'Narasimha Rao asked me why China was doing so well in attracting foreign investments and I gave my frank opinion.' 'I told him that giving thrust to exports had to be a national effort.' 'But in India, the system was very centralised in the Government of India and the state governments had no role to play.'
'They are afraid that if they approach a police station for filing a complaint they might themselves get arrested under some random charges.'
The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it clear that it will not go into the personal laws governing marriages while deciding the pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages, and asked the lawyers to advance arguments on the Special Marriage Act.
The group said it does not believe the open letter to Modi by the Constitutional Conduct Group -- the name of the association of former bureaucrats -- had "sincere motivations".
The submission was made by the UN Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan; on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Clement Nyaletsossi Voule; and the right to privacy, Joseph Cannataci.
'I want us not to underestimate Indian voters. They can tell good work from bad.'
'For the first time since I've been following Indian politics, one heard voters talking about India's role on the world stage and the fact that, due to Modi's leadership, India was once again a great power.'
These are obviously not 'organic' desertions but brought about under intense military pressure, post the 9/5 arrests. It seemed as if the party was being dismantled the same way it was brought into power!, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W, India's external intelligence agency.
'In the name of pluralism-secularism, the kind of politics that was pursued revealed to many that it was basically a favour to Muslim conservatism and communalism -- a politics of minority-ism, rather than of secularism.' 'This is how significant sections of Hindus have been made to loathe the very idea of Indian secularism by now,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
A flop Bharat Jodo Yatra could unleash more resignations from a party which under its current leadership is dying a slow death, warns Virendra Kapoor.
Sarma, whose stock is high in Delhi had earlier captured eyeballs as the BJP's first star campaigner from the region in far away Gujarat and Delhi.
'Human rights violations are there in rural areas and in cities. In rural areas it is crude and in the open. In urban areas it is well hidden.' 'Awareness has grown several fold. India has 160 national and state human rights institutions. No other country in the world has this.' 'Unfortunately the right to association, right to assembly, freedom of expression, right to protest and discuss are all being curtailed systematically one by one.'
The Chinese aren't after territory. Their target is our national will, morale and the sense of autonomy we feel in making our strategic choices. They are attacking India and the Modi government at their weakest point, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Hitting out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday accused him and Aam Aadmi Party leaders of lowering the level of public discourse saying vulgarity is not a right available to people in positions.
With elections elsewhere in India showing that multi-pronged contests usually work to the BJP's favour, the party can gain if it hangs on stubbornly. In the meantime, any additional support helps. That is why the archbishop's comment attracted political traction in Kerala, observes Shyam G Menon.
Bennett and Lapid, in a joint statement, said that they had "exhausted options to stabilise" their coalition which has recently come under severe strain over unruly members threatening to dump it.
Kharge said the BJP made all efforts to get him disqualified as he was speaking the truth.
'They also think that if all opposition parties rally behind him, then 2024 will be Rahul versus Modi and that will be advantage BJP'
The Supreme Court will hear on March 27 a batch of pleas challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case that also involves the killing of seven members of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The Supreme Court Thursday agreed to hear a plea of two advocates and a journalist seeking quashing of a criminal case lodged under the harsh Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act provisions against them for allegedly bringing facts through social media posts about the 'targeted violence' against the minority community in Tripura.
'Had it not been for the complicity of the state and Biren Singh's leadership, these riots would not have spread this far and for so long.'
'He is anything but astute or charismatic. He believes the Congress can win elections without alliances in the Hindi heartland.'
'You can't go on creating division and rhetoric of hate.' 'It comes to roost. We are seeing the first glimpses of that in the state elections.'
If the government and the political party controlling it want to destroy the homes of people without trial or conviction, where do those people go?, asks Aakar Patel.
The ulema have a leading role in educating the people on the original tolerant and moderate principles of Islam and countering extremism with progressive ideas and thought, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said Tuesday.
The bickering between allies All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu over late Dravidian stalwart C N Annadurai peaked on Monday with the regional party snapping ties with the saffron organisation, saying it cannot tolerate any affront to the late chief minister and its other leaders.
'Our civil society here is vibrant, and courageous, although it is beaten up and beaten down, repeatedly.'
India in the past rejected similar reports.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has neither accepted nor rejected the demand but the protest had to be suspended as stopping of salaries is 'choking us financially', protesters affiliated to the All Migrant (Displaced) Employees Association Kashmir (AMEAK) said.
On such things as the meat ban and hijab ban, we are finding that elements that comprise the system are enthusiastic about denying people their rights. It says something awful about us as a society, asserts Aakar Patel.
Accusing Congress of 'abuse culture', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged the people of Karnataka to punish those indulging in abuse, while casting their vote in polling booths on May 10.
The top court said this approach is part of our constitutional culture and there is no need for it to formulate a code of conduct for public functionaries.
There is the problem of regions in the North East being theatre for power-play by nations with borders and influences converging in those parts, which in turn requires a sizable presence of the armed forces, notes Shyam G Menon.
The government of the Maldives on Saturday faced international condemnation, a day after former president Mohamed Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison under anti-terrorism laws
The President had been moved out of his residence on Friday, in anticipation of Saturday's protests.
The mixed narratives emerging from Russia undermine Mr Putin's position and authority even more than the actual facts, observes Mihir S Sharma.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is currently facing public demand for his resignation over his mishandling of the economic crisis, is the man who ruthlessly ended Sri Lanka's nearly 30-year civil war with the LTTE with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009.
The SC, however, rejected NIA's request for immediate stay to the order.
One of the crucial features of the right to privacy judgment is the understanding that democracy is founded on pluralism and diversity, and pluralism and diversity begin in the mind, says Gautam Bhatia.
There appears to be inadequate appreciation of the freedoms and rights that are guaranteed and practised daily in a vibrant democracy, India says.
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