In a multi-pronged attack on the government, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Surjewala alleged that it was managing headlines to deflect attention from issues such as the death of 39 Indians in captivity in Iraq.
'It will be a grand alliance where they could get the Muslims, Dalits and Yadavs in one camp and pose a serious challenge to whatever the BJP might conjure up in the run-up to the 2019 election.'
People were being honoured without a recommendation, he stressed in his monthly radio programme.
'Imagine a situation where an upright officer refuses to carry out a chief minister's or a central minister's orders that he considers wrong.' 'Can he be summarily thrashed at a meeting at your residence, or in his own office?' 'If AAP legitimises political violence, there are many, many, tougher political leaders elsewhere to draw the wrong lessons,' warns Shekhar Gupta.
'In UP/Bihar there is no industry. There are no other jobs, you either herd cows, teach or join the IAS. The brightest go to the IITs. The rest go to arts college and they become IAS officers and it is this crowd that is now agitating.' 'English is the business language of the world, we have to accept that. If I had done my IIT in Hindi, I would be stuck in the cow belt without work.' IIT graduate, entrepreneur and politician R K Misra on the row over English in the UPSC prelims.
'Intolerance is in our blood. Every person has some level of intolerance. One can't get rid of it, but one has to check and control it for the sake of a peaceful society and country,' says actor Tam Alter.
Bodo tribals influence as many as 30 seats. No wonder, national parties are keen to forge alliances with Bodo groups.
'Even if we expect that the economy will be hit and GDP is lowered for a few quarters by the reckless demonetisation, this will itself not be sufficient to dislodge Modi's popularity,' says Aakar Patel.
'The horrific episode of January 18 in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, is quite different from what happened in Muzaffarnagar, UP, in September 2013. The Akhilesh Yadav-led administration in UP and riot-mongers among our political formations need to learn lessons from the response of the state and society in Bihar's Muzaffarpur,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'...I have not read newspapers for quite some time,' a psychologist tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf, 'and I am perfectly normal.'
'The Jharkhand government is increasingly intolerant of voices of dissent.' 'Recently 20 persons, including activists, writers and academics, were booked for sedition.' 'Many of them have been critical of the government's apathy towards Adivasis,' notes Siraj Dutta.
Modi isn't going to voters on his track record but on the fear of the terrorist across the border and the Muslims within. It's a battle on his terms, says Shekhar Gupta.
'People will realise sooner or later that there are no jobs, inflation is unchecked and loads of corruption charges are coming from various states which the government is totally brazen about.'
'India serves itself poorly with its latter-day discovery of Pakistan as an instrument in domestic politics,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
The nod for reservation for the Jat community in the central list of Other Backward Classes in nine states has been given despite the National Commission for Backward Classes opposing such a move.
In a counter attack on Rahul Gandhi for asking Narendra Modi to "stop fooling" the people, BJP leader Arun Jaitley today said voters are not ullus (fools) if they exercise their vote against the Congress.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday
'Where they lose, you never ask why they failed there, like in Bihar and Punjab.' 'You are stuck on the UP victory, thinking they have the mandate to rule for all times to come.' 'The BJP has 282 MPs, but can I honestly say that the BJP is the party for everyone?'
'We keep saying that we have a very close historical, cultural, linguistic and religious affinity with Nepal. Then why be so insensitive that we cannot find time to talk to them for more than 5-6 months'
The Nitish Kumar government has deployed 24 policemen to prevent former Bihar CM from enjoying litchi and mangoes.
Coming as it does only months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Chennai meet could provide the launch pad for a national alternative to the BJP-NDA, and MK Stalin may be given the credit for getting it going, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Filmmaker Prakash Jha opens up about his life.
Historian and writer Sunil Khilanani lists King Ashoka's teachings, the Constitution and EVMs as some of India's finest treasures.
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.
'The win in Assam is likely to have a ripple effect in other north-eastern states like Manipur and Nagaland which have been reluctant to embrace the BJP in the past,' says Nitin A Gokhale, the distinguished commentator on strategic affairs, who lived and reported from Assam between 1983 and 2006.
Swaraj Samvad has moved on to be a nationwide agenda, says group convenor Professor Anand Kumar.
During a 'Main bhi chowkidar' event, the prime minister also took a jab at the Congress about its minimum income poll promise and said that first-time voters should see the track record of those pitching for poverty.
Money will be earmarked for the social sector - especially rural districts that house three-fifths of voters
Waqas Ahmed, better known as the Zaveri Bazaar bomber, spills the beans about the Indian Mujahideen's wicked plans. Vicky Nanjappa reports
The BJP's embarrassing rout in Delhi may affect Modi in many ways.
The party leadership also thanked the people of Assam and credited the victory there and increased vote share in other states to party workers, state leaders and PM Narendra Modi.
Women are great team players and collaborators, 'but they don't put themselves forward,' Dr Gagandeep Kang, the first Indian woman scientist to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, tells Veenu Sandhu.
Why are the 'secular' parties silent about the lynchings on our streets? Are they so busy forging political alliances that they ignore the numerous distortions of Constitutional values?
Researchers at Ambit capital fear that the region "runs the risk of exploding as millions of barely literate men face a lifetime without jobs and without women."
Vaihayasi Pande Daniel -- who covers the Sheena Bora murder trial for Rediff.com -- reports on a day in a Ranchi court.
Taking a jibe at Narendra Modi and his 'marketing gimmicks', Union Minister Sachin Pilot says that the Gujarat leader is capable of taking credit for even the businesses set up by Gujaratis across the world over the past many decades.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the Emergency, imposed in 1975, as the biggest blow to democracy and said its memories should be kept alive to draw lessons to further fortify the democratic framework and values in the country.
The elections in two eastern Indian states were keenly observed in Bangladesh for two major contentious issues, writes Prakash Bhandari from Dhaka.
'At a time when the economy is depressed, a pandemic is raging, and the Chinese are making noises on the border, the NRC could be resuscitated.'
'When it is an open ballot, the division taking place in the open house will be for all to see.' 'As they say sunlight is the best disinfectant, this (aspect of the order) brings in transparency and it's in keeping with the best democratic principles.'
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