A 10-time Lok Sabha MP, Chatterjee was a central committee member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, which he had joined in 1968. He was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009.
'These protests are not just about the CAA. It is against allowing fascism and religious discrimination to creep into our legal system.'
'Where they lose, you never ask why they failed there, like in Bihar and Punjab.' 'You are stuck on the UP victory, thinking they have the mandate to rule for all times to come.' 'The BJP has 282 MPs, but can I honestly say that the BJP is the party for everyone?'
The Election Commission on Wednesday issued a notice to Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal for the alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct for making an appeal on grounds of religion to Muslim voters to support his party in the upcoming Delhi assembly polls.
'For the Tamil Nadu protestors to openly ask popular film actor Vijay Sethupathi not to don Murali in 800 is a travesty in every sense. It may have given them a cause to tell the world, and the governments in New Delhi, Colombo and Chennai, that the Sri Lankan ethnic issue was still alive in the state -- more so, during the current run-up to two major events in the first half of 2021,' says N Sathiya Moorthy.
In first high-level engagement between India and Russia after National Democratic Alliance government came to power, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry O Rogozin on Wednesday held extensive talks on crucial bilateral issues including trade and energy security.
Mohammad Sajjad salutes the memory of Mushirul Hasan -- historian, thinker, academic, institution builder, -- who passed into the ages this week.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday slammed the Congress for opposing opinion polls, saying the fear of losing elections was the reason behind its "nonsensical" demand and "desperate" tactics.
Down and out Congress is all set to use 'Modi's doublespeak on CAG reports' and invitation to Nawaz Sharif as weapons to target the prime minister-designate. Renu Mittal reports.
'Our priority cannot be better cities. Since real change is not possible, we must satisfy ourselves with a change in name,' says Aakar Patel.
Is Modi trampling upon senior BJP colleagues while taking decisions? How come Team Modi underestimated the political action-reaction when they were upsetting and uprooting the BJP's founding fathers L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi in the ticket distribution process?
Tejaswini Gowda, a former Congress leader in Karnataka who is now with the Bharatiya Janata Party, lambasted her old party, saying it rewarded women leaders in the party only if they danced to the tune of the male politicians.
In order to strike a balance between the diverse communities in Varanasi, the Aam Aadmi Party will focus on tree major issues -- river, weaver and sewer -- when it takes on Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Even as Priyanka is gaining traction among the electorate and the media, her counterpart for the western UP region, Jyotiraditya Scindia, has been low key and perceptibly missing from the 'heat and dust' of elections in UP, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday expressed anguish over the gruesome gangrape of a 23-year-old photojournalist in Mumbai.
Piyush Pandey retiring? I'm not going anywhere, says O&M's South Asia executive chairman.
'If Khan Market today -- a neon-drenched spectacle of blingy shops and pricey eateries -- is what it is, it's not due to the dramatic shift in political dispensations, but because free-market India is another country,' notes Sunil Sethi.
As Maharashtra's main political players, the Congress-nationalist Congress Party alliance and Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena combine, brace for the Lok Sabha and subsequent state assembly polls this year, they would have to contend with a new opponent, the Aam Aadmi Party, which has decided to take the electoral plunge in a big way.
'It is the regional parties and their leaders who are the ones we have to watch.'
'This is a historic juncture when the US is in great need of an alliance with India to strengthen its hands in the fierce struggle with China in the Asian theatre,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India and Pakistan must reform their institutions of governance to accelerate economic growth on a sustained basis for poverty reduction, lawmakers and experts from both the countries attending a meeting in Dubai said notwithstanding the chill in bilateral ties.
On the occasion of the Narendra Modi government completing one year in office, Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com speaks to BJP president Amit Shah who is yin to Modi's yang. Don't miss it!
'There will be greater communalisation. He talks about development, but his people tell his critics to go to Pakistan and brand Muslims as 'butchers'. This is the true colour of the BJP.' 'He deliberately does not stop them because that is his real agenda; he wants to make sure that the Hindu votes come to the BJP,' says senior journalist Kalpana Sharma. Ritu Jha/Rediff.com listens in.
Congress charged the entire BJP and the government with "aiding and abetting" Lalit Modi, a fugitive.
'Anandiben is a strict taskmaster. She is accepted much less among the party cadres, but the bureaucrats in Gujarat bow to her dictates. In charisma, she is not a patch on Modi, and her acceptance among the masses will never become a reality.' Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reveals what Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel is really like.
'Taranjit has the ideal temperament to deal with the Americans who understand firmness and appreciate flexibility.' 'He can hold his ground with a cheerful face and still make it clear that India and the US are partners, rivals,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The TDP chief said he tried to speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a 'courtesy' to inform him about the decision to quit but he did not come on line.
'The Quran says that saving one life is like saving humanity. So by donating for Kerala, you are following what Allah told you.' 'This gesture would create goodwill for Muslims and would work as a counter to the hostility they face.' Jyoti Punwani reports how some Muslims won't sacrifice goats this Bakri Eid, instead donating the money towards relief efforts in Kerala.
A closer analysis of the Delhi election results suggests that the Aam Aadmi Party, despite a stunning debut, may actually be on shakier ground if another election were held, says Venkat Goli.
The way communal politics has become the only way to decide political discourse is unfortunate and bad sign for the future of democracy, says Syed Hassan Kazim
Can Baichung Bhutia's Hamro Sikkim party pose a challenge to Pawan Chamling who has not lost an election in 24 years?
Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi is well aware that it is a near-impossible task for him to beat Sneh Bansal in the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association's presidential elections on December 30, but he is not ready to go down without a fight against the "shameful activities" of the current regime.
Escalating his attack against Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi over his development claims, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said he is the "vikas purush" (development man) only for industrialists.
'This is the first time a majority ruling government is nominating a Dalit for President.' 'So, the moral credibility definitely will go with the BJP, particularly Narendra Modi.'
Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has been able to overcome a sustained campaign against him over the 2012 Gujarat riots, in which a section of the media had also targeted him, believes senior party leader Arun Jaitley.
Making his debut in West Bengal in the current campaign, Bharatiya Janata Party's PM candidate Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the Left parties and the Third Front, saying they will make India a "third rate" country.
From the economy to foreign policy issues, to addressing the serious challenge posed by communal forces which are out to viciously polarise and divide Indian society, the UPA II government has shown a certain pronounced weakness and lack of vision and commitment that could seriously harm India in the long run, notes Sanjay Kapoor.
Jaitley, the first Union minister to meet Jaya since her conviction, manages to secure the AIADMK's conditional support to the government's crucial legislations in the Rajya Sabha.
Narendra Modi on Thursday tore into the Congress manifesto, calling it a "bundle of lies" and unkept promises, and also accused the Nitish Kumar government of "nurturing and abetting" terrorism for "vote-bank" politics.
'If you put colour-coded internal security maps of India in May 2014 and now, the picture won't be flattering to Modi.' 'Failures on internal security are now piling up and can break Modi's momentum,' says Shekhar Gupta.
