It is not in the Lok Sabha, where the BJP has a clear majority, but the Rajya Sabha that the Opposition has ganged up to checkmate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious plans.
The Rajya Sabha saw a heated debate on Wednesday after Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the government that a restraining order has been order against the broadcast of BBC documentary 'India's Daughter' on the December 2012 Delhi gang rape.
'Now that there is an election in the offing, she is repeating the same old promises. Does she think the people of Bengal are fools to fall for her lies?'
Faces are important in India, because people connect with people, not concepts.
The Indian government should resist the temptation to make a grand gesture of friendship towards Nawaz Sharif, says Shyam Saran
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants the event at the Madison Square Garden in NEw York to be representative of an emerging India
Whom will North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un kill next, and how?
'It is precisely because of the apprehensions about Lalu's revival that the upper castes have started re-thinking their electoral preferences. Out of confusion, they are simply deciding to vote for winnable candidates from their respective castes of any of the three parties -- the BJP, JD-U or RJD. This is what has considerably neutralised the NaMo wave in Bihar and resulted in Nitin Gadkari's remark that "Caste is in the DNA of Biharis". This is why Giriraj Singh, the BJP candidate from Nawada, made provocative statements,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's belated attempt to project himself as a statesman and a man of reason in his interviews to ANI and TV9 is being viewed with dollops of scepticism by his critics and political opponents. Anita Katyal reports.
'Those who have seen the functioning of the Modi government in Gujarat know that the issues related to Hindutva and issues of economy and growth function simultaneously.' 'Modi's politics are based on the understanding of the middle-class consumer society which is in pursuit of material aspirations.' Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reveals the Modi government's economic and political plans for the year ahead.
'If they oppose the government on different issues, what has the Sahitya Akademi got to do with it?'
Aam Aadmi Party chief spokesperson Yogendra Yadav tells Somesh Jha how Delhi has moved beyond Shahi Imam-type politics. Yadav also takes a dig at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, and says the AAP had formulated its policies on the streets, unlike the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Now that Tamil Nadu's tallest politician is no more, it remains to be seen how new political re-alignments could shape up, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'India should stop claiming that a united Pakistan is in India's interests.' 'Pakistan's break-up is a necessity for peace and progress in the region,' says Major General Mrinal Suman (retd).
Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Monday rejected opposition's two-day ultimatum to quit, saying she is willing to do "anything" to end spiralling violence but cannot accept the unconstitutional demand to hand over power to an unelected council.
'The voter thinks that the State is not going to impartially deliver services, provide justice, basic law and order, social insurance -- so as a voter it's very rational that I may choose a criminal who will help me navigate the State.' 'A weak State allows a criminal politician to be the person who provides that guarantee to mediate whatever problem the citizen has with the State.'
The real brilliance of this RSS campaign, therefore, lies in building a dominant power base with, and for, a mostly non-RSS leadership. That is why the rise of the BJP in Assam is their stand-out victory, says Shekhar Gupta.
'Who would have thought that Brexit would take place or Donald Trump would become US president or Kim Jong-un's madness could bring the prospect of nuclear war over Asia?' 'It is the time of the unexpected; the French elections should perhaps be seen in this perspective,' says Claude Arpi.
The clean-up process begun by the Reserve Bank of India runs the risk of spiralling out of control.
'If the BJP thinks they can suppress the farmers' movement by opening fire, they are wrong.' 'It will create a boomerang effect which will be very difficult to manage.'
'While the government must be relentless in its efforts to curb unruly elements to ensure secular harmony and protect its goal of national development,it must not lose the moral high ground by giving in to the antics of the anti-nationalist lobby.' 'They must be countered and relegated to the dustbin of history,' says Vivek Gumaste.
After weighing all the costs and benefits, the next administration is likely to reduce and restructure assistance to Pakistan but not to end it altogether, says Daniel S Markey.
'Our Indian culture system is very family oriented.' 'We value and respect the decisions of our parents to a great extent.' 'That can be a pro or con.' 'It's up to the parents to gauge how much motivation, pressure or space a child needs.' 'Every child is different.' 'We are all unique and that is what I intend to drive home to parents.'
'It is important to destroy, to undermine, to debunk the narrative of ISIS,' Olivier Roy -- one of the world's leading experts on radical Islam -- tells Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel in an exclusive interview.
'The Left's decline is now a reality, both nationally and in West Bengal.'Behind it lie: Ideological rigidity and confusion, outdated party programmes... a socially conservative upper-caste leadership,' says Praful Bidwai.
'Biometric Aadhaar-based surveillance is not only about violation of privacy, but also about the treasure hunt for unprecedented financial surveillance and economic intelligence in the economic history of mankind,' asks Gopal Krishna.
Is it just the glamour?
'An America at war with itself, groaning under a mounting debt, with woolly-headed economic policies of a neophyte president who is more feared and suspected among the comity of nations does not augur well for the world.' 'It would be well justified in asking,' says Shreekant Sambrani, '"Is this how you expect to make America great again, Mr President?"'
'If Modi arrived like a juggernaut, he left like a jigsaw puzzle whose pieces were being dismantled bit by bit. It was as if India had seceded quietly from him.' Shiv Viswanathan's social science fiction about what India would be like in 2020.
"A Meryl Streep or Jimmy Kimmel can speak their mind, and stay assured that they won't be harmed. That does not happen in India," say Manavi Kapur & Ranjita Ganesan.
'With the recent challenging of the notion of the Indian Ocean Region being India's strategic backyard, China is gradually upping the ante in the maritime realm around India.'
'Modi is likely to make more announcements to win or retain popularity, and put himself at the centre of things even more than now,' says T N Ninan.
Following is the full text of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's speech at FICCI's 86th annual general meeting on Saturday:
The US wants to split Sino-India ties, says the Chinese media.
If the chemistry between Modi and Xi Jinping goes well, it will herald a new future not just for the region but for the world, says Tarun Vijay.
According to Sukanya Verma, The Hobbit series continues to exhilarate and astound with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
How has the Indian State, in principle and practice, given shape to the essential ingredients of the secular principle and composite culture?
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The Indian Army must be given a free hand to retaliate punitively at one or more places of its choosing on the LoC. The aim should be to cause maximum damage to the forward posts of the Pakistan army, particularly those through which recent attacks have been launched, thereby raising the cost for the army, says Gurmeet Kanwal.
'It will make good sense for military men on that side of the table to be confronted by our own.'
Two years into power, there is very little to show for the Modi government by way of 'achievements' on the foreign policy front, and his China, Pakistan policies are gasping for breath, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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