Just to be clear, "love jihad" -- a concept that claims that Muslim men court Hindu women to convert them to Islam purely to take over India -- doesn't exist, says Mitali Saran
Rashtriya Janata Dal President Lalu Prasad Yadav on Monday downplayed reports of a split within his party even as he said that he was inquiring into the matter.
The fifth-term Lok Sabha member is the mascot of the party's Hindutva-wrapped agenda of development as the BJP makes a final push in its bid to capture power in the state
A Samajwadi Party MLA and a Bharatiya Janata Party leader too joined Mayawati's party, BSP General Secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui told a press conference in Lucknow.
A scene of a play and a conversation between two key characters were snipped from the first episode Tanashah, a day after the cast and crew of the nine-part starry political saga on Amazon Prime Video once again apologised and said they had decided to implement changes to address the concerns raised.
"My suggestion is that Ram Janambhoomi be handed over for Ram Temple. We cannot change the birthplace of Ram," Swamy said.
The first-ever district development council (DDC) elections will be held in eight phases to elect 280 members in 20 districts from November 28 to December 22.
'Mamata has used minorities only as her vote bank.' 'In her entire election campaign Mamata did not utter a single sentence against the RSS.'
India's Muslims need to assert their educational and economic upliftment and political empowerment rather than be provoked by communal remarks, says Mohammad Sajjad, reflecting on the Malda riot.
'There are many people like me who were kept away from Jayalalithaa.' 'There is a coterie who did not allow her to meet people.'
'They thought he can separate the Muslim votes and win, but the Kerala mind is completely different.' 'It is a secular mind because Hindus, Christians and Muslims live together.' 'We don't like somebody coming from outside, contesting in our state, winning and going and avoiding us.'
Here are some of the political leaders' who await their fate.
As controversy continues over senior Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan keeping away from its Agra meet, Samajwadi Party on Friday said no one can "blackmail" the party as nobody has the stature which supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav enjoys among the Muslim community.
On Wednesday, Bengal's own daughter she firmly pitched herself as, was sworn in as the chief minister of the turbulent state for the third successive term amid raging fires of political violence and a rampaging pandemic.
The ruling Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh seem to be making the most of the prevailing crisis in Moradabad to serve their political ends.
The 71-year-old remained Sonia Gandhi's most trusted lieutenant for most of her tenure as the longest serving Congress president, standing by her side through sun and shade.
'The BJP had no traction in Karnataka and Siddaramaiah would have scraped through if he had not done all that he did.' 'When you pander to one community, the other community gets irritated.' 'Then, when you make fun of the cow and the treating of the cow as sacred, in your effort to belittle the Sangh Parivar and its obscurantism, you are hurting your normal voters too.' 'It is okay to make fun of the Sangh Parivar, but it is not okay to make fun of all Hindus.'
'Ayodhya will once again become Ram's city.'
Caste composition is going to be a huge determinant for winning the constituency where Vokkaligas and Lingayats constitute a vast majority, which puts Siddaramaiah in a weaker turf given that he belongs to the Kuruba community.
The parties seem to have forgotten their two decade-old antagonism for a 'political revolution' which they hope would 'last long'.
They have been asked to verify the list of 346 families handed over by the local MP who have allegedly migrated, he said.
In the caste-based politics of Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav felt it necessary to bring in a strong leader to retrieve the party's eroding Thakur support base. Sharat Pradhan reports
Taking note of a Hindu outfit's assertion that a large number of people will be converted on December 25, district authorities on Friday issued a warning to those trying to disturb communal amity while asking citizens not to get provoked.
'They have a voracious appetite.' 'But there are many places where they go and they lose.'
'Those who genuinely seek justice do not differentiate between a victim and a victim or an accused and accused.' 'They demand justice for all,' says Utkarsh Mishra.
Mukhtar Ansari's Quami Ekta Dal's merger with the Samajwadi Party last year had triggered turmoil in that party.
The 'secularists'are more adept at the politics of intense and alarmingly exaggerated fear-mongering, as this kind of politics provides easy votes of Muslims without making them answerable for the concrete issues of poverty, unemployment, lawlessness, and of basic needs like roads, electricity, etc, which is exactly how Nitish Kumar was defeated in the elections, says Mohammad Sajjad.
In the dangal of UP politics, much as Muzaffarnagar wants to leave its past behind, the shadows are never be far behind.
Advocating for Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, yoga guru Ramdev on Monday accused the Congress of creating economic and social anarchy, and said only Modi can save the country from corruption.
Various Maratha organisations had held massive 'silent marches' across the state last year for various demands, including reservation.
Amid a raging row over alleged forced reconversions in Agra, a Hindu organisation has announced its plan to "convert a large number of people" on December 25, which was welcomed by a local Bharatiya Janata Party MP who said people are within their rights to choose their religion.
This time, Bajrang Dal 'activists' object to lady students traveling on a study trip.
Bharatiya Janata Party is making hectic preparations ahead of the visit by BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who will undertake a "grand road show" before filing his nomination on Thursday for the mega battle in this holy city where he is challenged by AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and others.
Bhim denotes Dalit icon Bhimrao Ambedkar, while Mim denotes the letter 'M' in the Urdu alphabet; the party used the slogan effectively in the 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections
Sandeep Mawa is a Kashmiri Pandit married to a Kashmiri Muslim, intent upon spreading the message of love and Kashmiriyat through his campaign. He wants to hug Assaduddin Owaisi, Arvind Kejriwal, Rahul Gandhi, Narendra Modi and do a pau lago to Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi.
'From the evidently pre-selected questions to the promotional slides on a screen redolent of the official audio-visual department, the choreography was palpably intended to present the prime minister in as good a light as possible in a 'safe' environment insulated from uncomfortable questions,' says Amulya Ganguli.
As the government came under attack from the Opposition during the debate on the recent communal riots in the national capital that have claimed over 50 lives, the BJP members alleged that the violence was a pre-planned conspiracy and the home minister and authorities took pro-active steps to control the situation.
Adityanath says there is no scope for political violence in democracy.
The fact that so many victims turn hostile should be a matter of concern. If so many accused persons continue to roam freely in society, this becomes an additional liability to women's safety, points out Rashme Sehgal.
"I don't care if someone doesn't like my visits to Madhya Pradesh. I will continue to talk about farmers, employment to the youth and good education," said the Patidar agitation leader.
