Will January 22 mark a point of no return for our Constitutional secularism? asks Shekhar Gupta.
Days after the Congress praised A B Vajpayee to target Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial Narendra Modi, the party did a U-turn on Monday, calling the BJP veteran "the weakest PM India ever had", a taunt often directed at Manmohan Singh by the opposition party.
'The sense of Constitutional propriety and political morality seems to be vanishing fast.' 'There are many things in today's politics of governance which Manmohan Singh would have never dreamt of saying or doing.'
The matter of disqualification of 16 MLAs following the upheaval in the undivided Shiv Sena last year could have been effectively dealt with had the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) moved swiftly after the resignation of Nana Patole as the Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly, said senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Friday.
The real risk is that the core assumption -- that the votes for a candidate sponsored by an alliance will at least equal the sum total of its parts -- proves to be facile, observes T N Ninan.
Police, however, said a link between the social media post and the assault has not been established yet.
'Look at what happened to the BJP in that India Shining episode in 2004.'
If the government of the day would like to set in place a smooth and well-planned changeover and facilitate the incoming chief to chalk out his action plan well in advance, the announcement of a successor needs to be done early, observes Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
Chastened by the Kargil conflict, Pervez Musharraf will be remembered for gradually lowering the profile of terrorism and seeking a realistically negotiated settlement to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy, who served as India's high commissioner to Pakistan when Musharraf seized power in a coup in October 1999.
The BJP at 43 is a work in progress, with total ideological continuity and much substantive change in political method and style, observes Shekhar Gupta.
It sent shock waves in the party -- a political greenhorn had taken on Modi in his home turf of Gujarat. Smriti had clearly tried to choose sides, in this case Vajpayee's camp. Many felt that this would end Irani's career. A revealing excerpt from Nidhi Sharma's new book She, The Leader: Women in Indian Politics.
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.
'It is not his doing, but Rahul Gandhi is forced by circumstances.' 'In taking political decisions, everything has to get his clearance.'
'Strategy is to divide and polarise electorate on communal lines.'
The Musharraf episode in the recent history of the subcontinent has convinced many realists in India that the hope of establishing peace with Pakistan is like accepting a dinner invitation from cannibals and expecting to live to tell the tale, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Mr Badal wanted to talk to a member of the Gandhi family to bring about some sort of rapprochement between the Akalis and the Congress which were the two major parties at that time.'
'I made it known through diplomatic channels that I was unhappy.' 'So, he called me and tried to explain, but I said this is something that doesn't happen between friends.'
For Sikhs, they say, honour is the bottom line; and whatever the state of the SAD's political fortunes today, arrogance will not be helpful in the negotiation.
No confidence motions have been moved in the Lok Sabha 27 times in the past, and all of them have either been defeated or remained inconclusive, data compiled by a think tank shows.
'Although perhaps not with a greater majority, and maybe even a slightly reduced majority in the Lok Sabha.'
The BJP game-plan: Take the top slot, or a close second, either for the 'Lotus' or the larger NDA, if it can and push the AIADMK to the third place, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Why the prime minister's legacy will depend on how he governs, not the number of state elections he fights as personality contests, says Shekhar Gupta.
'They are fighting it out, but they have deeply traumatised; they are alive and they are carrying on in life.'
Economists expect Modi to announce big-bang reforms.
Political power has now been outsourced fully to the Modi government. Even if the RSS is still, in principle, his guru, nobody would dare to whisper a word of advice to Modi, forget some whiff of criticism. When the shishya grows into such a popular and domineering leader, the guru has to applaud from the sidelines, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'The Bharat Jodo Yatra successfully resurrected the Rahul Gandhi brand.' 'There's a critical mass that has built up for the Congress and Mr Modi is feeling the heat on the Adani issue, the raids on the BBC offices, the Opposition getting together.'
What is most troubling is that not a single party that is part of INDIA has talked about any kind of reform and economic sense, argues R Jagannathan.
For a PM who hasn't completed even one term yet, the ability to spark a publishing trend single-handed is a remarkable achievement, writes Kanika Datta.
Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said the first priority should be to hold a comprehensive and detailed discussion on the Manipur situation in Parliament, going by the fact that people have been killed and the chief minister himself has admitted that several such incidents have happened in the state.
'Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bengal can be the game changers of 2024.'
'Course correction today would be good politics and also good economics,' notes T N Ninan.
What some of our leaders were up to on Thursday and Thursday.
Life inside the prime minister's official residence is highly regulated, but it comes with its perks, says Veenu Sandhu
The finance ministry website that lists the total disinvestment revenues to be mobilised during the current year already shows that no receipts are expected from strategic sales in the current year.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that people in his office, several party and other opposition leaders have been sent a warning by Apple of state-sponsored attackers targeting their phone, and alleged that as soon as the Adani issue is touched, probe agencies and snooping are deployed.
There is no sign of it losing popularity with a significant section of the voting population, which appears to be attracted to the party for identity reasons, observes Aakar Patel.
'...by stopping its promotion of turmoil, its aid and abetment to militancy.' 'Mr Vajpayee paved the road for peace by engaging Pakistan tirelessly while also reaching out to Kashmiri leaders and people at large.' 'Like so often in the past, this government does not have a policy. No consistency in approach.'
One hopes in his next term, Narendra Modi will take up the mission of inculcating respect for following rules in Indians as a mission. Therein lies the chance for India to become a developed country, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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