The overtures by CPI-M state secretary MV Govindan had upset the Congress that had, subsequently, accused the Left party of turning the UCC into a Hindu versus Muslim issue for gaining political mileage.
The Left government in Kerala on Thursday withdrew a handbook for police personnel on duty at the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala after the Bharatiya Janata Party raised a hue and cry over a mention in the book that all pilgrims can enter the temple.
This unprecedented entry of Muslim candidates as BJP nominees has been a shot in the arm for the party cadres in the Muslim-predominant Malappuram district, a citadel of Indian Union Muslim League.
70-plus years after Independence, 'Hindu India, metamorphosised as 'Hindutva India', is proving the British right -- and for all the wrong reasons. Mohan Bhagwat should have answers for the why of it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
In the coming days, unless Modi tones down the communal spiel, it will be clear that anxiety continues to drive his mind and clouds his judgment, observes Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The outgoing Lok Sabha had 23 Muslim MPs, the most being from Congress and TMC. The highest number of Muslim MPs were in 1980 when as many as 49 MPs from the community which constitute nearly fifth of Indian population present in the Lok Sabha.
'How come the BJP won even in the Muslim belt? I am 100% sure that the BJP would not win in the Muslim belt.'
Born in a Hindu family as Akhila Asokan, the woman converted to Islam and adopted the name 'Hadiya' after entering into wedlock with a Muslim man Shefin Jahan in 2016.
'The PM who is first among equals, who has to listen to others, take their point of view into account and who would have to be a good manager'
Karthik Manikandan, a Bharatanatyam dancer took to Facebook and said he was backing out from his performance scheduled on April 17.
'What you need is a credible Opposition, a credible platform to persuade people to believe that it can replace this government.'
A court in Wayanad on Wednesday directed the police to register a case against Bharatiya Janata Party Kerala chief K Surendran on charges of bribing tribal leader and Janathipathya Rashtreeya Party (JRP) president C K Janu to contest as an NDA candidate in the Mananathavady Assembly constituency in the April 6 elections.
Separately, the poll panel also issued a notice to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, asking him to respond to the complaints filed by the BJP against him and the main opposition party's senior leader Rahul Gandhi regarding their remarks.
Was C M Ibrahim's Rediff Interview the last straw for Deve Gowda?
The Moplah rebellion, also known as the Mappila riots, of 1921 was one of the first manifestations of the Taliban mindset in India and the Left government in Kerala was allegedly trying to whitewash it by celebrating it as a communist revolution, Rashtriya Swayasevak Sangh leader Ram Madhav claimed on Thursday.
Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, all ministers in Modi 2.0 Cabinet, took oath as cabinet ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In all, 71 ministers were sworn-in along with Modi, taking the strength of the Union council to 72.
In the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls, there were 135 women candidates while in the second phase, there were 100 women candidates, bringing the combined total for the first two phases to 235 women candidates.
The group will not just seek permission for women to offer prayers in the mosques, but also fight for appointing them as 'imams' (clerics).
Jasna Salim, a 28-year old homemaker in Kerala's Kozhikode district, has drawn hundreds of paintings of Lord Krishna in the last six years but her faith has not permitted her to keep any one of them in her home.
The high-level committee on 'one nation, one election' approached 62 parties out which 47 responded -- 32 in support of holding elections simultaneously, 15 against it.
The issue of denial of permission to Mansiya V P to perform Bharatanatyam at Koodalmanikyam temple, Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district has become a matter of debate in the state.
The Naxal movement has such a complex history that several books have been written to understand it. Bastar: The Naxal Story seeks to reduce it to bullet points and stereotypes, observes Deepa Gahlot.
The lack of clarity on who is next in line, when the time comes, as indeed it will one day some day, reflects poorly on the management of the world's largest political party. It scarcely need be said that a squabble between the contenders, Shah and Yogi, is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Opposition, notes Krishna Prasad.
A new entrant, whether a popular actor or not, has not been able to sweep the polls, as their fans had hoped for. Given a proven pattern, it should hold true for Vijay as well. Or, something drastically has to happen between now and 2026, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
In the five years in politics Priyanka Gandhi has undeniably emerged as a thorn in the BJP flesh, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay. It is time that this thorn is twisted a wee bit more when the elections have become far more uncertain than what it was when the Election Commission announced the poll schedule.
'We just cannot accept the interference of the government in matters concerning religion and faith.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party-National Democratic Alliance, which fought the April 2 assembly polls with the fancy claim of winning at least 35 seats in Kerala, on Sunday came a cropper as it failed to retain even its lone segment Nemom, even as all its major contestants, including 'Metroman' E Sreedharan and party state chief K Surendran, fell by the wayside.
Leaders from 26 opposition parties, in power individually or in alliance in Delhi and 10 states, are meeting in Bengaluru to discuss strategy to take on the Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The IUML leadership viewed the actions of Khader, a two-time legislator, as serious despite his explanation that it was not a meeting of the RSS, but only a cultural event.
If Pitroda's blunder cost him his office, what should the BJP's unrepentant attitude cost it?, asks Shyam G Menon.
Expressing solidarity with the people of Lakshadweep, the Kerala Legislative Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution demanding the recall of island administrator Praful Khoda Patel and requesting the immediate intervention of the Centre to protect the lives and livelihood of the islanders.
Several states declared a holiday for schools, while government offices, other establishments and public sector banks remained closed for half a day.
'Today, in India, if we do good to others, people feel s/he has some motive.' 'Politics has corrupted our minds.'
'In UP, the CM actually announced that his administration would 'take revenge' against rioters.' 'That must have been music to his police force's ears for it substantiated what the police always do: Take revenge on an entire community for the violence of a few,' points out Jyoti Punwani.
A child dressed as one of the freedom fighters to take part in the rally had the name of V D Savarkar written on him.
'We are only going to the Supreme Court to protect the rights (of Muslims) which are given by the Constitution. Nothing more,' says Indian Union Muslim League MP P V Abdul Wahab, explaining why the IUML has challenged the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Supreme Court.
KPCC president and MP, Sudhakaran said that unofficially discussions have begun on who should be the candidate and officially it would start a couple of days later.
'The prime minister took a meeting recently and he asked for suggestions and ideas for a plan till 2047.'
"There is no organ in the human body like a criminal kidney or criminal liver or criminal heart! There is no difference between the organ of a person without a criminal antecedent and the organ of a person who has no criminal antecedents. Human blood is passing through all of us," the Kerala High Court said.
The Kerala Story is among a long list of films that invited bans and censorship.
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