Atal Bihari Vajpayee would seek to placate the hawks in the RSS by stating that the writing of history should not be one-sided. At the same time, he would project a moderate 'Nehruvian' image of himself as the archetypal liberal politician who would strive to attain a balance between conflicting viewpoints. A fascinating profile of the former prime minister and Bharat Ratna by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Shankar Raghuraman.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has said that reforms carried out in a democratic country like India are more deeply rooted and sustainable, and democracy cannot be blamed for impeding reforms.
The former prime minister said he anyway does not do much work in the party now.
An anonymous call threatening to kill Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Bharatiya Janata Party patriarch A B Vajpayee have prompted security agencies to conduct searches in the National Capital Region to identify the caller, sources said on Wednesday.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been receiving invitations for functions scheduled much after the Lok Sabha polls, which showed the 'entire world believes his return to power is inevitable'.
The Confederation of Indian Industries, on Friday, was all praise for the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led coalition governments in terms of being development-oriented and helpful to the industry.
The earlier non-Congress prime ministers fell like nine-pins with only the late Morarji Desai remaining at the helm for two-and-a-half years as the head of the Janata Party government in the late seventies.
The airspace above the prime minister's residence at Race Course road in Delhi is a 'no fly zone'.
'Advani went by the book, by files, by advice given by his babus. He may be well read and articulate and a pleasant conversationalist, but none of that makes for the kind of creative politician that Vajpayee was.' 'This is the kind of observation about the Vajpayee premiership, more than the promise of espionage or Kashmir gossip, that made writing A S Dulat's book a satisfying experience,' says Aditya Sinha.
The moderate All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq on Wednesday hailed the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statement in which he had spoken 'of the need to take everybody forward within the ambit of humanity'.
The actor is as entertaining at press conferences as he is in the movies, and he keeps the proceedings light -- and fun -- and Hitesh Harisinghani/ Rediff.com and Afsar Dayatar/ Rediff.com capture them.
Addressing a Ram Lila function in Delhi, he emphasised that 'noble person' Lord Rama had demonstrated how to remain firm even when faced with difficulties and attain victory in the end.
'He should declare whether he belongs to the Sangh Parivar, and if he believes so he has to abide by its discipline,' Ashok Singhal said.
His political career began with his involvement in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and he later became a member of the Shiv Sena.
'There is a song that fits my father. It is from the Dev Anand film Hum Dono, which goes Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya...'
Modi's inability to make peace with a renewed Opposition will only embolden his coalition partners and it is just a matter of time before they begin asking probing questions besides politely disagreeing with his tactics, predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, under attack from within his own party, has found an ally in Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray.
The last Bharat Ratna award was conferred upon Pranab Mukherjee in 2019 and was posthumously awarded to Bhupendra Kumar Hazarika and Nanaji Deshmukh. The award was not given to anyone between 2020 and 2023.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stating that the Indo-Pak peace process has become Kashmir-centric with the Hurriyat Conference getting prominence over the democratically-elected government of J&K.
The Janata Dal-United leader maintained that having taken the initiative to bring parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party, he desired nothing for himself but admitted having stressed at the meeting the need to expedite seat-sharing arrangements.
The BJP leadership too has rallied behind Vajpayee, saying he would remain the party's undisputed leader.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has praised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for showing grace in apologising for the demeaning remarks made by a Congress member against Atal Bihari Vajpayee and said this situation would not have arisen had the offender himself done so a day earlier.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh apologised to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, on behalf of the government for certain "undesirable" remarks by a Congress member against former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
'The longevity of the government is a doubt for me because when the going gets tough, there could a be a point in time where there might be pressure, from within the party or from the allies.'
The 96-year-old leader, the longest serving president of the BJP, said ever since he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as its volunteer at the age of 14 years he has sought reward in only one thing "in dedicated and selfless service of my beloved country in whatever task life assigned to me".
The government told Portugal on December 12 that the gangster would not be given capital punishment if he were extradited to India.
The courtesy call comes ahead of the PM's visit to Pakistan.
It is for the first time that the 82-year-old BJP veteran will be skipping the meet.
The five-state assembly elections are seen as a now-or-never, no-holds battle for the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Those betting against PSUs will likely be punished in this upswing.'
Mishra was suffering from cancer and had been brought to New Delhi from Gwalior by Vajpayee on April 28 for specialised treatment.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday questioned the character of the opposition alliance, saying its true face was seen when it indulged in corruption to save its governments.
To consider Pervez Musharraf a real force for peace is an absurdity, declares Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
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