Gandhi said the govt "tried everything to stop" his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', but nothing was working against the "effect" of the foot march.
'There is a compulsion to look hard, decisive, and risk-taking; start something; and then conclude it in a way you can claim victory.' 'That is not such an easy option against China,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
The question is whether Prime Minister Modi can convince the world's investors that India is the ultimate investment destination of 2018, says Kanika Datta.
If it continues to do well economically, develops a large manufacturing sector, gains in technological heft, builds a more capable defence industry, improves its human development indicators, becomes more of a trading nation, and has greater internal cohesion. In short, it is a work in progress, suggests T N Ninan.
'Pura phas gaya woh... barbad, satyanash ho gaya woh.' 'Usko ticket bhi diya, election bhi ladha woh; ganda video bhi bahar aa gaya; hamara izzat bhi nikal diya woh; abhi letter ke baare main pooch ke kya hota hai?'
'People want to do business in the name of the Kedarnath temple.'
The 67-year-old gave the example of two neighbouring states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, to buttress his point on why seat-sharing pattern of the INDIA bloc will vary from state to state.
'We aren't so unreasonable as to demand that he should have fully reversed Indira Gandhi's worst economic legacy, bank nationalisation.' 'But he could have made a beginning by selling off the two most stressed small public sector banks, and then announced that each year for the next 10, one government bank with the most messed-up balance sheet will be sold.' 'It would have electrified the markets, shocked his other banks into better behaviour, and marked his name among the great reformers,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
'Chinese leaders rarely receive their foreign guests in cities other than Beijing. Such respect for India!' 'Does it mean that Modi could replicate "the warmth and unconventional way" by sending Indian troops into Tibet, as Xi did in Chumur (Ladakh) when he arrived in India? Of course, Indians are far too polite to do so,' says Claude Arpi.
When he speaks of them, it is either in denial or to highlight successes that are only part of a larger story that is worrisome in its totality, observes T N Ninan.
Speaking about the issue in India in March 2012 at a media conclave, Kissinger defended his use of unparliamentary language while referring to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Addressing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, he said there has been a 'complete and total failure' of foreign policy under the Modi government.
US President Obama's visit has been an eye-opener of sorts for us!
'For large sections of Hindus he gave them a sense of pride in their identity as Hindus.'
'They don't want anybody to stand up and support the vulnerable sections of society who may be targeted.'
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Sunday announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Facebook's headquarters in California for a townhall question and answer session on September 27.
Prime Minister Modi made a strategic blunder of Nehruvian proportions -- presuming no war can happen now, and the Chinese won't be a military threat and risk their economic interests, observes Shekhar Gupta.
When a former police constable was appointed Gujarat unit chief, everyone was surprised. Now workers are laying bets on when he will be elevated to the Union Cabinet, notes Aditi Phadnis.
They said this round was the 'semi-final', and that the finals in 2014 would be between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. The two men campaigned more than any other party leaders in their respective camps. On both sides, there were enthusiasts who could not wait. Some in the Bharatiya Janata Party declared Mr Modi a prime ministerial candidate while the campaigning was still on, as though L K Advani was already history; and businessmen hastened to sing his praises.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he does not get 'intimidated' and fights for truth even if the world stands against it, remarks that come amid repeated confrontations between his party and the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Assam during the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said three months before the five state elections, where the 'BJP is staring at certain defeat', and six months before the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is literally clutching at straws.
Israel's newly elected Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Monday that he was looking forward to working with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to further develop the 'unique and warm relations' between the two democracies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his engagements in the US on Thursday by meeting with leading American CEOs from five different key sectors and highlighted the economic opportunities in India.
If everything goes according to plan, a resuscitated SAD could emerge as a central player in Punjab in three years, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Jaitley has managed the difficult feat of sticking to the fiscal correction.
The bilateral and Quad summits, in which Prime Minister Modi played a significant role, has sent the right message to China, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Desperate times need desperate actions, and the BJP's only option is to enforce legislation to build a Ram mandir, says Sunil Sethi.
'They don't have a political strategy so they are going to try to deal with it purely as a law and order problem.' 'They will try to use the same strategy they have repeatedly used since 2014 in Kashmir.' 'Mr Modi has landed in a situation where he faces the possible prospect of not only being unable to Indianise Kashmir, but his actions may end up making the rest of India a virtual carbon copy of Kashmir.'
The expectation that Mr Modi would be a major reformer, capable of reinvigorating the Indian economy, were based on a complete misreading of both his actions and his performance as Gujarat chief minister, says Mihir S Sharma.
Taking a potshot at both Arvind Kejriwal and Narendra Modi, Congress on Sunday said while the Delhi chief minister resigned to fulfill his national ambitions, the Gujarat leader is still glued to the CM's chair.
In politics, if your objective is only winning elections, just Chanakya neeti might do. For governance you need both, Chanakya neeti and Ram Rajya. You can neither beat up the farmers into submission, nor dismiss them as 'Khalistanis', asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The record of other prime ministers too shows how much can change when a prime minister is faced with the two-year challenge, says T N Ninan.
24 hours before campaigning ends in Thiruvanathapuram, Archana Masih/Rediff.com discovers Shashi Tharoor and his BJP rival Rajeev Chandrasekhar are busy getting their message across to voters.
The challenge will be to force the officials of his government to own this vision.
'We don't know where he will go from here and how he will conduct his government.'
'When the issue of terrorism came up, the Vice President suo moto referred Pakistan's role in that regard (of terrorism),' Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told reporters when asked if the issue of Pakistan's role in terrorism came up during her meeting with Modi.
Several BJP leaders including Prime Minister Modi called on Lalji at his home in New Delhi to wish the former deputy prime minister.
This is something that Modi's critics are reluctant to accept: He is the most popular leader that India has seen since Indira Gandhi, says Vir Sanghvi.
'This is still a relatively immature defense and high-tech relationship.'
