India on Saturday pulled off a big diplomatic win after the G20 summit held under its presidency adopted a consensus declaration overcoming major differences on the Russia-Ukraine war, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for ending the "global trust deficit".
Nineteen opposition political parties, including the Congress have announced a boycott of the ceremony on May 28, demanding that President Droupadi Murmu and not Prime Minister Narendra Modi do the inauguration.
The BJP lost 15 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2019. Union ministers have been deployed in all 15, tasked with turning the result around.
The Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday cleared a proposal that offers an option of availing the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) to the state government employees who joined the service after November 2005.
In her first address to a joint sitting of the two Houses in the new Parliament building in which she touched on varied issues ranging from insurgency to inflation, Murmu said a country can progress at a fast pace only when it defeats the challenges of the past and puts maximum energy into building the future.
As BJP leaders went all out to project the event as a moment of national pride, some leaders were directly critical of the ceremony with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, belonging to the Communist Party of India-Marxist, slamming the state's role in the Ram Temple consecration, saying the line that demarcates religion and state seems to be 'getting thinner and thinner'.
Introducing the 128th Constitution Amendment Bill, which was approved by a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Meghwal recounted the measures initiated by the Narendra Modi government for the empowerment of women over the last nine years.
The Budget Session of Parliament commences on January 31 and the first leg will go on till February 13.
A senior RITES official said the new station building comes equipped with many modern facilities that passengers usually get at an airport, but the architecture of its facade "embraces tradition" in a nod to the upcoming Ram temple.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a Rs 11.11 lakh crore spending on infrastructure and vowed to continue reforms as she resisted resorting to populist measures in Modi government's last Budget before general elections, instead choosing to stay on the path of cutting deficit while bolstering measures for focus groups.
'If he has not achieved 'Congress mukt Bharat' even now, the question of his creating a 'DMK mukt Tamil Nadu' does not arise,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed confidence that the NDA will get more than 400 seats and the BJP will win at least 370 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
If Saudi Arabia, with just two Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina, can create a huge tourism-based ecosystem beyond oil, Ayodhya is sure to become the world's hottest religious tourism site in less than a decade, predicts R Jagannathan.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Canada has shared with India evidence of "credible allegations" about the involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar many weeks ago.
The issues listed by Gandhi include Centre-state relations, rise in cases of communal tension, border transgressions by China and the demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to investigate the transactions of the Adani business group in light of several revelations.
Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore on Tuesday said finishing touches are being given to the new Parliament building and the Lok Sabha Speaker will decide whether the forthcoming Winter Session will be held there or the existing building.
'In the short term the relationship will get worse.'
Is 2024 a done deal for the BJP? It was a done deal five years ago itself, but it did not have a guarantee.
Now, with the temple consecration, it seems to have acquired a Ramji Ki Guarantee, notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Bose, who completed a year as the governor on Tuesday, said his priority is the well-being of the people of the state.
He said Congress would push Madhya Pradesh back into the BIMARU (laggard) category if given an opportunity again.
Seerat Naaz's video appeal to the prime minister last week, which was shared widely on social media, prompted Director of School Education, Jammu, Ravi Shankar Sharma to visit the government school located in the remote Lohai-Malhar block.
Even though it was billed as a 'surprise visit', the cameras were around to record Prime Minister Narendra D Modi's tour of the the new Parliament building on Thursday, March 30, 2023, evening.
Muizzu's request came when India's Union Minister Kiren Rejiju paid a courtesy call on the new president at the latter's office, the Maldivian President's Office said in a press release.
More than 3,000 gifts for Lord Ram from Sita's birthplace in Janakpur in Nepal have arrived in Ayodhya.
Narendra D Modi and his party campaigned in these elections uncharacteristically without any big ideas. Of course, winning each election at all costs could be a big idea as well, observes Shekhar Gupta.
"They (opposition parties) are not concerned about the development of the children of the country's poor. Their common minimum programme is to increase corruption for their family. Democracy means 'of the people, by the people, for the people'. But these dynastic parties have the mantra of 'of the family, by the family, for the family'. For them, their family is first, and the nation is nothing," he said.
Once Ram temple is built it will become a 'ghoshit (declared) Hindu Rashtra', a VHP leader told the gathering.
The sports department of Meghalaya denied permission to the Bharatiya Janata Party to host an election rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the PA Sangma Stadium in Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma's home constituency of South Tura, citing construction work at the venue.
'During the nine years of BJP rule, not a single temple has been reconstructed.' 'They might have constructed the Ram temple as it is an emotional issue. But they are not much interested in issues like heritage.'
The former Union minister claimed the prime minister was batting for UCC to divert people's attention from issues of unemployment, price rise and hate crimes.
'The two sides agree to continue firmly supporting each other in safeguarding their respective core interests,' a joint statement issued at the end of Muizzu's talks with Chinese leaders said.
BJP derided Gandhi saying he "always talks trash" and claimed that unemployment was at its lowest in the last six years.
'The water crisis is so obvious that people see no point begging for it from politicians.'
The inauguration new parliament building will take place in two phases.
Wouldn't it be better to join the celebrations with the vast Hindu majority while at the same time criticising Mr Modi/BJP/RSS for politicising it? notes Shekhar Gupta.
Modi said the new Parliament reflected the aspirations and resolve of the "new India" to set and work towards achieving new targets.
'Everyone is so excited. There is a lot of excitement everywhere. This was a long time desire of many people.'
The Indian government sources said Muizzu, in the meeting, brought up the issue of Indian military personnel present in the Maldives for operating aircraft for medical evacuation and to counter drug trafficking.
It isn't that a person occupying high office has no right to do what he/she likes. For sure, they do; after all, they are human. But there are also things like priority, timing and sense of larger country. Sadly, we live in a world awash in tunnel vision, asserts Shyam G Menon.
Semi-high-speed 'Namo Bharat' train services on the 17-km priority section of India's first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) rail corridor will be opened for people from Saturday morning.
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