tells rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
