Owaisi on Monday termed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as a 'club of bachelors'
Although conventional political wisdom would decree that the construction of a 'magnificent' Ram temple at his 'birth-place' would bring the BJP a big yield of votes in the prospective elections, its leaders know by now that the mandir must not exist in isolation in its game plan, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
The ruling allies rejected the amendment demanded by Congress and Samajwadi Party to make yoga optional for schools.
'The BJP has taken too much of credit for sweeping urban local elections.' 'It is true in the mayor segment. But in the smaller cities, semi-urban and rural areas, the BJP has done badly and so have the other parties.' 'Nobody can claim they have swept the elections.' 'What Mayawati failed miserably to do in the assembly election, she has managed to gain that in this election.'
Upping the ante against Amit Shah after his "fireworks in Pakistan" remark, Janata Dal-United and the Congress on Friday approached the Election Commission demanding that the Bharatiya Janata Party chief be barred from entering Bihar for "inciting communal tension" till the election process ends.
Seeking to allay citizenship concerns of a large number of people, government sources said on Thursday that one can prove Indian nationality by submitting any document related to his date of birth and its place, and there will be "absolutely no compulsion" to submit any document by his parents during any such exercise. An explainer shared by official sources said no document will be required for anybody's pre-1971 genealogy as such a condition was specific to the NRC exercise in Assam and asserted that it will be sufficient to provide one's details of birth like date and place in any future nationwide NRC.
'Karpoori Thakur must be remembered by people today who are tired of witnessing fractious politics where corruption, bigotry, hatred and violence seems to have become distressingly recurrent,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
People, carrying "Not In My Name" placards and forming human chains, protested across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Goa and Kerala.
The consolidation of the Muslim vote behind Lalu Yadav in Bihar and Mulayam Singh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh may have forced Modi to spin Priyanka Gandhi's neech rajniti statement as a insult to his OBC status, says Dharmendra Singh.
'...that it takes fantasy seriously as a part of real life'... A fascinating excerpt from Jonathan Gil Harris's book, Masala Shakespeare: How A Firangi Writer Became Indian.
To repeated questions, the SP chief asserted that the Congress was 'very much in the alliance'.
The problem of unemployment is spread across the economy.
The daughter of former Congress Member of Parliament Ehsan Jafri, killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots, has vowed to continue her fight for justice.
'The PM should have spoken out much earlier and I would urge him to act, since speaking is not enough.' 'What we are demanding is action.' 'Immediate orders have to be issued by state governments to officials that such incidents should not happen.'
The Padma Vibhushan for this year has been awarded to a total of seven prominent personalities, while 16 have been given the Padma Bhushan, 118 have been given the Padma Shri on the 71st Republic Day this year, they said.
The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi has called for the statewide shutdown to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens. Barring stray incidents of stone pelting and attempt to disrupt road traffic in Mumbai, there was not much impact of the bandh in the metropolis.
Tarun Vijay on why the victory in Uttar Pradesh belongs to Narendra Modi and the road ahead.
Can you even imagine the fear that must have passed through Kiran Rao's mind, asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
From carrying portraits of their sons and husbands who have committed suicide due to agrarian distress to picketing to doing sewa 24x7 at langars, women have shown a rare determination not to capitulate before the government.
She accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being 'anti-Dalit' and recalled the Una incident and the death of Dalit scholar Rohit Vemula to back her assertion.
Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister only till the time the BJP wishes, points out Ramesh Menon.
In an all Dalit village in Muzzaffarnagar, three girls who do mazdoori after finishing the day's chores, will cast their vote for the first time. Opening their home and heart to Archana Masih/Rediff.com, they say all they want is a high school, a vehicle to take them to the main road and a sewing machine.
Making no effort to conceal his prime ministerial ambitions, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday said the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections were "a matter of honour" for him.
What links The Alchemist and Kochavva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho?
'The Jharkhand government is increasingly intolerant of voices of dissent.' 'Recently 20 persons, including activists, writers and academics, were booked for sedition.' 'Many of them have been critical of the government's apathy towards Adivasis,' notes Siraj Dutta.
In a frontal attack on BJP, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi alleged that the saffron party, which is leading the NDA, is trying to make "Hindus fight against Muslims" and also seeking to create two Indias with one for chosen business class and another for the poor.
'You have to work for the development of the people; stay connected with them; be available for your voters so they can come to you for redressal of their problems and don't rely on the brand equity of the central government.'
The Congress will only survive if it can transform into something more like the BJP used to be: A coalition of strong state leaders held together by shared ideology or personal loyalty, suggests Mihir S Sharma.
Parrikar said he did not take anyone's name. "What is quoted is not what I have said. I never took the name of anyone, nor threatened anyone," the defence minister said.
In the coming days, there would be loud calls for a greater role for Priyanka Vadra who, party leaders think, has a greater voter connect and appeal than her brother who has been pushed into the forefront by their mother.
In its sway over national politics now, the Modi-Shah BJP is what the Congress was under Indira Gandhi. Why would they indulge coalition partners, their greed and egos now, asks Shekhar Gupta.
While the Congress is elated to see the new caste dynamics coming to its rescue, the BJP still believes that no one is leaving its ship.
'Who is the government to decide about my religion?' 'We are governed by the Constitution. The Constitution has given me the independence to follow my religion.'
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.
In this May 2014 interview with Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com, the politically conscious Karnad spoke of why he is concerned about Modi coming to power.
Amarinder, 75, was sworn in as the state's 26th chief minister along with nine ministers, including Navjot Singh Sidhu.
The parties seem to have forgotten their two decade-old antagonism for a 'political revolution' which they hope would 'last long'.
'Sakshi Maharaj hasn't kept a single promise... and we're fed up.' 'Annu Tandon is the only one whom we can turn to in distress.'
Twenty years after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, India is in rebirth mode. Whether there is a Babri Masjid or a Ram temple or not in Ayodhya, India will go on. And it will see many tomorrows, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
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