'Dalits will only suffer in the days to come.'
'The Ulema have come out as villains against Indian secularism, impeding the secular united resistance against violent Hindutva that is backed by ministers in the government,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
A lacklustre show by the Congress in Bihar seems to have proved costly for the opposition grand alliance, as it dragged down the RJD too from government formation in the Hindi heartland state.
The kisan is as integral a part of the BJP's master plan for the 2019 polls as the Dalit because it surmised that the farmers and Dalits were as restive in UP as in much of the country, and if it had to cut its losses, its reflexes must kick in fast. Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wants Congressmen to concentrate on the reserved constituencies of Uttar pradesh and on the area where Muslim votes make a crucial difference. He has formed teams to send all the Dalit constituencies, and this exercise is being called 'Mission 85'. Sheela Bhatt reports.
'Both the BJP and SP have workers and cadres across the state, and now it will boil down to which party manages booths smartly and gets its voters to come out.'
'Both Modi and Yogi are contesting this election together.' 'Both bring their individual strengths to BJP in UP.'
'India, he announced, is a "free, open, inclusive region" committed to the "common pursuit of progress and prosperity".' 'Prosperity yes. But free? Open?' 'Ask the Dalit tanner, the Muslim butcher, the Christian priest who writes pastoral letters.' 'Ask cattle traders of any religion or a Delhiwallah who enjoys a juicy steak.' 'Ask a Muslim who falls in love with a Hindu or vice versa,' says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
Playing a character put off by the idea of retirement is becoming on Bachchan. Hands in pocket, eyes firmly focused on his mission, conviction inks his speech while his serene, sensitive, portrayal has a calming effect on the kids and Jhund, observes Sukanya Verma.
'And don't underestimate the enabling power of bribery.' 'Hark back to demonetisation.' 'All of the cash did come back.' 'The same thing will happen with the alphabet soup of the NRC, NPR and CAA except that this exercise will deal in documents, not cash.' 'Bribes will be paid.' 'Documents will be magically generated,' points out Devangshu Datta.
Describing Anna Hazare's campaign as 'brahminvaad', activist Swami Agnivesh today hit out at the Gandhian saying there was "no democracy" in his agitation and dissenting voices were thrown out of the team.
Hits street with demonstrations across 75 UP districts
In the same breath, the RPI-A leader said, "No one can challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- neither Congress president Rahul Gandhi, nor SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, nor BSP supremo Mayawati."
'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.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party's solid solo performance in Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections confirms continuation of some of the trends that emerged in the Lok Sabha elections in May this year.
'The Elgar Parishad turned out to be the first rallying cry against the BJP and RSS in Maharashtra.' 'The speakers took a vow not to vote for the BJP.'
'The viral video from Una aroused something that Hindu chauvinists and cow-botherers never take into account: Numbers.'
For some, he's a bully and probable 'blackmailer' who targeted the rich and famous, especially in Bollywood, for fame, and allegedly, ransom. For others, he's finally the one brave narc who decided to do his job, no matter how powerful his quarry, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'His selection is to honour the sentiment of the communal majoritarianism, satisfy the upper caste and continue the process of Hindutva.'
In the face of strong opposition to Uniform Civil Code by Muslim outfits, the Congress on Thursday said its implementation would be impossible while the Bharatiya Janata Party asserted that the move is aimed at moving towards a progressive society.
The Tamil Nadu chief minister may have opened a Pandora's Box on the religion front with the appointment of qualified non-Brahmin temple priests, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'If these two parties come together, there could be amalgamation of OBC, Dalits and Muslim votes.'
For it's not the Sena alone that indulges in hooliganism. 'Thokshahi', as the Sena proudly calls it, is the hallmark of the party and of its offshoots. But other parties haven't exactly been models of good behaviour. Not just Maharashtra, ministers and MLAs slapping officials everywhere in the country is not unheard of, says Jyoti Punwani.
"The JNUSU rejects the punishment handed down by the administration on the basis of a farcical committee!" Kanhaiya tweeted.
'Hurt' at the Bharatiya Janata Party's silence while he battles challenges from within his party, Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan said on Tuesday his relations with the saffron party cannot remain 'one-sided' and he will consider all possibilities about his future political steps if attempts to corner him continue.
After securing Parliament's nod on key elements of Jan Lokpal bill, Anna Hazare on Sunday ended his 12-day-old fast declaring that electoral reforms will be next on his agenda.
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite Indian films of 2021.
With social engineering being the buzzword in the Bihar polls, the Congress has undertaken a delicate balancing act in giving representation to various castes and communities in its ticket distribution exercise. The party has attempted to break new ground while retaining its support base consisting of upper castes, Muslims and Dalits.
'The Covid situation is like demonetisation.' 'People were upset with the government initially, but eventually they voted for the BJP again.'
After lying low for some time now, veteran congress leader Arjun Singh, who created a nationwide furore after asking for reservation for backward class students in higher education, is once again out to create trouble for the party leadership.
Akhilesh was always seen as someone working under the shadow of his father and uncles. However, overtime, he started asserting his authority.
'Most Hindus believe in living in peace with their Muslim neighbours and vice versa.' 'It is this India we have to preserve.'
'The BJP has sent out a message that its allies are at its mercy.' 'The allies cannot pressurise or bargain with the BJP any more,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'For the Congress, it has become necessary to make alliances, but this is not easy to deliver at the local level,' says Aakar Patel.
The funding comes after a 2016 report found an increase in violent incidents by cow vigilantes mostly against Muslims in India and authorities often 'failed' to prosecute them.
'It is a concocted letter and we suspect the IB (Intelligence Bureau) to be behind this game.' 'All the investigation agencies should have quietly gone about finding more about this alleged plot to kill the prime minister.' 'Why are you leaking such a letter that reveals the plot to the press as well as to BJP spokespersons?'
Savitri Bai Phule said a 'mahapurush' like Jinnah should be installed with respect... Jinnah is respected from the times of freedom struggle... His portrait is installed in the Lok Sabha... His name should be taken with respect."
Dr Kaushal Kishore Mishra, the prime accused in the assault case against Somnath Bharti, says he never attacked the AAP leader. He then explains the polarisation politics of Varanasi.
The chargesheet in which 15 persons have been named as being part of a 'premeditated conspiracy' in the north east Delhi riots, said the tone and nature of the communication of the members of Jamia Co-ordination Committee (JCC) changed from the evening of February 24 and they started talking about relief, rehabilitation and care of the victims while 'simultaneously unleashing concerted disinformation campaign blaming the state, police and the ruling political party for the loss of lives and property caused by their terrorist and unlawful act'.
