RAHUL GANDHI

TUMKUR: AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi made a strong pitch for women's empowerment at his rally on Sunday, and said it's the only way for the country to become a superpower. Addressing a women's rally at Tumkur, 70km from Bangalore, Rahul said the country today was half a superpower because women had not been given equal status. "India will not become a superpower if women aren't given opportunities. We need equal representation for women at all levels to make them empowered," he told a mammoth gathering. Rahul, who is also co-chairman of the Congress campaign committee for the LS polls, was here on a two-day tour. Chanting the women empowerment mantra, he was critical of his own party. "Men outnumber women at this rally. This is the situation the Congress is facing today. Men are preferred over women while giving tickets for assembly and Lok Sabha elections. This has to change and I want more women to attend rallies and participate in the el...

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi on Thursday disapproved of personal attacks on opposition leaders, indicating that the Congress leadership was not happy with Mani Shankar Aiyar's recent "chaiwala" jibe at BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. "It is wrong to make personal attacks on opposition," the Congress vice-president told a meeting of party spokespersons called to elicit suggestions on how best to get the message of Congress across to people in the coming Lok Sabha elections. He, however, did not name Aiyar. Rahul made the remark after party MP Bhalchandra Mungekar said that remarks like denigrating the "chaiwala" (tea seller) will not do the party any good. "Do not denigrate chaiwala. Such comments are unnecessary and they may derail the debate," Mungekar, who is one of the TV panelists of the party, said. Rahul's remark is significant given the fact that BJP is exploiting Aiyar's jibe at Modi to th...

Rahul Gandhi has given his first major TV interview, predicting he would lead his ruling Congress Party to victory in this year's Indian general election. The Gandhi family has dominated Indian politics but Rahul vowed to open up the system, saying he was "absolutely against the concept of dynasty". He told Times Now TV he did not fear rival Narendra Modi, attacking him over his role in anti-Muslim riots in 2002. Polls show Congress doing badly, amid a slow economy and corruption scandals. Although Congress has named Mr Gandhi, 43, to lead its general election campaign, it has stopped short of saying he will be its candidate for prime minister. Correspondents say the move appeared aimed at protecting one of the party's main assets, in case the party loses the vote, which is due by May. 'Scared of nothing' But in the interview, Mr Gandhi said Congress was simply following the constitution. "Members of parliament are to b...

Despite a majority of leaders at the Congress Working Committee meet pushing for Rahul Gandhi to be made the party's prime ministerial candidate, the party demurred from the decision and instead decided to appoint him the poll campaign chief. "We had one major resolution that has to be passed tomorrow and all the issues in it were discusses... The Congress President and Vice President placed their views on the resolution," Congress spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi told reporters, refusing to disclose all its contents. "Many of the members in the CWC wanted that he (Rahul) should be made the Prime ministerial candidate but after some debate Congress president Sonia Gandhi intervened," he said. "She said that there was no such tradition in the Congress. If someone declares their PM candidate it doesn't mean that we have to do the same," Dwivedi said. Rahul Gandhi reportedly shot down the proposal to make him the PM candidate.  PTI He said t...

SP's progressive face, Akhilesh Yadav carries an iPhone & talks development. The Samajwadi state chief assures Swati Mathur his party's aggressive image is a thing of the past & he is confident of forming the next govt Swati Mathur: How well are you prepared for the assembly elections? Akhilesh Yadav: SP was the first to declare candidates. We started campaigning early. Our message was consistent: We'd continue riding the rath and our cycle until we defeat BSP. I have toured over 170 constituencies and hope to cover at least 300. Apart from anti-incumbency , what other factors may work in your favour? SP has worked hard to expose the government's real face. We have grass-roots connect. We have raised issues that concern the common man. Electricity, corruption and lack of infrastructure , cheaper fertilizers, seeds and irrigation projects are issues we've fought for. This election is being projected as a Akhilesh vs Rahul battle. Is this hype? He may be th...

NEW DELHI: Smarting under Opposition attack over the issue of Lokpal Bill, Congress today insisted that the measure is not dead and will be back soon. "The Lokpal Bill is certainly not dead. It is not even in ICU or Emergency. It is merely under rest and recovery (R and R) and it will be back soon," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said. A political war has broken out between government and opposition over Rajya Sabha's failure to pass Lokpal Bill, with both sides accusing each of carrying out "well choreographed" chaos to scuttle it. The assertion by the Rajya Sabha MP, who headed the Parliamentary Panel that went into the Lokpal Bill, comes a day after Rahul Gandhi promised not to rest till a strong Lokpal Bill with constitutional status is brought. Addressing a rally in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh yesterday, Gandhi had hit out at the BJP for failure to give constitutional status to Lokpal. He insisted that this was not only his dream but that of the y...