Party sources said the informal talks are underway to find a common ground with opposition parties even as the party has embarked on the process to identify candidates in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
According to the sources, committees are likely to be formed in every state to identify the strongest candidate of the united opposition in each constituency in forthcoming elections and the strategy will differ from state to state.
A party leader said the Congress has to be more "accomodative" in seat sharing.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the main objective in the upcoming elections will be to prevent vote division of the anti-BJP votes.
"There is no one-size-fits all approach at all. There is no blanket approach at all. The basic objective remains the same whether it is this part or that part of the country.
"Whether you call it a formal alliance or strategic seat adjustment, or you call it understandings, the basic objective everywhere, whether it is bi-polar states or triangular or quadrangular states, is to prevent vote division of the anti-BJP votes. This is what the BJP is terrified about," he said.
"This is what you have seen in every election from Uttar Pradesh to Karnataka or any other states. BJP has benefitted from division of votes. But how we will do it, what we will do, you will find it on a state-to-state basis.
"You may find state X may differ from state Y, but it will be achieving that one single object of prevention of vote division," he added.
On Samajwadi Party saying the opposition parties should field a common candidate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi in 2019 election, Singhvi said: "Too early days as yet, but I do not see any reason to doubt the principle and the spirit to what has been said."
"I do not want to go in to the details. It is early but you must read the spirit. I think it is the spirit. I am not talking about the names. I am talking spirit behind it," he added.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the Prime Minister had heaped a "special insult" on Bengaluru and its citizens by calling it a "city of sins" and "city of garbage".
"He (Modi) has insulted the people of Karnataka, insulted its entrepreneurs, IT technologists by labelling the city, which is known as India's Silicon Valley, as 'valley of sin'.
"A city and a state which symbolises development, aspirations, youth, opportunities, has been reduced to city of sins. This is a special insult that the Prime Minister has heaped upon Bengaluru and people of Karnataka," he said.
Modi, while addressing a rally in Bengaluru on Thursday, had accused the state's Congress government of having reduced Bengaluru to a valley of sins from Silicon Valley, and added that the city had been changed from a garden city to garbage city, from computer city to crime city, and from a start-up hub to a pothole club.
Taking strong exception to Modi's remarks, Singhvi said that the remarks and the language used were "totally unbefitting of a Prime Minister".
"While terming it as ‘city of sin', the Prime Minister totally ignored that 'S' stands for superior, 'I' stands for information technology and 'N' stands for novelty. This is what Bengaluru is. It's the real start-up hub.
"But Modi only finds sin in that, and that is deplorable. You don't create jobs, can't stop farmers' suicide, you have the lowest agriculture growth rate in a very, very long time and you accuse the Kannadigas of being a valley of sin. It is shameful and country needs an apology which we are never likely to get," he said.
Singhvi said that the fear, frustration and follies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were growing in the face of an imminent defeat in the upcoming state assembly elections.
He also said that rural wages have suffered under Modi government and MGNREGA has been given step-motherly treatment.
"This is not me or the Congress party saying this. A recent well detailed academic study by a senior researcher of the RBI has been published a few days ago it finds that rural wages have suffered a significant deceleration," said Singhvi.
He also slammed the government over rising prices of petroleum products and demanded that these should be brought under Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Talking to reporters here, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi also hit out at BJP National President Amit Shah.
He said Shah's efforts to place Prime Minister "Modi's economic integration" at the same pedestal as "Sardar Patel's political integration and Babasaheb Ambedkar's social integration was a contemptuous insult to our founding fathers and a pathetic attempt to paint black into white".
Singhvi said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government has derailed the economy by its "disastrous decision making".
Demonetisation had hit the economy adversely and the Goods and Services Tax was rolled out in a "bad and hurried" manner, affecting many industries as also the manufacturing sector, he said.
Singhvi said the BJP suffers from "false bravado and loud boasting" and has shut its eyes to reality.
Amit Shah has attributed the plummeting of the gross domestic product (GDP) to "technical reasons" but for people the reason is "complete economic mismanagement", he said.
The Congress spokesperson said demonetisation, carried out in November last year, has shaved two per cent off the GDP and the government does not appear to have a clue to check the down-slide.
Stressing that job creation remains "the single biggest failure" of this government, he said 33,000 young people were entering the job market every day but the BJP government has been able to create only 500 jobs per day.
"A million new people entering the labour force every month. The labour bureau data shows that job creation is at the lowest in eight years," he said.
Singhvi said lack of jobs creates dissatisfaction and that, in turn, can create social tensions and added that the promise of creating two crore jobs per year remains "a distant illusion."
About farmers, he said they have been affected by the Modi government's "complete apathy". "They are not being provided with an appropriate rate for their produce, supply chains are being dismantled and suggestions under the Swaminathan Report are not being implemented."
"The much publicized Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is benefiting enlisted private players at the expense of the hardworking farmers."
Singhvi said private investment was also not driving growth and the Gross Fixed Capital Formation was falling.
In 2013-14, he said, exports had risen to $314 billion registering a compound annual growth rate of 17.3 per cent. "In the last three years under the NDA government, exports have remained far below the peak -- $310 billion, $262 billion and $276 billion."
The Congress leader said Retail Inflation and Wholesale Price Index had risen, adversely affecting the domestic budgets and the high prices of petroleum products was also hitting the common man.
Singhvi said that despite rising costs in China, India has made little headway in becoming an alternative manufacturing destination, particularly at the low end that generates the most jobs.
"Textiles and clothing jobs from China are moving to Myanmar, Cambodia and Bangladesh, while Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are gaining in electronics production," he said.
Singhvi said ratings agency Crisil has estimated stressed assets in the banking system to be around Rs 11.5 lakh crore, or nearly 14 per cent of the total advances, and it does not expect this number to increase significantly over the medium term.
The Congress leader said Crisil expects gross non-performing assets in the banking system to be around 10.5 per cent of advances as of March 2018, up from 9.5 per cent as of March 2017.
Referring to a report of the State Level Banker's Committee (SLBC), he said rising bad loans in the medium, small and micro enterprises and agriculture have adversely affected the performance of banks in the state.
The quantum of bad loans registered in Gujarat has increased by 2.5 times, Singhvi said.
Addressing a presser at the party office in Bhubaneswar, Singhvi said that the ruling-BJD had been sleeping for 18 years and now, as elections are round the corner, it woke up all of a sudden and is coming out with schemes for farmers and has named it after Lord Jagannath.
"Naming the scheme Kalia, isn't an insult to the Lord? What made the government name the scheme like that? It seems, Odisha CM has been infected by PM Modi's jumla politics," Singhvi quipped, adding that those who sleep for years and wake up just a few months ahead of elections will get befitting reply from people.
On the issue of minimum support price (MSP) for paddy, he said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is following PM Narendra Modi's footsteps and is just shedding crocodile tears.
"PM Modi humiliated Odisha on the issue of MSP as he did not even meet the members of the House Committee of the Odisha Assembly. Interestingly, the ruling-BJD rewarded the BJP by staging a walkout during the no-confidence motion," he added.
However, refuting the claims of Singhvi on Kalia scheme, senior BJD leader and Odisha Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy said that the scheme is a new hope for the farmers of the State.
“Nearly 92 per cent farmers in Odisha will benefit from the scheme. It is a historic decision taken by CM Naveen Patnaik,” said Maharathy.
"When we are on the verge of transforming into performer from aspirer according to the UN report, the BJP and Congress should clarify why they are condemning the work of Odisha government," BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said.
Countering Singhvi's allegations on Rafale, BJP Vice-president Samir Mohanty said, "Even after Supreme Court's nod why the Congress party is raking up the issue? Does repeating a lie multiple times makes it truth?"
The father-son duo has been enjoying interim protection from arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which are probing the case despite the agencies opposing this and pressing for their custodial interrogation.
The case relates to a probe into how Karti Chidambaram got clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board for the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006 when his father was Union Finance Minister.
The agencies had alleged that the senior Chidambaram misused his official position to clear the Rs 3,200 crore deal without referring it to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, in spite of only having power to approve foreign investments up to Rs 600 crore.
It was on March 24, 2018 that the court had first granted protection from arrest to Karti Chidambaram, till April 16, 2018 and later continued extending it.
Apprehending that he might be arrested in the case, he moved his anticipatory bail plea, as he had been arrested by the CBI in another case (INX media) on February 28, 2018. He was granted bail in it on March 23, 2018.
After two months, the senior Chidambaram also moved his anticipatory bail plea in the special court and secured interim protection from arrest till May 30, 2018.
The court extended their interim protection by issuing similar orders on June 5, July 10, August 7, October 8, November 1, November 26, and December 18, 2018. In 2019, a similar order was issued on January 11, extending the protection till February 18, and then to March 8, and then till March 25 and thereafter till April 26.
On Friday, Special Judge O.P. Saini refused to grant an adjournment of four weeks to the ED in the case and said that it is granting the agency the final opportunity to complete its argument in the case.
The court said that it would not allow the matter to linger for another four weeks and listed the matter for further hearing on May 6, extending the Chidambarams' protection from arrest till then.
Representing the ED, advocates Sonia Mathur, N.K. Matta and Nitesh Rana had sought adjournments on the ground that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was not available and argued that no prejudice would be caused to the Chidambarams as they were already given interim protection.
The ED also informed the court that it has issued Letters Rogatory to UK and Singapore and the process of gathering material evidence from certain countries in pursuance of Letters Rogatory is at a very advanced stage.
The agency further apprised the court that it has sent a team to Singapore to expedite the process.
The ED also told the court that on March 6, Karti Chidambaram was asked to provide details of certain specific transactions and responded that he needs three months time to provide desired information.
Appearing for Chidambarams, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi strongly opposed the consecutive adjournments in the case.
The court, questioning the status of prosecution sanction pending against other government officials who are named as accused in the case, declined the ED's adjournment request.
The agency had received requisite sanction from the competent authority to prosecute P. Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis deal case but prosecution sanction against other accused in the case is still awaited.
The CBI had, on July 19 last year, filed a charge sheet against 18 persons in the case, including the Chidambarams but the matter of taking cognisance of the investigation report is still pending due to non-available of sanction received from the competent authority.
On October 25, 2018, the ED has filed a charge sheet in the case against Chidambaram and a few others.
(Story By- Amiya Kumar Kushwaha)
Extending the protection to the Congress leader, now in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody in the case after his arrest last week, the court observed that the arguments on the matter will continue on Wednesday.
Hearing the matter on Monday, the court had extended Chidambaram's protection till Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Chidambaram's lawyers, seeking pre-arrest bail for the senior Congress leader, argued that the anti-money laundering act was being implemented retrospectively.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Chidambaram, told the court that the offence allegedly dated back to 2007 but the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA) provisions came into effect in 2009. Despite this, the ED had invoked these provisions against Chidambaram, he said.
Singhvi contended that the main provisions of law against Chidambaram became scheduled offences under the PMLA only in 2009, after a year when the alleged FIPB approval was given in 2007-08.
"You are trying to paint a person as kingpin. And it is on the basis of offences that did not exist at that point in time," he submitted.
Arguing about the line of questioning adopted by the investigating agencies, Singhvi said it appeared they were attempting to extract a confession from Chidambaram.
He also told the court that investigating agencies were painting a wrong picture that Chidambaram was evasive.
During questioning, the officers expect the person to give the answer they want or continue to face questions till the time they get a favourable answer, Singhvi argued.
Meanwhile, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, also representing Chidambaram, filed an application for the production of the transcripts of custodial interrogation of Chidambaram, who is in CBI custody.
Chidamabaram on Tuesday filed a rejoinder to the Enforcement Directorate affidavit, which details the list countries where he and "his co-conspirators" allegedly held bank accounts and properties.
Sibal told the top court that he opposes ED's request to submit records in sealed cover in the court, saying that the ED cannot place documents behind his client's back and then seek arrest and interrogation.