'Don't be surprised if the Census forms come with a caste box.' 'I will be surprised if it doesn't. It will be a point conceded to Rahul Gandhi and his allies,' asserts Shekhar Gupta. The BJP machine could take all 3 in its stride, but this election has changed that, notes Shekhar Gupta.
'The word 'ally' in a coalition is misleading because it suggests someone who is always for you and with you. This is incorrect.' 'They are always for themselves and sometimes with you,' explains Aakar Patel.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
As Prabhakaran was leaving his house, Rajiv Gandhi called his son Rahul and asked him to fetch his (Gandhi's) bulletproof jacket. He put the jacket on Prabhakaran's back and remarked with his usual charming smile: "Take care of yourself."
Sixty-eight Rajya Sabha members, including nine Union ministers, are completing their tenure this year, triggering a race of sorts among leaders across political parties to eye a six-year term in the Upper House of Parliament.
The Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha will meet again on Tuesday afternoon in the new Parliament building, with Speaker of the Lower House Om Birla urging the members to abstain from 'organised disruptions' and 'carrying placards' in the new chamber.
'You can walk wearing the hijab on the street, but not in a school.'
Determined not to be arm-twisted into delaying the execution, he decided to hold a late night hearing at his residence. In the pitch blackness of the night, the original verdict was upheld. The next morning, on 9 October 1992, General Vaidya's assassins were hanged until death.
If the government of the day would like to set in place a smooth and well-planned changeover and facilitate the incoming chief to chalk out his action plan well in advance, the announcement of a successor needs to be done early, observes Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
Teen Murti Bhavan served as the official residence of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP D N V Senthil Kumar on Wednesday apologised in the Lok Sabha for his controversial 'north-south divide' remark which had sparked a backlash.
The Congress president during his year at the helm of the party has repaired the citadel for far more challenging years ahead, and played a crucial role in shaping the Opposition alliance.
Kishore said the Congress and its supporters are bigger than any individual and Gandhi should not be stubborn that it must be him who will deliver for the party despite repeated failures.
Margaret Thatcher had once hailed former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's vision for India's economic liberalisation, which was "boldly initiated" by the then finance minister Manmohan Singh.
When the prime minister thanked his predecessor during his Independence Day speech, it was significant because it was Dr Singh's final acknowledgement that political support for reform is essential.
The recent 'revelation' by TN fishers freed by Sri Lanka after they had paid up Lankan rupees 50,000 each in fines, that their hair was tonsured in prison and they were forced to remove their garments other than the underpants, and were also made to clean toilets, as if with vengeance, has touched a raw nerve this time, just as another issue or issues had done it ahead of the Jallikattu protests, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'There was trust, but perhaps there was also this apprehension that given the supreme post of prime minister, Sonia Gandhi felt her authority may be a challenged.'
The flyover was built over a period of about three years at a cost of Rs 600 crore.
That's why he is now finally focusing on the two things that alone can help: Fiscal expansion -- from December onwards -- and supply management via amended laws and rules that affect business, notes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan
All roads led to Arpita Khan and Aayush Sharma's Eid party, as Bollywood's A-listers -- power couples and surprise guests -- looked their festive best.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a joint session of the US Congress on June 22 during his official state visit to the country, top congressional leaders announced on Friday.
Separately, the poll panel also issued a notice to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, asking him to respond to the complaints filed by the BJP against him and the main opposition party's senior leader Rahul Gandhi regarding their remarks.
'It is not just about numbers. Sometimes coalitions and alliances have symbolic value.'
Though religion is no longer the hot topic, the government should be on its guard
No government in the past initiated the process of policy making for its next tenure even before going in for elections. Once the Model Code of Conduct is enforced by the Election Commission, should the government of the day refrain from taking an active interest in policy making for the next five years and let that be the function of the new government?, asks A K Bhattacharya.
While Modi has spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor (270 days versus Dr Singh's 306), he has travelled more extensively and actively than any other Indian PM.
Neerja Chowdhury says that dynastic politics is the bane of our democracy.
Seeing a sinister design behind every Chinese utterance will only make it more difficult to negotiate a settlement
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the country needs a strong government but not of 'one party with brute majority', and batted for a coalition rule.
'The most nauseating part of the book pertains to the Gujarat riots. Advani rejects the settled truth that the post-Godhra violence was State-sponsored.'
India needs administrative reforms that make it easy for investors to do business in the country. Currently, it is more difficult to do business in India than in Rwanda, Pakistan, Nepal, Kenya, Nigeria and Bangladesh.
Former PM Rao used to tell people that the maharaja of the erstwhile Gwalior state, Madhavarao Scindia was in "too much of a hurry to become prime minister", the authors say.
In the 76 years since India gained independence, 53 recipients of the Bharat Ratna have been there. That's less than one every year, which is a healthy ratio given there is the sanctity of this gem of an award to preserve. But four recipients for the year were announced in a few days in addition to one announced earlier. That took the total number in 2024 to five in less than a month, the highest for any year, post-Independence, notes Shyam G Menon.
The manner in which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has used his good and clean image to provide a protective umbrella to the corrupt makes him equally culpable, says Sanjay Kapoor.
As Pranab Mukherjee resigned to contest the Presidential poll, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday took charge of the finance ministry portfolio at a time when the country's economy is going through a bad phase.
Dalbir Kaur, sister of Indian citizen Sarabjit Singh who has been languishing in a Pakistani jail since 1990, said she was upset with the Indian government for not showing timely concern towards her brother. "If the government had shown its concern in time, my brother would have been standing with me," Dalbir said on Sunday evening.
Congress leader and former union minister Captain Satish Sharma died in Goa on Wednesday after a brief illness. He was 73.
Crticising Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh for his "reckless" remarks, GVL Narasimha Rao, advisor to MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa that the state government had no role in shielding the slain Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak Sunil Joshi and his two aides Ramchandra Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange.
Former Telecom Minister Sukhram, who was on Saturday awarded five years imprisonment by a Delhi court after being convicted of taking Rs three lakhs as bribe to give a lucrative contract to a private firm in 1996, was attacked inside the Rohini court complex in New Delhi.
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