On a visit to India in 2013, writer Ved Mehta -- who passed into the ages on Sunday January 10, 2021 - gave Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel a rare glimpse into his state of mind and what he thinks of the changes he encounters in his motherland.
Kejriwal had on Sunday assured the bureaucrats that he will use all the powers and resources at his command to ensure their safety and security and called them part of his family.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the "unfortunate" and "unprecedented" developments in West Bengal
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Differences in Aam Aadmi Party came out in the open on Wednesday with party MLA Vinod Kumar Binny accusing the Delhi government of deviating from its principles and poll promises and calling Arvind Kejriwal a "liar".
The Shiv Sena came to the defence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the auction of his pinstripe monogrammed suit and said the two-piece ensemble was valued highly because of the person who wore it.
Kejriwal in his public meetings took up issues, which garnered him strong support
Modi, 68, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at a glittering ceremony at the forecourt of majestic Rashtraparti Bhavan.
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday condemned the attacks and harassment of people from the northeast in various parts of the country in the wake of the killing of a boy from Arunachal Pradesh in Delhi and said a message should go out that they should be protected.
From lining up allies to having them accept him as the Opposition's prime ministerial candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi's real challenge has just begun, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Alleging that AAP MLAs are being arrested under a 'conspiracy', party's Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey said a writ petition will be filed in the Delhi high court with a compilation of 'false' cases slapped against them.
'Mr Modi may have the aura of an irresistible conquistador now, but he is human. He isn't an 'avatar,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
Even as both the ruling Samajwadi Party and its bte noire, the Bahujan Samaj Party may swear in the name of secularism, neither of the two critical players in Uttar Pradesh politics is willing to go for a united nominee against their common political foe, Narendra Modi, who seemed cocking a snook at them from Varanasi. Sharat Pradhan reports
Rifleman Aurangzeb, who belonged to the 44 Rashtriya Rifles, was on way back home on June 14 to celebrate Eid when terrorists abducted him.
Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, former defence minister AK Antony, senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma also took part in the protest sporting black bands.
2015 is finally coming to an end, and it is that time of the year when we collectively reflect on all that has transpired in Indian politics during the last 12 months.
In Arvind Kejriwal's home turf, Kaushambi, the honeymoon with India's most famous aam aadmi is near its end.
In a deviation from the usual venue of Raj Bhavan, the event of May 27, will be held on the Red Road, one of the arterial roads in Kolkata that houses the Fort William where the Army is headquartered. And, it will remain blocked for at least five days, probably more.
'He has got all the criteria that are good for running an NGO.' 'He is always doing charitable things.' 'To be a political leader you must have cunning to go for the seal.'
In the wake of gruesome murder of a 19-year-old girl, Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday renewed his long-standing demand for handing over of Delhi Police to the city government even as police Commissioner B S Bassi said he will try to dispel "misconceptions" about functioning of his force in his meeting on Monday with the chief minister.
The likes of Robin UthaManoj Tiwaryppa, Manoj Tiwary and Kedar Jadhav will get another chance to impress the selectors and push their case for a comeback to international cricket when Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka clash against Rest of India lock in a five-day Irani Trophy match, in Bangalore, starting on Tuesday.
Hardening his position on transfer of Delhi's home secretary, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday conveyed to Union home ministry that giving additional charge to top bureaucrats was within the rights of his government and that it should not interfere in such matters.
'If Mr Modi and Mr Shah have made a poisonous, polarising campaign their brahmastra for 2019, Mamata Banerjee is showing them its limitations,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Political observers feel that the outcome of the elections weighs in favour of the BJP which had won a massive mandate in the Lok Sabha elections, held earlier this year.
AAP lashed out at "disgruntled" former party MLA Rajesh Garg saying there was nothing "illegal and immoral" being in touch with Congress MLAs.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
'The incidents that used to happen in our time, have they stopped now?' 'Can you imagine they made an acid attack victim consume acid? And when did this happen?' 'When the CM was inspecting the thana...' 'History tells us that a party does not remain in power permanently.' 'Finally, they will have to deliver.'
Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government is locked in a power struggle with the Centre and the Lt Governor. Kavita Chowdhury reports
'The Modi Sultanate -- like the Congress Sultanate -- does not understand local aspirations and politics. It will repeat the same mistakes whenever it takes on powerful regional leaders.'
An Uttar Pradesh government panel on Sunday accused a Bharatiya Janata Party MP of inciting Saharanpur riots, besides blaming laxity by local officials, sparking a war of words among parties with BJP dismissing the report as "politically motivated" and an attempt by ruling Samajwadi Party to hide its "failures".
'It does not appear to me that the campaign of 2019 will be positive. By that I mean it is unlikely that there will be an 'achche din' style slogan either from the government or the opposition.'
Arvind Kejriwal's most awaited Lokpal bill may remain just a poll promise. The proposed Lokpal cannot exercise any police power, say advocate Vishwanath Chaturvedi.
Shah claimed that BJP was sensitive to the problems being faced by people queuing up outside the banks and ATMs but said they must realise that the step had hurt 'those sleeping over hoards of black money three thousand times more than the people on the streets'.
Why are states important to win for national parties? What is the significance of local power? That was what we should have a look at because the Congress has been squeezed out of power in more states today than it has ever been in history.
'It is good for the country, but it is not good for a politician... What we call impatience is actually desperation to needing something NOW.' 'Our politics is restricted by one factor; that our Parliament is full of villages. 40% of the country now lives in cities but only 25% of Parliament is coming from the cities.'
In the wake of forthcoming assembly polls in Haryana, retired bureaucrats and police officers are in the fray to test political waters in the 'jat' heartland which goes to polls on October 15.
It was a manic Monday in Varanasi. The voting day lived up to the hype created by the campaigning here. Vicky Nanjappa reports
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches being played in various part of the country.
The more mud his opponents fling, the stronger Arvind Kejriwal emerges.
'I think the AAP is still in transition from being a movement to a political party so there is a mix of people who form the party. So there is somewhat of a overlapping and commonality of purpose.' 'Look at the way the government and party is functioning, not a single woman minister in the cabinet, or no woman member in the political affairs committee, it is all very tactical now.' 'After the 'sting' I decided to step back. I realised that my moral basis has been questioned by Kejriwal, it is truly despicable. He is around 15 years younger to me, I was aghast by his words.' AAP 'rebel' Prof Anand Kumar speaks of what went wrong with the party in the last few days in this interview with Upasna Pandey.
Greetings from all quarters, including his political rivals, poured in on Monday for Prime Minister Narendra Modi who celebrated his 68th birthday in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi.
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