New Delhi: In a clear message to those who recently wrote a dissent letter challenging her leadership, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday formed a five-member panel in Rajya Sabha including her confidants and elevating two young MPs to senior positions in Lok Sabha.
Ahmed Patel, K.C. Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh will be part of the Rajya Sabha Committee, which will also include Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and party’s deputy leader Anand Sharma.
Azad and Sharma are signatories to the letter that demanded an overhaul of the Congress party and a new “full-time and visible” party president. They were attacked by party leaders in the Congress Working Committee meeting on Monday, where some even sought action against them.
Ramesh has also been appointed the chief whip in Rajya Sabha, a post that fell vacant after Bhubaneswar Kalita quit the party and joined the BJP.Former minister and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, who was also a signatory to the letter, did not find a place in the strategy committee.The group will take a call on the party’s floor strategy with sources saying the idea is to strengthen floor management.
In the Lok Sabha, Gandhi elevated party MP from Assam Gaurav Gogoi and made him the deputy leader of Congress, while Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu was made the party’s whip.
The two, along with leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, chief whip K Suresh and another whip Manickam Tagore would form a five-member Committee of floor leaders in the lower house.
It is a move by the Congress to strengthen its team of floor leaders in the Lower House, party leaders said, adding it is also a message to dissenters like Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari in Lok Sabha and Azad and Sharma in the upper house.
Bittu, a three-time MP from Punjab who has been entrusted with the responsibility as the Congress whip in the Lok Sabha, trumps his Punjab colleague Tewari, also a three-time MP.
Currently, Bittu represents Ludhiana, which had earlier elected Tewari, who now is MP from Anandpur Sahib. Bittu had won from Anandpur Sahib in 2009.Party leaders said Tewari and Tharoor were aspiring for positions in Lok Sabha.
The opposition party did not have a deputy leader in Lok Sabha — the last was in the previous Lok Sabha when Amarinder Singh was on the post before he became the chief minister of Punjab.The appointments came ahead of the monsoon session of parliament, which is likely to commence from September 14.
Gogoi hails from Assam, where Assembly polls are due early next year. The MP from the Kaliabor Lok Sabha constituency, he was the party’s whip in the House till now and has been elevated.Gogoi is the son of former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi.
US more cautious on global commitments s…
05-11-2024
During an event in Canberra, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that the United States is anticipated to embrace a more inward-looking approach, regardless of who wins the upcoming...
Read moreWine traders accuse Karnataka mantri of …
05-11-2024
Karnataka's Excise Minister RB Timmapur is facing accusations of demanding a ₹16 crore bribe from excise officials. The Karnataka Wine Merchants' Association alleges widespread bribery and money laundering within the...
Read moreOpposition MPs meet Birla, protest waqf …
05-11-2024
The Dawoodi Bohra community, in a deposition before a parliamentary committee, argued against being included under the purview of any waqf board, including the separate board proposed for Bohras and...
Read moreSeers back Akhara Parishad demand on 'no…
05-11-2024
Hindu saints in Prayagraj have voiced their support for the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad's proposal to ban non-Hindu vendors from the Maha Kumbh mela area. They argue that the...
Read moreWaqf Board claims ownership of Bidar For…
05-11-2024
The Waqf Board's claim on the historic Bidar Fort, a protected monument under ASI custody for over 70 years, has shocked officials. A 2005 notification listed the fort as...
Read moreParliament set to take up waqf, ONOE bil…
05-11-2024
India's Parliament is gearing up for a potentially turbulent winter session, scheduled from November 25th to December 20th, with contentious bills like the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and a 'one nation...
Read moreHealth groups join patent war over spina…
05-11-2024
Public health groups are challenging Roche's attempt to block a generic version of its expensive Spinal Muscular Atrophy drug, Risdiplam. They argue that Roche's patent infringement lawsuit against Natco Pharma...
Read moreRelief for 12L+ students as SC upholds v…
05-11-2024
The Supreme Court upheld the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education Act, stating that minorities do not have an absolute right to administer educational institutions. While the state can regulate...
Read moreGovernment writes to Wikipedia over plai…
05-11-2024
The Indian government has raised concerns with Wikipedia regarding alleged bias and inaccuracies in its content. The government has questioned Wikipedia's intermediary status, suggesting it should be held accountable...
Read moreIndia's 10 most polluted cities in Octob…
05-11-2024
Delhi and its surrounding National Capital Region dominated India's most polluted cities in October, according to a CREA analysis. Despite pollution control measures, these cities experienced significantly higher PM2.5...
Read moreVanishing stripes: 25 of 75 tigers missi…
05-11-2024
Twenty-five tigers have vanished from Rajasthan's Ranthambore National Park in the past year, prompting an official inquiry. The disappearances, a steep increase from previous years, have raised concerns about...
Read more2 caught with body in bag at railway sta…
05-11-2024
A 43-year-old man from Nellore and his teenage daughter were apprehended at Minjur railway station for attempting to abandon a suitcase containing the body of a 65-year-old woman. The man...
Read more3 labourers die at bullet train site as …
05-11-2024
Tragedy struck a Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train construction site near Vadodara, Gujarat, as a temporary structure collapsed, claiming the lives of three laborers. The incident occurred when steel and concrete blocks...
Read more3 cousins drown in Ganga while attending…
05-11-2024
Three cousins tragically drowned in the Ganga river during Chhath Puja celebrations in Bhagalpur, Bihar. The incident occurred as the children were bathing at Mohanpur Ghat as part of the...
Read moreIsro set to launch EU's Sun observatory …
05-11-2024
India and the European Union are strengthening their space collaboration with ISRO set to launch the EU's Proba-3 spacecraft in December. This mission, consisting of two satellites, will study the...
Read moreInterfaith couple kill selves in UP
05-11-2024
An interfaith couple in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, was found dead in their respective homes in a suspected case of suicide. The couple, who had known each other since childhood, faced...
Read moreAmit Shah joins NDA huddle to chalk out …
05-11-2024
NDA leaders convened at BJP headquarters to strategize for the ongoing assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, as well as upcoming electoral challenges. The meeting aimed to unify the alliance's...
Read moreDoval, Nigerian NSA hold talks to boost …
05-11-2024
India and Nigeria strengthened their counter-terrorism cooperation during a dialogue in New Delhi. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Nigerian counterpart Nuhu Ribadu discussed threats posed by terrorism...
Read morePromptly counter fake news, top official…
05-11-2024
The Indian government is taking steps to combat the spread of fake news and misinformation on social media. The Cabinet Secretariat has directed all secretaries to promptly respond to such...
Read moreSC ruling on properties puts wealth dist…
05-11-2024
The Supreme Court ruled against extending the concept of 'material resources' to private assets, reigniting the debate on wealth redistribution sparked during the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress party had...
Read more