Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday filed his nomination papers from the Hajipur parliamentary constituency in Bihar, and claimed that he would break his own Guinness World Record for winning a parliamentary election with the highest margin.
The question is whether Prime Minister Modi can convince the world's investors that India is the ultimate investment destination of 2018, says Kanika Datta.
'India, he announced, is a "free, open, inclusive region" committed to the "common pursuit of progress and prosperity".' 'Prosperity yes. But free? Open?' 'Ask the Dalit tanner, the Muslim butcher, the Christian priest who writes pastoral letters.' 'Ask cattle traders of any religion or a Delhiwallah who enjoys a juicy steak.' 'Ask a Muslim who falls in love with a Hindu or vice versa,' says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
'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.
Naresh Chandra was most certainly among the greatest patriots two generations of Indian strategists have seen.
That is what you will hear again after Nirmala Sitharaman presents a speech that will prove to be meaningless and numbers that will show themselves to be wildly off the mark, observes Aakar Patel.
"For me, it is like homecoming," said the 93-year-old who returned for the second time to the Congress which he had last left ahead of the 2017 assembly elections to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
If he doesn't win next year, it will set back the party's prospects in 2024. If he wins, it will be seen as his win as much as the BJP high command's, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'One wishes that today's 'take no prisoners' brand of politics would give way to an understanding of the national interest that is shared by both government and Opposition.'
Speaking at a seminar in New Delhi, Madhav stressed that culture and religion have been the major aspect of ties between India and Southeast Asia
The Congress leader posted a tweet that used abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but later disowned it saying retweets are not endorsements.
"It seems the BJP has opened a Lalit Kala Academy to train its spokespersons in how to defend Lalit Modi," party spokesman Tom Vadakkan told media persons.
On December 10, Kissinger began to encourage the Chinese to take action against India: 'If the People's Republic were to consider the situation on the Indian subcontinent a threat to security, and if it took measures to protect its security, the US would oppose efforts of others to interfere with the People's Republic.' On the 50th anniversary of India's greatest military victory, Claude Arpi recalls how the US suggested that China intervene militarily on Pakistan's side.
Political watchers believe that there is little denying the loss of face the party has suffered in its bid to rule India's richest state.
The DMK feels its genuine gestures have had no bearing on the governor's politico-administrative conduct, which is 'more political and politicised than administrative and Constitutional', observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Since 1979, the BJP has not fielded any Muslim candidate from any parliamentary seat from the state.
Indian elections are won and lost on 'negative' imageries and campaigns - but not certainly on 'negativity' as a political trait and electoral creed, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rahul Khullar's guiding credo was that a civil servant must never lose sight of his client: The little guy. The evil men are those who are decision-makers but abdicate their responsibility of taking decisions, leading people to lose confidence in public institutions.
'Sonia's term as Congress president -- which was 20 years -- was the longest in the party's history.' 'It will also go down as the period in which the Congress transformed in the way Indians viewed it,' says Aakar Patel.
On Wednesday, Bengal's own daughter she firmly pitched herself as, was sworn in as the chief minister of the turbulent state for the third successive term amid raging fires of political violence and a rampaging pandemic.
Kaul, a sister-in-law of Jawaharlal Nehru and oldest surviving former Parliamentarian, died, aged 101.
"Pakistan Foreign Minister is a political pygmy in a powerless government kowtowing to the terror organisations. These pusillanimous comments reflect Pakistan's frustration with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's successful diplomacy in exposing the terror face of Pakistan to the world," said BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao.
Modi said the initiatives taken by the East Asia Summit in disaster preparedness and response are truly commendable.
Ramdev's Patanjali is a low-cost, low-margin business that gets away with pretty much what it wants because wily old Ramdev knows how to get around all politicians, says Vir Sanghvi.
From Sri Lanka's most popular political family to its most despised -- going by the voices on the streets calling for the Rajapaksas' ouster -- what went wrong for the clan? Veteran Sri Lanka watcher N Sathiya Moorthy offers an insight.
'Three decades after liberalisation kicked off, my friend's son and niece -- both born well after that historic shift in economic policy -- find themselves newly off the beaten path for no fault than listening to their heart,' notes Shyam G Menon.
US-India defence cooperation must not adversely affect the India-Russia interface, which has its own strategic meaning and content, asserts Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
'Non-separation of religion from politics is India's most daunting challenge'
'The promises of netas and babus and new laws, however well-meaning, mean little.' 'What matters is implementation on the ground.' 'Every law is finally implemented by a vast army of offici
'... And give him the confidence and freedom to express himself.'
Though the 91-year-old leader is no longer politically much active, his joining the saffron party is being seen as a boost to it ahead of the Uttarakhand assembly polls.
'Modi's brilliance seems to be in combining Indira Gandhi's 'feel' for the Indian pulse and Narasimha Rao's cynicism.' 'By the time the Opposition leaders caught up with Modi over the 'surgical strikes', he had already moved on,' says M K Bhadrakumar.
Modi, who is leaving for Iran on Sunday, will also pay a two-day visit to Qatar from June 4.
Hans Raj Bhardwaj has slammed his own party, calling it too weak to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The BJP said moderate and liberal Muslims take pride in raising nationalist slogans like this but hardliners with medieval beliefs raise such issues for their own sectarian interests.
'If the blatant criminal act of destroying a place of worship is to be rewarded by giving the whole land to those who committed that act, then it raises lots of questions.'
Fernandes wanted Coca-Cola Company to not just transfer 60 per cent of the shares of its Indian firm but also the formula for its concentrate to Indian shareholders.
'No Indian political party functions in a democratic way.'
A report about the officer has been sent to the 'higher-ups' in the government
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