Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs brothers should embrace each other rather than we sow seeds of hatred, SAD stalwart Parkash Singh Badal said.
In the light of the efforts being made to forge electoral unity between scheduled castes and Muslims, Mohammad Sajjad examines what the architect of our Constitution, B R Ambedkar, had to say about the Muslim community.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed the leaders on the latest situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban captured power there last week.
In provocative remarks, Congress leader and Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma has warned that Narendra Modi will be in jail in six months time if Rahul Gandhi becomes the prime minister.
'The 2019 election could well become a referendum on Narendra Damodardas Modi, in which case the BJP could prove all its critics wrong,' notes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Why are the poor turning Right instead of turning toward far-Left parties, ponders Pranab Bardhan.
'India's nationalism has always been an exceptional and great experiment.' 'We said you don't have to give up your language, your lifestyle or your religion in order to be an Indian national.' 'Nowhere in the world could you find on such a large scale such a democratic experiment of nation building based on diversity.' 'That is the greatness of India's nationalism and we are on the verge of losing that greatness.'
'The Congress-NCP is a declining force while we are a rising force.'
Sadhvi also said "there is no such thing as saffron terrorism," adding that "saffron means dedicated life for the nation and dharma."
All senior leaders will be along with Rahul Gandhi during these programmes and this will be the 'first leg' of the campaign by the Congress president.
AFSPA can be safely lifted from almost 90 per cent of Nagaland, argues Shekhar Gupta.
Asserting that the upcoming polls will be fought on the issue of full statehood, Kejriwal criticised Modi for not fulfilling this promise as mentioned in BJP's 2014 manifesto.
'Between now and 2021, Bengal's politics could change irrevocably,' predicts Kanchan Gupta, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation.
Much depends on the BJP's electoral performance in next year's assembly elections. If the party fares well in UP and some states like Goa and Gujarat, it will be able to fob off the attempt at a reappraisal of its Hindutva doctrine, observes Amulya Ganguli.
'The strange thing about the Karnataka election is that the BJP looks more like the Congress of the past and vice versa.' 'Siddaramaiah has been able to out think the BJP almost every single day on every single issue.'
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.
In a veiled attack on the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said political forces were behind the recent Muzaffarnagar communal riots as they feel they cannot achieve electoral victory without creating such conflicts.
'The government must consider that Modiji's vision of India turning into a $5 trillion economy will happen only when there is rule of law in the country.' 'Investors will not invest if these lynchings keep happening.'
Political parties have slammed Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto especially over inclusion of Ram temple and other 'Hindutva' issues, saying it was only aimed at hoodwinking voters.
'Keeping its financial interests in mind, China wants no enmity with the Nepalese government.'
'When Sachin Tendulkar bats, no one in India cares if he is from Mumbai or if he is a Hindu or a Brahmin or whatever.' 'We just want him to win it for India.' 'The same is with Modi and the people who voted across caste and regional lines for him.' We want him to win it for India,' says Madhu A K.
It is time the current leaders who swear by 'cultural nationalism', that is religion neutral, assert that Bharatiyata is at the core of our nationalism and India was never a 'Hindu Rashtra', argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Let India rise on the prowess of development, honest money and a non-religionist political discourse. That will secure our future and also make an impact on the theologically run sham democracies in our neighbourhood, says Tarun Vijay.
'In economic matters governments should not take sides based on religion and caste,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Condemning BJP president Amit Shah's statement on 'exodus' of Hindus in Kairana, the opposition parties alleged that the statement has created anxiety and tension in Western Uttar Pradesh.
On Saturday, Priyanka had claimed that incidents of crime are on the rise in Uttar Pradesh, and criminals were "roaming freely" in the state. "In Uttar Pradesh criminals are roaming freely and doing whatever they want. Criminal incidents are taking place one after the other. However, its Bharatiya Janata Party government has turned deaf. Has the Uttar Pradesh government surrendered before criminals?" she had tweeted in Hindi along with a collage of news reports indicating various incidents of crime.
Shah said before the Yogi Adityanath dispensation assumed office, Uttar Pradesh was known for 'goonda raj' and bad law and order. '...Yogi government has established rule of law,' he said.
In a setback to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, ruling Janata Dal-United candidate from the Muslim-dominated Kishanganj parliamentary constituency, Akhtarul Iman, on Tuesday announced that he would not be contesting the Lok Sabha polls.
'No civilised nation can thrive if it is possessed with the spirit of Hindutva.'
Addressing BJP's campaign rallies for the October 21 Maharashtra Assembly elections at Pune, Satara and Parli, Modi also said that despite a lot of talk in the last 70 years, it was only his government which dared abrogate Article 370.
Mamata said the saffron party could not build even a small Ram temple in the last five years.
She has been appointed general secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East), while Jyotiraditya Scindia holds charge of UP West.
The fact finding panel headed by retired District Judge Srikanth D Babaladi, had retired IAS officer Madan Gopal, retired IFS officer R Raju among others which include retired bureaucrats, journalists, advocates, professors and social workers.
'He was always opposed to a form of nationalism that was narrow, selfish and arrogant.' 'He will always remain a beacon of inspiration for freedom-loving people across the world and for movements of resistance against oppressive State power.'
Hitting out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's 'Didi-Bhaipo' jibes, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday challenged him to contest an election against her nephew Abhishek Banerjee and then think of fighting her.
'Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Swami Vivekananda, all wanted and argued for a united Bengali culture, and there is no room in their social objective for trying to excite one community against another'
BJP leaders in the state are either lying low or criticising the CAA move in hushed tones. Chandra Kumar Bose, vice-president of the BJP's state unit, is most vocal with his opposition to the Act in the current form. "The country is above petty party politics. How can I keep quiet when I see that something is happening which is wrong in its current form?" Other party leaders aren't as vocal as Bose but clandestinely have been questioning the merit of the CAA and its impact on the BJP's prospects in the state. In fact, at a time when the BJP started making deep inroads in the state, the fear of the CAA and the NRC appears to be ruining its prospects.
Modi and Shah's next focus will be South India, and the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections. Shah is unlikely to abdicate control over the party even after he joins the government. Modi and Shah both know only too well that the party makes the government, and not the other way round.
If Uddhav Thackeray is fazed by the BJP's attempts to build a narrative against his government in order to bring it down, he is not showing it. He has fought against all odds to remain in the CM's chair and faced difficulties with a smile, reports Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Addressing a 'nukkad sabha' in favour of Congress nominee Rakesh Sachan in Fatehpur, the Congress general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh said, "The issue of patriotism is raised whenever elections come, but the real questions on farmers, unemployed, women safety are left behind."
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