He, however said he will serve people in whatever ways he can without entering electoral politics.
Former Union minister C K Jaffer Shareif, in a letter to Mukherjee, expressed surprise over the move and said he like other secular people was 'stunned' to hear about his attending the RSS function.
It is a record that the saffron party has created, where the majority of its legislators belonged to the minority community.
Munna Master, who has been singing bhajans for 30 years, earnestly believes the Padma Shri is a result of his devotion to gau mata.
The differences between the two leaders underscore a major transition point in the political evolution of the saffron party
Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday expressed serious concern over reports that some Sangh Parivar leaders had allegedly sought to take "revenge" on the minority community for the killing of a VHP leader.
Five persons, including founder of local terror group Tehreek-Ghalba-e-Islam Viqaruddin Ahmed, were on Tuesday killed in an encounter with the police in Telangana's Warangal district.
Modi is seen as exceptional not only on account of his acts but also owing to his style. He appears to sacrifice his life for the people -- like a fakir, a figure he came to epitomize even more in 2020 by growing a long white beard. Charisma is above accountability, and Modi has grasped these dynamics.
'They don't have a political strategy so they are going to try to deal with it purely as a law and order problem.' 'They will try to use the same strategy they have repeatedly used since 2014 in Kashmir.' 'Mr Modi has landed in a situation where he faces the possible prospect of not only being unable to Indianise Kashmir, but his actions may end up making the rest of India a virtual carbon copy of Kashmir.'
Even as Sebi probed, OFCD money moved across the globe, Aamby Valley (Mauritius) at centre of global transactions; All transactions legal, no Sebi bar on doing business: Sahara
With the D-day for the polls drawing closer, Modi upped the ante against the Siddaramaiah government addressing four back to back rallies at Gadag, Tumakuru, Shivamogga and Mangaluru.
Facing flak from Bharatiya Janata Party and Sangh Parivar over his controversial Hindu terror remarks, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Wednesday said he fully endorses Congress party's stand that there was no colour to terrorism.
Sitharaman and Karnataka Minister Sa Ra Mahesh were locked in an exchange of words over her itinerary during her visit to Kodagu district on Friday in full view of officials and the media at the district commissioner's office.
While Himanta Biswa Sarma scotched rumours that he would be the king this time, political sources in Guwahati maintained that he, and not Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, had a bigger say in choosing candidates, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
Giving in to demands of the BJP, the Congress-led state government has now decided to hand over the probe to CBI
'They were the leaders of my country and the children of Mother India, but they didn't die as martyrs.' 'They were killed, most unfortunately, by a well planned enemy plot, and they were victims of political violence,' states Sudhir Bisht.
Opposition leaders asked all secular forces to field a joint candidate for presidential elections and have common minimum programme to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party, reports Archis Mohan.
The BJP can only form a government if the PDP splits.
Chief Minister Narendra Modi needs to win over either the RSS or his rivals in Delhi to emerge as the undisputed leader within the Sangh Parivar. Without one or the other, he cannot win. This triangular contest is what constrains Modi's emergence as a national leader in his own right, feels Sonali Ranade.
What is foreign policy worth if it stands disconnected from domestic realities? Make no mistake, the horrifying visuals of the human suffering in metropolitan India is only the tip of the iceberg. The vast swathes of the hinterland are heaving with untold sorrows, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Congress in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday took serious exception to the comments of MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi that the ruling party has become 'communal' and allowed Sangh Parivar activists to have a 'free run'.
Sporadic violence marked the 'hartal' called by Hindu right groups in Kerala over Wednesday's police action against those opposing entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.
The couple hope to keep the wedding very 'simple.'
The Ayodhya issue is unlikely to die out anytime soon with parties vying to appropriate majority sentiments in varying proportions to suit their political agendas.
Sasikala, said she was not allowed to undertake the trek to the shrine and sent back by the police, official sources said that she entered the sanctum sanctorum and offered prayers.
Despite the presence of top Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders in Gujarat over the last two days to discuss the future strategy of the Sangh Parivar, no meeting took place between them and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, fuelling speculation that all is not well.
In yet another instance of growing feud within Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sangh Parivar, an article in a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh mouthpiece has criticised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his style of functioning and also indicated that the party has several other prime ministerial candidates.
While it is almost certain that Gadkari won't get a second term as BJP president, the RSS wants to ease him out without diminishing its own clout within the saffron pariwar. Sheela Bhatt analyses the situation.
Marketed as a retail venture, Q Shop has been endorsed by top cricketers like Dhoni and Tendulkar to promote Q-shop as a fight against adulteration.
In his report, Justice Liberhan said the senior police officers were at hand to ensure that their men toed the line and that the demolition of the disputed structure was allowed to go ahead with "military precision as orchestrated by the leaders present at the spot and carried out by their henchmen."
Senior BJP leader L K Advani, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj along with Arun Jaitley and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states are likely to attend the funeral in Nagpur on Sunday
'As a student of history, I am no pessimist, but regardless of which party/coalitions comes to power on May 23, the space for secularism, pluralism and minority rights has shrunk significantly,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'The viral video from Una aroused something that Hindu chauvinists and cow-botherers never take into account: Numbers.'
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has no qualms in mixing economics with politics, which is evident from her reaction to the railway budget, says Renu Mittal.
With Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Pyari Mohan Mohapatra suspended from the ruling Biju Janata Dal, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said he was not adverse to taking back certain leaders who had quit the party earlier.
But he doesn't want to shut the door completely on the Yadav family as that could create problems for him in 2019.
Chhole bhaturas instead of cumcumber sandwiches -- diets take a tumble in the tough UP campaign; The star of the Congress Parivar and no it's not Rahul; UP fails to lure Didi; The Desi Boy who reads the The New York Times after campaigning... Gupshup from the Dilli Darbar.
