New Delhi [India], August 15 (ANI): Congress leader Ambika Soni on Monday hoisted the national flag at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in Delhi on 76th Independence Day.

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], May 29 (ANI): Aam Admi Party (AAP) on Saturday nominated two Padma Shree awardees as candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls.

New Delhi [India], May 14 (ANI): Former Union Minister Ashwani Kumar on Saturday claimed that many leaders will leave the Congress soon, and party interim president Sonia Gandhi knows the reason for this.

New Delhi [India], May 14 (ANI): Disgruntled leader and former Punjab party chief Sunil Jakhar, who was stripped from all posts previously, quit Congress on Saturday during a Facebook Live.

New Delhi Apr 26 PTI The Congress on Tuesday decided to remove former Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar and Kerala leader K V Thomas from all party positions and suspended five of its MLAs in Meghalaya for anti-party activities sources saidThe Congress Disciplinary Committee recommended action against Jakhar and it was initially decided to suspend him for two years but later toned down their decision keeping in view his seniority in the partyThe panel which met here this morning recommended the suspension of the five Congress MLAs in Meghalaya for supporting the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance MDA in the state defying the partys directivesCongress president Sonia Gandhi has approved the disciplinary panels recommendationsSonia Gandhi had received a letter from the president of the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee Vincent Pala regarding the five MLAs actions in supporting the present BJP-backed government thereThe committee has said that it discussed the issue extensively and resolved to suspend the MLAs Amrareen Lyngdoh P T Sawkimie Kimfa Marbaniang Mayralborn Syiem and Mohendro Rapsang for a period of three years from the date of this meeting the sources saidRegarding Thomas the panel decided to remove him from the state political affairs committee and the executive committee of Kerala Pradesh Congress CommitteeOn the issue of Jakhar it was discussed and resolved at the meeting to remove him from all party positions the sources saidThe sources pointed out that the panel earlier decided to recommend his suspension for two years and removal from all party positions but later toned down their action and dropped his suspensionSome members also raised concerns over singling out Jakhar for suspension as other Congress leaders had also publicly made accusations during the election they saidJakhar is considered close to former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and his suspension would have paved the way for him to quit and the party does not want its leaders to leave at this critical juncture the sources saidBoth Jakhar and Thomas will continue to remain in the party The committee has decided not to take any harsh action against them keeping in view their seniority and contribution to the party Tariq Anwar a member of the panel saidThe five-member committee is chaired by senior party leader A K Antony and Tuesdays meeting was attended by members Anwar J P Aggarwal and G Parameswar besides Antony Ambika Soni was not present during the meetingSoon after the Congress disciplinary panels recommendations Jakhar wished his party good luck while refusing to reveal his own plansI wish the Congress good luck he said when reporters sought his reaction to the panels recommendation He refused to comment when asked what would be his next stepAhead of the Congress disciplinary committee meeting Jakhar had said those who still have a conscience will be punishedAaj sar kalam honge unke jinme abhi zameer baaki hai Today those with a conscience will be beheaded My apologies to Javed Akhtar Saheb Jakhar said in a tweetJakhar had criticised former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and termed him a liability for the party after the Congress lost to the AAP in the stateHe has also been critical of the party leadership in the run-up to the assembly elections in Punjab which the Congress lost to the Aam Aadmi Party AAPThomas a former Union minister and senior leader from Kerala had attended a seminar organised by the CPIM on April 9 in the state against the partys wishes and local state leaders had been seeking action against himThe sources said the five Congress MLAs in Meghalaya had joined the BJP-backed ruling alliance in the state for which a show-cause notice was sent to them and an explanation sought from themThe state unit of the Congress had also sought strict action against the MLAS for supporting a BJP government in the state they saidThe legislators had joined the MDA in February which brought the two arch foes together in a ruling coalition and left Congress leaders fumingThe disciplinary panel had issued a show cause notice to Jakhar Thomas and the five MLAs and had asked them to explain why action should not be initiated against them for their actionsWhile Thomas had explained Jakhar preferred not to reply to the panels show cause notice PTI SKC SKC ANB ANB

New Delhi Apr 26 PTI The Congress Disciplinary Committee on Tuesday recommended the suspension of its former Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar for two years and the removal of Kerala leader K V Thomas from all party positions for anti-party activities sources saidThe panel has also recommended that Jakhar be removed from all party postsThe disciplinary committee of the Congress which met here this morning also recommended the suspension of five party MLAs in Meghalaya who had supported the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance MDA in the state while defying the partys directivesThe committee has given its recommendations to Congress president Sonia Gandhi who will take necessary action soon the sources pointed outThe five-member committee is chaired by senior party leader A K Antony and Tuesdays meeting was attended by panel members Tariq Anwar J P Aggarwal and G Parameswar besides Antony Ambika Soni was not present during the meetingSoon after the Congress disciplinary panels recommendations Jakhar wished his party good luck while refusing to reveal his own plansI wish the Congress good luck Jakhar said when reporters sought his reaction to the panels recommendation He refused to comment when asked what would be his next stepAhead of the Congress disciplinary committee meeting Jakhar had said those who still have a conscience will be punishedAaj sar kalam honge unke jinme abhi zameer baaki hai Today those with a conscience will be beheaded My apologies to Javed Akhtar Saheb Jakhar said in a tweetJakhar had criticised former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and termed him a liability for the party after the Congress lost to the AAP in the stateHe has also been critical of the party leadership in the run-up to assembly elections which the Congress lost to the Aam Aadmi Party AAPThomas a former union minister and senior leader from Kerala had attended a seminar organised by the CPIM on April 9 in the state against the partys wishes and local state leaders had been seeking action against himSources said the five Congress MLAs in Meghalaya had joined the BJP-backed ruling alliance in the state for which a show-cause notice was sent to them and an explanation sought from themThe state unit of Congress had also sought strict action against the MLAS for supporting a BJP government in the state they saidThe legislators had joined the MDA in February which brought the two arch foes together in a ruling coalition and left Congress leaders fumingThe disciplinary panel had issued a show cause notice to Jakhar Thomas and the five MLAs and had asked them to explain why action should not be initiated against them for their actionsWhile Thomas had explained Jakhar preferred not to reply to the panels show cause notice PTI SKC SKC ANB ANB

Chandigarh Apr 26 PTI Shortly after the Congress disciplinary panel recommended his two-year suspension on Tuesday former Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar wished his party good luck while refusing to reveal his own plans I wish the Congress good luck Jakhar said when reporters sought his reaction to the disciplinary committees recommendation He refused to comment when asked what would be his next step The committee which met Tuesday morning in Delhi gave its recommendations to party president Sonia Gandhi who will take the necessary action Ahead of the panels meeting Jakhar had said those who still have a conscience will be punished Aaj sar kalam honge unke jinme abhi zameer baaki hai Today those with a conscience will be beheaded My apologies to Javed Akhtar Saheb the former MP said in a tweet earlier in the day The party disciplinary committee had on April 11 given a show-cause notice to Jakhar for alleged anti-party activities and sought a reply within a week But he chose not to reply Jakhar had criticised former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and termed him a liability for the party after the Congress lost the Punjab Assembly polls to the Aam Aadmi Party Some party leaders including former minister Raj Kumar Verka had also demanded action against Jakhar accusing him of using objectionable language against Channi and the Scheduled Caste community during a TV interview But Jakhar had rejected the charge saying his remarks were twisted out of context He had also expressed regret if anybody was hurt by his comments He had earlier created a flutter claiming that 42 MLAs wanted him to be the chief minister and only two backed Channi after the unceremonious exit of Amarinder Singh last year He was among the frontrunners for the CMs post after Amarinder Singh was unseated by the party Earlier Jakhar was replaced by Navjot Singh Sidhu as the Punjab Congress president His chances of becoming the CM were scuttled after party veteran Ambika Soni said the Congress should go with a Sikh face in Punjab The disciplinary panel also recommended the suspension of five Meghalaya MLAs who had supported the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance MDA defying the party directives PTI CHS VSD DV ASH ASH

New Delhi Apr 26 PTI The Congress Disciplinary Committee on Tuesday recommended the suspension of its former Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar for two years and his removal from all party posts besides recommending removal of Kerala leader K V Thomas from all party positions for anti-party activities sources saidThe disciplinary panel of the Congress which met here this morning also recommended the suspension of five party MLAs in Meghalaya who had supported the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance MDA in the state while defying the party directivesThe Committee has given its recommendations to Congress president Sonia Gandhi who will take necessary action the sources pointed outThe five-member Committee is chaired by senior party leader A K Antony and Tuesdays meeting was attended by panel members Tariq Anwar J P Aggarwal and G Parameswar besides Antony Ambika Soni was not present during the meeting Ahead of the Congress disciplinary committee meeting Jakhar had said those who still have a conscience will be punished Aaj sar kalam honge unke jinme abhi zameer baaki hai Today those with a conscience will be beheaded My apologies to Javed Akhtar Saheb said Jakhar in a tweetJakhar had criticised former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and termed him a liability for the party after the Congress lost to the AAP in PunjabThomas had attended a seminar organised by the CPIM on April 9 in Kerala against the partys wishes and local state leaders had been seeking action against himSources said the five Congress MLAs in Meghalaya had joined the BJP-backed ruling alliance in the state for which a show-cause notice was sent to them and an explanation sought from them The legislators had joined the MDA in February which brought the two arch foes together in a ruling coalition and left Congress leaders in the state fuming PTI SKC SKC DV DV

Chandigarh Apr 26 PTI Ahead of the Congress disciplinary committee meet to decide on action to be taken against him former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday said those who still have a conscience will be punishedThe Congress disciplinary committee had on April 11 given a show-cause notice to Jakhar for alleged anti-party activities and sought a reply within a weekHowever Jakhar chose not to reply to the panel Aaj sar kalam honge unke jinme abhi zameer baaki haiToday those with a conscience will be beheaded My apologies to Javed Akhtar Saheb said Jakhar in a tweetThe meeting of the Congress disciplinary committee is expected to be held on TuesdayJakhar had criticised former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and termed him as a liability for the party after the Congress lost to the Aam Aadmi Party in PunjabSome party leaders including former minister Raj Kumar Verka had demanded action against him after accusing Jakhar of using objectionable language against Channi and the scheduled caste community during a TV interviewBut Jakhar had rejected the charge and had said that his statement was twisted and taken out of context He had also expressed regret if anybody was hurt by his commentsJakhar had earlier created a flutter when he claimed that 42 MLAs wanted him to be the chief minister and only two backed Channi after the unceremonious exit of Amarinder Singh last yearJakhar was among the front runners for the chief ministerial post after Amarinder Singh was unseated last yearThe chances of Jakhar becoming the chief minister were scuttled after the statement of party leader Ambika Soni who had said the party should go with a Sikh face PTI CHS VSD DV DV

New Delhi [India], April 25 (ANI): The Congress top brass is set to begin its crucial meeting today to further discuss poll strategist Prashant Kishor's proposal to revamp the party ahead of the 2024 general election.