The prime minister, says Ram Kelkar, could do a lot to advance his stature as a national leader by speaking in strong and unequivocal terms on the subject of opposing intolerance and emphasizing the rule of law, thereby setting the tone for the nation and the party.
A court in Surajpur rejected the Uttar Pradesh government's plea seeking withdrawal of charges against the accused in the 2015 lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri and directed that the trial be conducted on a day-to-day basis.
Akhlaq was killed by a mob on September 29 last year on the suspicion that his family stored and consumed beef at their home.
A migrant worker from West Bengal was allegedly beaten to death in Haryana's Charkhi Dadri district over suspicion that he had eaten beef, police said on Saturday, adding they have arrested five members of a cow vigilante group for the attack.
Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Saturday joined protesting farmers at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana and said the central government should pay heed to their demands and make it a priority to address their issues.
While refraining from naming any one of them, he said, "I will disclose their names once the investigation is complete," he said.
Wrestler and Congress candidate Vinesh Phogat on Sunday said she expects to win each battle with the blessings of people as kicks off her campaign for the upcoming assembly election.
"The question of law and order is directly connected with the state as it is the prime responsibility of the state... if they ask for help we can give, but the Constitution does not permit us to directly intervene in it," the home minister said.
"Where was the sample sent, who received it? There was nothing objectionable in his house. Every eye is on this matter. Everyone wants that the victim's family should get justice as murder had taken place.
A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan posted the matter for hearing on January 29 as some of the farmers had filed a caveat and were given the opportunity to contest the appeal filed by Reliance Power Ltd.
'Episodes of targeted attacks on Muslims established that for a section of people and, sadly, even officials of the State, the election results conveyed no lessons.' 'Opposition parties must not be hesitant in speaking out whenever the mob with tacit State support targets Muslims,' asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Two youngsters, both aged 18 years, were arrested from their hideout in a locality close to Bishada, the scene of Monday night killing of 50-year-old Mohammed Iqlakh, taking the total number of arrests to eight, police said.
After dithering for months on the issue of recommending a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the Dadri lynching case, the Uttar Pradesh government said if the Allahabad high court found an inquiry by the investigation agency relevant, it would honour and implement the order.
The Congress sought the imposition of President's Rule followed by fresh polls in Haryana.
Tension spread to nearby areas of Bishada village in Dadri on Monday after meat pieces were found in an adjoining village even as the district magistrate decided to further restrict entry of visitors to the troubled spot and examine statements made by controversial BJP MLA Sangeet Som during his visit to the area.
'What will be achieved by the prime minister's condemnation of each and every unfortunate incident? Will just the PM's condemnation bring about closure to these cases,' asks Sudhir Bisht.
family of the 50-year-old Mohammad Ikhlaq who was brutally lynched to death by a Hindu mob over beef-eating rumours in Dadri last week were flown in to Lucknow for an audience with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav at his official residence in Lucknow Sunday morning.
'He has emerged as a formidable leader who cannot be ignored anymore, who cannot be mocked.'
Congress on Monday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "break his silence" over the alleged "provocative" statements by the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in connection with the Dadri lynching, saying that not doing so would suggest that they had his "approval".
'Even if the media is partisan, the BJP, governing at the Centre, has the most to lose if India descends into widespread communal violence.' 'Fanning the flames either by vested political interests or by partisan reports only plays into the hands of those seek a conflagration.'
'Mohammad Akhlaq's death isn't only about a Muslim being killed out of sheer communal bigotry, but also the denial of the Constitutional guarantees of "due process" under Article 21 and the freedom of choice,' says Shehzad Poonawalla, who has moved the National Commission for Minorities over the murder.
An 11-year-old boy was on Monday rescued from kidnappers following two separate gunfights with the police in Greater Noida in which one of the suspects died, while two others were held, officials said.
Modi thanked the people of the state for making the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' initiative a fruitful one.
PM Modi's statement on Wednesday led ally Shiv Sena to rake up his past when he was chief minister during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The issue of intolerance is set to reverberate in Lok Sabha on Monday with the Speaker accepting notices of CPI(M) member P Karunakaran and Congress MP K C Venugopal for a discussion on the matter.
The Hindu right-wing body in its mouthpiece taunts "liberals" protesting the Dadri lynching incident, asking what exactly is their idea of India.
The daughter of a tea-shop owner, Sudiksha Bhati died on Monday morning near Aurangabad when she was riding pillion on a motorcycle with her younger brother, a minor, they said. The two were en route to their maternal uncle's home in Bulandshahr's Khanpur area from their house at Deri Scanar village in Gautam Buddh Nagar's Dadri tehsil, the officials said.
The Phogats became a household name in the country after the success of Hindi film 'Dangal', which is based on the lives of Phogat sisters, all of them wrestlers, and their father who coached them against all odds.
Politics, bureaucracy, ineptitude, double-standards and an attempt to politicise the fight in pseudo-nationalistic terms have all hampered the fight against this deadly virus, says Vir Sanghvi.
Yogi expands UP Cabinet in attempt to balance caste, regional aspirations head of the assembly polls early next year.
'Children need milk. If there is no money, how can one buy it'
The crash between a Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 and a Saudia Boeing 747 over Charkhi Dadri in Haryana occurred 24 years ago.' During the lockdown, journalist Bhavya Dore reported on it from her home. Her article found a proud mention in the Bloomsburg Jealousy List 2020.
Kumari, a lion-hearted 15-year-old, cycled all the way from Gurugram in Haryana to Bihar's Darbhanga district with her incapacitated father Mohan Paswan seated on the carrier. Now the father-daughter duo is at a quarantine centre near their village Sirhulli under Singhwara block of the district.
'Dadri was an extension of the cultural fascism that was happening in the country.' 'All the people in the country suffered under the Emergency, but now we see one community trying to crush the other community. Do they know what is brewing in the minds of the other side? What is happening today can lead to a very dangerous situation in the country.' 'We have lost religious tolerance in today's India.' Writer Sarah Joseph on why she returned her Sahitya Akademi Award.
The court will hear the matter on June 13
Eminent author Vikram Seth on Friday came out in support of the Sahitya Akademi statement denouncing the recent killing of writers, saying it has condemned the "atmosphere of fear" sought to be created by such acts and acted as an "independent body".
The winter session of Parliament is set to be stormy with Opposition parties closing ranks to target the government on issues including 'intolerance' even as the ruling dispensation expressed its readiness to discuss all issues.
Three eminent writers from Punjab announced that they were returning their Sahitya Akademi awards, while Kannada writer Aravind Malagatti resigned from the body's general council, joining the growing protest by litterateurs over "rising intolerance" and "communal" atmosphere.
Speaking at the all-party meeting called by the government, Modi said, "People have great expectations and that is why Parliament should function and be productive."