At a time when the BJP's stars are at the top on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls, the Puri-Joshimath Sankaracharyas may have kick-started a row whose efforts might be to divide Hindus, not in the name of castes, but on what passes for greater belief, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Ending days of suspense, the Congress on Thursday announced Siddaramaiah as the next chief minister of Karnataka and D K Shivakumar as his only deputy in the soon-to-formed cabinet.
Sonia Gandhi, Michelle Obama are some of the prominent names in the Forbes' list of the world's most powerful businesswomen
Indira Gandhi valued Rahul Gandhi's 'grit and determination' and often considered him mature enough to be taken into confidence on subjects she avoided discussing even with his parents when he was barely 14, according to a new book.
'This business of monopoly of one family must end.' 'Here, they picked up a few leaders for him as he needed support which was okay, but later, they became his cronies.'
It is thanks to the policy of liberalisation conceived by Manmohan Singh and enforced by P V Narasimha that the Indian economy has now become the world's 5th largest economy by nominal GDP, asserts Dr Sudhir Bisht.
'If he has not achieved 'Congress mukt Bharat' even now, the question of his creating a 'DMK mukt Tamil Nadu' does not arise,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
There is, between Rao's tenure as PM and the current Modi regime, a powerful resonance of how transition can be managed. Rao's tenure saw many scams -- one where he was supposedly approached by Harshad Mehta with a bribe for making the securities scam go away. The Opposition insisted on a JPC. Despite knowing a JPC report would undermine him politically, Rao agreed to one, saying he had 'nothing to hide'.
Senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, in the race for the post of Congress president, not only possess contrasting demeanour but have had an equally disparate political journey.
'That would be very bad for them and suicidal for both the Gandhis and the Congress party.'
Prithviraj Chavan 'will resist the obvious temptations of cutting deals that comes our way, daily.'
Congress stalwart Murli Deora passed away on Monday morning after battling a prolonged illness. He was a politician who shared rapport across the political and corporate spectrum.
Reiterating the need for 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', Congress MP and party general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said there's lurking danger of breaking 'Bharat' due to the discriminative policies of the Modi government and therefore there is a need of Bharat Jodo led by Rahul Gandhi.
Dissident Congress leader Sachin Pilot began a 125-km foot march from Ajmer to Jaipur on Thursday, challenging Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and the party's top brass as assembly elections in Rajasthan approach.
A day after Sonia Gandhi's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking the Centre to ensure that suspended Indian Administrative Service officer Durga Shakti Nagpal is not "unfairly treated", the Samajwadi Party flexed its muscle over the Food Security Bill.
'...only if we sort it out with Pakistan.'
Apart from taking stock of the political situation in the country, the CWC discussed the upcoming presidential and vice presidential elections.
The politician was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital on October 26. He was suffering from fever and pneumonia.
He cited the Congress' poor performance in the 2019 general election after victories in assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh the previous year to buttress his point.
It is clear to any observer that the BJP risks its demolition drive boomeranging on itself. Except for one unpredictable factor in the works -- Rahul Gandhi himself, observes Shyam G Menon.
Miffed over the Congress central leadership nominating poet-politician Imran Pratapgarhi, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, as its candidate from Maharashtra for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, party functionary Ashish Deshmukh on Tuesday resigned from the post of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary.
'Modiji has a vision for the country, not just to fight the elections but about achieving certain goals for the country.' 'Congress does not even have a vision for 25 days.'
Singh, who had dropped Sidhu from the Punjab government during his tenure as the state's chief minister, never had smooth relations with the cricketer-turned-politician and was against appointing him as the Punjab unit chief of the Congress.
How do politicians fare on the fashion meter? What is the style statement of our leaders? Top designers decode their sartorial choices
Sidhu had replaced Sunil Jhakhar as PCC chief in July this year.
While stating that all political parties, including the Congress, create division amongst people, former Union Minister and G-23 member of Congress Ghulam Nabi Azad hinted at quitting politics to work for the civil society.
If the fear of ED could drive the powerful people of today to be honest or at least be minimally corrupt, will it not be a great thing for our nation?, asks Sudhir Bisht.
We asked readers what they would do if they had only three years to live life to the fullest? While the contest closes on November 23, here are some more interesting responses.
Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor will face-off in an electoral contest on Monday for the post of All India Congress Committee chief, as the party gets set to have a non-Gandhi president in over 24 years.
'This is the real purpose behind the arrest, and it is not about controlling corruption.' 'It is like taking Amit Shah into custody before the 2024 elections.' 'How will it affect the BJP's election machinery?'
'Ajit Pawar's speech leaves no room for reconciliation.'
'I do not think Rajiv Gandhi at that stage had any influence on his mother. Indira Gandhi relied totally on Sanjay and she looked upon him as a dependable son.' 'What really affected people and eventually Indira Gandhi was the sterilisation drive. She lost so badly in north India because of these drives.' 'She is the one who has given this aura of 'the family' to the Gandhis.' The second and final part of veteran journalist Coomi Kapoor, whose book The Emergency: A Personal Account was published recently, to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com about Independent India's darkest phase.
'The Congress can exist without (someone from) the Nehru-Gandhi family being its president.'
Modi showered praise on Tharoor for his Oxford speech, saying he reflected the sentiments of the citizens of India.
Amid questions over his future, many political observers believe he has enhanced his political stature.
'Indira Gandhi was a great influence on Sonia Gandhi. Like her mother-in-law, Sonia is a very good listener. She dresses very much like her mother-in-law. She maintains her figure.' K Natwar Singh pays tribute to Indira Gandhi.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget speech on Wednesday was marked by the usual thumping of benches by the ruling alliance members, but the loudest cheer was reserved for her announcement of income tax relief, which was welcomed by 'Modi, Modi' chants in Lok Sabha that also witnessed a few instances of protest by the Opposition.
"The first thing is he is not fit for politics. Probably, the work he should not do, he is doing," Sarma said.
As the Lok Sabha debates a no-confidence motion brought against the Narendra Modi government by the opposition, the 28th such motion to be admitted in the Lower House, data compiled by a think tank shows all previous ones have either been defeated or remained inconclusive.
'The Congress is not pragmatic about politics or about people.' 'Rahul's intention is good, but good intention does not win you elections.'
