He did not spare even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had dropped by to wish him on his birthday.
India was forced to drop plans to explode a nuclear bomb for the second time in 20 years in 1994 at the last moment, according to the nuclear scientist in-charge of the aborted atomic test programme. Nuclear scientist Krishnan Santhanam told Times Now TV that the plans to explode the bomb at Pokhran was put on "hold" due to apparent US pressure.
Addressing the annual meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the BJP leader slammed the Manmohan Singh government as 'non-functional' and 'internally paralysed' and claimed that 'people are already looking beyond' it.
'During his stint as MoS in the Narasimha Rao PMO, Matang Sinh developed contacts in the bureaucracy which stood him in good stead even when out of power.'
Jaswant Singh again reiterated that he would share the information with the PM.
As Prabhakaran was leaving his house, Rajiv Gandhi called his son Rahul and asked him to fetch his (Gandhi's) bulletproof jacket. He put the jacket on Prabhakaran's back and remarked with his usual charming smile: "Take care of yourself."
He is accused of blackmailing an US official, who had allegedly secually exploited his girlfriend.
If there was one man who was responsible for pivotal role that the Left parties played on the national stage from 1989 to 2008, it was Harkishen Singh Surjeet, who passed into the ages on August 1. He was 92.
He also dubbed the Congress' alliance with BSP in Uttar Pradesh in 1996 as a "sell out".
Can Jitin Prasada retain the BJP's Brahmin vote in UP?
Other ministers who have presented five straight annual financial statements include Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, Yashwant Sinha, Manmohan Singh and Morarji Desai.
Leader of Opposition L K Advani has contended that he had no desire to become BJP president again after the 2004 shock defeat which had depleted the NDA's strength in the Lok Sabha from 304 to 186. The responsibility for the defeat was collective and there was no question of pinning the blame on any individual, Advani wrote in his book My Country My Life.
Following is the chronology of events in the murder case of Shashi Nath Jha, private secretary Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Chief Shibu Soren, in which he and four others were on Tuesday sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court.
The US had virtually compelled the P V Narasimha Rao government in 1995 not to conduct nuclear tests after it got to know about preparations for it, a former US official indicated on Monday.
Determined not to be arm-twisted into delaying the execution, he decided to hold a late night hearing at his residence. In the pitch blackness of the night, the original verdict was upheld. The next morning, on 9 October 1992, General Vaidya's assassins were hanged until death.
"It is up to the PM to do whatever is right in the national interest," Singh said.
Congress seeks to turn tables on Jaswant Singh
Golconda, and later Hyderabad, is one of the few landlocked urban centres of this sub-continent that reached great heights of prosperity without a major river system or a port next to it.
India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
Former PMs, ambassadors and high commissioners, including from Pakistan, are in the list of high profile invitees for the inaugural function of the 350th anniversary fete of the Taj Mahal.
The chronology of events in the Shashi Nath Jha murder case.
In 1999, Sharad Pawar, along with P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar were expelled from Congress. The same year, Pawar founded the NCP.
The Uttar Pradesh government also said the then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao was 'indirectly' involved in it.
In the 76 years since India gained independence, 53 recipients of the Bharat Ratna have been there. That's less than one every year, which is a healthy ratio given there is the sanctity of this gem of an award to preserve. But four recipients for the year were announced in a few days in addition to one announced earlier. That took the total number in 2024 to five in less than a month, the highest for any year, post-Independence, notes Shyam G Menon.
Separately, the poll panel also issued a notice to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, asking him to respond to the complaints filed by the BJP against him and the main opposition party's senior leader Rahul Gandhi regarding their remarks.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
No government in the past initiated the process of policy making for its next tenure even before going in for elections. Once the Model Code of Conduct is enforced by the Election Commission, should the government of the day refrain from taking an active interest in policy making for the next five years and let that be the function of the new government?, asks A K Bhattacharya.
