Rediff.com brings you some of the biggies who the law caught up with, eventually.
Varun Gandhi contesting from the Bharatiya Janata Party and describing the seat as his late father Sanjay Gandhi's karambhoomi is seen as a comedy of errors by his opponent, Congress' Amita Singh, who asserts that while bringing in these emotions, he forgets that his father was a Congressman.
'We are not fighting against any individual, but the BJP's policies which are dictated by the RSS,' says Congress veteran Mohsina Kidwai.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to send out the message that the ruling BJP, unlike its predecessors at the helm, is not guided by parochial politics in recognising contributions in the public life, as the party looks to break new ground during the polls.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took a swipe at Sonia Gandhi, saying that his state had not bowed down even before Jawaharlal Nehru, let alone the present Congress president.
Congress on Friday termed as "disgusting" and "petty-minded" the way the Narendra Modi government marked the death anniversary of Indira Gandhi while the ruling BJP wondered if that party prefers to see history through the "perspective" of Nehru-Gandhi family.
While the bulk of the speeches were lessons in sycophancy, there were some eye-openers, workers who had come prepared to speak the truth and as they articulated the sentiments of the silent majority present there, there was loud applause and genuine appreciation. One such example was Umaid Sheikh from Ahmednagar in Maharashtra who said that Sheila Dixit only won in Delhi because of her performance while the others were winning because of the Gandhi name.
'She showed courage at every turn in her political career.'
Is anyone in the BJP listening -- to what Nitin Gadkari had to say, but possibly left unsaid? asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said 42,000 people lost their lives to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir over the years but the security situation has improved now to such an extent that no one dares to call a hartal or indulge in stone-pelting.
However, she said her own wish is to work for the party's organisation.
'It will be better if the 'family' desists from giving 'advice and guidance' lest it should be seen as a backseat driver which had placed a puppet at the top,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'Can he remain ignorant by saying he was 13 years old?' 'That means Rahul Gandhi must not talk on any subject in this country that precedes his adulthood.' 'He should remain unaware of history and knowledge of anything that has happened.'
Kharge said the leaders of INDIA parties have come together as democracy is under threat under the Bharatiya Janata Party government.
Under attack over the controversial Rs 685-crore Dalit memorial, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Friday hit out at Congress saying it had no right to criticise when it has raised so many memorials for the Nehru-Gandhi family across the Yamuna bank in Delhi.
Will Priyanka Gandhi emerge as the surprise Congress candidate for the top job?
'You can attack and conspire to weaken us, but you cannot destroy the Congress permanently.'
"A Hero is only necessary when systems fail." This was how young Congress leader Rahul Gandhi put it while attempting to suggest that loss of lives among security forces could have been perhaps avoided during the Mumbai terror attack if the system had not failed.
The long-standing Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal-United alliance stood the test of time again with the combine scoring a landslide victory in the Bihar assembly polls on the development plank.
Rediff.com's designer Uday Kuckian thinks the Gandhi Nehru scion has FINALLY arrived by taking the 'so called anti-corruption' step.
Crucial reforms in Muslim personal law, especially laws related to inheritance and adoption, need to be initiated forthwith; historically speaking, without the State's backing, hardly has any reform taken place or allowed to prevail, asserts Mohammad Sajjad.
Jayanthi Natarajan, the only prominent woman leader from Tamil Nadu in the Congress and a known loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family, makes a comeback to the Union Council of Ministers after a gap of nearly 13 years. Natarajan, 57, has an arduous task ahead since she steps into the shoes of high profile and activist minister Jairam Ramesh, who had given considerable teeth to the environment ministry.
The Lok Sabha MP said a clear picture about the Congress president poll can be known on September 30 and the Yatra would cross the state's borders the next day.
"I will get married soon," said Rahul Gandhi, the 38-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family. He was replying to a question at a roadshow on Tuesday on whether he had any plans to tie the knot.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's style of functioning, his preconceived opinions and lack of patience has distanced him from the party cadre. Anita Katyal reports.
'The party dropped me as a spokesperson for showing a roadmap. It shows that the party either has a high level of arrogance or they are completely detached from ground realities.'
'What should surprise BJP supporters is Modi's call for 'stability' at the manifesto launch, a theme that he and his team members had not touched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.' 'The last time the party called for 'stability at the Centre' was in 1998 and 1999,' recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
The PM name is to be decided only after the Lok Sabha results, a top opposition leader said.
Former British prime minister Tony Blair showered praise on the Nehru-Gandhi family scion Rahul Gandhi, saying he stood out as the "most talented" and "insightful" of the younger generation of politicians worldwide. "He (Rahul) has got a first-class mind and great commitment to India... And you know he is one of those politicians that can take a step back and look at, what I call the big picture, and he's definitely someone who does that," Blair told a TV channel.
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi today said the secular traditions of Kerala, as reflected in events like Nehru Trophy boat race, was the best example for the rest of the country to follow.
The Congress last week hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his criticism of then PM Indira Gandhi's decision to use the Indian Air Force in Mizoram in 1966, saying he "twisted decisions" taken by his predecessors out of their political and historical context to score "petty debating points".
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday said he will attend the inauguration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya in January if he is invited to the programme.
Kanhaiya, accompanied by a delegation of JNU students and members of All India Students Federation, met the Congress vice president at his residence in Tughlaq lane area.
'At the end of 2011, everyone had forgotten the so-called India Story and double-digit growth. Outside the members of the official economist clique, led by the prime minister's sidekick Montek Singh Ahluwalia, no economist predicts that GDP will grow at nine-plus percent. The last quarter saw growth slip alarmingly. At this rate, instead of Ahluwalia's 9% we will soon be back to the Hindu rate of growth of 3.5%,' notes Virendra Kapoor.
It is time the political leaderships in this country arrived at a common ground over issues of foreign and security policy concerns. There has to be a greater communication between the government and the Opposition leaderships for the nation to present a unified face against the rest of the world, advises N Sathiya Moorthy.
For someone like me who studied Sam so intently, if a lump could form in the throat during the emotive scenes, I think the cast did a superb job, notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
As the Lok Sabha debates a no-confidence motion brought against the Narendra Modi government by the opposition, the 28th such motion to be admitted in the Lower House, data compiled by a think tank shows all previous ones have either been defeated or remained inconclusive.
