Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 65 on Thursday, with a host of leaders across the political spectrum wishing him a healthy and long life.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Parvesh Verma first rose in national politics in 2014 when he won the West Delhi Lok Sabha seat but his profile took a leap when he emerged as the giant killer in the Delhi assembly polls after defeating Aam Aadmi Party supremo and three-time chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Rekha Gupta had the support of the RSS, which actively participated in the Delhi assembly poll campaign to help the BJP win.
Sai Sudharsan's classy fifty combined with a collective bowling effort powered Gujarat Titans to a commanding 58-run win over Rajasthan Royals.
Here are some of the images of demonstrations.
Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com decodes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech after the Pran Prathistha ceremony at Ram Temple in Ayodha.
The states and union territories where the elections are being held in this phase are Assam (4), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2), Goa (2), Gujarat (25), Karnataka (14), Maharashtra (11), Madhya Pradesh (8), Uttar Pradesh (10) and West Bengal (4). The BJP has bagged the Surat seat unopposed.
Nishant Kumar's demand that the NDA name Nitish Kumar as its chief ministerial nominee is seen as a gambit to consolidate the CM's position in the ruling alliance.
'The West has always opposed a strong nationalist leader in India and Narendra Modi is no exception.' 'The West prefers weak leaders who are amenable to Western pressure and Mr Modi's independent stance is not to the liking of the West,' asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
"The nakli Shiv Sena wants to bury me alive. They abuse me in such a way that it will be liked by their favourite vote bank," Modi said.
Holding up pictures of Lord Shiva, Guru Nanak, and Jesus Christ, he referred to Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism and Jainism to underline the importance of fearlessness. He also cited the attributes of Lord Shiva and teachings of Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Mahavir to state that all religions and great people of the country have said "daro mat, darao mat (do not be scared, do not scare others)".
Both Putin and Zelenskyy have invited the prime minister to visit Russia and Ukraine respectively after the Lok Sabha elections, sources said, adding they see Modi as a "peacemaker".
Earlier, Modi was given a standing ovation at the meeting following the party's stupendous win in three assembly polls.
'Are we so ready to believe that in this country whose virtues we constantly shout from the rooftops, there is no single person -- other than Modi -- in a minimum of 272 elected MPs with the talent and ability to lead this country?' asks Prem Panicker.
The prime minister should apologise to the 140 crore Indians for deceiving them on national television on June 19th, 2020, with his statement Na Koi Ghusa Hai, Na Hi Koi Ghus Aaya hai
Amid heightened security measures, more than two crore devotees took a dip in the Sangam till 6 pm on Wednesday on the occasion of Maghi Purnima during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj.
'The 2024 general elections proved that UP is not Gujarat.'
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions for the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Karnataka.
After receiving the PM, Thackeray left for Mumbai, state government officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday received Bhutan's highest civilian award, the 'Order of the Druk Gyalpo', making him the first foreign Head of the Government to receive the honour.
'They hate him so much that if PM Modi says the Sun rises in the east the Congress will say the Sun rises in the west.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday vowed to thwart alleged attempts to rob Dalits and backward classes of reservations by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) which he accused of 'enslavement' and performing 'mujra' for Muslim vote bank.
Soon after his return from foreign tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's house here and greeted him on his 91st birthday.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing them of neglecting the welfare of backward sections, Dalits, tribals, and minorities. Gandhi promised a caste census in Delhi if the Congress forms the government, echoing his national call for removing the 50 percent cap on reservations. He also criticized Kejriwal's governance, drawing parallels with Modi's alleged reliance on propaganda and false promises. The Congress and AAP are part of the INDIA bloc, but are contesting the upcoming Delhi assembly polls separately. Gandhi's speech highlights the growing political tension ahead of the polls, where the Congress aims to regain its foothold in Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted people on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan on Wednesday and was joined by girl students from different schools at his residence to celebrate the festival.
Rekha Gupta, a former DUSU president and a long-time member of the RSS, has been chosen as the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly and will become the fourth woman chief minister of Delhi. She won the Shalimar Bagh seat in the February 5 Assembly polls, defeating her AAP rival Bandana Kumari. Gupta, a BCom graduate and lawyer, has a long history of working for women's welfare, having served as the national secretary of the BJP's youth wing and the national vice-president of BJP Mahila Morcha. The BJP has returned to power in Delhi after over 26 years, ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.
Modi brought up the emotive issue of the gurdwara in Kartarpur Sahib, a place sacred to Sikhs as Guru Nanak Dev spent the last years of his life there, and blamed the Congress for country's partition, saying they did it for sake of power.
Glimpses of the At Home reception hosted by President Droupadi Murmu on Independence Day at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Giving a clarion call to defeat the Mamata Banerjee-led party in West Bengal, the prime minister while addressing a mega rally in Siliguri said, "The road to oust the corrupt TMC government from West Bengal will open from the Lok Sabha polls."
Modi said he believed that a big section of the country's democracy-loving people will appreciate the conduct of those MPs who used their wisdom and talent and showed their concerns for the masses, even though they might have been critical in their views.
Last year on this day, Modi had made a huge gesture by travelling to Lahore on an unscheduled visit to wish Sharif personally and attend the marriage ceremony of his kin.
While Narendra Modi spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor -- 275 days versus Dr Singh's 306 - he has travelled more widely than any other Indian PM.
"Over the last year or even more, the kind of things that we have seen attacking Indian diplomats, threatening, intimidating, harassing Indian diplomats...Yes, the threats have increased," he added.
While the craft of Kutch can be found in many cities, there is nothing quite like wandering into the very homes where it originates and watch it all being created in real time.
'Modiji remaining healthy and happy is something I pray for all the time.'
Abe got a resounding victory in the snap polls held on Sunday.
A peace keeping role for India is a distinct possibility. Indian military has both the numbers and experience to carry out this job, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd).
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tagged a post of a person raising the issue of privacy over the prime minister's letter being received by persons living abroad.
2019 was the Bharatiya Janata Party's breakout year, when it stretched the boundaries of what was thought possible and ended up with 303 seats on its own steam. Now it is forced to play defence, on a pitch queered by too many variables, asserts Prem Panicker.
By now the world and its cousin have seen Mallika Sherawat's birthday greeting to Narendra Modi. So how did the BJP's prime minister-in-waiting react to it?
