Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah on Friday took a dig at the Congress, stating that "instead of trying to find fault with the prime minister's coalition government, the party should find its missing leader."
'People were looking for leadership for the country. For a long time it was perceptible to everybody that India lacked a leader. Without strong leadership you cannot get a direction for the country,' Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju tells Claude Arpi and Sheela Bhatt in the second and final part of an exclusive interview.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he wants the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance to win 400 seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls to ensure the Congress does not bring back Article 370 in Kashmir and put a 'Babri lock' on the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The monthly Rs 2500 payment for poor women is expected to cost Rs 11,000 crore while the pension scheme of Rs 2000 for every senior citizen will cost around Rs 4100 crore. The Yamuna clean up will cost over Rs 10,000 crore while a similar amount is required to upgrade Delhi's hospitals. Ultimately, the new BJP government will have no choice but to ask the centre for financial support, notes Rashme Sehgal.
'The longevity of the government is a doubt for me because when the going gets tough, there could a be a point in time where there might be pressure, from within the party or from the allies.'
All eyes are on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as he prepares to present his first Budget. The authors decode the powerful politician.
The Congress on Friday claimed that a 'silent undercurrent' is brewing across western Uttar Pradesh against the 'failures' of the Modi government, as it flagged issues such as 'neglect' of sugarcane farmers and examination paper leaks.
'Modi's image has no takers among the masses.'
The Supreme Court, by a majority view of 3:2, upheld the validity of the 103rd Constitution amendment providing 10 per cent reservation to people belonging to economically weaker sections (EWS) in admissions and government jobs.
'After the 2020 Bihar assembly polls when our party got only 43 seats and our ally the BJP got 73 seats, Nitish Kumar refused to become chief minister and assured the BJP that he will support the government led by anyone.' 'But the BJP's top leaders told Nitish Kumar that as the NDA contested the polls under his leadership, the next government will be headed by him.'
Proceedings of both Houses of Parliament were disrupted on Monday as the treasury benches accused top Congress leaders of colluding with billionaire investor George Soros to destabilise the country, triggering protests from opposition members.
As many as 37 ministers have been dropped from the government in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term and these include seven with cabinet rank -- prominent among them being Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur and Narayan Rane.
In 11 out of 29 coal mines successfully e-auctioned, a number of qualified bidders in the e-auction stage were from the same company/parent subsidiary company coalition/joint venture, CAG said.
Take Rediff.com's Pulse of the Nation poll and let India know what you think of Mr Modi and his government.
Uttam Ghosh and Dominic Xavier offer their respective takes on the Modi Sarkar's decision to hike cooking gas LPG prices.
'I am the daughter of a martyr and had lost my father in Kashmir in 1994. I understand what drastic circumstances life brings in front of you.'
The new government has asked all its ministers not to appoint officials who had served in key positions in the United Progressive Alliance government as their personal staff.
His comments come against the backdrop of a campaign by Opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, which has claimed that applying for CAA would turn legal citizens into foreigners.
Gadkari's lawyer, Balendu Shekhar, said his client was shocked to know about, hear and see the contents and posts from the official handle of the Congress on the microblogging platform.
'Hindutva will not win any elections. Hindutva as a political plank never works.'
The meeting comes a day after the US President had shared the dais with Modi to address nearly 50,000 Indian-Americans at 'Howdy, Mody' event in Houston.
The decision to rethink the ban on porn Web sites is the latest reversal of decisions by the Modi Sarkar. Has the Modi Sarkar become a regime of U-turns, asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Dear Reader, what do you think of Narendra Modi and his government's performance?
Rediff.com takes a look at the progress of schemes initiated by the government.
Amit Shah wants to increase the party's nationwide vote share by at least 10 per cent from the 37.7 per cent it secured five years ago and ensure above 50 per cent vote share in the states where it came close to that benchmark, but couldn't cross it.
Dominic Xavier asks who will blink first? The Modi Sarkar? Or the farmers?
Dominic Xavier asks when the Modi Sarkar will heed the plight of the protesting farmers who have been agitating for more than forty days in freezing temperatures.
In order to implement big ticket ideas which are likely to come via the Budget of 2015, Modi needs better political talent around him, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
'He doesn't think anyone else has his brilliance or integrity. And he cannot bear to stand a rival,' says journalist Aakar Patel, a long-time Modi observer who has translated Modi's poetry and his biographies of RSS leaders.
Cameron, on the last leg of campaigning for the May 7 general election, also hailed Modi as a 'dynamic' leader who is 'taking India forward'.
With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
The 24th CPI(M) Party Congress commenced in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, with interim coordinator Prakash Karat emphasizing the need for Left unity to combat "Hindutva neo-fascism." He criticized the BJP-RSS government, accusing it of representing a "Hindutva-corporate nexus" and displaying "neo-fascist characteristics." Other Left leaders, including CPI general secretary D Raja and CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, echoed calls for unity and condemned the current political climate in India.
The Congress wants to reinforce the tax more powerfully now after its four generations reaped benefit of the wealth passed on to them, he said.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on the protesting farmers' tractor parade on Republic Day and hopes the Modi Sarkar will finally see the light.
For the past, blame the Congress. For the present, blame the Congress. For everything, blame the Congress. But for your future, vote BJP.
Dominic Xavier is puzzled by the government's reluctance to take on the Chinese unless the Modi Sarkar believes that in its interactions with Xi Jinping's Communist junta in Beijing, discretion offers better possibilities of resolution.
Nishant Kumar's demand that the NDA name Nitish Kumar as its chief ministerial nominee is seen as a gambit to consolidate the CM's position in the ruling alliance.
Ramesh asked the PM why river Ganga is "dirtier than before" even after spending Rs 20,000 crore on the Namami Gange project.
Dominic Xavier wants Prime Minister Modi to know that India needs Oxygen NOW! and can't wait for hospitals to be set up.
Former RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn outlines an economic plan for Modi sarkar.
