The remark by Agrawal was expunged by the chair even as it came for a strong condemnation from the BJP.
Amidst barbs flying back and forth, Rediff.com's Aslam Hunani lists all that you need to know about the fourth phase of the UP assembly elections, which will take place on February 23.
A clean sweep for the BJP and the emergence of the AAP do not look good for the Congress, which now faces a serious leadership crisis, says Bharat Bhushan
There is going to be no defence of freedom of thought from this government.
Morbi has evolved from scratch to the second largest tile manufacturing cluster in the world in just 18 years.
Life in Mumbai was on Wednesday slowly coming back on tracks as rains subsided and hundreds of stranded commuters headed home with the partial resumption of suburban train services.
As Maharashtra and Haryana show, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah completely control the BJP and are taking it to the next level ruthlessly, without carrying forward any past baggage.
The Supreme Court's refusal to stay execution of Yakub Memon on Wednesday drew sharp reactions from legal experts.
Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the National Democratic Alliance government of "suppressing" students' voice as he visited the JNU campus to express solidarity with them, a day after the arrest of its students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case.
Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Opposition parties on Wednesday alleged that selective leak of information on demonetisation of 500 and 1000 rupee notes to 'friends of BJP' and demanded making public the names of those who had bought gold and foreign exchange of over Rs 1 crore since April.
Left teary-eyed after her Indianness was put into question just weeks back, tennis star Sania Mirza dedicated her US Open title to the country and the new state of Telangana, where her appointment as brand ambassador triggered a political furore.
YSR Congress Party President and Member of Parliament Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday triggered a new round of political speculations when he praised Gujarat Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Despite criticism of a lack of transparency and communication from the Modi-led government, BJP leaders point to "good beginnings" on several fronts to defend its performance. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reports.
BJP-supported students' union, aided by a friendly government, is aggressively settling historical scores with Leftist students' organisations.
For the first time ever, the BJP's headquarters for a Lok Sabha election is outside New Delhi. Meet the folks behind Narendra Modi's campaign for prime minister.
'Besides electoral opportunism, a sustained vilification of AMU on one or the other pretext helps them sustain their 'everyday communalism', the new strategy of the BJP of the Narendra Damodardas Modi-Amit Anilchandra Shah era,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
If the Congress lost in Tamil Nadu in 1967, never to return, or the DMK and the AIADMK have kept their place in power and electoral politics since then, it owes not to their love or hatred for gods or for one religion over another. Instead, they had always been linked to performance and incumbency/anti-incumbency factors. There may be something in such constructs for Rajini's strategic team to consider, especially if the superstar is to enter direct politics by around this time next year. But then, they would need to brush up their homework more than at present, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
On the occasion of the Narendra Modi government completing one year in office, Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com speaks to BJP president Amit Shah who is yin to Modi's yang. Don't miss it!
Through the past decade, Bihar's revenue from liquor has quadrupled
'Had Muslims been a vote bank, they wouldn't be in the condition they are now,' Asaduddin Owaisi tells Jyoti Punwani.
Whose political stock is likely to rise and which leader is most likely to make an impact in the coming year?
'Benares has always encouraged healthy debate where disagreement and dissent was never frowned upon. Today, the people are faced with a situation where a political opponent is not being allowed to give election speeches and is being physically attacked.' 'We are going to hand over power to a person who has a reputation of being dictatorial, who does not brook dissent and is known to be vindictive to his opponents,' author Kashinath Singh tells Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal.
'I believe that in the BJP nobody can make anybody anything... I believe the media should analyse this after the end of my tenure!' 'My work is incomplete till I take the BJP to the four big states of West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.' BJP President Amit Shah, as never before!
After getting a nod from apex court, GCMMF on Friday held the election in the presence of poll observer.
Prashant Kishor wants the Congress to project either Rahul or Priyanka Gandhi as its chief ministerial candidate in UP. The Gandhis are far too arrogant to accept a provincial role, says Aakar Patel.
Like the Hindi film industry, where formulas for hit films are done to death, the political fraternity in India is making an all out effort to 're-brand' itself to follow the hit script of the AAP, says Upasna Pandey
''At this stage we are closer to military confrontation than at any time since 1971.' 'Given the known positions of the two governments, it will not be surprising if this happens sooner rather than later,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
The Congress has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up the issue of former IPL chairman Lalit Modi's deportation during his ongoing visit to UK and to ensure that the "fugitive" and "black money exporter" is brought back.
Shashi Tharoor has been removed as Congress spokesperson after the party high command received complaints that he had embarrassed the party with his praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Please do not call my son a terrorist," says JNUSU President Kanhaiya's mother.
'What if Modi becomes the fascist the leftists paints him as? What if he does suspend the Constitution and declares himself the ruler, with support from the army? What exactly will you do, Mr Leftie?' asks Rajeev Srinivasan.
In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, allegations have been made that the Muslim militants in Sri Lanka draw sustenance from India. An overarching impression is being created that the ISIS is gaining ground in India, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The JNU student leader said, "There is an atmosphere of fear in the country and anybody who speaks against the government is threatened."
Why did Kamal Haasan name the leaders he did?
The West Bengal CM's media equation wasn't always this bad. In the run-up to the assembly elections of 2011, she was a clear favourite.
'I don't practise yoga. How am I less of a nationalist than the person who practises it? Is it a crime if I don't practice it?'
The BJP is methodically turning India into the world's laughing stock, one brainless statement after another.
In ideologically discordant notes within Aam Aadmi Party, Captain Gopinath, pioneer of low-cost airline business, slammed the decision of AAP government in Delhi to reject FDI in retail, saying the party is "running in danger" of being branded like other parties of resorting to cheap and populist measures.
Akash Banerjee is posing tough questions to the establishment -- and getting away with them.
If Ramdev weren't a Baba, but a mere salesman, what would he make of a medicine or a herb named Putrajeevak Beej.
