'Punjab elections are there and so are UP elections. They must have done some calculations (before announcing the repeal).'
Presenting NaMo's various avatars. Vote and tell us which one is your favourite!
'If the BJP becomes the new Congress, then an Opposition within will naturally emerge -- from the right, not the left,' points out Mihir Sharma.
'The time has come to substitute the present Constitutional set-up with an alternative democratic framework,' argues B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
'If you believe the Congress will win in 2024 because Modi is blundering from one monumental disaster to another, that means you are living in a fool's paradise.'
Days after Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and China's President Xi Jinping expressed their concerns about the war in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the SCO summit in Samarkhand, the tyrant of the Kremlin has raised the military stakes in the conflict.
India looks less equal to China than 5 years ago, the strategic alliance with the US is hobbled by trade, and Pakistan is looking anything but chastened by Balakot. What has gone wrong? asks Shekhar Gupta.
Now we must first compete with Bangladesh. This is not what we had been promised, notes Aakar Patel.
Justice Ramana took the oath in English in the name of God.
Malik believes he can solve the problems of farmers and is sending signals to the government to give him a chance.
We used to hear of the Modi-Shah pair as the hyphenated top of the BJP leadership. Lately, the hyphen has disappeared and it is only Modi at the top. Yogi Adityanath gets honourable mentions, but he is still a good distance away from being anointed a worthy successor, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
The timing of these events give rise to the strange impression that the defence ministry has been co-opted for the run-up to the assembly election in Uttar Pradesh.
'Potent nationalism doesn't just distract from the economic task at hand; it actively undermines it.'
Dominic Xavier mulls over the Agni Pariksha for students caught in the tussle between the government and Opposition parties.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com lists 11 Modi flagship schemes that may have been gamechangers in the Lok Sabha election.
'In the Indian context it is not easy for rival parties to come together, especially pre-elections.' 'Having pulled it off, they should be taken seriously.'
The pressure on India to take a hostile attitude towards Russia and China was not subtle, but it was guarded, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan after Monday's 2+2 ministerial meeting in Washington, DC.
Uttam Ghosh offer his take on the Pragya Thakur controversy.
Dominic Xavier mulls over the intriguing puzzle why the PM-CARES fund is opposed to the transparency guaranteed by the RTI.
'There is no such thing as ultimate survivability.'
'It's all comparative -- who outperforms, who uses tactics, who optimises technology to the best is what makes the difference.'
'The voter is cautioning the BJP not to take them for granted.'
'A Muslim is lynched somewhere, and you forward the video of the lynching through WhatsApp.' 'So, you participate in that lynching without actually doing it. You endorse it without being a party to it.'
Modi needs to get his act straight and get it straight soon. Five years down the line, Modi may continue to have support from his ardent supporters, but for the masses he would lose the plot on his sudden inability to tell a good story. After all in the end, all that matters is a good story. Even if the man is remarkable and the story simple, it is always a good story that leaves a lasting impression.
During Abe's tenure, Japan had announced support for a number of major projects. These included the bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, besides allocations for a freight corridor between Mumbai and New Delhi.
If the Opposition has any chance at the prime minister's job, it can happen only if they all stop dropping names and work at the grassroots-level, state-wise, suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
The meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi assumes significance against the backdrop of the situation in Afghanistan deteriorating amid pitched battles between the Taliban and Afghan forces
'In India a strong leader with a majority has never yet been defeated by a challenger.' 'He (or she, as with Indira Gandhi in 1977) must defeat himself,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'It is almost certainly wrong in assuming that the Modi government will use its strong mandate to undertake some serious reform measures.' 'For it is fairly clear that the government's priorities lie elsewhere, in the powerful home minister's domain,' notes T N Ninan.
'...by directing these draconian provisions against political and ideological opponents of the ruling group, minorities, and those who dare to dissent through and selective prosecution and prolonged incarceration as undertrials.'
'The next prime minister will be from an Opposition party and not from the BJP.' 'The BJP may be the single largest party, but not with a majority and there will be a fractured verdict.' Anti-Modi and non-BJP parties will be in a majority.'
In this event, it is the IAF that showed true professionalism, telling the boss they weren't going to fly in that weather. You can see what professionalism and moral courage it takes to say no to your prime minister. Only things like that can keep him safe, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'The Modi government is trying hard to see if it could be sold to a private airline.' 'But it appears there are no takers.' 'If no buyer comes forward by June, the government will close down Air India,' predicts A K Bhattacharya.
'At a time when people don't like to even sacrifice their panchayat seat, Biplab Kumar Deb sacrificed the chair of chief minister with a smiling face.'
'Both have a very nationalistic view of foreign policy.' 'They think they are shrewd and clever diplomats.'
'Modi remains the most popular politician in India; the BJP's organisational and fundraising prowess is considerable; and the Opposition, while newly collaborative, has no leader or clear economic messaging as of yet.'
'We will see a kind of disaster which the country has not seen in the last 100 years.'
'In Kejriwal's re-election, we are finally seeing someone who has successfully bridged his Hindu identity with ground-level development triumphing over the BJP,' notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'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.'
It is in no way a government of the economic Right. The Right is limited to religion and nationalism. The rest is as Left as the Congress or any other party, observes Shekhar Gupta.
