It is wrong to say the Congress doesn't matter. Certainly one set of people who do not believe that for a minute is the BJP. That's why even in his speech in Parliament on Constitution Day, Mr Modi called dynastic politics a threat to democracy, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Thackeray not only attended a meeting of National Democratic Alliance partners on Monday night, but also had separate talks with BJP president Amit Shah during which the two leaders discussed a host of issues, and agreed to meet more often for better coordination, a senior BJP leader, who was present during the confabulations, said.
It is high time the Indian government signalled discomfort with the UK providing refuge to those accused of financial crimes in India, states Jaimini Bhagwati.
The home ministry has taken cognisance of the "serious security lapse" and has sought a detailed report from the state government. The State Government has also been asked to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action.
Nagaland Governor Ashwani Kumar resigned on Wednesday, becoming the third person occupying the gubernatorial post to put in his papers since the National Democratic Alliance government prodded some of the Governors, appointed during United Progressive Alliance rule, to quit.
A day after heated exchanges between the Aam Aadmi Party dispensation and the Centre over the Delhi budget, the Union home ministry on Tuesday approved the city government's financial document, paving the way for its tabling in the assembly.
Thackeray held talks with Thorat, former chief minister Ashok Chavan and another senior Congress leader, Manikrao Thakare, at a suburban hotel.
'The BJP and RSS accept that the party is winning election after election because of Modi.' 'If the BJP is winning due to Modi, it will also lose due to Modi.'
Those who know Naveen Patnaik well say his final decision will depend on who has the edge after the election.
The government on Wednesday rejected the Congress demand for resignation of Union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Smriti Irani over 'Lalitgate' and 'fake degree' controversies, saying "our ministers do not do all that their (the United Progress Alliance) ministers used to do".
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Tuesday asserted that his party would continue its alliance with the Congress party.
While some in the Congress were apprehensive that land grab allegations against her husband Robert Vadra could turn out to be Priyanka's Achilles heel, much of the BJP leadership opted not to bring up the issue at the current juncture.
'How ironic that a party that seeks to arrogate the mantle of nationalism to itself is actually behaving like the imperial oppressors.'
The home minister also said that the government is committed to protecting the sovereignty and security of the country.
The party says it has trained over 1,00,000 workers in the last one year.
Addressing a press conference, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and the party's chief whip in the Upper House Jairam Ramesh alleged that the government is throttling the voice of the Opposition leaders to prevent them from raising issues of public importance.
On the decision of revoking provisions of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Modi said this was the wish of 130 crore Indians.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that Modi's move was aimed at helping a few of his 'crony capitalist friends' and had 'destroyed' the Indian economy, prompting a strong response from the BJP which said the exercise was an 'attack' on corruption and black money that were rampant during the 'lost decade' of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has convened a meeting of the party's strategy group on September 8, the sources said. Opposition leaders are keen that various like-minded parties should work closely with each other to take on the government in Parliament.
'Didi' became the real 'Dada' as she got past the post, on a wheelchair and a foot in cast, a souvenir from the Nandigram battle against former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari.
The current battle within the party is seen as setting the stage for August 10 when Sonia completes one year of interim presidentship, and questions are being raised about a leadership vacuum. For the first time, responsible quarters are suggesting that as Sonia cannot function as interim president indefinitely and Rahul seems to want power but not the responsibility, one way out is collective leadership, reports Aditi Phadnis.
It was Obama's eighth and final address to the UN General Assembly as the US President
The tumultuous Winter session of Parliament ended on Wednesday a day before schedule with proceedings in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha marred by repeated disruptions by the opposition over which the government and the Congress traded charges and the presiding officers expressed their anguish at the conduct of some MPs.
He also advised Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to "learn" from former defence minister Pranab Mukherjee "lessons on national security."
Jaitley said the cap on cash transactions is being reduced to curb generation of black money and the move to introduce electoral bonds is for cleansing the political funding
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded special category status for his state as well as other assistance from the Centre but remained evasive on allying with National Democratic Alliance.
Bharatiya Janata Party hit back on at Bihar Chief Minister's barbs at his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi and citing his elevation as the party's poll panel chief to part ways with the NDA saying that Nitish Kumar was down with 'NaMonia'.
'Everybody says 5G and communication is important.' 'Everybody says automation, robotics, human computing interfaces -- people and machines working together -- is the future.' 'Everybody agrees that cybersecurity is something that is here to stay.' 'Everybody agrees that synthetic biology is important.' 'Instead of outlining thinking about industries for tomorrow and the future, let the evolutionary pathway be built in a way that it promotes robust, creative, thinking.'
Here's the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to a joint session of the United States Congress, delivered on Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the ongoing delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir has to happen quickly so that polls can be held to instal an elected government that gives strength to its development trajectory.
"I do not mind if attacks are made on me but what pains me is that Modiji snatched the food park from Amethi...it was meant to transform Amethi and Raebareli," he said.
After finishing six months in office, on Thursday, party president Amit Shah released a long list of the achievements of the National Democratic Alliance government. As expected, there was no mention of the Modi government's inability to push through promised reforms in several sectors, like land and health.
Amid questions over his future, many political observers believe he has enhanced his political stature.
The performance of Janata Dal-United has down compared its performance in the 2015 elections and the ruling party could not win even half of the number of seats it contested in this election.
'If the Congress is to challenge the NDA government, Rahul Gandhi will have to shed his indifference to Parliament, become more visible and vocal and, essentially, lead from the front,' says Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal.
It was also suggested that an all-party delegation should visit Kashmir to assess the situation but the government did not make commitments regarding any of their demands.
Haley warned Americans that a Biden-Harris administration would lead the country on the path of socialism, which has failed everywhere in the world.
Amid heightened speculation of an alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Lok Janshakti Party, an influential section of the Bihar BJP has expressed its disapproval of the tie-up, saying it will harm the party's anti-corruption plank and hurt its support base.
Notwithstanding exit polls giving a clear mandate to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance the Telangana Rashtra Samithi on Friday said the party still prefers to support a Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.
The counting will begin at 8 am, and as per the Election Commission's COVID-19 guidelines, a candidate, his poll agent and counting agent can remain present in the counting hall, officials said, adding various measures have been taken to ensure social distancing and avoid crowding.
