However, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said that Modi's visit to Nepal was decided soon after K P Sharma Oli's election as the prime minister in February.
The sale, consumption, manufacturing, trading, storage and advertisement of all forms of smokeless tobacco including pan masala have been banned in Assam through enactment of a legislation that has come into effect from Thursday.
'It is not a merger. It is a commercial agreement reached for self-interest,' he said.
If anyone is targeting Sasikala or the AIADMK, then they should be looking elsewhere, not at Deepa for leading a revolt successfully, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Fighting heavy odds, J Jayalalithaa proved her detractors wrong again with her grit and determination as she steered the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to power for a second consecutive term, bucking the tradition since 1989 when no party has retained power in Tamil Nadu.
The fracas between Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam on Monday over who will be projected as the CM candidate in next year's assembly polls not only points to a possibility of another vertical split in Tamil Nadu's ruling party but will also come as sweet music for the opposition DMK which in the past stood to gain from the AIADMK's squabbles, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
TTV Dinakaran could be in more trouble as I-T officials have found a connection between him and Jaya TV and other Jayalalithaa companies, reports Aditi Phadnis.
Fearing what lies ahead if the Congress led United Progressive Alliance loses power, it is believed that 19 governors appointed by it are considering putting in their papers. Karnataka's Hansraj Bhardwaj has already submitted his papers and is awaiting clearance from the party high command, reports a correspondent.
During his visit, Mukherjee visited the hotbed of Madhesi protests Janakpur and met ex-servicemen of Gurkha regiments in Pokhra.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Janakpur, the revered Hindu religious site in Nepal, has not yet been officially cancelled despite reports about the trip being called off due to opposition by some political parties, the government said.
Whatever the circumstances the cadres will not let themselves be seen as challenging 'MGR's symbol'. It's an emotional identification for most of them, and many consider it an 'eternal sin' for them to defy 'Two Leaves', says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'You could be out of sight, out of mind but it may take just one song to bring you back and to let you know that your audience is still rooting for you.'
Sasikala's comments came after Panneerselvam alleged that he was told to quit the chief minister's post to protect party's discipline and failure to follow would be a violation of party discipline
The film truly belong to Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons courtesy their powerful performances, says Namrata Thakker
'Tamil Nadu's youth bulge will soon be 70 per cent of the population, many of them smartphone-toting millennials looking for gains more tangible than what screen gods can give,' says Sunil Sethi.
'This is the first time when you see the story of the Azad Hind Fauj through the eyes of the soldiers.'
'What was previously buried in the sands of time now gets buried by the weight of banality,' notes Sreehari Nair.
Acharya Satendra Das, the chief priest of the makeshift temple at the dispute site in Ayodhya, alleged that VHP's yatra from here was politically motivated and not religious and that saints were being used for "vested interests".
In the past three years 2,557 murder cases have been registered against juveniles, while 2,073 cases of abduction and 2,061 cases of attempt to murder were also registered. Vicky Nanjappa reports
For the AIADMK's cadres, it is much more than an election symbol, they believe the party's electoral chances rest on owning it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Kamalinee Mukherjee talks about her new film, working with Krishnavamsi and her future plans.
Akkineni Nageswara Rao was one of the people instrumental in bringing the Telugu industry to Hyderabad from Chennai in the 1990s. Radhika Rajamani salutes the thespian, who passed into the ages on Wednesday, January 22.
Tamil film Velaiyilla Pattadhari shines because of Dhanush's performance, says S Saraswathi.
She faced intense and protracted struggle to eventually head the AIADMK.
The film which is dedicated to India's mathematical prodigy, Ramanujan, is a well researched, well-written and brilliantly directed.
Former Chief Minister Panneerselvam could muster only 11 votes, ending the prolonged stalemate triggered by his rebellion.
Pandian alleged that Jaya died under unnatural circumstances and demanded a probe on her hospitalisation.
Palaniswami and Paneerselvam joined to oust Dinakaran and EC cancelled R K Nagar by-election.
Patnaik, 89, passed away at Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences in the temple city
A tribute to one of Indian cinema's most prolific filmmakers K Balachander, who passed away at the age of 84 on December 23.
Eight women died and 52 others have been hospitalised due to botched surgeries at a government-organised sterilisation camp in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district.
Should Sasikala seek to follow Jayalalithaa's footsteps in the matter, and if at all she is not disinterested in keeping the twin posts together, the by-election to Jayalalithaa's constituency R K Nagar could be the starting point, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
There were unconfirmed reports that the AIADMK would even parade the MLAs before the President.
'A person who came to take care of Jayalalithaa's personal needs slowly took control of her political life.'
Very few things can faze Madhukar V Kulkarni, a cop of 30 years. Yet, an innocuous smartphone scares him. For those like him in Maharashtra's cities, tech classes have stepped in to teach them how to embrace Skype & WhatsApp. Ranjita Ganesan reports.
'Would Chumki ever get to lead a normal life? How could we reinstate her in a family? Questions like these haunted me.' Indrani Roy discovers how a young child, cruelly handicapped at birth, is now living a normal, healthy life thanks to the determination of a few warm-hearted people.
As doctors treat Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, a different daily drama takes place outside the Apollo Hospitals gates.
'How can anyone ask me to stop what I have been doing since I was 6?'
With 32 people being killed in Assam, the Centre on Sunday said it is determined to curb attacks on minorities as the violence there was aimed at starting a "full-fledged communal conflagration".
