'Rahul Gandhi was given the impression that if the seat was given to me, then the alliance would be broken in all 40 seats.'
Vellore is one of the two seats that the DMK alliance won by the narrowest of margins in 2019. For the DMK's vote-score to be so low in a constituency with a substantial Muslim population has not missed the BJP strategists' eyes, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Criticising the move, the opposition led by the Congress said that Question Hour is the 'golden hour of the House'. Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said the argument and rationale that has been put forth by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi is far from convincing.
The affidavit, filed by B C Joshi, Director in the Ministry of Home Affairs, said the CAA does not confer any arbitrary and unguided powers on the executive as the citizenship to the persecuted minorities of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh would be granted in a manner as specified under the law governing grant of citizenship.
'The Congress wants to eat the cake, but does not want to share it.'
A punitive majoritarian State can make an example of individuals who raise their voice in criticism of the prime minister and divisive politics, warns Sunil Sethi.
Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha will be held simultaneously in the first phase.
Former PM H D Deve Gowda on his party's prospects in the coming elections.
Atique Ahmed is one of the most feared dons of Uttar Pradesh today. There was another don who preceded Atique and had he survived, Atique wouldn't have been around today, recalls Sudhir Bisht.
Army chief says Assam's AIUDF has grown at a faster pace than the BJP.
The BJP also defended the order saying the primary duty of police of any place is to maintain communal harmony so that there is no law and order issue.
"We intend to talk to individuals and groups who want peace and normalcy in Kashmir Valley," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said before the departure of delegation comprising 30 members from 20 parties.
Ahead of the visit of an all-party delegation to Jammu and Kashmir, political parties on Saturday pitched for holding dialogue with "all stakeholders", including Hurriyat, to douse the unrest and banning the use of pellet guns by security forces.
A magnificent display of India's cultural diversity through colourful parades across the length and breadth of the country marked the 71st Republic Day celebrations on Sunday which passed off peacefully, barring in Upper Assam, which was rocked by four explosions within a span of 10 minutes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier called for consensus in passing the bill.
Gen Rawat said, while addressing a gathering at a health summit, leaders emerge from crowds but are not those who lead people in 'inappropriate directions'.
The state government has declared a holiday on Wednesday and Thursday for all private institutions, offices, non-essential services within Outer Ring Road here in view of rains.
The BJP chief also said there is no need to say 'Bharat Maata Ki Jai' under pressure from the RSS or the BJP.
Party vice-president Prashant Kishor and general secy Pavan Varma voice disappointment over the JD-U backing the Bill in LS. Urge Nitish to 'reconsider' stand.
Political parties slammed the government in the Lok Sabha on Thursday over the sliding rupee, which has breached the Rs 68 to a US dollar mark, and demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh make a statement on the issue.
Indian Members of Parliament have written to President Barack Obama, urging the US Administration to maintain the current policy of denying visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
'The Congress-NCP is a declining force while we are a rising force.'
Never before in the history of the Republic has an election in the state mattered so much as it does now, observes Virendra Kapoor.
'Maybe the BJP believes, in the post-poll scenario, it will have the might to foist, anybody endorsed by the RSS, upon Bihar,' observes Mohammad Sajjad.
The Supreme Court's refusal to stay execution of Yakub Memon on Wednesday drew sharp reactions from legal experts.
Speaker Om Birla he will hold a meeting with leaders of all parties and then take a decision.
'They must take the bull of conservatism within their own ranks by its horns as much as they need to speak out against the fallacies of the non-Hindutva (or 'Muslim-friendly') political forces as well,' argues Mohammad Sajjad.
The BJP's panicky return to basic-instinct majoritarianism in Bihar has pushed Muslims back into the 'secular' basement, says Shekhar Gupta.
The quantum of sentence for the convicted Indian Mujahideen operatives, Aneeq Shafique Sayeed and Mohammed Akbar Ismail, will be announced next Monday.
Unless the merger is reversed, the Congress is set to lose its Opposition Party status in the state assembly.
After an RSS affiliate withdrew the invitation to Pakistani High Commissioner in New Delhi for an iftar, senior Sangh leader Indresh Kumar on Saturday told Pakistan to worry about calls for freedom emerging within that country and stop interfering in Kashmir.
BJP backed to the hilt Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as its leader in the state and rebuffed a rebellious Chirag Paswan, while acknowledging his Lok Janshakti Party as an ally 'at the Centre'. At a press conference which was attended by top leaders of the JD-U headed by Kumar and the BJP, it was made clear that 'only those who accept the chief ministers leadership will be deemed to be a part of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar'.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh say they will ensure that the university does not come up at the temple town. Vicky Nanjappa reports
The Bharatiya Janata Party's decision to appoint Hindutva hardliner Yogi Adityanath as Uttar Pradesh chief minister has drawn an avalanche of reactions from opposition parties.
Most exit polls have forecast gains for Congress in at least four states including a clear majority in Rajasthan.
'In India, a really popular and well-entrenched leader is not defeated by a rival.' 'Such a leader has to defeat himself,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
'The biggest danger is that majoritarianism is getting normalised, insidiously and overtly... We are bringing the worst, not the best in us... We are looking for new enemies - Muslims, urban Naxals, tukde tukde gang, some enemy or the other which keeps this majoritarian wheel turning,' says journalist Rajdeep Sardesai.
The Ayodhya judgment of November 9 draws on both the polytheism of Hinduism and the modern rule of law, says Deepak Lal.
Nearly 2.6 crore people in 73 constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh are voting on Saturday in the first of the seven phases of high-stake assembly elections
'Now that the Ram mandir is done, we need to move on. And grapple with COVID-19, a sputtering economy, a belligerent China...' 'The temple may win a few more elections for the BJP, but by itself it won't solve the nation's growing problems of economic and social distress,' notes Virendra Kapoor.
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