If Indira Gandhi hadn't targeted the RSS, Narendra Modi wouldn't be sitting pretty with his second majority and looking at a third, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'When Dr Murli Manohar Joshi wanted to start a course on astrology, Jayant was the first one to have the courage to stand up and say astrology is not science.' 'That's a very rare quality -- to stand up to authority.'
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister alleged that government employees were 'forcibly mobilised' and ferried to Modi's rally to paint a 'pretty picture that all is well' post 2019, when the Centre abrogated the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated the erstwhile state into Union territories.
Soon after assuming office, Meghwal declared that there was no confrontation with the judiciary and that his priority would be to ensure speedy justice for all.
Modi earned his spurs as a doughty leader of the Opposition in the assembly, a post he held till 2004 when he got elected to the Lok Sabha from Bhagalpur.
'In Independent India's politics you will not find any leader of a political party who has not contested elections or not held a powerful post.' 'It was only Balasaheb who never contested elections or held a post.' On the occasion of Balasaheb Thackeray's 99th birth anniversary, close aide Subhash Desai recalls vignettes about the Shiv Sena founder.
During Vajpayee's tenure, he was there as an indispensable insider, witness to every action that had an impact on history: Pokhran-II (nuclear tests in 1998), the 1999 Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan, the Indo-Pak Agra Summit in 2001, intense engagement with the United States on nuclear issues besides the Kandahar hijack.
It's time India re-visited its Western alliances for the attitude and approach that the West reserves for the nation when it comes to security cooperation of the kind that they might not have visualised outside of China, India's bug-bear, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Many were hoping that with Vajpayee's NDA gone, there would be a return to the Congress normal. Nobody was prepared for the opposite. Sonia Gandhi was sceptical. This became the only issue over which Manmohan Singh took on his party bosses and risked his government. Politically, it was riskier than the 1991 reform, recalls Shekhar Gupta.
'The BJP should identify those involved in the protest against singing Gandhiji's bhajan and take action against them.' 'Such people should be removed from the party because they harm the BJP's image.'
'Those betting against PSUs will likely be punished in this upswing.'
"The Congress did not behave properly with my grandfather. I campaigned for the BJP during the Madan Lal Khurrana days in Delhi. My grandfather wanted me to join the BJP. He had introduced me to late Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani," he said.
Today even those who support Prime Minister Modi feel there is a certain sense of listlessness in this government. What is it intending to achieve? This is not easy to say, notes Aakar Patel.
In an interaction with a group of Indian journalists, the three-time prime minister and president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N described Jaishankar's visit as a "good opening" and said both sides should now engage and move forward.
The government is thrusting new leaders to the fore and moving others aside to create a rift between the Maratha and OBC communities, he said, stressing that those protesting over their demand for non-dilution of the OBC quota are not at fault.
The govt and the opposition are set for a showdown in Parliament's monsoon session.
It is to Vajpayee's credit that he told Dilip Kumar to ignore Thackeray and to follow his own conscience. But the episode -- as indeed, the manner in which Dilip Kumar has been made to pay for being a Muslim throughout his life -- shames us all as Indians, says Vir Sanghvi.
The 'Atal-Advani era' in the BJP is truly over, believes Karuna Shukla, the niece of party stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Varun Gandhi on Wednesday gave a new twist to the prime ministerial candidate race in the Bharatiya Janata Party, comparing party president Rajnath Singh to Atal Bihari Vajpayee and saying he has the ability to bring together people of different religions and castes.
The last Bharat Ratna award was conferred upon Pranab Mukherjee in 2019 and was posthumously awarded to Bhupendra Kumar Hazarika and Nanaji Deshmukh. The award was not given to anyone between 2020 and 2023.
As Lok Sabha polls draw closer in this temple town, Narendra Modi's presence on party posters and banners on Wednesday surprisingly came down drastically -- apparently due to "technical" reasons related to election expense limits.
They said the proposal to bring a motion was mooted at the meeting of party MPs this morning and Congress leaders are now talking to other party leaders over it.
A day after resigning from the Bharatiya Janata Party, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece Karuna Shukla alleged that she had been "mentally tortured" by the party in Chhattisgarh.
He said he wanted to tell those who damaged public property "not to forget that rights and duties go hand in hand".
Union minister Raosaheb Danve has caused a flutter by saying if the Bharatiya Janata Party needs victory in the Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra in 2024, then it must ensure that All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen leader and sitting MP Imtiaz Jaleel contests the election next year.
Chandrababu Naidu's victory comes barely eight months after his political career seemingly crashed in September 2023 when the YSRCP government arrested him in an alleged corruption case.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to create history when she presents her seventh straight Budget on Tuesday for the fiscal 2024-25, surpassing the record of former prime minister Morarji Desai. Sitharaman, who will turn 65 next month, was in 2019 appointed as India's first full-time woman finance minister when Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a decisive second term.
As a leader, he was ambitious, not for himself but for India and its people. His was not the short-term election cycle calculation of individual political gain. His was a practical vision of how to better the lives of his fellow citizens, asserts Ambassador Shivshankar Menon, who served as foreign secretary and national security advisor when Dr Singh was prime minister.
Taking a dig at Narendra Modi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Sunday said then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had reminded the Gujarat chief minister about 'Raj Dharma' in the wake of the 2002 riots in the state.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday questioned the character of the opposition alliance, saying its true face was seen when it indulged in corruption to save its governments.
There is a proposal from the BJP camp that they would resort to a proportion-based increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for individual states, based on what they now have. On the face of it, this sounds like a fine argument that those demanding a 'freeze' now cannot oppose without reasons and justification, avers N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The word 'ally' in a coalition is misleading because it suggests someone who is always for you and with you. This is incorrect.' 'They are always for themselves and sometimes with you,' explains Aakar Patel.
Invoking Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi, the Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday appeared to be giving clear signals that it may not be averse to discussions on government formation with the Bharatiya Janata Party, which welcomed the gesture.
If the government of the day would like to set in place a smooth and well-planned changeover and facilitate the incoming chief to chalk out his action plan well in advance, the announcement of a successor needs to be done early, observes Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
Films that turned out to be box office disappointments.
The Janata Dal-United leader maintained that having taken the initiative to bring parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party, he desired nothing for himself but admitted having stressed at the meeting the need to expedite seat-sharing arrangements.
Mystery, horror, biopics, documentaries, fantasy, romance, comedy, coming-of-age, pick the genre you like from the wide variety on OTT this week.
Referring to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's famous statement, Abdullah said "we can change friends but we cannot change neighbours".
'I have donated Rs 1,000 towards the party fund of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Our ideal of always putting Nation First and the culture of lifelong selfless service by our cadre will be further strengthened by your micro-donation. Help make BJP strong. Help make India strong,' Modi tweeted.
Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has been critical of the Gujarat chief minister in recent days.
