'Our policy seems to be to give away part of J&K, even though we are entitled to the entire state.' 'The Congress has done so, and the BJP is following the same policy.' 'No one is applying their mind to the legal position.' 'Kashmir is not a part of Pakistan under its own constitution.'
'The idea behind the new rules is that slaughter markets must buy directly from the farms as is the case in the bloody world.' 'The cattle markets have become centres for the organised beef mafia.'
Trinamool leaders have claimed the NRC process and subsequent verification is vote bank politics. Other critics call it as modified ethnic cleansing. But putting poll rhetoric aside, the issue dates back to a time when many of these leaders had no political relevance.
'You are sending the army to Rohtak? There are six paramilitary forces in the country. Why can't you use these people?' 'What is the need to call out the army? And that too at a place where there is an army man in every house.' 'Can you imagine how stupid this decision is? How insensitive?'
'If India is to emerge as a superpower, we must utilise our huge agricultural potential and not, as in past centuries, merely exploit our farmers,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Opposition parties on Wednesday alleged that selective leak of information on demonetisation of 500 and 1000 rupee notes to 'friends of BJP' and demanded making public the names of those who had bought gold and foreign exchange of over Rs 1 crore since April.
The issue of lynchings resonated in the Rajya Sabha; while in the Lok Sabha, the Opposition accused the government of not being sensitive towards farmers' issues.
Nehru's sentimental attachment to the Mountbattens deeply vitiated the Kashmir issue. It was certainly the most important factor for the failure to find a solution in the first years of the conflict.
Both Messrs Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri claim to march independently, but most of Pakistan believes they are marching to the Army's tune
'Communalism and communal riots happened in India only during and due to colonialism. Pre-colonial India didn't have this problem of communal conflicts and religious strife.'
United States President Barack Obama has nominated Indian-American, Richard Rahul Verma, as the next US Ambassador to India, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington later this month.
'India and China are at new inflection points, domestically and internationally. India needs to throw up a new leader whose vision is clear, experience laden with wisdom and articulation brimming with restraint and tolerance,' says Ambassador K C Singh.
'His politics is pure power politics. It's defined by the struggle that he has gone through.' 'Like Indira Gandhi, he is always suspicious about the people who surround him, he is lonely as he does not trust anyone. And he will not allow anyone to challenge his superiority, be it individual or institutions,' says Ashutosh.
'The consolation is that in recent years, the focus at the time of the anniversary has been increasingly shifting from Indira Gandhi's assassination to the plight of the thousands of innocent Sikhs who had been killed in retaliation,' Manoj Mitta, co-author of When a Tree Shook Delhi: The 1984 Carnage and its Aftermath, tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com.
'Godse is no more, but the mindset which gave birth to such distorted philosophy is unfortunately still with us.'
Modi's NDA is good enough to give a psychological boost to the once 'untouchable' BJP and Modi but if the NDA doesn't get a majority on its own, then walking the last mile will be the greatest challenge of this election for Modi, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Swaraj Samvad has moved on to be a nationwide agenda, says group convenor Professor Anand Kumar.
APSCC Chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina talks about the life and times of the Sikh minority in a politically tumultuous region of Jammu & Kashmir.
BJP President Amit Shah -- arguably the second most powerful politician in the nation -- granted a rare television interview to the Network 18 group of news channels. Rediff.com's Rajesh Alva checks out what the BJP boss said in this word cloud assessment of the interview.
Several former colleagues say Kejriwal is undemocratic. But his loyalists stand stoutly behind him
Hindu-American Congresswon Tulsi Gabbard coasts to a rollicking re-election victory in in Hawaii's 2nd District
Transcript of the political resolution adopted by the Bharatiya Janata Party in its national executive meeting in Panaji, Goa on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done the seemingly impossible by finalising the long-pending Land Boundary Agreement ahead of his Bangladesh visit, writes Prakash Bhandari.
The Supreme Court needs to step in and order an independent inquiry into the whole IPL scandal, conflicts of interest between office-holders of the BCCI, team-owners of the IPL and even members and captain of the Indian team, says KC Singh
'We still look at films with A-listers.' 'There is change, but it's minor.' 'We still haven't learnt how to invest in stories.'
It is hoped that the decision of India's apex court will send a signal to politicians and their cronies from the world of business that the rule of the law does eventually prevail, says Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
Business reacted with caution to the reforms of 1991, and demanded protection from multinationals and imports. Twenty-five years later, traces of that demand can still be found, reports Bhupesh Bhandari.
Prakash Bhandari chalks the journey of Lalit Modi from his troubled adolescent days to his mid-life crisis, from his grand success at the India Premier League to his dramatic exit from it
B S Prakash takes a tongue-in-cheek look at what India's neighbours think about the proposal of a SAARC satellite.
The IPL has produced more controversies in its short lifespan than any other sporting league in history.
States need to create alternative marketing structures for farm produce since middlemen also provide vital services that are otherwise unavailable to the farmer.
'In Assam we have lost 2,358 sq km to erosion by the Brahmaputra river! Do you know how much area is 2,358 sq km is? This is four times the size of Bombay. But who is concerned?' 'Didn't the BJP say that as soon as we come to power the Bangladeshis will have to pack their bags? Go to Google and search for 'Modi + Bangladeshi' and see exactly the statement he made... I am asking what has happened to it.'
Global retail behemoths seem to have read the signals right.
Aadhaar-related schemes and the Aadhaar Act exist on the assumption that Right to Privacy is not a Fundamental Right.
'In the first meeting of this new year, we took a joint new year resolution that we will complete it this year. At the time things were not very clear, but the mood was clear that yes, we must resolve it.' 'Yes, details have to come out, but there are some sensitivities, there are some stake-holders not yet on board, especially other Naga undergrounds etc, we would like them to come on board... So at a proper time it has to be revealed to the country, and to the legislature. Perhaps, we may have to wait for some more time.' 'With better understanding of the Indian system, many of them have learnt, realised, appreciated that Naga nationalist aspirations can be accommodated in the Indian system. The Indian system is pretty comprehensive and flexible.' 'A Naga has as much stake, claim over India as any other Indian. There is no distinction. This, Nagas have realised, that yes, Naga nationalist aspirations and Indian nationalism are not mutually exclusive.' Ravindra Narayan Ravi, the Government of India's Special Interlocutor for the Naga talks, explains how the Naga Peace Accord was reached in an exclusive interview to Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com