The Congress, desperate to make a comeback in Gujarat, which has been ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party for over 20 years, has tried to reach out to various sections of society in its blueprint unveiled.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated a memorial in London dedicated to Dr B R Ambedkar over two months after India acquired the bungalow where the Dalit icon and architect of India's Constitution lived as a student in the 1920s.
Invoking the legacy of B R Ambedkar on the eve of the first phase of Bihar polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday categorically ruled out scrapping the reservation system and assailed "a group of liars" for the false propaganda that it is under threat.
'Isn't it tragic, comic as well as ironic that the people who owe their allegiance to the Constitution of India are declared deshdrohis without an iota of evidence?' 'But this mistake has to be corrected and those who actually and directly fomented the Bhima Koregaon riots and the masterminds behind these people will have to be exposed now.'
Curiously, on one aspect -- the large turnout of Dalits at Bhima-Koregaon -- both the counsel for the government and police, and the counsel for Milind Ekbote, an accused in the Bhima-Koregaon violence, pursued the same line of questioning. They asked Tukaram Gavare about the planning that must have gone behind this turnout.
'The current government must act sooner rather than later,' asserts Vivek Gumaste.
'The idea of Hindu Rashtra is one of the most inclusive concepts.'
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the nation on the eve of 71st Republic Day.
'It is difficult to imagine the BJP becoming the legatee of Ambedkar. Whichever way one looks at it, Ambedkar's thought and Hindu nationalism are not easy to reconcile.'
Kabali has nothing new to say or offer, besides Rajinikanth playing his age, feels Raja Sen.
This is the first time that a Muslim lady has filed a nomination in a Presidential election.
Asserting that Aligarh Muslim University is not a minority institution, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Saturday said the varsity is committing a "big crime" by not implementing the policy of reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs.
Stoking a controversy, the Shiv Sena on Sunday demanded that voting rights of Muslims should be revoked as the community has often been used to play vote bank politics.
Taking a dig at Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said he feared that there were grim indicators of Indian democracy being concentrated in one person's hand after the marginalisation of party veterans like LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.
'The BJP will never do anything substantial to empower Dalits.'
'Despite living in a free nation for so many years, if atrocities like rapes, public flogging, social boycotts are faced by Dalits, then conversion is the only option.'
The two senior most leaders of the Communist Party of India-Marxist are at the loggerhead over alliance or adjustment with the Congress.
Fuelling further the bitter quota debate in Bihar polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused his rivals Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad of having come together in July 2005 to demand a review of the policy to provide for religion-based reservation.
The Congress said it will observe 'Save Democracy Day' on Friday with party workers and leaders holding protest marches at all district and state headquarters.
'We were at war with the BJP in the 1990s. We were burning down each other's offices then. I don't want that to happen again.'
Modi said social justice is not a lip service for the government but a commitment.
'One hopes the younger generation sees Savarkar him for what he was and does not view him through a distorted prism.' 'This is the least one could do for someone who devoted his whole life to Indian freedom struggle, elimination of caste, succour to Dalits, and instilling of strategic culture in India,' says Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The Kopardi rape/murder was the immediate cause of the unrest.' 'However, there is a feeling of isolation and anger that has been simmering within the Maratha community.' 'The protests gave Marathas a sense of belonging.' 'They felt they have a stake in the protests and the issues being raised.' 'As for the future, let us see what happens.' 'All I can say is it will not stop here.'
'Let reservations be decided on the basis of the economic status of a family or person.' 'Give 30 per cent reservations to those whose yearly income is below Rs 200,000, and the remaining 19 per cent to those whose family's annual income is between Rs 200,000 and Rs 400,000.'
The AAP's mandate in Gujarat is similar to the one in Delhi -- address issues related to corruption and other grievances of the common man, says Vinay Umarji and Premal Balan
'For a Dalit boy to reach the PhD stage, it requires a lot of pain and hard work. He was a scholar, an intelligent student.' 'This is not about the loss of just an individual, but the loss of this nation.'
Bhilar, a strawberry farming hub in Maharashtra, has been transformed into India's first 'books village'.
'I want the prime minister to be punished because he put our country in difficulties as he took this decision without Cabinet approval.' 'When he had already ordered the printing of new currency notes on May 19, 2016, why did he tell lies to the country?'
highlights of what Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi and senior leader L K Advani said at the Statue of Unity launch event
Modi said no questions can be raised over patriotism of any of the 125 crore Indians and nobody needs to produce a "certificate of patriotism".
Kapil Mishra was one of the closest aides of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. However, in May 2017, the tides turned. A loyalist of the Aam Aadmi Party founder, Mishra shocked one and all by openly accusing him of corruption, a claim that the AAP dismissed. Since then Mishra has become one of the most prominent AAP rebels. In the face of the sit-in by Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and ministers - Satyendar Jain and Gopal Rai at Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's office, Mishra spoke to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com and said that this is the first time in history that a sitting chief minister of a state in India has kidnapped himself.
It is quite likely that the Parliament itself could now attract people's scorn. That would be terrible, and not the people but the politicians would be responsible, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
'For 20 years, successive governments have failed to provide housing for the poor. Here, they were to get 400 sq ft flats for Rs 54,000,' says Prakash Ambedkar who was arrested by the Maharashtra government for getting thousands of people to submit forms for these apartments.
'They have realised that class war is not possible in India, so they are trying to bring about a caste war.'
'Nobody in AMU supports Jinnah's two-nation theory.' 'It is shameful we are debating Jinnah and not education or employment.'
'Most Hindus believe in living in peace with their Muslim neighbours and vice versa.' 'It is this India we have to preserve.'
The underlying tone of a call for separate Mumbai city is always seen as a class war and a linguistic war, says Neeta Kolhatkar
Compromise, constitutionality, pragmatism and self-respect. These were Mandela's leadership virtues. For countries such as India and South Africa, these are the qualities leaders must have, says Mihir S Sharma
As the teachers began gaining confidence, it also drew the attention of other women in the community, leading to greater demand for teaching jobs.
We have failed to acknowledge the volatile events that have changed Mumbai.
