'Vajpayee was predictable in his ways.' 'Modi is a schemer, possessed of a shrewdness that can be rewarding in the chaotic world of politics.' 'His political journey gives reason to believe that 2019 will be another milestone in his private project,' notes Vikram Johri.
Law Minister Ravishankar Prasad tells Rediff.com that the government have decided to repeal 36 obsolete laws immediately, but many more will be added to this list in the coming months. The minister also informs that this exercise was undertaken on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had flagged the issue soon after he took charge. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports.
'If the Singh government was characterised by policy paralysis, this one is afflicted by hyperactivism, sans a roadmap,' says Yogendra Yadav.
Decades of a state-owned monopoly selling coal at a fixed price has taken its toll on production.
She called on all "progressive forces" to join hands to fight the "oppressive BJP regime".
Amid the bitter war of words between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused Narendra Modi of being discourteous to his opponents, adopting double standards on corruption and favouring select industrialists.
Nirmala Sitharaman's elevation not only to full Cabinet minister but also pitchforking her to the elite Cabinet Committee on Security group with the defence portfolio is undoubtedly the biggest takeaway from Sunday's reshuffle, says Rajeev Sharma.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of rising food prices in the Lok Sabha.
For the third front to become a reality, it needs a party that has a pan-India presence and wins more Lok Sabha seats than all other parties in the front, say experts.
'The central learning of the day was that if the BJP leadership can cajole, coax and convince regional parties to vote for bills, it would not be a stretch to see the same votes cast in favour of the land bill,' a senior Congress leader from a northern state told Rediff.com
The National Democratic Alliance government's parliamentary managers have a busy weekend ahead, says Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal.
Milind Deora, minister of state for communication and information technology and shipping, is one of the Congress' young guns under Rahul Gandhi. He tells Kavita Chowdhury that the core problem for the United Progressive Alliance in its second term has been its inability to communicate effectively. Edited excerpts:
It entered India in 2006, with the aim of tapping the promising consumer market.
"He (Modi) is concerned more about corporates than farmers," Hazare told PTI in an interview in Latur.
Rahul reiterated that there was massive corruption in the Rafale deal.
Searches are being conducted on Friday at 12 locations including Delhi, Patna, Ranchi, Puri and Gurgaon.
If India was able to provide additional and new information about people and entities that figure on stolen lists, they may consider it to exchange information
Let it gradually pull itself out of international routes and focus on linking remote towns and cities.
The stocks could tank more than what it did after the United Progressive Alliance-1 came to power in 2004, as the market has not yet priced in a Bharatiya Janata Party defeat, says Raj Bhatt.
The tumultuous Winter session of Parliament ended on Wednesday a day before schedule with proceedings in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha marred by repeated disruptions by the opposition over which the government and the Congress traded charges and the presiding officers expressed their anguish at the conduct of some MPs.
The former minister has alleged a motivated campaign against her in the party.
'Your strike rate is very important when it comes to seat-sharing.'
The then prime minister Manmohan Singh had visited Doha in 2008.
"The era of 'lalten' is gone. In the last six years consumption of electricity has increased 3 fold in Bihar," PM Modi said. "Voters of Bihar have taken a resolve that they won't let those who have a history of making the state 'Bimaru' come near them," he added.
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of tax cuts on petroleum products, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday said people were aware of the fact behind the issue and pointed out at his government effecting a Rs 3 a litre cut on petrol earlier.
The Congress has reasons to enjoy the BJP's discomfiture. After all, the Insurance Bill was introduced by the UPA government in 2008 but was constantly blocked by the BJP on some pretext or the other which was then in the Opposition.
Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil was the first who expressed his desire to put in his papers even before Modi government took charge, but he was told by Congress leaders not to do so as it would then put pressure on the others to do the same, reports Anita Katyal.
RIL has more than half a dozen undeveloped discoveries.
The National Democratic Alliance government is weeding out independent directors on the boards of public-sector undertakings (PSUs).
India will test a reusable launch vehicle next month, a technology that will bring down costs of launching satellites significantly, government said on Monday.
'You won't find such an apathetic indecisive party in the world.'
Top Union ministers on Saturday joined a gala event, which had a smattering of Bollywood actors, including megastar Amitabh Bachchan, aimed at publicising the "achievements" of the Narendra Modi government on completion of two years in office.
The Bharatiya Janata Party lined up several promises, including a legislation to protect traditions of the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala and a law against "love jihad", while assuring employment for at least one person from each family and free laptops to high school students, in its manifesto for the assembly polls unveiled in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
The BJP is contesting 437 seats this election, the Congress 423.
The Raksha Mantri was unable to address media queries about how much the Modi government was paying for 36 Rafales compared to what the UPA government had negotiated.
'UP, Maharashtra, AP (including Telangana), Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, MP, Bihar, Karnataka and Kerala.' 'We chose these nine not only as being among the biggest, but also because in these states radical change is possible,' explains Shekhar Gupta.
The home minister also said that the government is committed to protecting the sovereignty and security of the country.
Replying to the debate in Rajya Sabha on a motion thanking the president for his address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament, he said for the first time in decades, people of Jammu and Kashmir got benefits of reservation.
'For the first time in 66 years, here is a leader who democratically dares to take on the establishment by raising the right kind of questions. When will the poor get justice? For how many years will the migration of the poor to cities like Mumbai continue? How long will the poor sleep on the pavements and when will all this end?'
Congress has repeatedly alleged a "scam" in the purchase of Rafale fighter jets claiming the cost per aircraft in 2012 was agreed at Rs 526.10 crore while the one signed by the Modi government costs 7.5 billion (Rs 1,670.70 crore per aircraft).
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances