It is a fight for survival for the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra, which has been its citadel. In an interview party President Sharad Pawar speaks on the NCP's prospects and how the Bharatiya Janata Party is exploiting Narendra Modi's popularity in the state assembly elections.
'Too much energy these three years has been invested in turning the party into an election-winning machine.' 'To recover its mojo, the Modi government needs a more impressive set of economic figures to flaunt,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The Narendra Modi wave seems to have reached the Bengal shores, indicated by the more than two-fold increase in the membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party's state unit.
Religious minorities in India have been subjected to "violent attacks, forced conversions" and 'Ghar Wapsi' campaigns by groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh after the Modi government assumed power in 2014, a US Congress-established panel has said.
Rediff.com presents the gist of the speech delivered by Mr. Kailash Satyarthi on the Foundation Day of Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh.
'The Modi government's greatest blunder is to exploit sensitive external relations in its domestic politics,' says Shekhar Gupta.
A combative Congress president also hit out at the Centre saying it should not try to frighten them and that they 'would not allow democratic institutions to be weakened or destroyed'
'The government says it will file a review petition against the Supreme Court, but there is no conviction here.' 'It is doing this purely because it is worried.' 'It comes from the same sentiment as asking BJP MPs to spend two nights in a Dalit village,' says Aakar Patel.
Most top industrialists rate PM's first 100 days in office as 'good', primarily due to his intentions, not concrete policy measures.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh perceives the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections to be a fight for its own existence and all that it stands for. Archis Mohan reports
Iqbal Ansari, one of the main plaintiffs who fought for the right of the community over the disputed land, says Muslims in Ayodhya won't be satisfied if the Sunni Waqf Board accepts the five acres in Dhannipur.
The scale and nature of Modi's election victory mean the higher tiers of the Sangh Parivar feel no need for restraint, says Sreenivasan Jain
'Putting Yogi Adityanath in the CM's seat two years before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls is something to be read carefully.' 'Opposition parties would be dishonest themselves and unfair to secular people if they failed to unite and work as a single force to defeat the BJP.'
'When Hindus converted through inducements there was no hue and cry, but when reconversions took place, everyone cried foul. If re-conversions are bad, so are conversions.' 'Our government is not getting involved either in conversions or re-conversions. The BJP has nothing to do with it.' Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu in a candid interview.
After a series of defeats since 2012, the results of the recent panchayat polls are being seen by her as a tide changer for the upcoming UP assembly elections
The apex court said the faith of Hindus that Lord Ram was born at the site was undisputed, and he is symbolically the owner of the land.
While Rajnath Singh said secularism was the most misused word in politics, Sonia alleged that ideals and principles of the Constitution were under threat and being attacked deliberately
Rashid was at the Press Club in Delhi on Monday afternoon, when three men set upon him and threw black ink on him.
Ambassador Venu Rajamony, who served as press secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee during his tenure, salutes the statesman and political legend, who passed into the ages on Monday.
The jobless armies of youthful India are getting angrier and desperate, warns Shekhar Gupta.
More than 25 years after the Babri Masjid was destroyed, another generation proclaims its commitment to building a Ram temple.
'If the BJP wants to build a minimally inclusive and secure society, in which vulnerable groups and religious minorities don't feel persecuted, then the Sangh Parivar, the party and its government must change their ways. Or else, they risk dividing India further -- violently and irreparably -- for narrow political ends,' argues Praful Bidwai.
'The clearest interpretation of the November 8 mandate is that the backwards, Dalits and minorities, and a huge proportion of women cutting across caste and class, displayed massive consolidation to the extent that despite chipping of votes by the Left Front, by the Third Front and by the BSP, Mahagathbandhan candidates won, and in many cases by huge margins,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
There are no permanent friends or foes in politics. It's true that the RJD supported us on the trust vote, but it doesn't mean we needed them, says Bihar new chief minister, Jitan Ram Manjhi.
Why does this Kerala district see so many political murders and revenge killings?
An accused D G Vanzara gets bail months after Modi emerges as PM and hails it is as a return of 'Achche Din' while the blind-folded lady justice, almost mocks the rest of us, by suggesting that nobody is guilty for the cold blooded killing of Ishrat Jahan, Kauser Bi and the 2,000 odd innocent people in Gujarat, says Shehzad Poonawala.
From the Aadhaar verdict to #MeToo's arrival in the country to the entry into the Sabarimala temple -- India had a newsworthy 2018. As we step into 2019, these are the top moments from the year gone by.
This time however, the poll panel did not share the overall polling percentage at its briefing.
Till 2000, K N Govindacharya, former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak, was considered the Bharatiya Janata party's chief ideologue. Govindacharya, who now heads the Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan, which opposes anti-people policies of governments, tells Sahil Makkar and Archis Mohan the Narendra Modi-led government is still in the election mode.
'Nehru's hegemonic politics has been responsible for many ills, which undoubtedly includes Kashmir'
'If the RSS should be saluted for choosing such a scholarly statesman to address its highly trained cadre, one must also praise Pranab Da's sagacity for having gracefully accepting the invitation, thus disapproving any ideological apartheid,' says former BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
Amit Shah's formal leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party might have its days numbered, given the range of resentment now coming forth against him.
BJP President Amit Shah -- arguably the second most powerful politician in the nation -- granted a rare television interview to the Network 18 group of news channels. Rediff.com's Rajesh Alva checks out what the BJP boss said in this word cloud assessment of the interview.
How has Raj Thackeray, who is as much a businessman as politician, been able to pull it off, when most Opposition politicians live in fear of IT and ED and CBI, asks Krishna Prasad after attending a Raj rally in Nashik.
'The dirt in the Indian Ocean must be less than the abuses Narendra Modi got from secular forces.' 'If you are going to put the blame on the central government and the RSS for every wrongdoing, then it is not going to serve any purpose, rather it will complicate the issue instead of resolving it.' 'There are fringe elements in every society, but for an ideal State it is important to finish off the fringe elements.'
'We were firing at Patton tanks that were moving towards India.' 'Fighter aircraft are the biggest menace for tanks because they come at great speed, attack from a height and their rockets are lethal.' 'The Hunter travels at 400, 420 knots. One knot is 1.6 times a km, so it was at a speed of 700, 800 km/hr.' 'You come at great speed and when you see the tanks, you pull up because attacks are always done in a dive.' 'You go up to 3,000 to 4,000 feet and then dive on to the target and let off your rockets...'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances