Sonia, Sumitra Mahajan share a laugh at the event
Here are the key figures among the 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case who were on Wednesday acquitted by a special CBI court in Lucknow of all charges.
Vajpayee's picture is now displayed on the last page along with those of party's idealogue Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, who were on the second page of the 2014 manifesto.
It is increasingly clear that for the BJP to try and establish itself as an electoral force in Tamil Nadu, the party has to come out of the old Brahminical mould, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
This was decided at a meeting of the party's senior leaders presided over by BJP President L K Advani.
Addressing the party national conference in Indore, Singh said: "If I made some mistakes or poor decisions, forgive me. Please forgive me but do not in any way lose faith in the president's post," Singh said.
Exuding confidence that United Progressive Alliance would retain power at the Centre, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad claimed on Friday the alliance would benefit hugely from the National Democratic Alliance's old allies like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Telugu Desam Party snapping ties with it.
Five years ago, Bharatiya Janata Party veteran L K Advani spoke to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com on the Emergency. On the 40th anniversary of Indian democracy's darkest hour, we reproduce the interview.
'The BJP will be the single largest party in the next Lok Sabha, the only one party with a three digit tally.'
The Liberhan's leaked report has turned all the attention away from the sugarcane issue that was kicking up a storm in Parliament.
Meanwhile, an opposition sponsored motion for discussion on the dropping of conspiracy charges by the Central Bureau of Investigation was rejected in the Rajya Sabha after an hour-long argument on its admissibility.
As the crisis in the Karnataka's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party between the factions led by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and the other spearheaded by the Bellary mining tycoons cum state ministers G Janardhana Reddy and G Karunakara Reddy, Yedurappa is scheduled to meet leader of opposition LK Advani and other senior party leaders in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Moreover, there have also been speculations that while entering into an alliance in August last year, a "deal" was struck whereby Nitish Kumar would give up his chair for his deputy who in turn would back him for the top job in national politics.
In a startling revelation, expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh said on Wednesday that he had sent an advance copy of his latest book "Jinnah -- India-Partition-Independence" to senior party leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K. Advani, and therefore, this made his removal from the party after 30 years of association even more painful and shocking.
Shekhawat was accompanied by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other NDA leaders.
Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Shatrughan Sinha on Tuesday shocked party leaders and workers alike when he stated, "Modi ke liye Delhi abhi dur hai" (Delhi is still far for Modi).
In a bid to end the impasse inParliament, the government reached out to the Bharatiya Janata Party saying it was ready for a discussion on 2-G spectrum issue and a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe but rejected the demand for a JPC, which failed to cut ice with the main opposition.
Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Lal Kishenchand Advani has convened a meeting of National Democratic Alliance chief ministers on Saturday to hold talks with them and evolve a strategy to counter the Congress campaign in next year's Lok Sabha elections. The meeting will begin at 11 am in the morning and continue after lunch.
Congress spokesman Manish Tewari has expressed concern about the agreement between Pakistan and Taliban about the implementation of Shariat laws in the Swat region. Tewari was speaking at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Samridh Bharat, Surakhshit Bharat (prosperous India, safer India) is the theme slogan of the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's multi-crore media campaign for the coming Lok Sabha elections that is scheduled to be finalised by the party's prime ministerial candidate, L K Advani, by the month-end.
"We all know that we lost Rajasthan and Delhi due to our self goals. Those who were behind this self goal should understand that they may have damaged the party to some extent, but they have made huge damages for themselves," Advani said in his concluding address at the National Council.
'Politics is not a post for retired people to enjoy.'
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader M Venkaiah Naidu has said that the party will discuss the strategy for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections at its national council meeting at Nagpur from February 6 to 8. Naidu, who was in Vijayawada to review arrangements for Vijaya Sankalp Yatra, a public meeting to be addressed by the party's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani on Wednesday, told mediapersons that 8,000 party functionaries from all over the country would participate.
Asked if it would not result in UPA disintegrating, Dwivedi snapped back: "Of course, there is UPA. But UPA does not fight elections. It is the political parties in UPA which contest elections."
Congress Member of Parliament Jagdambika Pal, who served as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh for three days in 1998, had to face an awkward moment on Monday during the debate on the Liberhan Commission's report in the House, when the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party pointed out that the report listed him as a karsevak.Pal was the first Congress leader to speak during the Lok Sabha debate on the report, which indicts top BJP leaders L K Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The Speaker referred to the Home Ministry the matter related to Sanjeev Saxena, alleged aide of Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, Sudheendra Kulkarni, a close aide of senior BJP leader L K Advani, and Suhail Hindustani, a day after the parliamentary inquiry committee said there was need for further investigation into the roles played by them.
President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office and secrecy to Naidu.
The gory memories of the 2001 Parliament attack came alive at a function to mark the martyrdom of the security personnel who laid down their lives to save the symbol of Indian democracy.Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of Opposition LK Advani, chairperson of United Progressive Alliance Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders of various political parties offered floral tributes.
Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh at the end of the three-day long Chintan Baithak blamed the Third Front for playing spoil sport and dividing the vote bank of the opposition parties, thereby helping the Congress to win the elections.
Raje is expected to meet party chief Rajnath Singh and L K Advani, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, in New Delhi on August 22, soon after they return from the ongoing chintan baithak (brainstorming session) in Shimla.
Asserting that Pakistan should be given a 'categorical response', Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh said Saeed's release posed a 'grave threat to India's security'.
'The BJP is the most progressive force within Hinduism today.'
With important leaders raising questions over the way the party was going about in the aftermath of the Lok Sabha debacle, the Bharatiya Janata Party will have a two-day meeting of its national executive in New Delhi from Saturday, which is expected to witness fierce debate on the causes of the defeat and discuss ways for its revival.
Hurt over denial of ticket, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh is likely to resign from the party on Sunday.
Sensing an impending storm at its crucial meeting on June 20 to discuss its poor show in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to set up an in-house committee to analyse the reasons for its electoral defeat.The decision to set up the committee is expected to be finalised at the party's 'core committee' meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday. Besides party President Rajnath Singh and Opposition leader L K Advani, senior leaders will also attend.
Nitish Kumar's unanimous election to the top post at the party's National Executive meeting brought an end to the decade-old tenure of Sharad Yadav, who had ruled himself out for a fourth term.
Describing Ottavio Quattrochhi as "no different a fugitive" than underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, Leader of the Opposition Lal Kishenchand Advani asked Singh, who was present in the House, why the government was having a "soft corner" for the Italian.
The meeting saw Opposition agreeing to undertake orderly behaviour in the House and in turn Chatterjee withdrawing the controversial reference of the MPs, mostly from the BJP- led National Democratic Alliance, to the Committee, sources said. An announcement on the issue is expected when the House reassembles at 14.00 hours. "Wait till two," the Speaker said, when reporters asked him about the outcome of the meeting.
Time is running out for a hapless UPA govt over the Telangana bill, and the latest observation by the Rajya Sabha secretariat -- that the bill has financial implications and so must be introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha first -- has only worsened the crisis for the ruling alliance. Anita Katyal reports.