After their success in defeating the government's attempts to dilute the land Bill of 2013 through an ordinance route with the help of anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parties in Parliament, Congress will hold a "victory rally" in Delhi on September 20.
"Our fight against the controversial ordinance had begun from the kisan rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi a few months ago. Now, we will hold a victory rally to tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP that a majority in Parliament is not sufficient to run the government," an All India Congress Committee (AICC) official said.
Anti-BJP parties, especially the Trinamool Congress, Left, JD(U), Samajwadi Party, NCP, DMK and the RJD, came together against the ordinance. However, these groups are unlikely to join the rally, an all-Congress affair.
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The government's retreat on this issue has boosted the morale of the opposition ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and Assam. In the Congress, the feeling is that the opposition won the battle of perception against the Modi government by painting it as "anti-farmer" and "pro-corporate". The rally will be addressed by the leadership, including party President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, and will give clues about the Congress' outlook on goods and services tax.
Rahul's first public meeting ahead of Bihar polls
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address a party meeting at Ram Nagar in north Bihar's West Champaran district on Saturday to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ambedkar.
Though Gandhi's visit is part of the Congress' plan to celebrate Ambedkar's anniversary, the Congress vice-president will address his first public meeting ahead of the Assembly polls in the region - also known as the karmabhoomi of Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi had begun Ambedkar's anniversary celebration from Mhow, Ambedkar's birthplace, in Madhya Pradesh.
Gandhi has invited representatives from its alliance partners, the JD(U) and the RJD, but restricted the number. Whether Lalu Prasad will grace the podium is unknown because Gandhi's hostility to the leader is hardly hidden.
Coming up: The prime minister's birthday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will turn 65 on September 17. This will be his second birthday at 7 Race Course Road. How will he spend the day ? Will he visit his mother in Gandhinagar? Watch this space...
Will there be an early winter session?
Speculation has begun about dates for an early session after Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu's statement that Parliament will be summoned for an early winter session to clear the goods and services tax law.
The winter session normally begins around November 25. It is a short session, timed in such a way that MPs, especially from the north-east, have the opportunity to return home with time to spare for Christmas. As Deepavali is on November 11, preceded by Vijayadashami on October 22, the session, if announced next week and held 15 days later. It can be around the first week of October.
