Addressing the media soon after the Union Cabinet cleared the ordinance, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad cited compelling necessity for the move as the practice annulled by the Supreme Court continues unabated.
The war of words on sub-quota for minorities further flared up on Sunday with Bharatiya Janata Party accusing Congress of indulging in worst forma of communal propaganda to garner votes in poll bound Uttar Pradesh and other four states.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Gujarat government to stop any further investigation into the case against social activist Teesta Setalvad for her alleged role in illegal exhumation of the bodies of the 2002 riot victims in Pandarwada, saying that it is a mala fide case.
The issue of Lord Rama grabbed headlines again on Monday when Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said he would travel to Ayodhya and open talks with stakeholders in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute on November 16.
Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar became the first Indian to receive the Crans Montana Forum Award.
Family, students, fans and friends pay tribute to the legend of Pandit Ravi Shankar
'The need of the hour is unity among all Indians who wish to protect and preserve our cherished values of democracy and secularism'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier called for consensus in passing the bill.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday sought to wash its hands off the jail term awarded by a court in Delhi to its former president Bangaru Laxman in connection to a bribery case, saying the order is part of a legal process which does not involve the party. "This sentence is a part of the legal process. He (Laxman) will appeal against it. The liability here is personal and does not involve the party," BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
A team of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders visited the downtown residence of slain Islamic cleric Maulana Showkat Ahmad Shah on Thursday.
Sinha is a two-term BJP Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib Singh but has been dropped by the saffron party which has chosen to field union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from the seat.
Strongly objecting to Home Minister P Chidambaram's statement on right wing extremism, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said he should not compromise on the fight against terrorism just to save himself from his 'neck-deep' involvement in the 2G spectrum scam.
Opposition parties on Thursday launched a vociferous attack on the Centre over its handling of the farmers' agitation, callings its dialogues with the protestors 'monologues', even as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party defended the new laws asserting that its government is committed to the welfare of peasants and increase their incomes.
The Bharatiya Janata Party welcomed the judgement of the Supreme Court of India quashing the appointment Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas. BJP spokeperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said that in view of the order of the honourable Supreme Court, 'the time has come for Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to introspect.'
The Art of Living Ashram in Bangalore is witness to a wealth of a different kind, as it hosts thousands of people from across 65 countries as meditation, silence, pujas and satsang mark the nine auspicious nights of Navratri.
Here are some of the reactions to the apex court's decision.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Tarun Vijay on Friday rejected the government theory that the Central Bureau of Investigation raids on Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee is a natural culmination of unearthing the corruption in staging the gala Games.
The party has taken a very serious view of the party candidate getting just four votes while seven other MLAs voted for other parties' candidates, party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad told media persons on Friday.
Ravi Shankar mulls taking his products, available at 600 outlets, to 2,500 stores by 2017; others have plans, too.
The members, whose terms are ending, include union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan, J P Nadda, Thaawarchand Gehlot and Ramdas Athawale.
Nirmohi Akhara, the main plaintiff in the Ayodhya title suit, wants the mediation of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoban and the national organisation of Muslim ulemas-- Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind -- along with Hindu religious leaders like Baba Ramdev, Shri Shri Ravi Shankar and Murari Bapu.
Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Tuesday said he could not visit Amethi during his ongoing anti-corruption yatra in Uttar Pradesh as the Ashram which had extended him invitation was pressurised not to call him.
The new rules are aimed at providing a strong impetus to the industry and positioning India as one of the most competitive IT jurisdictions in the world.
Responding to Singh's Twitter post -- which stated that Ramdev was BJP's plan A, Team Anna was plan B, and when both of which had 'crashed', Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was plan C -- BJP national spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, "Digvijay Singh is no doubt the plan D of the Congress party, and D can be read here as duffer or dirty tricks."
Stepping up attack on the Congress after it targeted its president Nitin Gadkari, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday put a four-point poser to Sonia Gandhi, questioning her silence on the various scams.
Nearly 45 per cent of this value is likely to be delivered by 3 sectors - consumer goods and retail, agriculture and banking and insurance, the Nasscom report said.
In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says that even though he supports the cause, he would never support anybody who resorts to violence.
'Why did they not raise their voice against the pollution in the Yamuna earlier?' 'Why were they quiet for so long against construction and encroachment on the flood plains.'
Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Mohan Bhagwat and thousands of supporters in Indian and overseas appealed to yoga guru Ramdev to end his fast against black money corruption due to his falling health.
In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, where it was introduced for the first time in any parliamentary election, around 60 lakh voters had opted for the NOTA option -- equalling about 1.1 per cent of the total votes polled during those elections across 543 seats.
The decision will help farmers earn an additional income of Rs 62,635 crore
'Losers who cannot influence people even in their own party keep cribbing that the entire world is controlled by the BJP and RSS'
The Bhartiya Janata Party, consciously deciding to steer clear of its close association with the Ram temple, switched gears, and said that the issue would not remain a part of their political agenda anymore. But at the same time, called for all communities to join hands to pave bay for building a temple at the site.
Rahul Gandhi may be seen as the party's key charismatic leader, but the Bhartiya Janata Party does not consider him as any potent political force.
As Gogoi took oath, Congress, Left and their allies shouted slogans and staged a walk out from the House.
Training its guns on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Bofors pay-offs scandal, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday demanded that he apologise for defending Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrochi. "Mr PM, you tried to give a clean chit to Quattrocchi," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters, adding this has been found to be false by an income tax tribunal which said that kickbacks of Rs 41 crore were paid to Quattrocchi and Win Chaddha.
To ensure implementation of party ideology and agenda, the Bharatiya Janata Party central leadership on Tuesday directed its chief ministers to maintain time-bound and better coordination with the organisation in states where the party is in power.
In a strong reaction to Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's statement on Osama bin Laden, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday asked the country to first look within on the issue of terrorism as it had been "caught with its pants-down" in the case.
The cash-for-vote scam rocked both Houses of Parliament Thursday with Bharatiya Janata Party objecting to the arrest of two of its "whistleblower" former MPs and demanding suspension of Question Hour to discuss the issue.
While Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj in her post on Twitter.com called Laden 'humanity's enemy number one', BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said he (Laden) was the most visible and dangerous face of global jihadi terror.
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