At a time when none in Kerala's Left politics questioned the chief minister's authority, MLA P V Anvar hurled a series of accusations against Pinarayi Vijayan's government, notes Shyam G Menon.
'Secularism is the life of Kerala, and the BJP is trying to poison this atmosphere.'
'If one looks at it closely, this reflects the BJP's frustration and its fear of defeat'
RSS leader Indresh Kumar termed the 'politics of hate' as 'corruption' and called all political parties and their leaders to refrain from indulging in hate-mongering and pitting one section of the society against the other.
Senior BJP leaders L K Advani and Sushma Swaraj, who are said to be opposed to the declaration of Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate in the next elections, held a dinner meeting with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday to discuss the issue.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday termed the cancellation of over 25,000 school jobs as 'gross injustice' and alleged that it was a ploy by the Bharatiya Janata Party to stop these job losers from being deployed in poll duty.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday defended Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat's remark that ''rapes occur frequently in India not in Bharat'', saying the present controversy is totally uncalled for and unnecessary.
The opinion piece added that the party combines the most striking principles of three major political entities in the world -- the Likud Party of Israel, the Communist Party of China and the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt.
"Before the BJP came into existence, its forerunners Jan Sangh and RSS had opposed Babasaheb while the Constitution was being adopted," Prakash Ambedkar, who heads Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, told reporters in Pune.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday rejected the suggestion was the organisation exercised "remote control" over the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government at the Centre and said the Narendra Modi dispensation was initiating some good changes.
Devendra Fadnavis, a veteran politician from Maharashtra, is set to become the state's chief minister for the third time following a decisive victory by the BJP in the recent assembly elections. Fadnavis' political journey has been marked by resilience, strategic manoeuvring and a string of successes, including becoming the youngest mayor of Nagpur. He is known for his articulate speeches and effective governance, but his tenure has also been marked by challenges, including the Maratha reservation issue and the irrigation scam. He faces a new set of challenges, but his ability to adapt and make tactical decisions could prove crucial for him and his party in the coming days.
"The RSS has always held the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Advani in high esteem and maintained that the party needs their guidance and leadership always," the RSS said.
Kerala Chief Minister and veteran Marxist leader Pinarayi Vijayan intensified his attack on the Congress, alleging that its general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, is contesting the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election with the backing of Jamaat-e-Islami.
In an unambiguous message, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Friday asked the Bharatiya Janata Party, all set to assume office with Narendra Modi as prime minister, to set aside ideological, religious and social differences and create an environment where the nation stays 'united' and there is total social 'inclusiveness'.
The Madras high court on Friday directed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to hold its 'route marches' and public meetings in 51 places in Tamil Nadu on November 6, instead of the originally proposed October 2.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is upset with a section of the media -- particularly with some television news channels -- for what it termed as giving undue importance to a baseless story.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday, met with many Muslim intellectuals including Chief Imam Dr Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi.
Gandhi also criticised the RSS for believing that India is "one idea".
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said he will not hesitate from facing investigation in a site allotment issue but added that he would consult legal experts to find out whether such a probe is allowed under law.
Last week, the RSS informed the party president Rajnath Singh and other leaders that all leaders above 75 should not be given any "pad" (position), meaning just not Cabinet position but even as chairman of the National Democratic Alliance or as Lok Sabha Speaker. That put to rest claims by old and veteran leaders like L K Advani, M M Joshi, Shanta Kumar and Karia Munda, reports Sheela Bhatt.
Television visuals showed BJP workers mobbing the car at Khandoji Baba Chowk and vandalising it, resulting in the vehicle's windscreen and side panes getting damaged.
Upset with the removal of Subhash Velingkar as Goa RSS chief, over 300 Sangh workers have annouced that they will quit the organisation and vowed to "defeat" the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly polls next year if he is not reinstated.
"It is necessary for all to oppose this together," RSS spokesperson Sunil Ambekar said.
Questioning BJP's stand on reservation, he said whatever the ruling party may say it cannot go against the views of the RSS.
Modi had won the last election in Gujarat with the active support of RSS and its allies like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. However, with the organisation deciding to remain aloof this time around, things might turn out be different for the BJP.
The BJP at 43 is a work in progress, with total ideological continuity and much substantive change in political method and style, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, accusing them of "speaking the language of urban naxals" and being "AAP-da" for the youth. He also took a swipe at former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, saying those who entertain themselves by getting photo sessions done in huts of the poor will find the talk about the poor in Parliament boring. Modi also hailed his government's decisions in the Budget and said that the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which his government started for the poor, has been stalled by some states, leaving poor people in hardship.
Bharatiya Janata Party Tuesday reached a truce with sulking patriarch L K Advani who agreed not to press for his resignation from key party posts after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh intervened to end the two-day crisis triggered by his opposition to Narendra Modi's elevation.
'Since 2017, the chief minister and the RSS seem to have come closer.' 'This relationship's warmth is more from the RSS's side.'
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions for the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Karnataka.
In an election where every seat will matter, micro-strategising is going to be the order of the day. And in such a situation, party infighting - in all parties --could lead to unpredictable results.
Some of our leaders were busybusy over the weekend.
'Tell me, one BJP policy that Mamata has opposed and is fighting tooth and nail?' Be it Article 370, instant triple talaq, be it CAA/NRC/NPR, be it notebandi, FDI, she has aligned with the BJP.'
Vaidya, who had recovered from coronavirus infection, died at a private hospital in Nagpur, his grandson Vishnu Vaidya said. The last rites will be held on Sunday.
Congress leader Digvijay Singh has once again launched a scathing attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The assembly also saw the passage of four bills amidst the din, and Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri taking strong exception to Congress members "unnecessarily" bringing in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's name during their protest in the well of the House.
Ahead of Bharatiya Janata Party's "Chintan baithak" in Shimla from Wednesday, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha on Tuesday gave clear signals to the party that it should think in terms of younger leadership and ending factionalism.
"I remember one incident -- I would not name anyone -- that person said 'if you are going to become prime minister, we will support you'," Gadkari said.
A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker was on Tuesday attacked allegedly by Communist Party of India-Marxist men, after he was pulled out from his autorickshaw carrying school students in Kannur district.
Distancing himself from decision-making process in the Bharatiya Janata Party, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Saturday that he had counselled the party leadership to look for a young candidate who can restore its organisational set-up.
