The prime minister's insistence that his voice cannot be suppressed left me both puzzled and amused. He has at his call, the government's official news dissemination/publicity channels, the pliant newspapers and television channels that were eager to prostrate themselves before a powerful government and yet, the dominant voice thinks it is in competition with other voices! exclaims Shyam G Menon.
Six decades and more later, we are now captives of our identities. Every poll is based on elaborate calculations of electability of candidates on the basis of their castes and other narrow definers. That, along with voter promiscuity, is what defines our political culture, which remains stubbornly resistant to any change, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
Kharge said that the BJP is trying to misuse his 'Ravan' remarks for electoral gains in Gujarat.
We need not spend much time going over what this government has done and is doing to the Opposition, by misusing the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI. There is a daily update on that, notes Aakar Patel.
The selection of a woman Senator with an Indian background as the Democratic party's vice-presidential nominee should normally be a matter of elation in India, especially for those who boast of their nationalistic credentials such as the BJP followers, notes Amulya Ganguli.
Tharoor put the blame for the logjam in Parliament on BJP and accused the saffron party of reducing the "temple of democracy to a rubber stamp for its agenda or worse, a notice board to announce its unilateral decisions".
Jeetega Bharat has selected 125 Lok Sabha seats across the country where it will assist the Opposition alliance.
Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee along with party leaders and workers sat on a dharna at the Rajghat in New Delhi on Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary on Monday demanding the release of funds for West Bengal by the Centre.
The PM is seen as slipping up in confidence levels as aired by his 'exposure' of the BRS on a crucial issue as alliance negotiations, which is not done under normal circumstances, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Congress, which is in the Opposition at the national level, has turned 'feeble and disintegrated', Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana said on Saturday, and suggested that all anti-Bharatiya Janata Party parties, including the Sena, should come together under the UPA banner to provide a formidable alternative.
The Congress needs to reorganise itself at the grassroots, infuse younger blood, and have more boots on the ground. Just offering freebies is not the answer anymore. Leadership matters, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'This is what happens to a party when it gets trapped in the vicious circle of nepotism and dynastic politics'
West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party chief Dilip Ghosh on Saturday said that the party has to fulfil its long-cherished mission of winning the state not only to expand its ideological footprint but also to secure India's eastern borders, which have turned into a 'transit point for terror elements' trying to create unrest in the country.
'It is not his doing, but Rahul Gandhi is forced by circumstances.' 'In taking political decisions, everything has to get his clearance.'
...the BJP's template of operation was different or if the Centre and the state were ruled by dissimilar parties? asks Shyam G Menon.
Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party leaders met the governor in Chandigarh on Thursday, demanding the dismissal of the state's home minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and the police chief over the security breach during the prime minister's visit to Punjab.
State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha on Thursday said that the village council elections will be held on a single day, with the deadline for filing nominations set for June 15. The votes will be counted on July 11.
The Modi government is notoriously honest about one fact: It does not listen to economists, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Introducing UCC is a challenging task for any government. The complexities are real and difficult to negotiate as it deals with sensitive religious and cultural sentiments. How can it strike an easy balance between individual rights and community interests?, asks Ramesh Menon.
Gopinath Munde on Sunday resigned from all organizational posts, resenting lack of democracy in the party.Munde is apparently miffed at the appointment of Member of Legislative Council Madhu Chavan, considered close to state BJP president Nitin Gadkari, as the head of the party's Mumbai unit. Ties between Munde and Gadkari have remained strained for quite some time.
India's Right-wing has sought to own our democracy by making itself appear the stuff of majority, and sometimes, a national ethos older than the Constitution on which our democracy is based, argues Shyam G Menon.
'There was trust, but perhaps there was also this apprehension that given the supreme post of prime minister, Sonia Gandhi felt her authority may be a challenged.'
'In order to stop the BJP actually, you need a party that changes the discourse rather than positing another pole for polarising it further. The answer to this kind of politics lies in refocusing the agenda on development'
On possible alliances for the upcoming state polls, the SP president said, "Doors of our party are open for all small parties. Many smaller parties are already with us. More will come with us."
There is the problem of regions in the North East being theatre for power-play by nations with borders and influences converging in those parts, which in turn requires a sizable presence of the armed forces, notes Shyam G Menon.
'A democracy cannot mean the rule of just two people,' said one audience member, who recalled that he too had chanted 'Modi, Modi' when the PM had visited the USA. Many of those gathered admitted to having been Modi supporters. What had changed them was the growing concentration of power. Jyoti Punwani reports from New York.
Azad is currently serving his third term in the Lok Sabha, representing the Darbhanga constituency in Bihar.
"My heart is full of pain and anger," he told reporters in his remarks ahead of Parliament's Monsoon Session, amid his criticism by opposition parties for not speaking on the ethnic violence in the north east state.
The Congress said it will observe 'Save Democracy Day' on Friday with party workers and leaders holding protest marches at all district and state headquarters.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said the mayor, also the returning officer, acted beyond her powers and her decision was impermissible as it was "not based on any material relevant to the issue".
'Today, the BJP is using power in such a manner that they not only crush the Opposition, but even their own supporters can't rebel.'
While there has been no official statement related to the action, British government sources said they are 'closely monitoring reports of tax surveys conducted at the offices of the BBC in India'.
Stalin is preparing the DMK to go the whole hog in making 'federalism', 'Tamil self-respect' and 'communal cohesiveness' the party's poll plank next year, and package the BJP and its possible allies, as 'divisive' and 'reactionary', predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Painting opponents as the enemy of the State, using fake news, making wild allegations about rival parties, curtailing civil liberties and challenging the Constitution itself are worrying developments.'
'This kind of poisonous and anti-national activities happening in the country and the economic failure of the Modi government may boomerang in the form of a Congress revival.'
Alleging lack of intra-party democracy in the Dravida Munetra Kazhagam, former union minister D Napoleon on Sunday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has set eyes on strengthening its presence in Tamil Nadu ahead of 2016 assembly elections.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf lists seven states where the Grand Old Party suffered a severe setback.
There are lessons for the Congress to learn from the Karnataka elections of how burying the hatchet among top leaders and not washing dirty linen in public can help, says Ramesh Menon.
Alleging that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government's mindset has led to "decay" of key institutions including Parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said it poses a serious issue before the next Lok Sabha as it is threatening the survival of democracy in the country.
Pointing towards Shah, who was present in the Upper House, Sibal asked why FIRs were not registered against those who delivered hate speeches that "incited" communal violence in Delhi.
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