'Antony and I have been friends for over half a century, and I know the man does not tell lies. The problem is that what he believes to be the truth might not actually be true. He may believe that India needs the Congress, and that the Congress in turn needs the Nehru-Gandhi family, but that does not mean that India shares those articles of faith,' says T V R Shenoy.
'These trends put at risk not only minorities or the media or some other out-of-favour group, they can and do concern everyone,' warns T N Ninan.
Houses under the Indira Awas Yojana will be built for the homeless flood victims of Assam, she said.
Shah said the BJP-led government had only brought an amendment to the law which was enacted by thr Congress and whose provisions were later made stringent.
But use of that word -- privatisation -- is not encouraged. This seems to be a classic case of reforms through subtle signals, observes A K Bhattacharya.
Amid a political uproar over bomb blasts at Narendra Modi's rally venue in Patna, Congress on Monday appeared to suggest that his brand of politics was allegedly providing an opportunity to disruptive elements to engage in such activities.
'She dwarfs every known politician of recent times with her imperious aura, iron will, tremendous drive, dauntless pursuit of goals she set before herself, ability to capture the people's imagination and unshakeable grip over her party and government,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
'I can't help it if people don't love the minorities, the Dalits and Adivasis; they are as much of this country as any other Indian.' 'If I love them, it does not mean I do not love my country.' 'It is ironic and funny that they have laid such severe anti-national charges against me.'
'The loose use of words like foreigner or Bangladeshis obscures the fact that the post-Partition migration to Assam has been of both Hindus and Muslims.'
Making his debut in West Bengal in the current campaign, Bharatiya Janata Party's PM candidate Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the Left parties and the Third Front, saying they will make India a "third rate" country.
'Mamata is campaigning hard and not giving the BJP a walkover.'
While being the all important member of the BJP's parliamentary board, Kumar is often regarded as the "Delhi face" of the Karnataka BJP and also for the state government who could be counted upon for taking issues concerning Karnataka.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill would possibly be the first piece of legislation that is perniciously discriminatory on the basis of religion/faith, says Mohammad Sajjad.
The BJP is contesting 437 seats this election, the Congress 423.
'This term -- "Nehru-Gandhi" family -- is a misnomer. Nehru was not a dynast; he did not even name his successor... The big mistake she made was to push forward Rahul Gandhi who is a dead loss as a leader,' says Nayantara Sahgal, whom Sonia Gandhi calls 'Tara Masi.'
If he doesn't win next year, it will set back the party's prospects in 2024. If he wins, it will be seen as his win as much as the BJP high command's, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf traces the trajectory of Lal Kishan Advani from the highs of the 1990s to the present, when he may have to watch the elections from the sidelines.
NDA under Mr Modi is as focused on the rural poor with doles and hand-outs as the UPA under Dr Singh was.
'If they were really serious (about conferring the Bharat Ratna on Savarkar) what were they doing for the last five years?' 'Why do they have to take so long?' 'Gandhi himself never got the Bharat Ratna so it does not really matter.'
Official celebrations in most states were restricted to unfurling of the national flag and chief ministers and governors addressing the people, with fewer guests in attendance.
No Ebola case detected in the country so far; experts say a robust preparedness plan to fight the virus missing.
Farm loan waivers should not be regarded as expenditure but as incentive and investment, argues B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Known for weighing his options carefully before making any move, Kumar, upon a closer look, comes across as a risk taker who has not shied away from going against the tide.
The reasons behind a spate of forest fires in the hills this year, though, could be multi-fold.
Striker Keito Nakamura scored the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup's first hat-trick as Japan hammered Honduras 6-1 to begin their campaign on a resounding note at the Indira Gandhi International Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday.
'The government may backpedal for now to stave off bad international press and diplomatic demarches, but that it will go ahead with putting religion at the centre of citizenship rules is certain.' 'For it is convinced that this is the magic bullet that will ensure its return to power in 2024,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'If the Opposition believes the BJP is out to undermine the principles on which the Constitution rests, they had better start behaving as though they believe in those principles,' says T N Ninan.
The contemporary problem with the BJP in Tamil Nadu is that it has been trying hard to package the DMK especially as anti-god and anti-Hinduism, and seeking it to link to Periyar and M Karunanidhi, and by extension to Stalin, the latter's son and successor to the party mantle. Their hope was to consolidate the perceived 'pro-god, pro-religion votes', which they saw returning to the fold post-MGR, post-Jayalalithaa. But no such substantial vote-bank existed even in Periyar's time, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Both Nehru and Patel were thorough gentlemen and whatever their differences never disrespected each other.' 'Neither Modi nor Rahul Gandhi has much in them to claim such legacies.' 'They are symptomatic of the sad days that have befallen the nation midwifed and contemplated by Nehru and Patel,' says Mohan Guruswamy.
'The Afghans used to say that if there is any person whose name should be taken after Allah, it is Hindustani.'
Rahul's time is not now, only Sonia Gandhi can lead the Congress into the 2014 final, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'Gotabaya will expect India to observe the red line.' 'He even dispensed with any gesture welcoming India as an interlocutor on the Tamil issue.' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'India's first and longest-serving prime minister created -- or at the very least imagined -- a modern, democratic nation-State of the 20th century,' says Sunil Sethi.
'Somewhere in the midst of the three milestones of 1881, 1984 and 1999 are the clues that provide the answer to the troubling corrosion of Karnataka politics: The disappearance of values, the criminalisation of politics, and the complete collapse of ideology,' says Krishna Prasad, former editor-in-chief, Outlook.
Known for weighing his options carefully before making any move, Kumar, upon a closer look, comes across as a risk taker who has not shied away from going against the tide.
'You had earlier sent a Prime Minister from Assam (referring to Manmohan Singh) whom people do not even remember now'
'The Congress has collapsed and is fighting for survival. Other parties carry no weight in comparison to the BJP. This situation does not augur well for democracy,'
Taking an apparent dig at Modi, Gandhi satirised a song, saying "Aapka toh lagta hai bas yahi sapna, ram ram japna garibo kaa maal apna (It seems your only dream is to take away money from poor while chanting the name of Ram)".
The Congress leader said democracy allows dissent and debate and not monologues in an apparent barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Fifty years ago, India and Pakistan fought a short but bloody war. The author finds out how Sainik Samachar, the defence ministry's journal, reported it.
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