Leaders from across the political spectrum said they are praying for the safety of the Indian Air Force pilot who is "missing in action" after India foiled Pakistan's attempts to target military installations by using its air force in response to India's counter-terrorism operations. Even as the Pakistani army released a 46-second video showing a blindfolded man and claimed he is the pilot of IAF's shot down aircraft, India said it is "ascertaining the facts". This is what some of our leaders had to say.
Justifying the ban on cow slaughter, the Union minister of state for minority affairs said on Thursday, "Those who cannot survive without eating beef should go to Pakistan."
A unanimous statement of the delegation appealed to the people of the state to shun the path of violence and resolve all the issues through dialogue and discussion.
'It is obvious that the lakhs who come to see it do not see it through the prism of religion,' says Jyoti Punwani.
Prachi alleged "conspiracy" behind the administration's move and asked why the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi's entry was not curbed in a similar manner.
'How can you say this is a test of my loyalty? I feel comfortable saying "Jai Hind." I feel comfortable saying "Hindustan Zindabad".'
The oath taking took place as the House witnessed a virtual slogan-shouting contest between treasury and opposition benches.
"I am an economist. He is a lawyer. How can he be better than me," Swamy, whose antagonism for Jaitley is open, said at an event in New Delhi on Saturday.
In run-up to the session, while over 4,000 people including MPs and staff have been tested for COVID-19, most parliamentary operations have been digitalized, entire premises sanitised and doors made touch-free.
It is likely that the party's allies in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, two of the five states going to the polls in April-May, might insist on allocating fewer seats than they did in 2016, reports Archis Mohan.
Left behind after elections will be the Biharis with their stagnant conditions of poor education, poor health infrastructure, poverty, unemployment, division of society and the aftermath of coronavirus. What will remain is the Bihari tenacity, observes Asmita Bihari.
Never before in the history of the Republic has an election in the state mattered so much as it does now, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Lateef Mohammed Khan, convenor, Muslim Forum for Telangana, speaks with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa about the mindset of the Muslims in the Telangana region and also explains why the MIM is worried about the formation or a de-merger of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.
The court also observed that late Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal wanted to save the structure because Ram idols were inside.
While the assembly elections are being seen as largely a contest between the NDA and the Grand Alliance, the state has been witness to mushrooming of "morchas" (fronts) which may queer the pitch for the lead players in a tight contest.
'The Dalit vote traditionally went to the Congress, but everyone knows by now that the Congress and the BJP are the same. We all stand united behind Balasaheb (Prakash Ambedkar) this time.'
How he hopes to retain his fort is anyone's guess, says Nazarwala, the man who called right the 2007 and 2012 UP elections.
Even as its demand for disenfranchisement of Muslims community has evoked sharp reactions from political parties, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday sought to know why the issue of voting rights of Kashmiri Pandits has not been raised in the same manner.
His cavalcade was stopped by authorities citing protests and tension in the village.
A local court on Tuesday issued a non-bailable warrant against Majlis-e-Itehadul Muslimeen legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi after he failed to appear before it in a hate speech case lodged against him at Nirmal in Adilabad district.
Political instability and hate speeches are worsening the situation in Andhra Pradesh, reports Vicky Nanjappa
A local court on Friday granted bail to Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi in connection with a hate speech case registered against him.
This theory of 'Hindus vs the rest' sees the two communities as two separate blocs. Isn't that the two-nation theory? What of the deep bonds that the communities have on the ground? asks Jyoti Punwani.
The voice of jailed Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi, facing charges of sedition and waging war against the nation for his alleged "hate speech," was on Tuesday recorded in Nizamabad town of Andhra Pradesh even as a court extended his judicial remand till February 26.
While they were invited with protests at Geelani's home, they were turned away by Yasin Malik, who was lodged in jail.
In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Ram Madhav, member of the national executive and spokesperson of the RSS, discusses the comments made by Shinde, the controversial speech of Andhra Pradesh MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi and also the Bharatiya Janata Party's next prime ministerial candidate.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has accused the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, which withdrew support from the ruling Congress government in Andhra Pradesh on Monday, of pursuing a politics of blackmail and adopting undemocratic methods. State BJP president G Kishan Reddy refuted MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi's allegation of connivance between the Congress government and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Bharatiya Janata Party combine.
A local court on Wednesday dismissed the bail plea of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief and Hyderabad Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi for the second time in two days in connection with a 2005 case against him.
A local court in Andhra Pradesh on Monday extended till February 5 the judicial remand of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi, accused of sedition and criminal conspiracy for his "hate speech."
The parties, including the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Trinamool Congress, said they will collectively oppose the Union home ministry's order issued on Thursday.
'The last four years was not Dravidian rule, it was BJP rule by proxy.'
Agitations related to the demand for separate Telangana state have prompted the United States State Department to caution its citizens in Hyderabad to be careful till February 4.
Politics as practiced is bad enough, the Choutalas, the Owaisis and their ilk have made it worse, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena on Monday claimed their leaders had never given hate speech and they only highlighted key issues of the day.
Amid a raging row over chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday said nobody needs to be forced to raise it.
Criticising the move, the opposition led by the Congress said that Question Hour is the 'golden hour of the House'. Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said the argument and rationale that has been put forth by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi is far from convincing.
The BJP's panicky return to basic-instinct majoritarianism in Bihar has pushed Muslims back into the 'secular' basement, says Shekhar Gupta.
Shaista Parveen, wife of Tabrez Ansari, said it is an attempt to save the culprits and sought a CBI investigation in the matter.
Shiv Sena advocated compulsory family planning for Muslims and Christians to check their "rising" population.
Here are some of the reactions to Pragya Singh Thakur's remarks that Godse was a deshbhakt.
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