'In his 2014 election campaign, Mr Modi had boasted that he would apply the Gujarat model to the rest of India. We just have to ensure he doesn't start with Parliament,' says Shashi Tharoor in this fascinating excerpt from his new book, The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi And His India.
'Modi's initial forays into foreign policy had the flavour of Aswamedha Yagas launched by ancient kings to conquer the world.' 'He overcame the hesitations of history and explored unconventional ways to win friends and influence people.' A fascinating excerpt from Ambassador T P Sreenivasan's new book, Modiplomacy -- Through a Shakespearean Prism.
'The story of how Modi won a re-election in the face of severe agrarian crisis, mounting unemployment, looming economic crisis, is the story of how the power of the message can be put to devastating effect in the hands of a strong leader,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
It is for the first time in the history of Independent India that not a single Muslim is part of the Union Cabinet.
Our precipitous decline is being noticed and recorded abroad with alarm. It is strange that within India we are carrying on as if it is business as usual, observes Aakar Patel.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Nagaland counterpart Neiphiu Rio held closed door interaction with NSCN (IM) chief negotiator Thuingaleng Muivah at Dimapur on Tuesday, a government official said.
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.
On Monday, December 20, Congress MPs produced a telling placard in the Lok Sabha revealing how many days Modi has attended Parliament's winter session.
'Modi's advent has made the mass of Indians realise that there was absolutely nothing wrong or objectionable in proclaiming nationalism as the masthead of the polity and Hinduism as its centerpiece,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Dominic Xavier wonders whether resolution of the farmers's grievances will have to wait till the construction of the new Parliament building.
Modi should bluntly ask Chinese President Xi Jinping why he was willing to put his neck in the Pakistani noose, ignoring all that is known of Pakistan's perfidy, says B S Raghavan.
This visit has ended on a vastly different note in comparison with Modi's previous visits. Call it a rebuke, call it a censure, call it a distancing from Modi, the sharp message would have gone home, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
At some stage this fall in the quality of life will begin to hurt anybody's popularity, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'While Modi is undoubtedly the star of the show, the online sphere has found in Modi the champion to re-engineer what it means to support the right.'
Syed Firdaus Ashraf lists 10 ways in his life has improved under the first Modi Sarkar.
'What stood out at these meetings between industry representatives and government leaders was how the equation between the ministers and industry had undergone a subtle and qualitative change,' points out A K Bhattacharya.
'By not even acknowledging China's occupation of Indian territory Modi signalled to Beijing that he was not prepared to used forceful means to vacate the Chinese occupation, and that his government was reconciled to this loss of territory and accepted the fait accompli engineered by the PLA.'
'Modi has kept some loopholes in case they lose, saying it was not his election.' 'The fight will be Modi of 2014 vs Modi of 2019.' 'The BJP has realised that keeping the temple issue alive is more important than building the temple itself in terms of votes.'
The appointments committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared Bhalla's appointment as OSD in the ministry with immediate effect.
The inaugural Sangamam turned out to be a political Hindutva function than a gathering on the Hindu religion, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Critics who cannot stop gloating, pronouncing Modi to be a lame-duck prime minister, may be making a huge mistake, predicts Virendra Kapoor.
'For Trump, this maddening extravaganza will play out well in his election campaign, showing himself off as a hugely popular world leader,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Modi has not taken India into confidence over what is happening and what has happened.' 'We have not even officially been told what the position is with respect to the land lost between Fingers 4 to 8,' observes Aakar Patel.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on the breakdown of trust between the Narendra Damodardas Modi government and the farmers.
"Peeche peeche aana hai (follow right behind)," was the message from Amit Shah to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Panneerselvam, reports R Rajagopalan. There has been no discussion on the portfolios to be allotted, and it has been left to the discretion of the prime minister, reports R Rajagopalan.
Prime Minister Modi has entrusted Amit Shah with the task of coordinating all the agencies with their power to monitor movement and phone calls, says R Rajagopalan.
'When you look at the content of Modi's speeches, the word 'Modi' is what he pronounces the most by far, which is not a healthy sign.'
Hundreds of farmers were seen offering sweets to each other at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border to celebrate the 'half victory' of their almost year-long protest.
Dominic Xavier is mystified by Modi's refusal to halt a scheme whose funds would be better deployed in providing better healthcare -- and yes, free vaccines -- to the Indian people.
At a time when the BJP's stars are at the top on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls, the Puri-Joshimath Sankaracharyas may have kick-started a row whose efforts might be to divide Hindus, not in the name of castes, but on what passes for greater belief, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Elections are due in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal that year. Early indications show Bengal holds promise for the BJP, but the party may have to recast itself to win Tamil Nadu.
Dominic Xavier offers his cheeky take on Monday's event when government ministers feliciated the Tokyo Olympic medalists.
How has Raj Thackeray, who is as much a businessman as politician, been able to pull it off, when most Opposition politicians live in fear of IT and ED and CBI, asks Krishna Prasad after attending a Raj rally in Nashik.
From handling the party organisation, finalising candidates, shooting the breeze with the media to pow-wows with diplomats and liaising with the PMO -- Arun Jaitley is the BJP's chief backroom manager in this election, reports R Rajagopalan.
It is hard to escape the feeling that solving the problems of 2020 and 2021 will require something special which at the moment is not on view, observes Aakar Patel.
After 24 months of slowdown beginning in January 2018 before the pandemic and then 18 months of collapse since January 2020, we have become the world's worst performing economy, observes Aakar Patel.
'Victims of terrorism do not sit together with its perpetrators to discuss terrorism.'
'In this election, the only thing that is going to matter is which caste aligns with which coalition.'
'There can be no dispute over the adverse impact such a policy will surely have on India's manufacturing competitiveness,' notes A K Bhattacharya.
'Under this government, tax laws have become more draconian, and the government itself is setting stiff, unrealistic targets for tax officials, who have got more powers to harass us,' points out Debashis Basu.
