The contemporary problem with the BJP in Tamil Nadu is that it has been trying hard to package the DMK especially as anti-god and anti-Hinduism, and seeking it to link to Periyar and M Karunanidhi, and by extension to Stalin, the latter's son and successor to the party mantle. Their hope was to consolidate the perceived 'pro-god, pro-religion votes', which they saw returning to the fold post-MGR, post-Jayalalithaa. But no such substantial vote-bank existed even in Periyar's time, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Army was on Friday called in for deployment in eight districts of Haryana after one person was killed and 21 were injured in police action as Jat stir for quota turned violent and the rampaging mobs set ablaze the house of state's Finance Minister besides several government and private properties.
'When violence spread, it looked as if Mamata was losing control, but soon, she was able to contain the situation.' 'Now, the TMC stands to gain the most.'
The report also points out that a larger section of the poor and vulnerable households achieve middle-class status in urban areas in India despite the presence of a large urban informal sector.
Prasanna Zore/ Rediff.com talk to members of the Patel community to find out why they are dissatisfied with the state of affairs.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday asked political parties to refrain from taking advantage of communal strife and said states should crack down on elements fanning such violence irrespective of their political affiliations or influence.
'Today, there is pervasive fear in society; an uncertainty of what might happen.' 'This has forced Muslims to shrink further into mental ghettos, with many considering extreme measures like pretending to change their identity.'
Baghel led from the front to take on the BJP, led by Raman Singh, after being entrusted the task to revive the Congress' fortunes in Chhattisgarh following the third consecutive defeat in the 2013 assembly polls.
From triple talaq to simultaneous polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday touched upon the various issues n his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio address.
Haryana remained on the boil on as the Jat stir unleashed fresh incidents of violence and arson even as the Army had to use choppers to reach parts of blocked Rohtak.
The economic muscle in the Mangalore region is generally sympathetic to the BJP, says Aditi Phadnis.
The coal-bearing states shall be getting additional revenue from such coal mines.
'In Bihar, the Dalits are not a consolidated socio-political constituency,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
AG Mukul Rohatgi led the Indian delegation at the UN Human Rights Council.
The move comes a day a day after Patel community members living in the US announced a "boycott" of Modi's upcoming visit there.
The leaders alleged that those who had no contribution in the freedom struggle wanted to spread fear 'in the name of nationalism', suppress the voice of people and were questioning the legacy of Congress.
'If we want a stable society, then all groups must feel that they have a seat at the table of power.'
Raising slogans, members of the BRS, Left parties and some members of the Congress walked out of Lok Sabha in protest as the prime minister was speaking.
The Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill on providing 10 per cent reservation in jobs and education to the general category poor was passed by Parliament on January 9.
'A one party-State, with only one kind of Indian,' argues Mihir S Sharma.
Bringing in the untapped informal sector into the formal one will benefit business.
Since the AICC general secretary is known to be close to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, there is every possibility that he could be speaking on behalf of the party leadership, reports Anita Katiyal.
Words and actions like those of R N Ravi and a vocal section of the state BJP have only added to Tamil fears and suspicions, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Private schools are of two types: those that are aided by the government and those that are not.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday released the party's manifesto and claimed that the party will perform well in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
'What shame is there in the government accepting a drought situation and taking appropriate measures to help people live?' a Marathwada farmer asks Neeta Kolhatkar.
Had Finance Minister Sitharaman thought a little more about the middle class, disadvantaged sections, and the poor who are struggling, it would have been an inclusive Budget that would have made history, notes Ramesh Menon.
Rediff.com does a quick checklist on what the two manifestos have to say on hot-button issues of the day.
After terror attack, Mumbai red alert, a large posse of officials to fly down with PM, reports Archis Mohan.
The spread of Modism is in reality spread of a personality cult and not a political ideology, says Vidyut Joshi.
The Karnataka CM with only 37 JD-S MLAs in the assembly is on shaky ground and overly dependent on the Congress for every decision, reports Bibhu Ranjan Mishra.
The legislation was passed by 125 votes in favour and 61 against.
We have our own problems for sure and they are not trivial, but for now, our economy is in not too bad a shape, our politics is as personality-driven and authoritarian as that of most countries in the world. We must make the best of what we have and not be excessively unhappy looking at the grass on the other side of the septic tank which may not be greener after all!, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
A Coimbatore-based transgender has become a trailblazer for her community becoming the first TV transgender news anchor when she went 'live' on Independence day on a private Tamil satellite channel in Tamil Nadu.
The opposition party also claimed that the Modi 2.0 dispensation has turned out to be an "economic and political disaster" and "constant rollbacks" of economic decisions will lead to worsening of the economic situation.
"The Opposition's mahagathbandhan is an alliance of corruption, negativity and instability. The Opposition has 'dhanshakti' (money power), we have 'janshakti' (people's power)," the prime minister said.
'The bad dream can turn into a ghoulish nightmare for the BJP if the Gujjars in Rajasthan and the Patels in Gujarat, both BJP-ruled states, were to fish in troubled waters and relaunch their respective agitations for quotas in government jobs,' warns Rajeev Sharma.
'Putting Yogi Adityanath in the CM's seat two years before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls is something to be read carefully.' 'Opposition parties would be dishonest themselves and unfair to secular people if they failed to unite and work as a single force to defeat the BJP.'
As the BJP snaps at its heels, can the Communists stay relevant in the electoral game?
U R Ananthamurthy's assertion of leaving the country if Modi is voted to power is an affront to the deep sense of the Indian voters who have time and again shown a certain sagacity and wisdom of judgement. It certainly shows a 'corruption of the mind' on his part and not on the one he chooses to irrationally oppose, says Dr Anirban Ganguly.
