BJP said if voted to power, it would bring out a 'white paper' on the financial health of the state under the Congress rule.
The move to expand the health insurance scheme's coverage comes at a time when several hospitals have complained of delays in reimbursement related to the procedures performed under the scheme.
Sources within the Congress, including those who have been members of the teams that drafted its 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha poll manifestos, said the Karnataka government decision lacked any empirical basis.
The government on Saturday lifted the ban on onion exports but imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $550 per tonne, amid ongoing Lok Sabha elections in the country. Last night, the government imposed a 40 per cent duty on export of onions. In August last year, India had imposed a 40 per cent export duty on onions up to December 31, 2023.
'Days ago, India witnessed the horror of the brutal rape and murder of a woman doctor on night duty at the R G Kar hospital in Kolkata.' 'The crime was so outrageous that any self-respecting chief minister should have resigned, bearing moral responsibility.' 'But then the terms 'self-respect' and 'moral responsibility' do not exist in the modern Indian political lexicon,' argues Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
On the Opposition's poll promise of statehood restoration, Shah said, "I want to ask Farooq Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi, who is going to restore the statehood. You cannot give it back. Why are you misleading the public?"
Modi said laws which divide the country on communal lines and become a reason for inequality have no place in a modern society.
'The Congress has finally drawn a line in the sand over its pro-poor credentials.'
'The rich better watch out.'
'Right to apprenticeship means that anyone below the age of 25 years with a diploma or other qualifications can demand an apprenticeship with a private, a public sector company or a government organisation. And when he/she demands this, it is the obligation of the government to provide it.'
The prime minister and his cabinet will be compelled to do what governments in other democracies must: Listen to criticism from citizens and tolerate it and even learn from it. In doing so, perhaps they can also get a laugh out of the material, as many of us so often do, notes Aakar Patel.
Unlike the 2012 manifesto, the BJP has chosen not to make any extravagant promises.
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.
BJP national president Amit Shah asserted that the last 15 years rule of the BJP is a model of an ideal state. "Raman Singh government has successfully tried to contain the Naxal and made the state an education hub. This manifesto is for Naya Chhattisgarh.
Every young diploma and degree holder in the country will have the right to apprenticeships in the private and government sectors, he said.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com does a deep dive into four elections when Narendra Modi resorted to anti-Muslim fervour and points out that Hindu-Muslim politics does not necessarily mean victory for the BJP.
Against predictions by most exit polls that the ruling Congress had an edge in the state, the BJP banked heavily on the charisma of the PM.
Several candidates, including Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the BJP's Amritsar candidate, are promising resumption of India-Pakistan trade via the Attari-Wagah land route.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday suggested that if the Congress comes to power, it would redistribute wealth of people to Muslims and cited former PM Manmohan Singh's remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country's resources.
Opposition Congress on Monday said there was nothing new in Bharatiya Janata Party's election manifesto, dubbing it as "anti-poor and anti-middle class" and an attempt to "misguide" the people of Gujarat.
In a bid to clarify his 'infiltrators' and 'those with more children' remarks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that he did not only talk about Muslims but spoke about every poor family, adding that the day he starts doing Hindu-Muslim, he will be 'unworthy of public life'.
'There is no immediate threat to the government, and they would prefer the growth agenda.'
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been receiving invitations for functions scheduled much after the Lok Sabha polls, which showed the 'entire world believes his return to power is inevitable'.
Once rolled out, theaterisation will be the biggest military reform in the country. It will see the creation of unified theatre commands within the 1.7 million-strong Indian armed forces.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the Congress again of planning to redistribute people's property if it is voted to power, but stopped short of saying that the wealth would go to Muslims.
Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and warring uncle Shivpal were conspicuous in their absence.
Kharge accused PM Modi of inciting people over the issues "that the Congress will never do".
Will Modi 3.0 also see theaterisation of India's armed forces?
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.
Kharge claimed that though the BJP says the corrupt must be put in jails, when leaders facing corruption charges join the saffron party, they are "put on the lap" and sent to Rajya Sabha or assembly.
'There is a saying in Assamese about inflicting pain on an adversary: He cut my hands with a sword and rubbed salt into my wounds.' 'This has never been the BJP's culture but it started happening openly and frequently under Himanta Biswa Sarma.'
'... dividing society not just on religious lines, but also creating rift in families and among brothers and sisters.'
He argued that if inflation is low, stable and moving towards the 4 per cent target, why has the RBI not revised downward the bank rate fixed in June 2023?
'It is the first-time voters and the agnostics who are often influenced by political advertising.' 'These swing voters tend to make a huge difference in the outcome of any election.'
'The BJP talks about prosperity, but it doesn't want anybody to prosper.'
The Congress on Thursday released its manifesto for the forthcoming Karnataka polls. The Congress has chalked out a separate manifesto for Bangalore. Apart from promises of providing 25 kg rice at Rs 2 and a free colour TV to families living below the poverty line, the Congress has also promised 24-hour electric supply to both urban and rural areas.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X that party chief Mallikarjun Kharge has accepted Pitroda's decision.
Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has called for transformation of Representative Democracy into Participatory Democracy by inviting suggestion from the across the country for his party's manifesto for the upcoming 2014 Loksabha elections.
In nearly 100 seats, the BJP stands almost no chance of winning. In 200 seats, it is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress where the BJP has an upper hand. In 243 seats, the BJP is pitted against regional parties and it is not going to be easy. That is why 400 seats may end up as a pipe dream, states Ramesh Menon, author of Modi Demystified: The Making of a Prime Minister.
'My mother feels it will be tough and emotional for her to enter an assembly which has essentially been reduced to a municipality now.' 'My opinion is that even if it is a municipality one cannot cede that space to the BJP.'
In a unique move, Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday released the first 28 of its 70 constituency-level manifestos, which it claimed will act as a ready reference for party representatives to focus on problem areas.
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