Changing the names of Uttar Pradesh cities has accelerated into a movement ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election, notes Ranjita Ganesan.
Six members of a family were found dead inside a car parked in Haryana's Panchkula, while one more died on the way to a hospital, police said on Tuesday, suspecting a suicide pact. Police are investigating the incident from all angles.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on this Theatre of the Bizarre.
Glimpses from all the action from the campaign trail.
Nearly 137 public meetings in UP...
The BJP's 2022 assembly election win may have further consolidated Adityanath's stock within the BJP. The saffron party is now set to win the UP state polls twice in a row, a feat achieved by no other party in three decades.
Modi will address a rally to boost BJP candidate Smriti Irani's chances.
In a year of the Yogi Adityanath regime in Uttar Pradesh, the state has witnessed 1,500 police encounter in which 58 criminals have been killed. On July 2, the Supreme Court sought a reply from the UP government on the issue of police encounter killings after advocate Sanjay Parekh appearing for the People's Union for Civil Liberties pointed out that gross human rights violations were being carried out through these killings under the Adityanath rule. Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com, PUCL's advocate Sanjay Parekh said that police encounters are not permissible in a democracy.
As CM, he took decisions that confirmed his image as a Hindutva mascot. Early in the first term, he banned illegal slaughterhouses and the state police cracked down on cow slaughter. But the menace of stray cattle created disquiet among farmers, presenting the Adityanath government with a new challenge.
That would be three more seats than what the BJP won in 2014.
'If the civil code has to be put on hold, what card can the BJP play if it finds the going tough in the run-up to the general election of 2024?' asks Amulya Ganguli.
'He may have had his reservations about the law and order situation there, but the way the family of the victim was intimidated raises a lot of questions about the intentions of the DM.'
It was not clear if any decision was taken to act against those responsible for killing police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh.
Over 10 million farmers have received Rs 2,000 crore under the flagship scheme says Virendra Singh Rawat.
The UP CM didn't deign to attend the actor's nomination.
'The Mallahs may remain divided between the two competing coalitions in Bihar,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'Overnight, with zero qualification whatsoever for the responsibility of prime ministership, Priyanka is being projected as an alternative to Narendra Damodardas Modi!' says Nazarwala who predicted Mayawati's win in the 2007 UP elections, forecast her rout in the 2012 polls, and called right the 2017 UP assembly election result.
'Star campaigner' to address election meetings in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, MP, Rajasthan.
'The supernatural always trumps the natural,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
'It is almost certain that in the absence of note-bandi, the party would have lost in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh,' points out Amulya Ganguli.
'The Mughals became completely Indian in every sense and united the vast Indian subcontinent, not only territorially, but also the hearts and minds of people with multiple religio-cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversities' 'The Mughals, arguably, made India an enviable superpower in the then world.' 'Are the Hindutva rulers of today scared of acknowledging Mughal accomplishments?' asks Mohammad Sajjad.
The BJP's message is that the past must be reinvented as creatively as imagination allows, states Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
'70 years back, Dalits used to be abused, scolded, slapped, but killing a Dalit was rare because a Dalit was somebody's property.' 'Now that they are free, they are facing violent attacks.'
"Nobody can do injustice to Ayodhya," he said, adding that the holy city is identified by Lord Ram.
'Surprisingly, the most frequent of the walking squads are the Auntyjis, those you'd hardly credit with such dedication.' 'Yet, they're always present and the sprightliest of the lot in their salwar suits and saris,' says Kishore Singh.
'People feel that if they belonged to some other community, their matters would've been resolved more easily.' 'It is because of the government's mistreatment and ill-will that this feeling has got into the community.'
'The brazen politics, in this series of bullying of AMU by functionaries of the Union and provincial governments, utterly disregarding the fact that the matter is sub judice, is quite obvious.' 'One needs to see through the desperate politics of the BJP which governs both Uttar Pradesh and the Centre, especially its woes over its Dalit support base,' says AMU Professor Mohammad Sajjad.
People, carrying "Not In My Name" placards and forming human chains, protested across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Goa and Kerala.
'If the government cannot protect the acid attack victims the least they can do is support their rehabilitation.'
'The DM is the ultimate authority in such situations.' 'The CM could not have directed anybody to cordon off the family and restrict them from meeting the family.'
'Farmers' issues will rule the narrative in the 2019 elections.'
'Yogiji has neither been successful in reducing crime in the state nor has he been able to make the people feel that they are safe,' says one UP minister.
'If you accept that situation you don't require the judiciary, the criminal procedure law, the Indian Penal Code or even the Constitution because there is somebody who decides who gets to live and who gets to die.'
'A unified Hindu votebank -- the creation of the largest and most reliable votebank in Indian politics, ever,' says Mihir S Sharma.
Amit Shah requested Adityanath to tighten the reins of the HYV's activities, now that he was CM. But Adityanath is not prepared to let go so easily.
'The vitriolic campaign now in progress, the underlying threat of violence, and the elevation of Pragya Thakur as a star candidate are key markers in the BJP's obstacle-strewn march back to New Delhi,' says Sunil Sethi.
'In this season of inspired mean-spirited campaigning, it still seemed remarkable that we are more likely to learn civics lessons from school children than our leaders,' says Rahul Jacob.
'If the BJP becomes the new Congress, then an Opposition within will naturally emerge -- from the right, not the left,' points out Mihir Sharma.
Hordes of cows rampage through the fields, eating everything in sight. This is after the UP government banned slaughter of cattle. As a result, farmers whose cows become old and are a liability simply sets them loose.
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