Here are the 10 key issues likely to be the centre of discussion in the seven-phase general elections that begin on April 19.
It is in power on its own only in three states -- Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana -- with a big question mark on whether it can even stake claim to be head of the INDIA bloc.
The Uniform Civil Code is a common set of laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance that would be applicable to all Indian citizens irrespective of religion, tribe or other local customs.
'Those leading the current political dispensation, whether at the central or the state level, must recognise the enormous risks that their divisive policies are creating for the national security and wellbeing of the country,' cautions former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
A bench of Justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal, which extended the protection from arrest to Gogoi till March 3, said it would hear the matter on Friday.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday accused NIA officials of attacking villagers in Purba Medinipur district, the BJP hit back at her saying that the attack on the NIA officials is Sandeshkhalli 2.0 orchestrated by the state.
While the permission has been granted from the Rajya Sabha till December 31, 2022, the Lok Sabha has granted the time till January 9, 2023.
17-year-old Sam Stafford died in alleged police firing during the anti-CAA protests at Hatigaon in Guwahati two years ago.
Whether the age-old cry of kendrer banchana will be able to drown out pangs of Sandeshkhali, the EVM will tell.
'If someone comes out to kill an innocent person and he is challenged by police, then either he or the policemen have to die'
Interestingly, India had objected to the establishment of a UNHCHR when it was proposed by the US at the Vienna Conference on Human Rights in July 1993 and the whole proposal was remitted to the General Assembly in New York because India and others said that the whole issue should be examined in detail, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, who had led the Indian delegation for negotiating the terms of the HCHR.
According to flight radar, the Indian plane with a ground speed of 454 knots entered north of Lahore at about 7:30 pm on Saturday and returned to India at 8:01 pm, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Sukanta Majumdar, the state BJP president, said, "Amit Shah has set a target of 35 seats. We will achieve that".
'The BJP has started a war-like situation against farmers and the Jat community.'
'The NRC is aimed at rounding up and permanently jailing Indian Muslims who cannot produce the documents to satisfy a government which punishes those individuals who do not declare maximum number of Muslims foreigners.' 'It is for this reason that we see so many Indian Muslims protesting these laws and it is for this reason that so many non-Muslims cannot stand by and watch what is happening in their country,' says Aakar Patel.
Khalid was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being a mastermind of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
'What did these men mean to the government? What does its support for these men say about this government?'
Khalid was booked under the UAPA and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being a mastermind of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
Why did Modi single out the Congress and its leaders for the most pugnacious verbal assault while sparing other regional adversaries? If he is trying to get some parties to break the Opposition ranks, it means that the BJP's present bravado is for effect. Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times, begins a new column for Rediff.com.
'We should not underestimate the power of Hindutva.'
Quashing the police's externment order against the organiser of an anti-CAA protest, the Gujarat High Court observed that citizens cannot be externed for raising their grievance against the government.
Those who continue to think that the 2024 election will see the BJP pursuing a more militant line are being alarmist, argues Rajeev Mantri. The BJP, Mantri believes, is not about to shoot itself in the foot. If anything, he says, the BJP may be more inclined to push a harder secularism.
A revealing excerpt from Rahul Shivshankar and Siddhartha Talya's book, Modi & India: 2024 and the Battle for Bharat.
'The north east does not want the solution that the BJP has given and it has become clear that it has not been fully thought through,' says Aakar Patel.
The most important lesson is that you have to build your political proposition, and sell it yourself. You can't leave it to the courts, media, NGOs and civil society and expect them to play the role of the Opposition. That's precisely what Mr Modi's challengers have been doing and we know the results, notes Shekhar Gupta.
According to DMK, the voters are already consolidated on ideological lines, hence the impact of anti-incumbency, whether against the BJP Centre or the DMK state may not be too much, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The man, who identified himself as 'Rambhakt Gopal', was subsequently overpowered by police and detained. The gunman went live on Facebook before the brandishing the gun.
Given the reality of the disparity and the enormous shift over the last 50 years, this can be done without an open and frank conversation with the people, something that has not begun and, knowing the style of our leader, is not expected to begin, asserts Aakar Patel.
'What you need is a credible Opposition, a credible platform to persuade people to believe that it can replace this government.'
The last commercial flight between India and Afghanistan was operated by Air India on Kabul-Delhi route on August 15, the day Kabul fell to the Taliban.
"Due to personal reasons, the undersigned hereby recuses from hearing the matter. Accordingly, let the present matter be put up before the principal district and sessions judge, southeast district, Saket court, for February 13 at 12 pm with a request to transfer the matter," the judge said in an order passed on Friday.
The judge said that the trial court rightly decided the petitioners' plea and that no case for exercise of the high court's writ jurisdiction was made out in view of the presence of alternate remedy under the law.
The Karnataka high court has said abusive words used against the prime minister was derogatory and irresponsible but it does not constitute sedition, while quashing a case of sedition against a school management.
Officials said PFI has been under the radar of security agencies for its alleged role in violent protests in different parts of the country.
In its manifesto, the Congress also promised five lakh government jobs and 200 units of free electricity per month for all, besides hiking the minimum wages of tea garden workers to Rs 365.
'This is millions of Indians standing up for values rather than an individual gain.' 'This is why this protest is unique and this is why this protest has for the first time made this government uncertain and doubtful of what to do next,' says Aakar Patel.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday visited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency, meeting activists held during protests against the amended Citizenship Act and accusing the government of acting against the Constitution.
'The majoritarian solution is what the BJP always prefers.' 'But this solution suffers from a major weakness: It ignores subjective preferences which can be important and non-negotiable,' points out T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Foreign tourists are postponing their India holiday and there have been some cancellations as well, with trips to the North-East seeing the most adverse impact.
Protesters at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi said the police can baton charge them as much as they want, but their message is "love in return for hatred".
Harbhajan Singh appealed for peace in the wake of protests against the amended citizenship act.
