Jayanta Roy Chowdhury reports on how the West Bengal elections are being fought by the BJP and Trinalool Congress amid COVID challenges, 'Bangaliana', and campaigns based on religion, region, and caste.
The Congress leader from Maharashtra said that the party of Mahatma Gandhi that once saw Maulana Azad become its president at the age of 35 years "is now the proprietorship of a Shehzada.
The Delhi Police has asked commuters to avoid Rajpath and its connecting roads on Friday morning as nearly 30,000 people are expected to throng the Red Fort on the occasion of International Day of Yoga, traffic officials said.
He urged the crowd attending a pro-CAA rally to give a missed call to the 8866288662, pledging their support to the legislation. Shah also sought to dispel 'rumours' of discord within the NDA in Bihar and said CM Nitish Kumar will be the alliance leader in the state.
Action against the foreign Tablighi Jamaat members was first taken after over 2,300 people, including 250 foreigners, belonging to the Islamic organisation were found to be living at its headquarters located at Delhi's Nizamuddin soon after the nation-wide lockdown was announced in March. Several of these members had tested positive for coronavirus.
Singh said since Pakistan has given the assurance to the Indian government, there should be no reason to disbelieve them so early.
Christmas was celebrated across the country on Saturday, but the festivities were low-key for the second year in a row due to Covid, with churches and other events witnessing lower footfalls, people avoiding large get-togethers and the administration in some areas imposing certain curbs.
Empowerment of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) with extra territorial jurisdiction and declaration of Maulana Masood Azhar, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Dawood Ibrahim as terrorists after legislative amendment were counted among its achievements by the MHA, headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Stating that providing reservation was no solution to development concerns of Muslims, Najma Heptulla, who took charge as Minister for Minority Affairs, said the new government will ensure progress of all communities, with special stress on education facilities for minorities.
A controversy has erupted over the decision to discontinue postage stamps of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi with the government saying only one family can not get this honour, even as the Congress termed the move as "insult to the history" and demanded an apology.
Al Qaeda, which has announced the creation of a separate wing for India, wants to portray Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an enemy of Islam and as such India should take its threat "very seriously", a well-known American counter-terror expert said on Friday even as the United States tried to downplay the terrorist outfit's capabilities.
'The sadhus and sanyasis of UP are not for any economics.' 'They only know the religious agenda and the RSS will support them.' 'Modi does not have full control of the party at the ground level like Indira Gandhi had.'
Cabinet minister Maurya said that the BJP will help such victims to them get respect.
Holding the AIMPLB responsible for the present state of affairs, Amber said the board never bothered to take (the issue of) triple talaq seriously, and now it was too late.
The Narendra Modi wave seems to have reached the Bengal shores, indicated by the more than two-fold increase in the membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party's state unit.
The two were arrested by the police for allegedly trying to breach peace and posting inflammatory material on social media.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh on Monday night said he was asked by the government to represent it at the Pakistan National Day reception at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.
The Delhi High Court on Friday said the ceremony by Jama Masjid Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari to annoint his son as his successor has no legal sanctity.
Pakistani media outlets on Sunday said the brazen attack by terrorists at a key Indian Air Force base will pose a "challenge to attempts to resurrect" the dialogue process between the two neighbours despite the goodwill generated by recent high-level meetings between their leaders.
Adityanath called for an end to the Muslim practice of 'triple talaq' and advocated implementation of a common civil code in the country.
It is largely due to his vision and efforts that we have almost quadrupled our per capita milk availability in the last 40 years, points out Shailesh Dobhal.
India on Wednesday night deferred a decision on whether to go ahead with the FS-level talks with Pakistan on Friday after the detention of "several individuals" of the dreaded JeM by Islamabad.
'Mamata's numbers will reduce this time compared to 2016.'
The Tablighi Jamaat avoided confrontation, stayed clear of conversion of non-Muslims, abjured politics and focused only on religious attainment. >A fascinating excerpt from Ziya Us Salam's Inside The Tablighi Jamaat.
Leaders across the political spectrum, social activists and top jurists on Tuesday hailed the landmark Supreme Court verdict banning the practice of instant divorce among Muslims.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to people to maintain peace and calm and urged the protesters to refrain from taking law into own hands.
What does the Taliban chief's death means for various stakeholders?
Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad during his retirement speech in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday summed up his more than four-decade-old political career in few Urdu couplets and a brief speech.
Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari and Shahi Imam of Fatehpuri mosque Mufti Mukarram Ahmed also said the moon was sighted and the fasting will start from Saturday. They appealed to Muslims to perform all rituals and prayers at home during Ramzan while adhering to social distancing and lockdown norms.
As many as 313 fidayeens, out and about in Pakistan, plan to strike in India during the Lok Sabha elections.
The experts said the terror strike shows the United States has failed to persuade Pakistan to act against Jaish-e-Mohammad and other terrorist groups.
Taking a strong stand against the call by its ally Shiv Sena for the scrapping of Muslims' voting rights, the government today said such suggestions were not acceptable to it and that these "should not be discussed even hypothetically".
Shah said the Congress was not rooted in any ideology or principles and was sort of a "special purpose vehicle" to secure freedom.
Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the government has taken care of the interests of everyone and 'the interest of India'.
'We need to change the attitude of Muslims.' 'Muslim youngsters have to be taught not to misuse triple talaq.'
Authorities said social media posts will be monitored to ensure that no attempt is made to vitiate the atmosphere.
'Muslims must show patience and endurance.' 'The perception that has been created against them needs to be changed by them.'
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jailtey on Tuesday defended the Vajpayee government's releasing the three most wanted terrorists in return for the safety of passengers of the Indian Airlines plane hijacked to Kandahar in 1999, saying the lives of all Indians were "more precious" than the release of the terrorists.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances