Embattled Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday addressed the state online, and made it clear that he had no intention of continuing in office if his own MLAs didn't want him.
The victim, Prakash, claimed the attackers were not locals, adding he had attended an event on Hindutva idealogue V D Savarkar recently.
The minister also hit out at Khurshid over the book on the Ayodhya verdict, titled Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times, which was released on Wednesday.
Veteran Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has said that his party has agreed not to raise the issue of V D Savarkar since the three Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners hold different views on the late Hindutva ideologue.
The Bharatiya Janata Party swept Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh on Sunday inflicting a resounding defeat on the Congress to tighten its stranglehold in the Hindi heartland, in a big boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and setting the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Since 1993, when the BJP came to power after a stint of President's rule, the state has alternated between the Congress and the BJP.
Markets in Uttarakhand's Purola and neighbouring towns remained closed amid heavy police deployment on Thursday in protest against the imposition of prohibitory orders to prevent a 'mahapanchayat' that was scheduled to be held there over alleged incidents of 'love jihad'.
A Bajrang Dal leader said that a church was being built without obtaining prior permission and the local administration did nothing to stop its construction.
Against the backdrop of Kerala's appetite for commonsense, it was assumed that this controversy would pass. Respect for rationalism and scientific outlook is strong in the state despite political forces gnawing at it for their own goals, observes Shyam G Menon.
A section of VHP is looking at the growing NaMo fever with increasing disfavour and could prove a spoiler for the Gujarat chief minister. Aditi Phadnis reports
'Today, the BJP is using power in such a manner that they not only crush the Opposition, but even their own supporters can't rebel.'
Hitting back at the Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the Uddhav Thackeray-led outfit's Hindutva is merely on paper and finds mention just in speeches, while it was his party men who faced bullets and lathis during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah should tell from where do Kuki militants get rifles and ammunition, it said.
'Unless she joins one of the coalitions, she has a bleak future.' 'The NDA option is suicidal, but INDIA could help her.'
'According to the survey, ideological issues like Article 370 and Ayodhya received only 14 and 12 per cent voter-backing, respectively.' 'It could well imply that hardline Hindutva issues have only that much voter-purchase, compared to Modi's overall popularity of 52 per cent -- putting the man way above the mission,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The BJP would like to build a 'rainbow' coalition of different castes and communities buttressed by the appeal of nationalism and Hindutva.'
'If there can be more than 50 Islamic countries and more than 150 Christian nations, why can't India be declared a Hindu Rashtra given that Hindus constitute a majority of its 100 million people?'
An editorial in the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray mouthpiece Saamana claimed the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has not only 'muddied' politics of Maharashtra but also of the country.
Civic authorities have removed a banner put up by a local Hindu organisation leader at Surathkal, carrying pictures of Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse and Hindutva icon V D Savarkar, following a complaint.
Local station house officer Ashok Chakravarty said the decision to not offer namaz in public place was taken by the community itself after a meeting was held on Wednesday to maintain peace.
Soon after the clash, prohibitory orders under section 144 of the IPC were imposed in the town.
'Corruption overshadowed Modi's roadshows.' 'As the BJP did not deliver any of their promises, people stopped believing him.'
Shiv Sena leader and Kalyan MP Shrikant Shinde on Sunday launched a scathing attack on former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and his MLA son Aaditya Thackeray, accusing them of looting Mumbai and pushing the 'Marathi manoos' out of the city in the last 15 years.
Defining hate speech is complex but the real problem in tackling them lies in the implementation and execution of law and judicial pronouncements, the Supreme Court said on Friday, days after parts of Haryana were rattled by communal violence.
In a mistaken zeal to bolster the BJP's electoral base, the party - or at least its rabid followers - appear to have convinced themselves that the Hindu rashtra is already here. It's grave mistake, warns Amulya Ganguli.
"He was an icon of the Indian history and will remain so. There can be a difference of opinion about him, but to look down on him as inferior is not appropriate and justifiable. He was a freedom fighter and a staunch nationalist, but people who follow the Marxist and Leninist ideology are the ones who accuse Savarkar of being a fascist...," Singh said, adding that the hatred towards Savarkar is illogical and unplaced.
Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with party spokespersons in Mumbai, two days before his estranged cousin Raj's scheduled rally.
The police do not have it in them to confront the Hindutva groups in a country ruled by a Hindutva party. No wonder Munawar Faruqui feels this is the end for him, asserts Jyoti Punwani.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's comprehensive defeat to the Congress in Karnataka where the two parties ran a campaign of contrasts has left the ruling party much to ponder as the two rivals are facing a direct contest in three more state polls this year in the run-up to the all-important 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In the wake of a political row in Maharashtra over the recitation of Hanuman Chalisa, the Shiv Sena on Monday hit out at the BJP and said the Hindutva ideology is a culture and not chaos.
Several workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) barged into the Congress's Pune city headquarters on Friday and attempted to blacken the photographs of party leader Rahul Gandhi to protest against his remarks on late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, police said.
'They should not forget that had we decided not to rebel, they would still be chanting slogans from the footsteps of the Vidhan Sabha.'
I was lucky to be born to the family of Balasaheb Thackeray, Uddhav said.
Nath said talking about "mandir-masjid" will not generate employment.
The BJP and the AIADMK are unable to sort out ideological differences, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
So worried is Shiv Sena rebel leader Eknath Shinde of desertions that he is asking rebel MLAs in Guwahati to sign affidavits affirming that they won't go back on supporting the 'cause of Hindutva' after reaching Mumbai.
If only the Congress could rebuild on its strengths and develop a modern enough ideology, we could again be moving towards a clearer two-party political landscape, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
An independent Muslim candidate has secured a surprise victory in a ward in the Hindutva nerve centre of Ayodhya in the civic election results declared on Saturday.
Brand India's societal divisions and distortions have remained as much relevant in 'liberal' America and Europe as it still is in the structurally stratified Indian society of the 21st century, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'BJP is cutting him down to size as he is trying to emerge a Hindutva national hero.'
