oppn parties Congress Loses Two More Leaders

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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Congress Loses Two More Leaders

By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2022-05-20 06:25:57

About the Author

Sunil Garodia The India Commentary view

Despite the bonhomie and enthusiasm displayed at the nav sankalp shivir that saw top Congress leaders discuss a lot of issues, internal and external, in a bid to bring the party out of the deep pit it seems to have fallen into, nothing seems to have changed for it in the short term. Two top leaders - Sunil Jakhar from Punjab and Hardik Patel from Gujarat - have left the party after the conclave. Jakhar has joined the BJP and Patel is yet to decide whether to join BJP or AAP although his statements indicate that he is leaning towards the former.

Both Patel and Jakhar have alleged that the state units in their respective states are in shambles, there is no work and the top leaders are not concerned. The Congress has put up a brave face and has said that both of them were indulging in anti-party activity for the last few months and it was obvious that they would leave the party. Given the status both the leaders enjoyed - Jakhar was a past president of the Punjab PCC and Patel was the working president of the Gujarat PCC - it was upon the top leadership of the party to hear their grievances and do all that was possible to retain them.

But the way the Congress is functioning for the last eight years, it is clear that the top leadership has abandoned the policy of consensus, has some favourites who it imposes on state units and is not concerned whether the others like it or not. That policy worked for it when it was in power at the Centre and in most of the states as the top leadership commanded respect then. But it is not working now. This made it lose Punjab and it will make it lose Rajasthan too. For all the tall talk of structural changes and reforms, if the party does not follow democratic norms in electing state leaders it is unlikely to revive itself. The Congress must recognize that the main reason for its continued downfall is the leadership crisis both at the top and in states. It has to address that, otherwise it cannot make a comeback. 

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