Government's reforms are too half-hearted. But Rahul Gandhi's Congress is too amateurish and inept to hold it to account.
The Centre's retreat from the farm laws is likely to have a significant bearing on the fate of laws that the Centre has made, for instance, in labour and electricity, predicts A K Bhattacharya.
'Life has been full of rewards, full of sadness.'
Gandhi met the president and handed over a memorandum signed by two crore farmers demanding a repeal of the laws, saying they will not benefit farmers or labourers.
Kathrada, who frequently referred to Mandela as his 'elder brother', was among three political prisoners who were sentenced to life imprisonment together with the South African anti-apartheid icon after the infamous Rivonia Trial of 1964.
Congress MPs Ambika Soni, Pratap Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo said they would move a motion against Swaraj in the Upper House after compiling documents and information on the issue.
The Congress has ruled India for 54 of the last 67 years; that it took the party over six decades to come up with bills that provide citizens their basic needs is a shame, not a moment of triumph, says Amberish K Diwanji.
CPI-M says it is ready to forge a front with Congress in Parliament on issues like land bill and secularism but ruled out being part of a national front.
The post-mortem reports of the two Dalit minor sisters who were found hanging from a tree in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district confirmed that they were raped and strangulated, the police said on Thursday.
Some examples that show we may be call for introspection, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
Dominic Xavier is puzzled by the government revelation that it has no idea how many migrants died during the long and dangerous march home.
In a video message posted as part of the Congress' 'Speak Up India' campaign, which was launched on Thursday, she also demanded that the government provide Rs 7,500 to each needy family for the next six months and Rs 10,000 as immediate cash to them.
The 79-year-old widely respected and popular leader steered the Congress in 2017 to a landslide victory in the 117-member assembly to occupy the chief minister's post for the second time.
''We have a very difficult period ahead of us.' 'Fortunately we have a popular government and a popular leader who is ideally placed to take us into confidence,' says Aakar Patel.
The central government has asked public sector undertakings to dissuade their employees from participating in the bandh.
Services such as deposits and withdrawal at branches, cheque clearance and loan approvals would be affected due to the strike.
United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, has given a call for a two-day strike from March 15 to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders. In the Union Budget presented last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of its disinvestment plan. The government has already privatised IDBI Bank by selling its majority stake in the lender to LIC in 2019 and merged 14 public sector banks in the last four years.
It seems that Indian negotiators, who are trying to free the kidnapped workers, have no clue about fate of their countrymen in Mosul.
The strike notices were given by workers' unions of various sectors such as coal, steel, oil, telecom, postal, income tax, copper, banks and insurance.
The unions term the introduction of fixed-term employment as a 'modern labour slavery system' introduced through the 'back door'.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement about demonetising Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes was hailed as a "bold step" by President Pranab Mukherjee and the BJP, which called it a "surgical strike" on black money, but his rivals denounced it as a "heartless and ill-conceived" decision that would inconvenience people.
Ten central trade unions except Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh are observing one-day general strike on Thursday to protest against various government policies.
Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu and Godse was Hindutvadi, the Congress leader said.
Buried in a Kolkata cemetery is an Englishman who served India well during her struggle for freedom. Charles Freer Andrews was a benevolent force that neither the Indians, nor the British could ignore.
Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi of being a "fake" leader who wishes to "dominate" the country through the media.
Most political leaders in Punjab have come out in the open to oppose him, unlike the early 1980s when political leaders were scared of speaking against Bhindranwale, observes Sudhir Bisht.
'On a new kidney, her immune system still getting used to it, she took on the Pakistanis at the UN, held meetings with her counterparts from across the world, and presented a picture of incredible poise and dignity,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha was appointed as the chief information commissioner on Saturday, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement.
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said letters written to British authorities on Lalit Modi case during UPA rule should be released as they will answer the former IPL Commissioner's accusations against him and Congress.
Navjot Sidhu's life inside jail wouldn't be ten percent as hard as that of an ordinary convict who is in jail for assault leading to unintentional death, argues Sudhir Bisht.
Several individuals and organisations, including the US Chambers of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration's recent rules related to the H-1B visa, terming them "arbitrary" and "haphazard" regulations that will undermine high skilled immigration into America. Early this month, the Trump administration announced new restrictions on H-1B non-immigrant visa programme which it said is aimed at protecting American workers, restoring integrity and to better guarantee that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and petitioners, a move which is likely to affect thousands of Indian IT professionals.
The SC, however, rejected NIA's request for immediate stay to the order.
Kejriwal's centralised way of governance might work in Delhi, but Punjab will call for delegation, observes Sanjeev Nayyar.
The four are said to be belonging to the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist's union outfit -- CITU, one of the 10 trade unions, which were on strike on Wednesday.
Taking a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party for demanding an apology for his "rape in India" remark, Gandhi said, "My name is Rahul Gandhi, not Rahul Savarkar. I will never apologise for speaking truth and nor will any Congressman do so. It is Narendra Modi and his assistant Amit Shah who has to apologise to the country for destroying India's economy."
The shipping business is like the heaving sea -- it's up and down, observes Shyam G Menon.
Ten central trade unions on Tuesday said they are going ahead with their planned nationwide general strike on November 26 and also announced their support to a two-day farmers' agitation next week. The meeting of the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions (CTUs) and Sectoral Independent Federations and Associations was held virtually on November 16, 2020. Unions expressed satisfaction over the tremendous response being received from workers and the people at large throughout the country to the ongoing campaign for the countrywide general strike on November 26, 2020, a joint forum statement said.
'At this moment, the Trinamool has an edge.'
The ten trade unions are National Trades Union Congress, All India Trade Union Congress, Hind Mazdoor Sabha, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, All India United Trade Union Centre, Trade Union Coordination Centre, Self Employed Women's Association, All India Central Council of Trade Unions, Labour Progressive Federation and United Trade Union Congress.
The bomb attack on West Bengal minister Jakir Hossain snowballed into a political controversy with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging that it was a preplanned conspiracy as certain people were 'pressuring' him to switch over to another party, while opposition parties demanded National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the issue.
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