Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad. Whether Hindus or Greeks coined that aphorism, it resoundingly describes the Bharatiya Janata Party's blundering ineptness. Obsessed by 2014, the party has missed the chance of creating a precedent for statesmanship and squandered the asset it has in someone of Jaswant Singh's calibre.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday greeted the nation on the occasion of Eid-ul-Zuha.
President Pranab Mukherjee will honour freedom fighters on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Quit India Movement on Thursday.
Former captain Abdul Majed was hanged for his involvement in the 1975 coup in which the country's founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated, nearly four-and-a-half decades after the high profile massacre.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday underscored Pakistan's importance in the peace process in Afghanistan and sought Islamabad's support for the reconciliation process in the war-torn country.
Trinamool Congress, a major constituent of the United Progressive Alliance, on Monday night decided to support the alliance's vice presidential poll candidate Hamid Ansari but oppose any decision to open the multibrand retail to FDI and bills on forward marketing in commodities and privatisation of pension fund in the monsoon session of Parliament.
Regional security situation and other key bilateral issues between India and Afghanistan will be discussed during the talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 12.
With the stage all set for a direct contest between Mohammad Hamid Ansari and Jaswant Singh, leaders of the National Democratic Alliance will meet at Bharatiya Janata Party veteran Lal Krishna Advani's residence in New Delhi on Tuesday to discuss the vice presidential election.
The long awaited strategic partnership agreement signed by United States President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai in Kabul reflects the common vision for a strong relationship between the two countries, a top American official has said.
While the Iranian citizen Hamid Asefi, 67, was sentenced to 23 months, a US citizen Behzad Karimian, (52), also known as "Tony" Karimian who holds a valid Iranian passport and is employed as a Mesaba Airlines Pilot, was sentenced to 52 months in prison on Monday.
Taliban militants based in Afghanistan have threatened to continue attacks on Pakistani security forces and government installations from sanctuaries in Kunar and Nuristan provinces. "We don't care if the (Hamid) Karzai government or North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces decide to launch an operation against us in Kunar and Nuristan as this region has never been in control of the Afghan government and foreign forces," said Pak Taliban spokesperson.
Ashraf, who was accompanied by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik, said he would raise the issue of cross-border attacks from Afghanistan on Pakistan with the Afghan leadership
Setting aside its differences with the Congress, the YSR Congress Party of Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Wednessay decided to support the candidatures of United Progressive Alliance candidates -- Pranab Mukherjee for president and Hamid Ansari for vice president.
Vice President Hamid Ansari will file nomination papers on Wednesday for his re-election to the post amid expectations in the United Progressive Alliance that he is set for a comfortable win.
Strains in the Congress-Trinamool ties seem to be disappearing with Mamata Banerjee announcing her party's support to United Progressive Alliance Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherje and the All India Congress Committee now hopes that the TMC would also back Hamid Ansari in the vice presidential race.
The debate over Presidential candidate picked up further momentum with Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad pitching for Vice President Hamid Ansari while other parties kept the cards close to their chest.
The decision was taken at a meeting in senior BJP leader LK Advani's residence on Monday, which was attended by the party's allies. At a press conference soon after, Jaswant Singh described the decision as a "great honour".
With the United Progressive Alliance declaring Hamid Ansari as its candidate for the post of vice president, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday decided to go for a contest, but maintained that it will finalise its nominee after consulting National Democratic Alliance allies.
Incumbent Hamid Ansari, who was named as United Progressive Alliance's nominee for the Vice Presidential election, on Saturday said he accepts the decision with "all humility" and thanked all political parties who supported his candidature.
A day after her criticism of Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Thursday changed tune to say that she had 'respect' and 'full faith' in the chair and expressed hope that he will find ways for passage of the bill for quota in promotion.
Ram Nath Kovind is the first Bharatiya Janata Party leader and second Dalit in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
'He was a very good friend for India. He stood by us through thick and thin.'
Eager to keep their semi-final hopes alive, a desperate Bangladesh will have their work cut out when they take on a spirited Afghanistan in a do-or-die World Cup encounter in Southampton on Monday. England's defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka on Friday breathed air into Bangladesh's hopes of securing a semi-final berth and the 'Tigers' will be keen on making the most of the situation starting with a win over the bottom-placed Afghanistan.
For the first time in the history of Rajya Sabha, its chairman and Vice President Hamid Ansari has permitted All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam -- a regional political party to initiate the FDI in retail discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Amid prayers and a 21-gun salute, his body was consigned to flames at Smriti Sthal on the banks of Yamuna where Vice President Hamid Ansari and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi were also present.
Vice President M Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday condoled the death of Verghese Kurien, the founder of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation.
Ending days of suspense, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday made it clear that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was her first choice for Presidentship and Vice President Hamid Ansari was also in the reckoning.
'A message was sent to society that those who question dogmas and believe in scientific methods will be silenced.' Hamid Dabholkar tells Neeta Kolhatkar why he is disappointed that his father Narendra Dabholkar's killers have not been arrested yet.
With Azadi's Daughter -- The Journey of a Liberal Muslim Woman, Seema Mustafa chronicles her journey from the violence-ridden 1980s when she covered riots in Assam, Punjab and Kashmir. She says the book heavily borrows anecdotes from her personal life, and presents her views on not only her personal journey but also reflects upon the issues that riddle the Indian Muslim.
Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai concluded his first visit to Afghanistan for foreign office consultations after assuming office.
Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance on Thursday stuck to its demand for the Prime Minister's resignation on the coal block allocation issue at a meeting convened by the Rajya Sabha chairman to end the impasse and boycotted a meeting called by the Lok Sabha Speaker on the matter.
A meeting of leaders of political parties, called by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari to break the deadlock in the House over coal block allocation issue, remained inconclusive on Thursday.
The Indian-American woman, who was allegedly molested by Australian cricketer Luke Pomersbach, on Saturday, served a legal notice on Siddhartha Mallya asking him to apologise withing 48 hours for casting aspersions on her character or face legal action.
After the presidential elections, it may still be advantage Congress-UPA but at some point the utter lack of governance is going to cost it dearly. Meanwhile the BJP has largely failed to take advantage of the disarray in the Congress, says Rohit Pradhan.
Known to be a workaholic, Pranab Mukherjee had a tight schedule on Thursday -- the first working day of his Presidency -- as he held a series of meetings. He also received Vice President Hamid Ansari at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Scripting a new chapter in his illustrious career, Pranab Mukherjee will on Wednesday take over as India's 13th President. Watch the momentous ceremony LIVE on rediff.com
Scripting a new chapter in his illustrious career, Pranab Mukherjee will on Wednesday take over as India's 13th President.
Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday condoled the death of freedom fighter Captain Lakshmi Sehgal, saying that the nation has lost an icon of selfless service.
India on Tuesday assured that its assistance was neither "transitory" nor in "transition" to Afghanistan, which said it was looking forward to increasing training and capacity building of its security forces apart from equipping them with Indian help. The two countries also set in motion the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Agreement, inked last year during Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to Delhi, by launching the Partnership Council.
