Neither the BJP, nor the Congress before it, made any manifesto commitments on defence spending, even though allocations have plummeted from 4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the late 1980s to less than 2 per cent today, points out Ajai Shukla.
The EC had on Saturday issued a notice to the Karnataka Congress over its "corruption rate card" advertisements published in newspapers in the run-up to the May 10 state polls and sought "empirical evidence" to prove its allegations by Sunday evening.
The Congress slammed Ravi Shankar Prasad, accusing him of distorting, twisting and lying "with a straight face".
The veteran politician accused the BJP of breaking duly elected governments in opposition-ruled states even as it boasted about providing a stable government at the Centre.
'BJP has lot of money. Even a rich person like me is scared of taking on the financial muscle of the BJP.' 'What is the point of throwing money? Result toh aane wala nahi hai.'
Modi said Vajpayee would remain an inspiration and said the outpouring of emotions following his death despite his being away from public life for over a decade due to illness, shows his greatness.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi led the delegation. She said Modi government was 'shutting down' people's voices and bringing legislations which are not acceptable to them.
What is the Amul Vs Nandini battle. Why does the opposition see red over the Gujarat dairy brand's Bengaluru foray with its brand of milk and curd. An explainer seeks to shed light on the issue.
He said Congress would push Madhya Pradesh back into the BIMARU (laggard) category if given an opportunity again.
Addressing her first press conference after the election results were declared, she accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of polarising the people on religious lines to garner votes in West Bengal.
The Congress released a booklet 'Nau saal, Nau sawaal', asking nine questions from Modi. The BJP rejected the Congress' criticism as a 'bundle of lies and mountain of deception' and said the questions are born out of 'pathological hatred' of the PM.
The party unanimously elected veteran Duraimurugan as general secretary and senior leader T R Baalu as treasurer. Former Telecom Minister A Raja and seasoned party leader K Ponmudi were elected as deputy general secretaries.
'Parrikar is living for Modi and Shah, not for his motherland or Goa'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that there is a bankruptcy of issues among opposition parties, as they have nothing to say against his government.
'Praful Patel said his residential building was sealed, and the investigative agencies have shifted their office to his house, and that he was in a helpless condition.'
'Every Indian who is concerned about the unity, integrity and the map of India should be worried about this growing divide.'
'BJP loses a democratic election, then buys MLAs from the ruling party's flock and rides to power in these states.' 'Do you think Atalji would have tolerated this?'
'The BJP would like to build a 'rainbow' coalition of different castes and communities buttressed by the appeal of nationalism and Hindutva.'
As the lower house took up the motion moved by Gogoi, there were heated exchanges between the opposition and treasury benches after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi wondered why Rahul Gandhi's name as lead speaker was withdrawn at the last minute.
What is most troubling is that not a single party that is part of INDIA has talked about any kind of reform and economic sense, argues R Jagannathan.
With Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan virtually losing the majority in the 342-member National Assembly after the defection of two key allies, backdoor efforts are underway to reach a deal between the premier and the joint opposition to dissolve the lower house, according to a highly placed source.
The Congress needs to reorganise itself at the grassroots, infuse younger blood, and have more boots on the ground. Just offering freebies is not the answer anymore. Leadership matters, asserts Ramesh Menon.
The Aam Aadmi Party has charged that the ordinance, promulgated Friday night, "overturns" the May 11 apex court order giving the elected government in Delhi the control over services matter. The development has set the stage for an intense confrontation between the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation and the Centre and the Lt Governor.
He said that the grouping up of opposition parties, which are "jealous" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, is opportunistic and will not succeed.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Uddhav Thackeray saying he buried the Hindutva ideology of Bal Thackeray for power and joined hands with Congress and socialist parties.
'The situation in the country is very scary.' 'There is an increasing attack on the Constitutional democratic rights of our people.'
Eyewitnesses said that a section of the protesters had remained for the all-night vigil.
'Kejriwal has given not only Modi and Shah some food for thought, but also to jaded Opposition leaders who must now wonder whether taking on the BJP's majoritarianism by the horns, as they have been doing so far, is the appropriate strategy in such extraordinary times,' notes M K Bhadrakumar.
Already, there is a feeling even within the BJP's AIADMK ally that the BJP is overdoing things on the ED/I-T front, as corruption is not an election issue in the state -- as long as the people are otherwise not excessively unhappy with the governing party, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Though the prime minister did not make any direct mention of these issues, he noted that nationalism has been the party's identity, sources said.
The scaling up of the India-US strategic partnership to the level of non-NATO ally with defence deals, sharing and transfer of defence technology, interoperability, joint collaboration and joint production of defence equipment has exacerbated Moscow's anxiety, notes Rup Narayan Das.
Shettar alleged that he had been humiliated by the BJP by denying him a ticket and that party is today in the control of "very few people."
The Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power in Rajasthan on Sunday, winning 115 seats out of the 199 where assembly elections were held last week.
In the last assembly elections in 2018, the state recorded a voter turnout of 74.06 per cent. The Election Commission has set a target of at least 75 per cent turnout in each constituency this time.
'People understand Hitlershahi, tanashahi and now Modishahi.'
"The opposition parties should draw proper lessons from these results and draw up plans to put up an effective united opposition to the BJP state-wise by marshalling all the forces," the CPI-M said in a statement.
On possible alliances for the upcoming state polls, the SP president said, "Doors of our party are open for all small parties. Many smaller parties are already with us. More will come with us."
'He is exposing the failings of the BJP, which is rankling the party.'
'The Congress cannot appreciate people with an independent opinion.' 'That's why many people left the party.'
In its complaint against Shah, the Congress told the EC that the home minister claimed in a speech in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon on October 16 that "...Bhupesh Baghel's government, for appeasement politics and vote bank politics, lynched Chhattisgarh's son Bhuneshwar Sahoo and got him killed..."
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