Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress (abbreviated INC, and commonly known as the Congress) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian political spectrum. Founded in 1885 by members of the occultist movement Theosophical Society—Allan Octavian Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha, Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, Surendranath Banerjee, Monomohun Ghose, Mahadev Govind Ranade and William Wedderburn—the Indian National Congress became the leader of the Indian Independence Movement, with over 15 million members and over 70 million participants in its struggle against British rule in India. After independence in 1947, it became the nation's dominant political party, led by the Nehru-Gandhi family for the most part; major challenges for party leadership have only recently formed.

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Recent news stories about Indian National Congress

BJP meet will discuss differences -- within

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Executive meets in Mumbai Thursday-Friday with plenty on the agenda, a key issue being how to bring order to its own house.

Sonia refuses red beacon for car

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi has refused the use of a red beacon on her car, official sources said Wednesday.

Mulayam keeps option open on presidential nominee

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav Tuesday kept his options open on the names doing the rounds as possible nominees of the Congress but indicated he would be comfortable with candidature of Vice President Hamid Ansari as he belongs to Uttar Pradesh.

Sumptuous menu at UPA's dinner; Mulayam, Lalu on main dais

A sumptous menu awaited guests at the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to mark third anniversary of United Progressive Alliance-II (UPA-II) government even as key outside supporters including Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad were given pride of place on the main dais along with leaders of parties constituting the ruling alliance.

UPA-II high on economy, to combat Maoism, corruption (Night Lead)

Dispelling the impression of policy paralysis, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday touted India's high economic growth and a sharp decline in poverty as key achievements of the UPA-II government, and singled out Maoism and corruption as major problems.

Chhattisgarh's tribal leaders support Sangma for president

After Bharatiya Janata Party Rajya Sabha MP Nand Kumar Sai, now senior Congress leader and former union minister Arvind Netam has openly backed former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma for the president's post.

UPA-II showcases strong economy (Second Lead)

Dispelling the impression of policy paralysis, the UPA-II government Tuesday touted a healthy 7 percent growth in economy, a sharp hike in social spending and sharp cuts in poverty as its major achievements.

Sangma seeks support, not many takers (Lead)

Former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma Tuesday urged political parties to back his candidature for the president's post, but there appeared to be no fresh takers for him.

Left's stand on president after Congress announces candidate

The Left parties will decide their stand on the presidential election after the Congress announces its candidate, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Gurudas Dasgupta said Tuesday.

Mamata, Karunanidhi to skip UPA dinner

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and DMK chief M. Karunanidhi will not be present at the third anniversary dinner of the United Progressive Alliance-II (UPA-II) government which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is hosting Tuesday evening. However, representatives of the two leaders will attend.

Great budget session, says UPA; others slam it

For a change, the budget session of parliament that ended Tuesday saw fewer disruptions. But it also witnessed a cabinet minister's exit, an unprecedented cartoon row and a war between the treasury and opposition benches over a proposed intelligence hub.

Three years of UPA-II: Not much to celebrate

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-II government completed three years in office Tuesday amid charges of policy paralysis and key initiatives remaining mired in fractious coalition politics.

ULFA faction opposes Sonia's Assam visit, calls for shutdown

The anti-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Tuesday called for a 12-hour dawn-to-dusk Assam shutdown May 26 to oppose the scheduled visit to Assam by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who also heads the ruling United Progressive Alliance.

President race: Mamata hedges on Pranab, backs Meira (Second lead)

Ruling UPA's alliance partner, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Monday said she would "be happy" with Meira Kumar, Gopal Gandhi or A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as president but not Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The Congress said they would hold consultations with all concerned parties on the issue.

Attempt political consensus on presidential candidate: Rajnath

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajnath Singh Monday said the Congress-led UPA alliance should take the lead in attempting political consensus on a presidential candidate.

Court dismisses CBI petition for attachment of Jagan firms

A city court Monday dismissed the petitions by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), seeking orders to attach the properties of YSR Congress party leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy in the alleged illegal assets case and those of two accused in the Emaar case.

Jagan asked to make personal appearance in court

A special court Monday dismissed a petition seeking exemption for YSR Congress party leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy from personal appearance in the court on May 28.

President race: Mamata hedges on Pranab, backs Meira, Kalam (Lead)

Breaking her silence over the presidential race, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Monday said she would "be happy" with Meira Kumar, Gopal Gandhi or A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as president but not Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Walk out of UPA over special package demand: Rajnath to Mamata

Asking Trinamool Congress to withdraw support from the ‘incompetent' UPA government, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajnath Singh Monday said his party will support Mamata Banerjee's demand for a special package for West Bengal on the floor of parliament.

Tiwari asked to furnish blood sample on Saturday (Lead)

Congress leader N.D. Tiwari has been asked to appear in the Delhi High Court dispensary on Saturday to submit his blood sample for a DNA test in a paternity suit.

Mamata backs Meira, Kalam or Gopal Gandhi as president

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said she would "be happy" with Meira Kumar, Gopal Gandhi or A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as president but not Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

CPI-M getting jittery over Kerala murder probe: Congress

With names of some Communist Party of India-Marxist activists surfacing in the murder of their former party colleague T.P. Chandrasekharan, the Congress, which heads the ruling United Democratic Front in Kerala, Monday asked the CPI-M not to get unduly agitated over the probe.

19 years on, water woes continue to haunt Taj city

Nineteen years after many people died in a water tragedy that struck the Taj city, residents of Agra continue to battle water pollution in the Yamuna river and suffer health hazards caused by the municipal water supply.

Survey shows UPA losing sheen

After eight years in power, the prospects of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) seem to be going down against the rising graph of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an ABP News-Nielsen survey said Sunday.

Blame game over Himachal power plant ordered to be razed

A Himachal Pradesh High Court direction to dismantle a private firm's thermal power plant in Solan district over green concerns appears to have given political ammunition to both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress ahead of the assembly polls later this year.

Bengal Congress slams under-utilisation of central funds

As Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sticks to her demand of an interest moratorium for three years for debt-ridden West Bengal, state Congress president Pradip Bhattacharjee Saturday questioned the government's failure to utilise central funds.

Mamata's claim on completing work not right: Congress

Countering the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government's claim of 100 percent completion of work, alliance partner Congress Saturday said the government has still a lot to do in order to fulfill the promises made to the masses in the manifesto.

Sajjan Kumar accuses CBI of playing fraud

Congress leader Sajjan Kumar Saturday told a Delhi court, where he is facing trial in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has played a fraud on him.

Mayawati silent on Sangma's bid at presidency

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati Saturday skirted a question on her party supporting the candidature of former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma for the presidency. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader's name has been put forward by Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his Tamil Nadu counterpart J. Jayalalithaa.

Anglo-Indian MP quits Congress posts after being 'ignored'

Ingrid Mcleod, a nominated member of the Lok Sabha representing the Anglo-Indian community, Saturday quit all posts of the Congress party peeved over the alleged insult meted out to her by senior Congress leaders at a party function here.