'While Piyush Goel, Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and a clutch of former bureaucrats including R K Singh, Hardeep Singh Puri and K J Alphons are loyal BJP members, none of them fit the mould of party apparatchiks.' 'In fact, many of the latter kind have been shown the door or have been given reduced charges.' 'That goes to show the prime minister's comfort level in dealing with professionals and administrators and the trust he reposes in them,' says Shreekant Sambrani.
"Let me explain to you that we were not trapped by your 'googlies'. Our two Sikh Ministers went to Kartarpur Sahib to offer prayers in the Holy Gurudwara", she said.
How Incredibles 2 dethroned the Kung Fu Pandas.
But why should India be talking to the Taliban in the first place? There is no love lost there. India will never forget or forgive the humiliation to which the Taliban subjected it in the IC-814 hijack, notes Shekhar Gupta.
'I once thought Shah Rukh Khan to be the most knowledgeable actor in our industry,' Paresh Rawal once told me. 'But Sushant was just as well-informed on any topic under the sun.' Subhash K Jha recalls his many conversations with the actor.
Sunil Joshi replaced MSK Prasad (South Zone), who had an extended run after completing his four-year tenure. Joshi's selection from South Zone and Harvinder getting picked from Central Zone also shows that the Board has stuck with the zonal policy.
Beset by troubles on multiple fronts within, the Congress faces the danger of imploding with party veterans Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal on Wednesday sharply questioning the decision-making process, saying there are 'no monopolies', and demanded convening an urgent meeting of the Congress Working Committee for a 'dialogue'.
'The bhadralok would have earlier baulked at the very idea of wearing a coloured dhoti; now, with Dr Banerjee wearing, it is quite likely to be the hot fashion item during Durga Puja next year,' says Uttaran Das Gupta.
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
As education minister Smriti Irani should be worried about the state of education nationwide rather than fuelling a German-versus-Sanskrit row, says Sunil Sethi
There are many patriotic movies lined up in the months ahead. What makes some of these films special is that these have the country's name right in the title itself, what with 'India' and 'Hindustan' finding prominence.
Scholars and students have cautioned that the proposed divisive and discriminatory changes would harm the country.
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
The note ban is Modi's make-or-break gambit for 2019. Opposition leaders see a vulnerability and won't gift pre-eminence to the Congress, says Shekhar Gupta.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your stockmarket queries.
Distressed by the IPL spot-fixing scam, BCCI Vice President Niranjan Shah has said the scandal has become increasingly "disgraceful" but stopped short of demanding under-fire President N Srinivasan's resignation.
A lowdown on the Hindi film industry.
'There were any number of Congress leaders who disliked Sonia Gandhi, but they were very close to Ahmed Bhai and he would listen, and give a shoulder to cry upon.'
'She was once asked what the secret to political leadership was and she said it was the ability to like all kinds of people.' 'I don't think Rahul fundamentally likes people -- that's probably why he can't deal with them and it shows.' 'Sonia is a more talented political mobiliser than her son, but I think the decline of the Congress set in in 1969...'
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's three-member disciplinary panel, headed by president Shashank Manohar, will meet this week to decide the fate of Ajit Chandilla and Hiken Shah who have been accused of trying to fix games in the 2013 and last edition of the Indian Premier League respectively.
It is the most potent symbol of India's soft power -- more perhaps than the IT industry and our managerial skill, notes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar
On a day Ashok Lavasa's decision to recuse from model code of conduct complaints became public, the EC said the 'full commission' would meet on May 21 to discuss the issue of dissent and 'related matters'.
'Mr Narendra Modi and Smriti Irani should have spoken up long back.' 'Now when the matter has escalated out of hand, there is still time for them to speak out.' 'Better late than never.' Shatrughan Sinha tells Subhash K Jha.
'Tamil Nadu is a paradox. We have more places of Hindu worship per square kilometres than any other place in the world. 'We break more coconuts for religious reasons everyday than any other place in the world.' 'At the same time, we also have a very strong Periyar-infused movement of rationalism.'
'Since the rise of the Modi-Shah paradigm, the BJP has followed a simple formula.' 'Sweep the Hindi heartland and the two big Western states, and you can rule India with a majority by just adding some little bits on the platter from here and there,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
The great pity is that Mr Siddiqui has a remarkable, even inspiring, story to tell, feels Sunil Sethi.
Saturday filled with movie promotions and sports...
What was the need to fictionalise a series on real events that were far more horrific because they were real? asks Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
Former India Test batsman Praveen Amre and ex-Karnataka left-arm spinner Raghuram Bhat have been found to be in Conflict of Interest by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's Ombudsman. However, former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar was cleared of a similar charge.
'And the same trust was evident in the Karnataka election.'
Some senior Congress leaders including Kapil Sibal have called for introspection after the party's dismal performance in the recently held Bihar assembly polls, after which the ruling National Democratic Alliance returned to power in the state despite the main member of the grand opposition alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal, putting up a strong show and emerging as the single largest party.
Joginder Tuteja looks at how well Hindi remakes perform at the box office.
Parrikar said he received Gandhi's visit in the spirit of India's healthy political tradition of rising above bipartisan considerations and wishing even opponents a quick recovery from any ailment.
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who was hurt during a film shoot in suburban Mumbai two days back, has sustained a fracture in right shoulder and an injury on his knee and has been advised bed rest for two-three weeks, sources said.
Spencer's, the Indian retail chain, is showcasing a wide range of US products at the "American Food Festival" from September 14 to October 7, 2007 at 29 stores in the Delhi and Mumbai.
Among the mourners were Anupam Kher who acted with Sridevi in many movies, and Satish Kaushik who acted with and directed her.
Countless screen pairs have come together but only few can lay claim to that extra something called chemistry.
It's fun to read how Twinkle thought in those days and how her life turned out!
