The government is likely to firm up next week a view on how to go about the food security bill. Indications to this effect were available on Wednesday with the government sources saying a decision will be taken only after Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's return from Rome where he has gone to attend Food and Agriculture Organisation conference.
The Union Cabinet rejected the ordinance route for a set of anti-corruption measures despite pressure from Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for bringing such laws.
A nominal Rs 1 would be charged from youths as entry fee to these gyms
In a jolt to the Congress ahead of Himachal Pradesh polls, senior leader Anand Sharma on Sunday resigned from the chairmanship of the party's steering committee for the state, saying he was left with no choice after the 'continuing exclusion and insults'.
Some elements are creating obstacles in the path of India's development and are fearful of its rise on the global stage, but they will not succeed, he asserted.
'Mayawatiji no more controls the bahujan vote in UP.' 'In this election more than 40 per cent of the BSP's core voters blessed the SP without the SP even asking for it.'
President Pranab Mukherjee has given his nod to the Telangana Bill, which is likely to be tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
'The inauguration of the Ram temple was the pinnacle of the BJP's religious politics.' 'Politics is dynamic. What goes up has to come down.'
The Aam Aadmi Party, which entered the fray with much fanfare, failed to make any impact at the hustings.
Discussions to evolve a consensus on separate Telangana state is on and the Congress high command will take a final decision on it but it will take time, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Tuesday.
The Congress has so far announced 82 candidates for the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls beginning April 19.
Left parties on Wednesday said the government has no other option but to withdraw the ordinance on convicted lawmakers in face of huge public outcry against it, with Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta saying that Manmohan Singh has "proved to be a shadow prime minister".
On the basis of many conversations with stakeholders on the Telangana issue, Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt presents an FAQ to help understand the politics of posturing and realpolitik on the ground to win seats. The questions are many and the answers are not straight
In the clip, Prasad and Sahni were seen enjoying fish and roti, with Prasad explaining that he eats quickly during election campaigns.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has ruled out resigning and says he will talk to Rahul Gandhi on the ordinance.
With political stalemate continuing in Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference's working president Omar Abdullah on Monday held a meeting with top party leaders where it was decided that it will have no tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party but was ready to support the Peoples Democratic Party in the government-formation.
Tharoor said the Congress should stand up for its foundational principles.
Gandhi, who had publicly called the ordinance to protect convicted MPs and MLAs from immediate disqualification as complete nonsense causing tremors in the government, however, expressed his "greatest admiration" for the Prime Minister's leadership in extremely difficult circumstances.
'If you look at the average age of all our candidates, you will notice that their average age is between 35 and 40. It is a kind of revolution that the MNS is bringing in Maharashtra.'
Though the contest is tough in Baramati, Sule has an edge over her rival as the locals may not break the pattern that she is meant for the Lok Sabha and Ajit Pawar for the state assembly, the political analyst felt.
Parrikar's poor health has sparked speculation over his continuation as the chief minister of Goa, and Shah had recently sent a central party leaders team to the coastal state to speak to allies and take stock of political situation.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and leadership of the LDF were quick to welcome Jose faction's decision to cooperate with the front.
'The Opposition parties will continue to woo Chandrababu Naidu even though he has said he will support the BJP.'
Another MLA Rekha Arya, who was also supposed to join the BJP on Wednesday, is visiting the Simhasth Kumbh in Ujjain, but has sent her acceptance to the party.
The BJP believes that the only party still capable of leading a credible challenge against it is the Congress. Please note how BJP campaigners in states where the Congress may count for a cipher or thereabouts, mostly attack the Congress, observes Shekhar Gupta.
"All legislators will remain united and stay together till August 14," Congress chief whip Mahesh Joshi said after the CLP meeting chaired by Gehlot.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday discussed the candidature of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, A P J Abdul Kalam and Somnath Chatterjee, floated by the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party.
This appears to be a common refrain in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri Lok Sabha constituency where farmers want better prices for their produce and respite from the stray cattle menace and others want political leaders to talk about job creation instead of issues like the Ram temple and Article 370.
The bill to create Telangana is likely to be introduced in Parliament on Tuesday.
This time Modi has no emotive message to take to the stump. Muscular nationalism doesn't work against the backdrop of China's successive inroads into Indian territory. Rising prices is a sore point that cuts across class and caste barriers; unprecedented levels of unemployment has the youth in a ferment. This has reduced the BJP campaign to a laundry list of recycled grievances and thinly veiled communal appeals, neither of which are working as well as they have in the past, argues Prem Panicker.
Activist Medha Patkar, who is part of Anna Hazare's core group, said in spite of talking about the broad issue, the Congress general secretary should have deliberated on the immediate issues raised by the Gandhian, whose fast for a strong Lokpal continued for the 11th day.
Amit Shah's fall has dented his boss Narendra Modi's eligibility to some day lead non-Congress centrist parties at the Centre. Here lies the real win for the Congress, as this will play as an advantage for its future leadership, says Sheela Bhatt.
The Congress high command held long discussions with former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and state congress chief Saifuddin Soz, but no decision was taken during the meeting whether to support the National Conference to form new government headed by Omar Abdullah.
In the Muslim community, views on this Lok Sabha election seem to vary, with some seeing it as crucial for India's pluralism while others feel neglected by political parties.
An all party meeting on the issue of Telangana is likely to held in the first week of February.
A crucial meeting of the Congress Core Group on Friday will discuss the Telangana issue with "both options open" as a decision "cannot be postponed anymore", said senior party leader Digvijay Singh.
Presenting the eventful life and times of the Congress vice president.
'There is a group who want to internally damage the Congress and they may be hand in glove with the BJP.'
With the Congress leadership reportedly inching towards a favourable decision on Telangana statehood demand, a party member of Legislative Assembly and several YSR Congress legislators from non-Telangana regions on Thursday said they have "resigned" in support of united Andhra Pradesh.
Gandhi said the govt "tried everything to stop" his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', but nothing was working against the "effect" of the foot march.
