His five-year rule saw the Babri Masjid demolition, the rise of the saffron forces and also the country being placed firmly on a new economic path, away from the Nehru years of public sector socialism.
'In her insecurity, she destroyed the institutions of democracy.' 'She packed Parliament with her supporters with loyalty being more important than ability; she superseded judges; she corrupted the civil service.' 'She knew how to use people against each other and was quite a master of that.' 'She would do this with calculated skill and in the bargain cause enmity between brothers, split up families.'
'Vijaya Raje Scindia had assured the prime minister that nothing would happen to the Babri Masjid'
For someone like me who studied Sam so intently, if a lump could form in the throat during the emotive scenes, I think the cast did a superb job, notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Barring 2004 and 2009 when Navjot Singh Sidhu won the Amritsar seat as a BJP MP and 1998 when Daya Singh Sodhi from BJP was elected as the MP, it has essentially a Congress bastion.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday said he will attend the inauguration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya in January if he is invited to the programme.
'These statements which you are telling me were never uttered from mosques on that day.' 'And if this had happened, I would have got the report as the chief secretary of J&K.'
'Modi's political economy is more inspired by Indira Gandhi than Vajpayee.' 'She so wanted an Opposition-mukt Bharat.' 'Sounds familiar?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
Inaugurating the solidarity rally, Venugopal, a Rajya Sabha MP, strongly condemned the war unleashed by Israel in Gaza and their attacks against hospitals and refugee camps there.
May we suggest that Rahul spend Tuesday night with the homeless in Delhi who are shivering in cold and frosty conditions?
'The BJP is trying to change this mantra.'
Our political history tells us this has never worked. A united Opposition does work in some specific, limited situations, especially in the states. But never as some brilliant pan-national collection of diverse interests with no ideological or political core, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
TIME also named freedom fighter Amrit Kaur as 'Women of the Year' for 1947
Modi spoke to the BJP's longest serving president, who is credited with crafting the party's rise through the 90s when it came to power for the first time as the head of coalition governments under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and congratulated him.
Deepa Gahlot lists Hindi biopics about Indian political leaders: Some worked, some did not, but they managed to avoid controversy.
'If he has not achieved 'Congress mukt Bharat' even now, the question of his creating a 'DMK mukt Tamil Nadu' does not arise,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
It is time the political leaderships in this country arrived at a common ground over issues of foreign and security policy concerns. There has to be a greater communication between the government and the Opposition leaderships for the nation to present a unified face against the rest of the world, advises N Sathiya Moorthy.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said measures should be taken to strengthen the Constitution and ensure that democracy is not subverted again.
'When I realised that I was to take the pictures of Pandit Nehru, I was very nervous and scared.'
The BJP is now inventing new angles to keep its campaign relevant -- even if it's old wine in an old bottle, which is what the allegation on 'Katchatheevu' is, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The 'black paper', titled '10 saal anyay kaal' also alleged that issues such as rising prices, unemployment, subversion of institutions and farmers' 'distress' had plagued the country.
'Fearlessness, courtesy, humour, wide interests and wisdom, deep commitment to science and technology, passion for the environment, objectivity and the ability to see many things through not only a national but also an international prism.'
'When the Congress is put against someone like Narendra Modi, they do not have anything new to offer to the people of India.'
The speculation was triggered after Shravan Kumar, a Bihar minister, who is also the Janata Dal-United's in-charge for UP, said there were 'demands' that the party boss enter the fray from the adjoining state.
'They hate him so much that if PM Modi says the Sun rises in the east the Congress will say the Sun rises in the west.'
In the last 9 years, the BJP govt has marked some anniversaries and events with more zeal than Congress-led governments.
'Rahul Gandhi should have prevented Nitish Kumar from going.' 'He must pacify Mamata Banerjee if he has a cause of Mohabbat Ki Dukaan.' 'He should bring this Mohabbat Ki Dukaan on the political canvas.'
'You can attack and conspire to weaken us, but you cannot destroy the Congress permanently.'
Today, with China centrally seated and located, the Global South has an intriguing road ahead. Odds of it becoming a Chinese bloc in the emerging new bipolar world are higher than we'd wish them to be, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'What should surprise BJP supporters is Modi's call for 'stability' at the manifesto launch, a theme that he and his team members had not touched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.' 'The last time the party called for 'stability at the Centre' was in 1998 and 1999,' recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
Allegations of strains on democratic and constitutional institutions across the board, security threats from outside, a greedy Opposition inside, were all a part of the package then as now, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Modigate is snowballing into a huge thing with the electorate. The BJP is in for huge punishment by the electorate.'
The BJP on Thursday alleged that the opposition parties have decided to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi just because it has been built at his initiative.
The competition for the worst or most perilous 10 years has always been between the 1960s and the 1980s, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'It will be the end of the Congress after the Lok Sabha election.' 'Many Congressmen and even Communists will move to the BJP.'
Pawar on Wednesday visited the Congress office in Pune for the first time after he quit the Grand Old Party 23 years ago.
On one hand, South Indian states have been complaining about denial of a proportionate portion of the sharable funds from the Centre, based on population. On the other hand, they stand to lose Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats that again are based on population, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Pranab Mukherjee's book The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years takes the readers through the economic and social unrest of the period leading up to the emergency, rise and fall of leaders, many splits within the Congress, while promising to offer more in the next two volumes of the trilogy, says Nivedita Mookerji.
What the INDIA alliance needs is neither a counter to Modi's tall personality and undiminished charisma nor a counter-narrative to his Hindutva agenda, now centred on the Ayodhya temple consecration on January 22, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
"No, she will not make me the PM," was Dr Pranab Mukherjee's cryptic response in a reference to Sonia Gandhi when he was asked by his daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee about his chances of becoming the prime minister in 2004.
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