The Congress leadership is reportedly upset with former Home Minister P Chidambaram for his remarks on 'Operation Blue Star'. Party sources indicate that senior leaders should be cautious about making public statements that could embarrass the party.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra D Modi, senior Cabinet ministers, Congress and Opposition leaders paid their respects to former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed into the ages on Thursday night, at his residence in New Delhi on Friday.
Under constant attack from his political opponents, the public and the media, he is said to have withdrawn into a shell, says Anita Katyal
He dismissed as "hollow claim" Prime Minister Narendra "Modi's propaganda" that things have started looking up
Former Indian envoys reflect on the life and legacy of Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, highlighting her role in restoring democracy and the complex relationship between India and Bangladesh during her tenures.
Many were hoping that with Vajpayee's NDA gone, there would be a return to the Congress normal. Nobody was prepared for the opposite. Sonia Gandhi was sceptical. This became the only issue over which Manmohan Singh took on his party bosses and risked his government. Politically, it was riskier than the 1991 reform, recalls Shekhar Gupta.
'He will be remembered more for what he did as finance minister -- as someone who functioned well when the political fallout was taken care of.'
The Congress party has criticized the government for not inviting Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to the banquet for Russian President Vladimir Putin, while also questioning Shashi Tharoor's decision to accept the invitation.
In an hour-long video released by the Congress on Monday, Gandhi said India's largest and complex democracy is a global asset, and the "assault" on the Indian democratic system is also an attack on the global democratic system.
A change in recommendation in favour of Birla did certainly happen but the question is whether it was a bona fide decision. Jyoti Mukul reports
After ex-Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai attacked Manmohan Singh on 2G issue, Congress leader Kamal Nath on Friday said the former Prime Minister may have made a "mistake" in not acting despite his letter to him expressing concern over the spectrum allocation process.
Dr Manmohan Singh's ashes were immersed in the Yamuna river near the Majnu ka Tila gurdwara by members of his family following Sikh rituals.
'Our problem is not a budget deficit but a trust deficit. We need to trust our institutions and industries to innovate and lead. That is the way forward for India.'
Nehru, India's longest-serving prime minister (1947-63), addressed the nation 17 times from the Red Fort. India's second prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri delivered speeches from the Red Fort ramparts for two Independence Days in 1964 and 1965.
While China is bigger and feels mightier at the moment, Beijing's rulers would be well advised not to be tempted to provoke India, for that would only trigger a chain reaction around the world that would not serve anyone's interests, says Sanjaya Baru.
Dr Singh's eldest daughter Professor Upinder Singh gently reminded the gathering that this was a moment for prayer, not accolades.
Stating that he had consistently held Singh in high respect, he expected the same from him.
Pakistan on Friday said it would welcome a visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has expressed hope of making a trip to the neighbouring country in the next four months, even as it sought the resumption of the composite dialogue.
His essays are an intelligent, articulate critique of the government of the day, says the prime minister.
The dangerous thing about the present situation is that the government is complacent enough to not realise that we are in the midst of a protracted economic slowdown, Singh said.
Dhurandhar's most dangerous idea is that Director Aditya Dhar envisions an Indian state run by a deep state -- an intelligence machinery not accountable to Parliament, courts, or voters. A future political system where unelected officials decide when Indian democracy is 'fit' to function, observes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
The special court has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation if the then coal minister was examined by it in a coal scam case involving Kumar Mangalam Birla and others.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticizes the government's proposed bill to replace MGNREGA, arguing it weakens the guaranteed 100 days of employment for the poor and centralizes control over the scheme.
Three 35,000-scholarships set up in honour of the Prime Minister of India exclusively for Indian students to read for PhD & MPhil degrees in science, technology and social sciences at the St John's College, University of Cambridge.
'All the big things happening today in economic development have their beginning in Dr Manmohan Singh's ideas.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleges the government discourages foreign dignitaries from meeting the Leader of the Opposition due to insecurity, breaking established traditions.
'Suddenly we had a new comprehension of affairs, which reminded that the luxury of politics floated atop a foundation by economics.' 'Along with this, finance ministers became crucial in molding the perception and reputation of Union Cabinets.' 'Governments couldn't afford a wrong person in that portfolio,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
Recalibrating data of past years using 2011-12 as the base year instead of 2004-05, the Central Statistics Office estimated that India's GDP grew by 8.5% in the financial year 2010-11 and not at 10.3% as previously estimated.
Whether it was the MGNREGS or the NFSA or the Aadhaar-based DBT scheme for cash transfer, the Modi government has built on the basic architecture created by the Singh government. Policy makers in the Modi government, instead of discarding them as products of the previous political regime, worked on them, expanded their scope and reach, and used new tools to improve their performance, explains A K Bhattacharya.
'Kashmir needs to be divided and we need the land of Panun Kashmir in Kashmir.'
He allegedly advanced the cut-off date to favour accused firms in allocation of 2G licences.
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved Rs 11,718 crore for conducting the Census of India, 2027, which would include the caste enumeration for the first time.
The new IIP numbers should spread cheer among those who were part of the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance, earlier accused of having presided over a steady deterioration in industrial performance, particularly in the last two years of its tenure, says A K Bhattacharya.
The India-US nuclear deal was aimed at ending India's nuclear isolation and nuclear apartheid, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
'The critical event signalling a new era for India was Dr Singh's 1991 Budget in which he quoted Victor Hugo to say that no power on earth could stop an idea whose time has come,' recalls T N Ninan.
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
L&T chairman and managing director A M naik has written a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan ingh saying there is a conflict of interest in the way the defence ministry is organised.
'The UPA's claim of growth at 9.5 percent was absolute nonsense and a fraudulent claim because the country did not grow; it was only statistical growth.' 'I do believe that when there is a determined leader who wants to bring a desired change, the system will begin acting. Today, people think there is policy paralysis, but there is functional paralysis also.' 'When things start moving, people will invest. Many companies are holding cash, many people are not investing. Nobody is making any move. Everybody is waiting for the elections to get over.' Economist and Swadeshi Jagran Manch convenor Swaminathan Gurumurthy in conversation with Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com
A Russian defence expert says the reported sale of RD-93 engines to Pakistan for integration into the JF-17 will actually benefit India, dismissing criticism of the Indian government by the opposition.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday challenged Home Minister Amit Shah to debate with him on his three press conferences in which the Congress leader alleged 'vote chori' by the Bharatiya Janata Party in collusion with the Election Commission.
