'You are sending the army to Rohtak? There are six paramilitary forces in the country. Why can't you use these people?' 'What is the need to call out the army? And that too at a place where there is an army man in every house.' 'Can you imagine how stupid this decision is? How insensitive?'
Sujatha Singh is the third senior official to have been dismissed by NDA.
As his party girds its loins for the battle to lead India, Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh appears to have the maths worked out in his mind on every possible electoral scenario. But about one thing he is certain: in no circumstances will the party stake claim to form the next government if it doesn't have a clear mandate. Edited excerpts from an interview with Aditi Phadnis
The issue of lynchings resonated in the Rajya Sabha; while in the Lok Sabha, the Opposition accused the government of not being sensitive towards farmers' issues.
Contentious issues such as the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, abrogation of Art 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir and enactment of Uniform Civil Code have been included in the Bharatiya Janata Party's election manifesto with the party making promises on them.
'In order to achieve Pakistan's psychological isolation and pariah status, breaking all cultural, economic and people to people contacts must become a government policy with clear linkage to a change in behaviour by the Pakistani regime.'
The need of the hour is not a divisive, slanging match of accusations and counter-accusations, but a call for sanity,' says Vivek Gumaste.
As the BJP snaps at its heels, can the Communists stay relevant in the electoral game?
The second part of BJP president Amit Shah's interview to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com, to mark the completion of one year of the Narendra Modi government.
The RSS realises that with a majority BJP government at the Centre and in several states, now was the best time to undermine and perhaps outdo the Congress-Left 'stranglehold' over campuses and young minds.
Modi today needs BJP CMs and non-party regional leaders to win votes and build alliances, but he will over-rule them and treat them like dirt once they have served their electoral purpose. Make no mistake: Modi is incurably authoritarian and will brook no dissent -- so long as the RSS is on board, says Praful Bidwai.
'Godse is no more, but the mindset which gave birth to such distorted philosophy is unfortunately still with us.'
Swaraj Samvad has moved on to be a nationwide agenda, says group convenor Professor Anand Kumar.
'People are tense. The morale of the perpetrators of the Kaliachak attack is very high.' 'People there fear that if the arsonists there could burn the police station today, they can burn the courts tomorrow; they will burn the collectorate.'
Immediately after India launched its surgical strikes, sources said, it had informed the US of its action.
What is Narendra Modi like? What is his politics about? What will he do? What are his priorities? Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com speaks to Swapan Dasgupta to find out more about the man of the moment.
Srikanth Kondapalli on what to expect from the seventh BRICS summit meeting to be held in Russia in July.
'This is not a small change, it's a BIG change. People wanted to hear the voice of their PM. They can do so now. This is a big parivartan.'
'The AAP is likely to take root in some metropolises -- although it won't be easy to replicate the small-scale Delhi model with equal intensity or cadre-strength in a large state,' says Praful Bidwai.
The year threw up quite a few shockers, some rather rude one. Below are Rediff.com's 12 picks that made us sit back and think, 'Did that really happen?'
'Swaraj Samvad sees itself in the role of a watchdog in Delhi,' Professor Anand Kumar tells Rediff.com.
'If my understanding is correct, one has to file not less than 37 returns per year for every ordinary business, and that too per state.' 'If you are doing businesses in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, you have to file 37x3 returns every year!' 'The consequence of GST will be chaos, confusion and possibly economic crisis.'
'People residing in the enclaves have led completely isolated lives. They are stateless, have no official identity proof.' 'It is significant that Modi, Banerjee, Sarkar and Gogoi, despite having different political ideologies, are walking in tandem for the cause of the people residing in the enclaves.' 'If the LBA betters the economy of India and Bangladesh, there will be less turmoil in both these countries.'
'In Assam we have lost 2,358 sq km to erosion by the Brahmaputra river! Do you know how much area is 2,358 sq km is? This is four times the size of Bombay. But who is concerned?' 'Didn't the BJP say that as soon as we come to power the Bangladeshis will have to pack their bags? Go to Google and search for 'Modi + Bangladeshi' and see exactly the statement he made... I am asking what has happened to it.'
'It is important to note that American officials were trying their best to use the Taliban for their oil games till December 1997 when Mullah Ghous was invited to America. State Department officials did not show any interest in capturing or killing Osama bin Laden even at that time.'
Reason must triumph over blind faith, says Praful Bidwai in this tribute to murdered rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.
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