As with biopics these days, Kangana Ranaut's films may be less about telling the story of a dark chapter of Indian history and more about giving fodder to those who seek to defend or justify government highhandedness today, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
Preparing to take office for a record third consecutive term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pledged to work with all states, regardless of the party in power, to build a developed India.
It was also suggested that an all-party delegation should visit Kashmir to assess the situation but the government did not make commitments regarding any of their demands.
"Fresh elections to the assembly should be held to enable people to elect a popular government in the state in accordance with law," the memorandum to the Haryana governor read.
'What you need is a credible Opposition, a credible platform to persuade people to believe that it can replace this government.'
The Congress on Wednesday said senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was consulted several times before finalising the names in the revamped Jammu and Kashmir unit of the party, rejecting reports that the former Union minister was not on board.
Arch-rivals Left and Trinamool, SP and BSP come together for Sonia's lunch
'Sometimes we use political pressure and sometimes political acumen to get what we want.'
'It is the first-time voters and the agnostics who are often influenced by political advertising.' 'These swing voters tend to make a huge difference in the outcome of any election.'
Amid speculation over Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal-United's next move in the wake of vote counting trends, senior party leader K C Tyagi on Tuesday said they are in the National Democratic Alliance and 'we will be in the NDA'.
"It is shameful that Rahul Gandhi, instead of coming to Parliament and apologising for his undemocratic rant against India, today seeks to be absent from Parliament," she asserted.
The IUML is a major ally of the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala and an influential political party among the Muslim community.
'The government is using the agencies of the government to suppress the Opposition.'
Even non-partisan observers are saying the Congress and INDI alliance are not making any significant effort to campaign on the ground, he said.
Raising concern over the nearly 1.25 crore feedback submissions received by the parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Bharatiya Janata Party member Nishikant Dubey has called for a probe into their sources, including in the possible role of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and China.
Why weren't the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra and Telangana -- all of which have borders with Karnataka -- not invited to Saturday's swearing-in ceremony, asks Shyam G Menon.
Chandrasekhar was reacting to the arrest of Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party leader S G Suryah under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology (IT) Act allegedly over a social media post.
People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti reacted sharply when asked if there was any truth in the allegation that her party has been providing money to some Kashmiris to stage-manage the ongoing violence in the valley.
Polling is scheduled in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
'Union Budgets are often used as political instruments and that was the intention of this government too.' 'But while the exercise has settled two fronts, it has left open several others and this has the potential to aggravate with time,' predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Since Independence, Lok Sabha Speakers have been chosen by consensus.
That he hasn't done so yet, has continued to be active on the political street, in public debate and on social media, signals an important change. It will give his party hope. Maybe the achievement of reducing Mr Modi well below the majority mark will now motivate him to stay committed, observes Shekhar Gupta
'It is very unfortunate that the AAP seems to be looking at the issue through the prism of rivalry with Congress in Delhi and Punjab'
In a post meeting chat with rediff.com's Sahim Salim, Mufti talked about the deteriorating situation in Kashmir and 'how the only way forward is to reach a consensus between opposing factions in the Valley.'
The grand old party faces the onerous task of rebuilding its moribund organisation, which is struggling to overcome a leadership crisis and regain credibility with the voters.
'This is total fraud. You are showing me the slip of my vote but not counting it so this is fraud.'
Three opposition PDP legislators were suspended from Tuesday's proceeding of Jammu and Kashmir legislative council after they broke into the house demanding a discussion on the alleged custodial death of a National Conference worker.
Leader of the opposition and People's Democratic Party, Mehbooba Mufti, has accused the central government and the Jammu and Kashmir government of using the youth of Kashmir as scapegoats to cover up militant attacks.
Bharti accused the media of distorting her statement, attributing it to the BJP's agenda.
In a statement, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said Thursday that due to their location at different places in the Parliament premises, visitors were not able to see these statues conveniently.
'Rahul Gandhi is the face of the INDIA alliance. If he contests against a BJP candidate and defeats her/him, it will send a strong message.'
Young National Conference Chief Omar Abdullah, who is set to don the mantle of chief minister on Monday, has a difficult road ahead with terrorism as well as growing regional and urban-rural divide in Jammu and Kashmir certain to be high on his agenda.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Somnath Bharti on Saturday vowed to shave his head if Narendra Modi retained the prime minister's post while his party's national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) would form a 'strong and stable' government at the Centre.
The Opposition must understand that while 2024 may draw mileage from the growing resentment towards the BJP, the real battle and proof of how well India learnt from its disastrous dalliance with the Right-wing, will be in 2029, observes Shyam G Menon.
'They (INDIA bloc leaders) were not doing anything. Nothing happened after the first meeting of INDIA bloc that took place in Patna last year. Now, I have come back to the same place, where I was earlier (with NDA)'
The two major parties offer the United States choices that are basically unacceptable and the bench strength, such as it is, is not entirely capable of winning popular acclaim, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu consistently emphasises, among others, the issue during his campaign, alleging that the state has been supplying poor quality liquor while profiting immensely from 'inflated' prices, running to thousands of crores of rupees.
Assembly speaker Sharingain Longkumer accepted the decision of the 21 NPF legislators to change party.
Former West Bengal chief minister and a front-ranking Marxist leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will go down in the country's history as a pragmatic communist who kept aside his ideological convictions to woo capital for the industrialisation of his state.
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