A fascinating excerpt from Arghya Sengupta, Jinaly Dani, Kevin James, and Pranay Modi's Hamn Ast: A Biography of Article 370.Instead came a recommendation from Parliament, acting under the imposition of President's Rule, purporting to convey the views of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This clever act achieved Parliament's purpose optimally. But was it legitimate in law?
'... as has been happening in the last three weeks, then the foreign exchange reserves will not be comfortable to ensure that the rupee does not fall drastically.'
Never one to complain about her circumstances, Preity is making the best of her prolonged isolation in Los Angeles.
'It will be wrong to raise the expectations of tribals because of a tribal President. 'Tribal issues have not been resolved for 150 years.'
'But will there be matching action as far as tribals are concerned on the ground?'
The message for 2024 is that the man on the street is not going to be euphoric if the G-20 crowns Modi as king-emperor for 2023, or if India sends its first man to space just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Even a 'temple consecration' in Ayodhya, or a Uniform Civil Code, or both of them together, may not have enough electoral purchase if fuel and commodity prices are not rolled back, and money-in-the-pocket does not fatten, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
If 'development' and jobs and such things are less important to many than identity, then the BJP can dominate the discourse by stressing the largest marker of identity, which is religious nationalism, observes Aakar Patel.
The DMK, AIADMK, PMK, BJP gear up for next May's assembly elections.
'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.
'We will be hoisting the tiranga, but this kind of celebration is uncalled for when the farmers in this country are dying by suicides, their families are ravaged by poverty and farmers are not enjoying any freedom.'
'I must have done a lot of good deeds because of which I was getting the chance to talk to such a mahapurush.'
Uttam Ghosh's Take on Modi's controversial Diwali Nukes statement.
If the bribe-for-PPE-supply controversy in Himachal escalates, the BJP could have a lot to lose.
Hemant Shivsaran lists the number of projects the Modi government has announced since August to woo Gujarat voters.
If the Opposition has any chance at the prime minister's job, it can happen only if they all stop dropping names and work at the grassroots-level, state-wise, suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
BJP banks on Modi, Congress on its candidate Manvendra Singh in Barmer, India's largest constituency by area after Ladakh.
A new Congress leader may make an electoral impact by his very presence. Congress voters who had moved away from the party, after being influenced by the BJP's 'family rule' campaign, can now return with a certain moral satisfaction, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The word equity means so much more to the dynamic world India today is in than the word 'socialism'.'
'If there is any possibility, then the BJP has to accept our conditions. There should be caste census in the country, the report of the social justice committee should be implemented, the CM should be from backward caste and also the poor must be provided a uniform, mandatory and free education as well as free medical treatment.'
'At a time when people don't like to even sacrifice their panchayat seat, Biplab Kumar Deb sacrificed the chair of chief minister with a smiling face.'
At the moment, there appears to be no alternative political narrative to the one lying buried under the debris of havoc caused on this front by the fallout of 'August 5, 2019', asserts Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
I am not sure if Modi can ever act as a chowkidar, even if he wants to. But he can surely act as a thanedar, by ensuring a fast resolution of corruption cases once they come to light. Exemplary action is easier and will burnish his anti-corruption image, argues Debashis Basu.
A weaker Russia, a sobered China at a time when Xi Jinping is manoeuvring to protect his third term prospects, a reunited West, a chaotic Pakistan. This is a perfect set of strategic circumstances. It is for India now to consummate this historic opportunity, argues Shekhar Gupta.
It may well be possible to defeat Modi. But nobody seems to know how, points out Vir Sanghvi.
Both countries are closer than before due to these two leaders's public display of mutual connectivity and warm exchanges of words, but how it will help India to serve its interests will be known on Tuesday.
'With sufficient gaps between polling dates, the BJP will have time to convert the 'fence-sitter' votes,' observes Payal Mohanka.
Modi and Shah addressed rallies away from the four major urban centres of Gujarat: Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot.
Now, the chief minister is under pressure to make good his promise after the December 4 incident in Nagaland's Mon, where 14 people were killedAFSPA has eclipsed all other achievements of the Biren Singh government.
'I don't think there will be any problem for Hindus to accept Adityanath as the leader, since they have already chosen Modi.'
'The MEA, hopefully, made it clear that the Indian PM can't be seen in Xi Jinping's company when China has, for all intents and purposes, annexed over 1,000 sq kms of Indian territory in eastern Ladakh, and essentially that the Wuhan spirit and the Mamallapuram spirit have turned into vinegar.'
With Donald Trump unable to make it, Modi settles for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
This is not an election Budget in the sense that I might target the voter in the coming elections. But if you look beyond this round of state elections, and tilt the periscope to graze at the more distant horizon, see how the Narendra Modi government wishes things looking by the summer of 2024, observes Shekhar Gupta.
"Peeche peeche aana hai (follow right behind)," was the message from Amit Shah to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Panneerselvam, reports R Rajagopalan. There has been no discussion on the portfolios to be allotted, and it has been left to the discretion of the prime minister, reports R Rajagopalan.
Less than half the ministers in Team Yogi are not long-term BJP members. Many old-timers have been dropped.
You too can choose the next Congress president now!
'Use of the word 'genocide' for Kashmiri Pandits is absolutely wrong.'
The elephant in the room will permeate the conversations, predicts Rup Narayan Das.
Nearly 137 public meetings in UP...
'They don't want anybody to stand up and support the vulnerable sections of society who may be targeted.'
While no specific state-oriented sops were rolled out, a strong thread of political wellness ran through the Budget.