It has been a turnaround for Javadekar, who was earlier stripped of the charge of two key departments of Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs as a minister of state.
'The BJP's numbers in this government are almost the same as those enjoyed by the Congress under P V Narasimha Rao when the reform process was kicked off in 1991.' 'As before, the only constraints on the prime minister's actions are internal, not external.' 'They come from his own assessment of the political consequences of any action,' points out Mihir S Sharma.
In the wake of widespread violence and protests by anti-bifurcation agitators in Andhra Pradesh, Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Monday sought to assuage the feelings of Seemandhra people, saying their genuine concerns on security, education, employment in Hyderabad would be taken care of.
Pushed to the corner by the deteriorating health condition of Telangana Rashtriya Samiti chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, the Congress on Wednesday night agreed to pass a resolution in the Andhra Pradesh assembly for the creation of a separate Telangana state, in a bid to defuse the current volatile situation. Addressing a press conference late on Wednesday night, Home Minister P Chidambaram said, "The process of creating a separate Telangana state will be initiated."
This is the third time the Andhra Pradesh government has earmarked reservations for Muslims.
The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved the construction of National War Memorial and Museum near the famed India Gate in New Delhi.
Eight of the newly inducted ministers in the Union cabinet have criminal cases against them, a report released by election watchdog Non-Governmental Organisation's on Monday said.
In a review meeting by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, these states and the union territory were asked to continue with rigorous vigil so as to contain the spread of infection as well as take steps to reduce fatalities.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud had on May 11 reserved its verdict on the pleas after a marathon hearing of 10 days.
Amidst an uproar over creation of Telangana, the government on Monday told Parliament that a Cabinet note is being prepared to go into substantive and procedural issues concerning formation of the new state.
HEC will be developed by the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority of UAE in association with APIIC. The government gave the land to APIIC at Rs 16 lakh (Rs 1.6 million) per acre, AP's information and public relations minister said after a cabinet meeting. The investing agency had sought 2,000 acres for the HEC. The remaining land would be given in due course, an APIIC official said.
'We are going to need more technical people in government.' 'You can't expect a generalist to understand the complicated world of financial engineering.' 'I regret to say that most of our politicians have no competence to deal with these things. Nor is there a willingness to learn.'
He has served BJP in several capacities, will also be a saviour for the NDA in the Rajya Sabha, where they are still in minority.
Nearly two weeks after Parliament passed a bill for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the central government has decided that the new Telangana state will be born on June 2.
'I wonder how people who come to power through democratic means turn out this way.' 'But people of India are strong, and those who think they can hoodwink people, are mistaken.' 'You can fool some people for some time, but not all people, all the time.'
In nearly 100 seats, the BJP stands almost no chance of winning. In 200 seats, it is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress where the BJP has an upper hand. In 243 seats, the BJP is pitted against regional parties and it is not going to be easy. That is why 400 seats may end up as a pipe dream, states Ramesh Menon, author of Modi Demystified: The Making of a Prime Minister.
Hoping that the new state of Telangana will come into being by January, over a dozen Congress leaders from the region are said to be lobbying hard with the party high command for the chief minister's post.
Curfew has been imposed in Vizianagaram town with police given the orders to shoot at sight in the wake of large-scale violence by anti-bifurcation agitators, police said.
'We pulled out 2 ministers from the Union cabinet and then quit the NDA. We also moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government. Yet, the Centre remains unmoved'
YSR Congress President Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday called on Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan to demand an emergency session of state assembly to pass a resolution against the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation court on Monday dismissed the plea of YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, facing corruption charges, seeking further relaxation on his bail conditions by allowing him to visit other states.
The government on Thursday said it will go ahead with its decision to create Telangana despite protests in the Seemandhra region, but remained non-committal on imposition of the President's rule in Andhra Pradesh.
Tamil Nadu, which boasted of as many as nine ministers in the UPA-II government in 2009, did not get any representation in Modi 2.0 government.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL challenging the Union cabinet's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh to carve out a separate Telangana state.
"Our party has decided not to attend the meeting with the GoM. Our main demand is that the GoM engage all stakeholders, including the Joint Action Committees, from different regions of the state in talks on the issue and address all concerns," TDP senior leader Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu said in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to implement the commitments made by the previous Congress-led government to Seemandhra, which include grant of special category status to it and execution of Polavaram multi-purpose irrigation project.
Heavy rains continued to pound Chennai and nearby districts on Monday under the impact of a cyclonic storm, which is likely to cross the coast in Andhra Pradesh on December 5.
Generation and supply of electricity was severely affected in several parts of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions due to ongoing strike by employees of power utilities against the division of Andhra Pradesh.
Are these tableaus meant to clearly convey the message that Amitbhai -- and and not anyone else -- will be Narendrabhai's successor if the Pradhan Sevak ever decided to retire either as prime minister (if he wins the next general election, that is) or as BJP supremo?
It is highly unusual to see a chief minister travel to the airport to receive a Cabinet minister, a protocol requirement usually reserved for the President of the Republic, the vice-president and the prime minister.
The Centre advised nine states including Assam, Bihar, Telangana and Odisha to ramp up testing with special focus on containment zones, strictly implement containment plan, augment health infrastructure and ensure effective clinical management of COVID-19 cases.
Even as the Union Cabinet on Thursday took up the note on Telangana state for discussion, the Seemandhra leaders fighting to keep the state united, met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to discuss their counter strategy.
He also told his legislators that the Cabinet would predominantly comprise members from the weaker sections, contrary to expectations that the Reddy community would get a lion's share.
As Cyclone Hudhud is closing in on the Andhra Pradesh coastline and is expected to make a landfall near Visakhapatnam by Sunday afternoon, about 1.11 lakh people in five coastal districts have been shifted to safer places.
With protests in Seemandhra against the Centre's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, the Congress on Tuesday appealed to people in the region to give up their agitation so that a solution that benefits both sides could be arrived at.
