What lessons opposition parties need to learn post defeat of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal elections? The election saw spectacular victor of BJP which rose from 3 seats in 2016 to 206 seats in 2026 assembly elections.
'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
'The nepotism, corruption, bad governance and 15 years of rampant crime that has happened across West Bengal under her rule led to her ouster.'
The real surprise in these results came from Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM. Of the 29 Muslim candidates who got elected to the 227-strong BMC, the Congress and the AIMIM between them bagged 22.
'She was not a yes person. She would tell the truth and her feelings to Indira Gandhi, and Indira Gandhi would value her opinion. The same was the case with Rajiv Gandhi who would value her opinion.'
'We have given riot-free Maharashtra in our 18-month rule.'
'Many have contributed in terms of gold and silver. Ladies in big numbers have contributed their home belongings and gold.' 'Some have donated their cars too.'
'Jews are very much safe in Iran. They are our brothers. There is a difference between a Jew and a Zionist.' A conversation around a tea table in Mumbai serves as an eye-opener for Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Radical Islamist networks are deliberately targeting Muslim youths embedded within the country's professional and academic ecosystems, leveraging their skills, mobility, and digital reach to quietly strengthen operational capabilities. This trend highlights a dangerous evolution in terror recruitment -- one that exploits ideological faultlines, online echo chambers and transnational radical Islamist influences to attract individuals who outwardly embody India's modern and aspirational narrative, points out Dr Kanchan Lakshman.
'The jail staff told me Kasab was served only jail food and not biryani.' 'They told me that Kasab was beaten regularly after court proceedings.' 'And they filled Kasab's bottle with urine so that whenever he felt thirsty he used to drink urine.'
An accused wanted in connection with the alleged stabbing of a YouTuber died after being injured in an encounter with the police in the Loni area of Ghaziabad.
An accused wanted in connection with the alleged stabbing of a YouTuber died after being injured in an encounter with the police in the Loni area of Ghaziabad, officials said.
'Women in crime can turn on and off emotions like a tap.' 'Something that comes in the way of their goals can be eliminated without a second thought.'
'Kashmir needs to be divided and we need the land of Panun Kashmir in Kashmir.'
'Many senior Bangladeshis feel Bangladesh will fall into anarchy if the Jamaat becomes an important part of a future government or has disproportionate influence in the government.'
Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2 may be a comedy filled with chaos, but in its indirect way, it speaks about a time when the Constitution mattered more than one's religion and when the idea of India was larger than personal hate, observes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'The irony of this country is that the party in Opposition and the party in power both depend on Muslims.'
'Muslims need to work according to strategy and not fall into the trap of Opposition parties.'
'During Eid Muslims get Eidi, but Opposition parties never gave that to them.' 'When PM Modi is giving Eidi to Muslims Opposition leaders are getting upset.'
'The BJP only talks of Kashmiri Pandits when elections are held.'
'Pakistan wanted India out of Afghanistan to which again the Taliban told Pakistan to take a walk.' 'Six months after they came back to power in 2021 India was back in Afghanistan at the request of the Taliban.' 'The Taliban realised that India has no agenda of its own in Afghanistan.'
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
'The implementation of the judgment has largely been left to the discretion of the very executive authorities it sought to restrain.'
A seasoned politician and two-term Member of Parliament, Dr Shakeel Ahmad, who has served as a Union minister and senior Congress leader, resigned from the Congress party, marking the end of his decades-long association with an organisation that his family has been part of for three generations. In an interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff he speaks why he quit the party.
'Even as the Supreme Court's anti-punitive demolition judgment nears its first anniversary, no formal contempt proceedings have been initiated either by the Supreme Court or any high court against officers or demolition squads who have acted in violation of it.'
'When voting clause by clause on Waqf came up in the JPC, the TDP and JD-U supported the BJP on each and every clause.'
'This is just the beginning. You have to wait and watch to see things getting better.'
PCB's interim chief Najam Sethi said he will not seek a permanent position in the PCB after pulling out of the race to be its next chairman.
'Article 370 is now dug 70 feet deep in the ground. It cannot come out.'
Visuals of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah scaling the gate of the Naqshband Sahib graveyard and jostling with securitymen deployed there have gone viral.
'The Election Commission is conducting the National Register of Citizens in Bihar through the backdoor.'
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com does a deep dive into four elections when Narendra Modi resorted to anti-Muslim fervour and points out that Hindu-Muslim politics does not necessarily mean victory for the BJP.
Puzzled about the Waqf Bill? Syed Firdaus Ashraf explains how the amended Waqf law will plug loopholes in the existing legislation.
'If Pakistan has fired one bullet at us then we have to respond by firing 10 bullets at them. It is our right to do so.'
He alleged that an officer told him that he would be taken out of jail after two weeks and killed.
'The new Waqf bill sows the seed for conflict in every town and village of India.'
This video establishes that the meeting of those accused of the Umesh Pal murder case took place in the jail and it will be probed if the conspiracy for the same hatched inside the district jail, a senior police officer said.
'The long term strategy is that this government wants to create a second class citizen list.'
'Nowhere does the CAA state that Muslims will be deprived of their Indian citizenship.'
'Nobody is speaking up for Muslims today.' 'Secular parties too have calmed down because they feel this will hurt the Hindu vote (bank).' 'In this scenario, where does a Muslim go?'
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