When Chidambaram said the Congress has a fighting chance in Tamil Nadu, Rahul retorted saying the Congress is just an adjunct of the DMK and it is the DMK which is fighting the election. He also reminded former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, as also Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, that the RSS was very well-entrenched in the bureaucracy in both the states.
Rahul said he was ready to do whatever the party wanted but sources in both the camps said that remark was not in the context of him returning to the helm.
The letter-writers underlined the challenges: two successive general election losses and the movement of youth away from the party. The party has been vanquished in the Hindi heartland and “unless and until there is a revival, there is no hope,” they said. They made it clear that there should be an election for the post of Congress president, to CWC and to posts at all levels.
Maharashtra: Masks mandatory for next 6 months, says Thackeray
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said wearing masks will be mandatory for the next six months in the state. Addressing people of the state on social media, Thackeray said experts are in favour of imposing night curfew or another lockdown, but he is not in favour of these steps. The coronavirus situation in the state is under control, through not completely, he said. Prevention is better than cure. Wearing of mask at public places should be made a habit for another six months at least, Thackeray said. Maharashtra reported 3,940 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, taking the state tally to 18,92,707. It also reported 74 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 48,648. (PTI)
Months after unprecedented dissent, Sonia Gandhi chairs meeting of top Congress leaders
Congress veterans Ashok Gehlot, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, B S Hooda, Ambika Soni and P Chidambaram were among those present at the meeting held at Sonia Gandhi s residence at 10, Janpath, New Delhi. Updated: December 19, 2020 8:18:52 pm
Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sonia Gandhi and Kapil Sibal. (Express File Photo)
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi Saturday held a meeting of some of the 23 senior Congress leaders who
wrote to her four months ago seeking sweeping changes in the party’s organisation and an effective, full-time leadership.
The five-hour meeting, which also included some of Sonia Gandhi’s close associates, was significant as it was the first effort by the Congress leadership for a rapprochement with the ‘letter-writers’ who had raised questions over the leadership.
Mohali civic polls: SAD wary of farmers’ dissent, BJP says won’t be an issue
An SAD councillor told The Indian Express they have held meetings with senior leaders to discuss the party’s strategy to contest the elections. December 18, 2020 10:05:32 am
Farmers protest at a railway station in Jalandhar, Punjab. (Express File Photo: Gurmeet Singh)
The ongoing protests against the new agriculture laws could have an impact on the prospects of SAD and BJP in the coming civic body elections in the district. Due to this, several former councillors are now planning to contest the elections as independents.
An SAD councillor told
Using an Amazon Echo device? Now Alexa can translate Hindi in real-time
The feature is not just limited to Echo smart speakers but Echo Show devices as well. The Echo show has an additional feature in which it provides user with the on-screen transcription of of the translation. Updated: December 15, 2020 6:21:02 pm
Amazon Echo devices will now be able to do live translation in six languages (Express File Photo)
Amazon Alexa voice-assistant will now be able to translate six languages on Echo devices. Users will be able to translate between two languages in real-time using the Alexa voice assistant using the smart speakers. As of now, the six languages supported are Brazilian, Portuguese, French, German, Hindi, Italian and Spanish. Support for more languages is also expected in the future.