Very few old-style RSS workers-turned-leaders have survived Narendra Modi's political ambush in state politics. Harin Pathak's end closes the chapter for Modi who started his post-2002 riots journey with a new mix of profit-centric development and middle class-pleasing commerce, technology-driven communication with voters, and an unspoken Hindutva that speaks only through posturings and symbols. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt reveals the real reasons for the Modi-Pathak rupture.
Bharatiya Janata Party members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee examining the 2G spectrum issue on Thursday boycotted the meeting of the panel in protest against Chairman P C Chacko's refusal to accede to their demand to summon the prime minister and the finance minister.
In an exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, BJP MP Harin Pathak, a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee probing the 2G scam, says without mincing words that panel chief P C Chacko cannot decide exclusively whether to summon prime accused former Union Telecom Minister A Raja or not.
Seven time Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament and L K Advani loyalist Harin Pathak, who has been denied a Lok Sabha ticket, on Sunday flayed the party's decision and said he would consult his supporters before taking the next step.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi performed the traditional ritual of Pahind by sweeping the path with a golden broom, paving way for the Yatra to begin.
Union Home Affairs Minister Harin Pathak said during the current year till end of March, 86 foreign terrorists were killed in various encounters, out of whom, 83 were Pakistani or PoK nationals.
The government said on Wednesday that electronic-governance was fast emerging as a vital tool in achieving good governance and that a plan needs to be readied to implement the same in various ministries and departments.
As the nation marks the 14th anniversary of the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other prominent leaders paid their tribute to the martyrs.
In what could stoke fresh controversy in the Bharatiya Janata Party after the row over L K Advani's ticket, the party today replaced his loyalist and sitting MP Harin Pathak with actor Paresh Rawal from Ahmedabad East Lok Sabha seat.
Voicing confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party will form the next government at the Centre, veteran BJP leader L K Advani, who had reservations on the PM candidature of Narendra Modi, on Sunday said he will accept any role the party will offer him after the Lok Sabha elections.
Submitting a dissent note against the JPC report on 2G spectrum, Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said it was flawed and a bundle of contradictions drafted by people in the government on the directions of the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister as a "cover up" exercise.
Yashwant Sinha, Bharatiya Janata Party's member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G spectrum scam, on Saturday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar requesting her to reject the panel's report.
Many in the Bharatiya Janata Party feel that internal democracy in the party is being stifled
The controversial report of the JPC, which gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the 2G spectrum scam saying he was "misled" by the then Telecom Minister A Raja, was on Monday tabled in Lok Sabha amid pandemonium.
The Varanasi versus Azamgarh story is about the fears and insecurities of two of our strongest leaders, Narendra Modi and Mulayam Singh Yadav, says Sheela Bhatt.
Everyone, it seems, has a question to ask the BJP's prime ministerial candidate these days. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt asked some well-known Indians what they would like to ask Narendra Modi, to gauge what emotions he evokes in them.
'The Congress is unsure of emerging as the single largest party or group on May 16. In such a scenario, they do not wish to accord a loser tag to the young Gandhi... The Congress feels Rahul's projection as a prime ministerial nominee in 2014 would come in the way of the formation of an alternative, non-BJP government...' Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt explains how the transition of power within the Congress is making the party vulnerable.
Is Modi trampling upon senior BJP colleagues while taking decisions? How come Team Modi underestimated the political action-reaction when they were upsetting and uprooting the BJP's founding fathers L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi in the ticket distribution process?
In the last 10 years, when the people looked at New Delhi, they saw two centres of power and not one decisive leader between them. There was nobody who could speak in a language people wanted to hear. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt reveals the true reason why the UPA appears rudderless on the eve of Election 2014.
'The mood in the country is the challenge. Everything is going well, but nobody is feeling good. Why? I don't know. Maybe aspirations are too high... The most important thing in life is to be a good person. Rahul is a wonderful person. He is a thinking man. He has convictions and is passionate about his work.' Sam Pitroda discusses the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi in an exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
'I believe in India people should have, up to a certain age, compulsory military training. I also believe that voting should be made compulsory. I have some violent idea, that all candidates should sign an affidavit that whatever they have promised to the people, if they are unable to fulfill they won't stand in elections again.' 'I addressed a meeting near the Kalandari mosque where more than 8,000 Muslims had come to listen to me. I said Muslims have nothing to fear, you fear only Allah. You should be afraid of no one... Some people are creating a fear about Modi in your community. I only want you to understand that.' Paresh Rawal, the BJP candidate from Ahmedabad East, speaks to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Narendra Modi's mother washed utensils to make a living. Madhusudan Mistry's grandmother, who brought him up, was a vegetable vendor. Mistry's trajectory from poverty to membership of the all powerful Congress Working Committee is moving. the man who has Rahul Gandhi's ear and is all set to take on Narendra Modi in Vadodara, speaks to Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt in a fascinating interview.