Ever wondered why the Nobel Peace Prize is given by a Norwegian Committee in Oslo and not in the Swedish capital unlike the other Nobel awards?
While it took the Congress nearly a half century to earn the hatred of other political outfits, the BJP appears set to reach there in around six years, says Arun Bhatnagar, former secretary to the GoI.
He further accused the party of allegedly accepting money over the distribution of the tickets in the upcoming polls.
'Someone is needed to restore India back to Indians. So you decided you won't vote for Modi. But then, who will you vote for? List your leaders from the north to south and east to west, and ask your heart and mind, will any one of them be able to deliver and bring back India from the darkness it has fallen into?' asks Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay.
Shaken by the Taliban terror attack in which 148 people, including 132 school children, were killed in Peshawar on Tuesday, Pakistan has pledged to announce a "national plan" to tackle terrorism within a week with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif saying "this entire region" should be cleaned of terrorism.
The Congress said it will observe 'Save Democracy Day' on Friday with party workers and leaders holding protest marches at all district and state headquarters.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday sought an exemplary punishment to the attackers of an Arunachal Pradesh MLA's son, who died after allegedly being beaten up by some shopkeepers in Lajpat Nagar.
'It has a natural inclination to foster as much competition among civilian politicians as possible.'
The apex court said it was only safeguarding the interest of innocents from being arrested.
Congress leaders say that controversies like the one triggered by Janardhan Dwivedi could be damaging for the party in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
With both the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal-United decimated by BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, RJD chief Lalu Prasad indicated at fighting the coming Assembly elections in Bihar with the JD-U.
If the Opposition is bent upon shouting its own agenda on a deaf ruling dispensation, then it becomes binding upon the chair to ensure that the parliamentary affairs aren't reduced to a farce.
President Pranab Mukherjee has yet again come out with an appeal for practicing tolerance and to accept differences while respecting dissent, in remarks that come in the midst of growing intolerance in the country.
Sebi has been given direct powers to freeze bank accounts, attach properties, conduct search and seizure and initiate recovery proceedings.
In this exclusive conversation with Rediff.com contributor Rajeev Sharma, exiled opposition leader Ahmed Naseem explains why the world should care about democracy in Maldives.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and ex-Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda were on Monday asked by the Election Commission to appear before it on May 23 for allegedly giving incorrect accounts of their poll expenses.
'The Post's coverage is not an authentic public discourse guided by unbiased Western intellectuals, but a slanted doomsday propaganda orchestrated by Indians and expatriate Indians,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
Ahead of the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Osaka, Japan and discussed a range of issues of mutual interest.
With some countries like Britain and Canada seeking to bring alleged human rights violations in the Sri Lankan civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam under the scanner during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting summit, President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday asked member nations not to turn the Commonwealth into a "punitive and judgmental" body and desist from introducing bilateral agendas.
The European Commission urged Greece to stick to commitments it has made to reform its economy as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called a snap election within hours of new EU bailout cash arriving in Athens.
The first day of the monsoon session of Parliament was marred by uproarious scenes over the decision to form Telangana even as the government said substantive and procedural issues related to the new state would be dealt with in a Cabinet note being prepared.
Uproar over the killing of five Indian soldiers on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani troops on Tuesday led to adjournment of Parliament until noon.
'They must take the bull of conservatism within their own ranks by its horns as much as they need to speak out against the fallacies of the non-Hindutva (or 'Muslim-friendly') political forces as well,' argues Mohammad Sajjad.
The linking of biometric UID/Aadhaar number to all public services makes "We, the People of India" worse than slaves, says Gopal Krishna.
The Delhi high court on Monday stayed the Election Commission's show cause notice to ex-Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan asking him why he should not be disqualified for failing to give his true and correct expenses incurred in 2009 assembly polls.
Under intense attack, HRD Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday made a forceful statement in Lok Sabha, saying Kanhaiya Kumar and some other students had been found indulging in anti-national activities by the Jawaharlal Nehru University authorities themselves.
While inaugurating the projects, Modi said highways construction has reached 27-km a day from mere 12-km a day during the Congress regime.
'In the next two years, we might see a new kind of realignment across India.' 'I don't see political alliances working against the BJP until an alternative political agenda is created.'
'Disturbingly, the dissenting judgment of the Supreme Court has raised doubts whether religion, race, caste, community, language etc can be separated from politics at all. It has rightly underlined that this question should to be addressed by Parliament rather than the Supreme Court,' says Dr Madhav Godbole, the former Union home secretary.
After days of adjournments, the Rajya Sabha unanimously passed the crucial Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill along with two bills on supplementary demands for 2015-16, within minutes without any debate.
The establishment of a National Judicial Commission to give the Executive a say in appointment of judges and setting up a special investigation team on blackmoney stashed abroad are the priority areas for the Modi government, newly-appointed Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
'Local support is very important, without it the terror attack couldn't have taken place.' 'Explosives were secured, the IED was manufactured, the boy was brainwashed and converted into a suicide bomber... it takes a lot of planning and hard work.'
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said there was "some amount" of intolerance in the society which has to be identified and dealt with firmly, instead of generalising it.
'We are in touch independently with leading players, and they are denying it as well.' 'The Indian digital footprint is rising, creating new opportunities.'
Unlike in the presidential polls, victory might not have been complete, at least as yet, for Mahinda Rajapaksa's electoral rivals. While his one-time aide and confidant, Maithripala Sirisena, became president without any issues after defeating him, incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who again may not command an absolute majority in the 225-member parliament, would have to count on his 'national government' concept to carry the day and the nation with him, this time round, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Whistle-blower bureaucrat Sanjiv Chaturvedi, who has been selected for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award, expressed disappointment over the functioning of the Prime Minister's Office and said he was able to "survive" only because of an "independent judiciary".
The legislation passed with 230 votes in the 300-seat chamber.
The second half of the budget session of Parliament, beginning on Monday, is all set to be a stormy affair with opposition parties closing ranks over the imposition of Presidents' rule in Uttarakhand.
PM to launch outreach campaign with a rally in UP on May 26, ministers to visit 200 cities in 2 weeks.
'I want the prime minister to be punished because he put our country in difficulties as he took this decision without Cabinet approval.' 'When he had already ordered the printing of new currency notes on May 19, 2016, why did he tell lies to the country?'
