The public feels there is a mismatch between what the prime minister says and what happens on the ground, but Narendra Modi continues to enjoy public support.
A key United States Congressional committee has called for a public hearing on the rights and freedoms of religious minorities in India to be held early next month.
'Islam insists on sameness, which is fine but can run the danger to jihad against those who are not the same.' 'Brahminical Hinduism insists on difference, which is fine but can run the danger of an oppressive internal hierarchy: Caste oppression, for instance.' 'In actual fact, humans need both sameness and difference to exist.'
'The dirt in the Indian Ocean must be less than the abuses Narendra Modi got from secular forces.' 'If you are going to put the blame on the central government and the RSS for every wrongdoing, then it is not going to serve any purpose, rather it will complicate the issue instead of resolving it.' 'There are fringe elements in every society, but for an ideal State it is important to finish off the fringe elements.'
'He has attacked our enemies in their own backyard.'
'You can't go on creating division and rhetoric of hate.' 'It comes to roost. We are seeing the first glimpses of that in the state elections.'
Congress vice president takes on Prime Minister during intolerance debate in Lok Sabha.
Congress vice president takes on Prime Minister during intolerance debate in Lok Sabha.
'What hurts people most is dynastic impulses and corruption under a family-ruled Congress party -- and Nehru has borne the brunt of it... I cannot be blinded by how the Nehru family has functioned but just as Gandhi can't be judged by his descendents, why should Nehru?' asks political scientist Ashutosh Varshney.
Bharatiya Janata Party and Lok Janshakti Party on Thursday night stitched a pre-poll alliance with the Ram Vilas Paswan-led party returning to the NDA fold, 12 years after it quit over Gujarat riots, and it will fight seven out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar under a seat-sharing deal.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday attacked Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at a rally in Bihar's Kishanganj district.
By conventional yardsticks, Das was an audacious choice by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP president Amit Shah, like Devendra Fadnavis was in Maharashtra and Manohar Lal Khattar in Haryana. Will his choice pay off in the elections next month?
Poll arithmetic and ground reports give an edge to Lalu Prasad's RJD over Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Mayank Mishra reports
'One minute and 45 seconds of that clip are on Modi praising gauraksha.' 'In the last 30 seconds he speaks about violence, but says only that killing is unacceptable.' 'We don't need the prime minister to tell us that.' 'We need him to tell us why the killing is happening and what he will do to stop it,' says Aakar Patel.
Like Modi, Keshav Prasad Maurya worked at tea stalls. Dinesh Sharma, on the other hand, is a professor at Lucknow university.
'And Indians are loving it,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Jyoti Punwani examines the relevance of the Sairat, the hit Marathi film everyone is talking about, in today's times.
A carcass of the animal was found near the man's house.
'It is more of a catalyst.' 'People bring in their own demons and they are not created by fake news'
Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat are over. Another set of state elections is due in 2018. Here's an assessment of the next round of the electoral challenge and how it could change India's political equations.
'There was a period when they questioned the flag and there were questions also against the Constitution.' 'That's long past.'
As the BJP snaps at its heels, can the Communists stay relevant in the electoral game?
'It will not be a battle of unequals as it may have been thought a few months ago, but one on more or less a level playing field.' 'The Gujarat outcome cannot but breathe new life into the Congress for having almost succeeded in bearding the lion in its den,' says Amulya Ganguli.
The victims, Salma Mevati (35) and Shamim Akthar Hussain (30), both local residents were allegedly thrashed by self-appointed cow vigilantes.
'Till today, the RSS only speaks of Hindu Rashtra but never explains what it means. It cannot, because it would be unacceptable to even a majority of Hindus, forget the Indian Muslims and Christians,' says Aakar Patel.
This election has some striking resemblances to the landmark one of 1977, with sub-caste combinations and antipathies still the bedrock of measures
Meanwhile, the Congress said that that it is ready to go it alone in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha election.
Although the Opposition has been making a hue and cry over demonetisation, the BJP's programmes have been attracting crowds.
'For Nitish Kumar the message is to be democratic. With the support of the BJP, he had suppressed criticism in Bihar. He would also need to change his highly authoritarian way of governance.' 'The Grand Alliance, given the decisive mandate in its favour, cannot afford to fail the people. They have a duty to make it a model for the rest of India,' says Apoorvanand.
'The people of the state can be won over by love, and not by swords.'
'AMU is a secular university with an Islamic ethos.' 'We do not discriminate on the basis of religion. Let me tell you Muslims do not need reservations. They need affirmative action in education.'
It was decided by Tamil Nadu Congress to push for at least 45 seats and in a worst case scenario climb down a few seats and conclude the deal and it has worked out as was expected.
'The clearest interpretation of the November 8 mandate is that the backwards, Dalits and minorities, and a huge proportion of women cutting across caste and class, displayed massive consolidation to the extent that despite chipping of votes by the Left Front, by the Third Front and by the BSP, Mahagathbandhan candidates won, and in many cases by huge margins,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Sunday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress for "double-crossing" the common man by serving the interests of capitalists.
'Across the country -- in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Manipur, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal -- men were lynched on suspicion of being thieves by ordinary people armed with rods and sticks.' 'But none of these lynchings made big news.' 'None of these lynchings were cow/beef-related.' 'The perpetrators were unknown people, not so-called gau rakshaks.' 'So why were these instances of mob violence considered less newsworthy than cow-related lynchings?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
Political Pundit R Rajagopalan lists his big takeaways from the election results.
Union minister Ramdas Athawale said 'so-called' cow vigilantes are like 'nar-bhakshaks'.
The rallies will be used to drill home the message of the "political will" that Modi government has shown to launch 'surgical strikes' against Pakistan-based terrorists.
Nearly 2.6 crore people in 73 constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh are voting on Saturday in the first of the seven phases of high-stake assembly elections
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Thursday launched a frontal attack on Bharatiya Janata Party's PM candidate Narendra Modi saying the country will be "ruined" due to spike in communal riots if he is voted to power.
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