In his radio address 'Mann Ki Baat' last month, Modi said he had received letters from people complaining that his Independence Day speeches were "a little too long" and promised to make a shorter speech.
Of the 15 people who led the 132-year-old party post independence, four have belonged to the Gandhi-Nehru family.
Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and one of the most-respected politicians across parties will be conferred the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, today.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to send out the message that the ruling BJP, unlike its predecessors at the helm, is not guided by parochial politics in recognising contributions in the public life, as the party looks to break new ground during the polls.
It's intriguing that the prime minister now wants his American partner to help protect the Hindu minority in Bangladesh. That's conceding to the Americans a pre-eminence India has always contested, resented and feared, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Will Foreign Minister Mr. Jaishankar please refer to the RTI reply dated 27-1-2015...The Reply justified the circumstances under which India acknowledged that a small island belonged to Sri Lanka," Chidambaram said.
Many people believe that India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru made a blunder when he recognised China's sovereignty over Tibet but he did what he thought was best for his country, said the president of the Tibetan government in exile.
A powerful PM is only helping the mighty, Owaisi said.
It is a question now whether the makers of the statue had comprehended all these factors before making it, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said.
Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday assumed charge as the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister for the second consecutive term and is slated to soon present the final Budget for FY '25 that is going to set the tone for the Modi 3.0 government's priorities and direction for Viksit Bharat. Upon her reaching the North Block office, Sitharaman was greeted by Finance Secretary T V Somanathan and other top officials. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary was also present. Chaudhary assumed charge on Tuesday evening.
India's freedom, its rambling but working Constitution, its parliamentary democracy, its lumbering administrative machinery all have many a father, but its greatest claim to fame, especially today, that of being a modern state, is due to but one person: Its first and longest-serving prime minister, Nehru, says Shreekant Sambrani.
The prime minister said he was expecting members of the House to show enthusiasm by thumping their desks as a large number of those from the Dalits, Scheduled Tribes and OBC communities as well as sons of farmers and those from economically backward and rural backgrounds have become ministers in the recent rejig.
A stern articulator with outspoken views and a dignified personality, Sitharaman now bears the responsibility of steering the economy which has witnessed sluggish growth in recent quarters.
The nomination is an indication that the veteran Congress leader is not sure of victory from Raebareli, the Lok Sabha constituency she has represented for five terms.
Sitaram Yechury strived to have the country's Left movement shed its doctrinaire approach to India's socio-cultural complexities and stitch electoral and social alliances to fight the Sangh Parivar.
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.
With the tablet carefully kept inside a red cover with a golden-coloured national emblem embossed on it instead of the briefcase, Parliament will be her next destination after the call on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Tewari said BJP's Hindu-Muslim and India-Pakistan rhetoric is the only way for the ruling party to cover up for its failure in improving the economy of the country which is in a shambles right now due to its policies.
'Doklam was almost like a trailer to what is happening in Ladakh today.' 'Modi failed to take note and failed to act,' observes Harishchandra Dighe.
The opposition leaders also accused the government of violating Constitutional norms by not inviting President Droupadi Murmu to the event.
A senior police officer said adequate security arrangements have been made on the campus to maintain peace and tranquillity in the area.
The scaling up of the India-US strategic partnership to the level of non-NATO ally with defence deals, sharing and transfer of defence technology, interoperability, joint collaboration and joint production of defence equipment has exacerbated Moscow's anxiety, notes Rup Narayan Das.
Manmohan Singh, the economist credited with playing a key role in ushering in economic reforms in the 1990s, demits office of Prime Minister after 10 years, leaving a mixed legacy of achievements and failures.
Now if only Manmohan Singh showed such acumen in dealing with other crises his government is facing, says Shivam Vij.
The Congress on Monday released a list of 30-star campaigners for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
People protesting against the Jawaharlal Nehru University violence were evicted from Gateway of India in south Mumbai on Tuesday morning as roads were getting blocked and tourists and common people were facing problems, a police official said. Police had appealed to protesters to shift but they didn't listen, so they were "relocated" to Azad Maidan near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the official said.
He will be around for another crack at the elections, and a clear majority, predicts Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
It seems that the West is sending a signal to India that it can return to old hostilities unless India toes their line on Russia. It is no surprise that India is being compared with Putin's Russia in terms of targeting 'dissidents' as the West calls these Khalistani terrorists, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be a part of the FIFA U-17 World Cup's opening day proceedings, which will include a small ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday.
'He is such a big defence expert that he alone decided that the Rafale aircraft will be manufactured by a company that has never built one ever'
'Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have called his MLAs and ministers and said 'this should not happen in India. Manipur is not a part of any banana republic, I will not allow this to happen, talk it out, what is the problem'
Kharge claimed that though the BJP says the corrupt must be put in jails, when leaders facing corruption charges join the saffron party, they are "put on the lap" and sent to Rajya Sabha or assembly.
The BJP prime ministerial candidate was recently in the city.
It is in power on its own only in three states -- Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana -- with a big question mark on whether it can even stake claim to be head of the INDIA bloc.
'Their idea of unity is uniformity. They disrespect and fear diversity which means they deny our pluralism, our freedom of choice, which are integral to our fundamental rights'
Ardhendu Bose, nephew of Subhas Chandra Bose, emphasizes why the Centre should declassify files on the legendary freedom fighter
Hectic preparations were underway at the Congress headquarters for the ceremony where party president Sonia Gandhi will hand over the baton to her successor, Mallikarjun Kharge, the first non-Gandhi to head the outfit in 24 years.
Is 2024 a done deal for the BJP? It was a done deal five years ago itself, but it did not have a guarantee.
Now, with the temple consecration, it seems to have acquired a Ramji Ki Guarantee, notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The former Congress president said Jawaharlal Nehru, as India's first prime minister, "consolidated democracy and entrenched the basic values of India's polity -- values to which we are still proud to lay claim."
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