Goa Congress leader Girish Chodankar was questioned by police for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through a social media post. He claims the post targeted the BJP, not Hindus, and was related to pollution caused by offshore casinos in the Mandovi river.
Two FIRs have been registered against Congress leader Girish Chodankar and tribal leader Govind Shirodkar in Goa for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, following protests by the Hindu Ekta Samiti.
'They will have to adjust themselves to the new reality. Because if they don't understand this changed political perception, their future will be difficult.'
Kerala's voters are sophisticated, educated, and unforgiving. They have once again made it clear that no government is entitled to remain in power. The Congress would do well to remember this, points out Ramesh Menon.
The World Hindu Congress on Friday renounced the word Hinduism, contending that the term reflected oppressive and discriminatory and embraced Hindutva and Hindu Dharma to refer to the 'eternal' religion.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor cited the Kerala Assembly election results as an example of communal harmony, highlighting instances where voters looked beyond caste and religion.
'The real fault line in Assam is not Hindu versus Muslim. It is Assamese versus Bengali -- and within that, the specific anxiety about undocumented Bangladeshi settlers claiming land and altering the demographic balance of the state.'
'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
What lessons opposition parties need to learn post defeat of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal elections? The election saw spectacular victor of BJP which rose from 3 seats in 2016 to 206 seats in 2026 assembly elections.
For over a decade, the TMC's dominance in districts such as Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur rested on a near-complete consolidation of Muslim votes, a bloc that accounts for 50 per cent or more of the population in large parts of this belt.
A controversy has erupted in Bengaluru after five Brahmin students were allegedly forced to remove their sacred thread at Krupanidhi College during the Common Entrance Test (CET). Students claim invigilators demanded the removal of the sacred thread despite previous government assurances that it would not be required.
A significant 7.87 per cent increase in the BJP's vote share in West Bengal, reaching 45.84 per cent, propelled the party to secure an additional 130 assembly seats, bringing their total to 207, while the Trinamool Congress experienced a 7.22 per cent decline, losing 135 seats and falling to 80.
'Among the leaders whose names are going around, V D Satheesan is the leader who will fit this kind of situation.'
Jharkhand's ruling JMM party held rallies and the Congress party alleged a BJP link in the murder case of a 12-year-old girl, while the BJP denies any involvement and accuses the ruling alliance of defamation.
Congress workers protested and performed a purification ritual after statues of Kakori incident martyrs were allegedly demolished and dumped in Shahjahanpur, India, sparking outrage and demands for an investigation.
Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has criticised his party's decision to ally with the TVK in Tamil Nadu, calling it 'dreadful' and 'low political opportunism'. He fears it could facilitate the entry of the BJP into Tamil Nadu's Dravidian political landscape.
Already, within the week of the election results it became apparent that the Congress' DNA has not changed from its traditional approach to politics as but a game of thrones, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Hopefully, the BJP will realise that it's the right time for parivartan (change) in its polarising poll strategies after achieving the impossible-looking goal of winning West Bengal, argues Sheela Bhatt.
As Vijay prepares for his next innings as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, he would do well to learn from the life lessons of NTR.
'In West Bengal, the BJP's ideology of Hindutva will be customised to cater to the culture and the cultural imperatives of Bengalis.'
'Narendra Modi -- a man with deep and vital experience of Indian politics -- has seen the BJP lose many elections between 1975 and 2015, and with every defeat, he learned lessons that made sure he would never allow his party to be defeated so easily again.'
The BJP must respect Bengal's pluralistic ethos and with this historic mandate give the state the constructive change it truly deserves, expects Kolkata native Payal Singh Mohanka.
'If the BJP becomes our political identity, our political face, if we are represented by the BJP, then what happens to our identity as Bengalis?'
The BJP's landslide victory in West Bengal has not merely redrawn the electoral map but overturned the operating logic of politics in the state, breaching the TMC's entrenched fortress despite a decade-and-a-half of dominance, minority consolidation, and a sustained "outsider" narrative.
The construction of a Babri Masjid-style mosque in West Bengal's Murshidabad district has become a focal point in the upcoming elections, reshaping voter loyalties and raising communal tensions.
The Trinamool Congress has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to experience West Bengal's 'Maa Canteen' during his visit for election campaigning, offering a meal for Rs 5. The TMC also criticised Modi's remarks on infiltration, linking it to the Home Minister's responsibilities.
The extent of doubts over the fairness of this election can be assessed by juxtaposing two figures: Total votes polled by the two principal parties and the number of people who were disallowed from voting this time, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
A BJP government in Bengal inherits more problems than it might care to admit at its moment of triumph, points out Ramesh Menon
Democrat leaders have criticised US President Donald Trump for referring to India and other countries as 'hellholes', accusing him of amplifying 'racist trash' on social media.
Dhirendra Shastri, head of Bageshwar Dham, has apologised for his remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj after facing backlash in Maharashtra. He claimed his comments were twisted on social media and clarified his stance on dedicating children to the RSS.
'The Kerala of today is not the Kerala of yesterday.' 'What has seeped into this society is the feeling of hatred towards other castes and religions.'
The Supreme Court of India has dismissed the use of information from 'WhatsApp University' as evidence in a case concerning religious freedom and discrimination against women at religious sites, including the Sabarimala Temple.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini commemorated B.R. Ambedkar's birth anniversary, highlighting his contributions to women's empowerment and social justice. Saini and Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal criticised the Congress party for allegedly disrespecting Ambedkar, while praising the current government's efforts to honour his legacy.
Unlike films that end with the underdog becoming winner and being sworn in at a public ceremony, Vijay's trial by fire is only about to begin, predicts Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee has urged voters to support the TMC as the only way to defeat the BJP, particularly in areas with a strong Congress base. He accused the BJP of dividing communities and failing to address key issues such as river erosion and farmer distress, while outlining the TMC's welfare plans.
Opposition leaders have criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation, calling it politically motivated and a misuse of official platforms during ongoing elections.
'Remember Vijay had never spoke of himself as a Christian when he was a film star.' 'The BJP strategy is they want the Christian minority constituency to move away from the DMK.' 'That is what the BJP wants so that it will be very easy to mobilise Hindu votes.' 'This strategy is to weaken the Dravidian ideology and bring in religion based politics into Tamil Nadu.'
The RSS has filed police complaints against Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for allegedly comparing the organisation and the BJP to a 'poisonous snake' during an election rally in Assam.
The campaign for the current election cycle ended on Monday as canvassing for the final phase in West Bengal concluded with a bitter war of words between rival parties over cross-border infiltration, corruption, unemployment and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath criticised the TMC government in West Bengal, alleging the closure of numerous industries and a decline in the state's cultural and economic status.
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