President Maithripala Sirisena's new Cabinet was also sworn in and Rajapaksa was named the new minister of finance and economic affairs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Rajapaksa and said he looks forward to further deepen relations between the two nations.
'If Narendra Modi and Amit Shah will campaign here, the BJP's defeat will be bigger.'
The Congress has been reduced to a C player in national politics thanks to its inability to read the pulse of the people, says Rashme Sehgal.
One year after his death, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's legacy stands crucially poised, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
HAM leader Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday said statements of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat about a review of quotas could be one of the possible reasons for the NDA's debacle in the polls.
'It seems we will get an NRC which will include the names of illegal foreigners and exclude genuine Indian citizens'
While Congress criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government for being "insensitive", saying yoga, a great discipline of ancient India, does not belong to the saffron party, Janata Dal-United termed it as yet another attempt to "impose the communal agenda" on Indian masses.
Decision will be taken in second democratic transition of power in the nation's 70-year chequered history.
"You can see all of us working together. There is no discontent. The problem is, today newspapers have more pages than before, news channels run 24X7 and then there is social media where anybody can say anything without worrying about backing a claim with facts," he said.
A well-intentioned cause for the creation of Telangana that fulfils the aspirations of the people has been made controversial on account of the lack of political management, says Arun Jaitley
Democracy is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for rooting out corruption
May now faces the final and biggest hurdle of getting the deal approved by the UK Parliament where many MPs from her own party remain vehemently opposed to it.
'We are not a dictatorship. If the people do not desire some law, it is impossible for any government to implement it,' says BJP leader Chandra Kumar Bose.
'I really wonder how are we really democratic? How is there freedom of expression? As a filmmaker, I feel bound at every level, be it what I put out on celluloid or what I say in print.' Karan Johar joins the intolerance debate.
The BJP is still short of the halfway mark of 123 in the 245-member House, but can now muster a 'working' majority with help of allies, friendly parties, some Independents and nominated members.
'Kejriwal took political steps and micro level care at every level not to allow the consolidation of Hindu votes behind the BJP,' observes Sheela Bhatt, the distinguished political commentator.
Sheela Bhatt reveals how the BJP and Amit Shah have halted -- for now -- the Shiv Sena's dream of forming a government in Maharashtra.
'Modi is still immensely popular and, therefore, he can sustain any number of policy failures.' 'Modi himself has worn multiple faces so it would be naive to think that the Modi of 2021 will be the same Modi that will be campaigning for re-election in 2024.'
At least three members of the BJP Parliamentary Board, that approved candidates list, told me that release of my book by Nitish Kumar in 2017 was strongly resented and probably this cost me the party nomination, Roy said.
Clinton's defeat in Michigan is an indication of the challenges she might face in the rest of her presidential campaign.
The 74-year-old leader, who describe himself as "a rebel with a cause", earlier served as the country's president from 2005-2015, becoming South Asia's longest-serving leader. He was also prime minister for a brief period in 2018.
The updated election ads policy for India will require advertisers to provide a 'pre-certificate' issued by the EC or anyone authorised by the poll panel, for each ad. Further, Google will verify the identity of advertisers before their election ads run on its platforms, reports Peerzada Abrar.
A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices L N Rao and Dinesh Maheshwari said it was only going into the aspect of security of the two women -- Bindu and Kanakadurga, and would not like to entertain any other prayer made in the petition.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made a scathing attack on Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on his home turf, calling him a "tantrik" (occultist) and his party "Rashtriya Jadu Tona Party" as he reached out to the youth and weaker sections, promising a six-point programme for the state's development.
However, Head priest Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru told reporters at the temple that he had only consulted senior tantri Kandararu Mohanararu on the matter.
Amid the tussle with the government, the Governor on Sunday made it clear he would not remain a 'mute spectator' and would ensure the law of the land is upheld.
The Indian Films and TV Directors' Association, along with 19 other bodies of the film and television industry from across the country will stop shooting for 15 minutes to protect the right to freedom of expression of those in the creative field.
Elections will also be held in 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha.
Senate and House negotiators from both parties did not comment on the details of the deal, saying the staff is still working on last-minute logistics.
The National Democratic Alliance government will not launch a witch-hunt against its political opponents including Robert Vadra, but the law would take its own course, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said on Friday.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani as a pawn to further his chances in the polls next year by playing politics over the upcoming controversial film, 'Udta Punjab'.
The United States is stronger and more prosperous than it was eight years ago, US President Barack Obama has said, attributing it to a series of steps taken by him during his two four-year terms.
Congress trained its guns on the National Democratic Alliance dispensation on a wide range of issues including economy, employment, price rise and foreign policy.
Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom was today sworn in as the 6th President of the Maldives, ending nearly two years of political turmoil that threatened to isolate the country internationally.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh said it was a 'needless' controversy and the decision on the invite was taken by Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, an organisation of Ezhava community which was organising the event.
In a Sri Lankan House of 225 members, the cut-off figure comes to 113. With Wickremesinghe side touching 102 and Rajapaksa's team at 101, the three-party Tamil National Alliance with 16 members and the left-leaning Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna with 6 members hold the key. But with the latter declaring that they will not support either formation in a vote count,that leaves the TNA as the deciding factor, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Analysts believe the main reason for Trump's popularity surge is that he now enjoys wider support from Republican voters after his decisive win in Indiana earlier this month.
He will call for 'an end to the politics of resistance and retribution', a senior aide said.
During a joint press conference with the Jammu-Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, the home minister also said that there is no future for India without Kashmir.
