Seeking to reassert Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy, Congress President Sonia Gandhi said secularism is a compelling necessity for a country as diverse as India.
With the Lokpal Bill slated to come up in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, a near unanimity emerged at an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Monday, but United Progressive Alliance's outside supporter Samajwadi Party remained a stumbling block continuing its opposition to the anti-corruption measure.
Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party, Sharad Yadav of the rebel Janata Dal-United, D Raja of the Communist Party of India, Hardik Patel (Gujarat's Patidar leader), Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool Congress) and Sushilkumar Shinde (Congress) attended the meeting and joined the march.
'Modi's ascent to the highest executive office in India is a matter of concern for all who value human rights and religious freedom,' declares Coalition Against Genocide, which has campaigned against the US granting a visa to the Indian leader.
Opposition parties say the HRD minister is acting like ABVP's patron saint.
The much speculated expansion of the Uttar Pradesh cabinet will take place on Thursday. Chief Minister Aklhilesh Yadav, who gave indications to that effect on Tuesday, is all set for enlarging the size of his 56-member council of ministers.
'They thought he can separate the Muslim votes and win, but the Kerala mind is completely different.' 'It is a secular mind because Hindus, Christians and Muslims live together.' 'We don't like somebody coming from outside, contesting in our state, winning and going and avoiding us.'
After an unsavoury courtroom battle, his party won to secure for him the final resting place at the Chennai landmark
Stung by cross-voting of seven dissident Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam members of Legislative Assembly in Thursday's Rajya Sabha polls, party founder and Leader of the Opposition Leader in the assembly Vijayakant on Friday charged them with betrayal as they were given a political identity by him.
The Trinamool Congress sought complete withdrawal of the NRC, alleging that Indian citizens have also been left out of the final draft.
Congress on Monday went into damage control mode over party general secretary Digvijay Singh's purported comment that Rahul Gandhi does not have the temperament of a ruler even as BJP attacked the Congress Vice President saying he was "not Prime Minister material".
Shiv Sena said that Dalit Prez candidate has been chosen for vote-bank politics.
'The BJP doesn't have to do anything except nudge the AIADMK in one direction.'
The petite princess is the newest catch of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The glamorous Rajkumari of Jaipur Diya Kumari is the third princess to join the saffron brigade.
Shatrughan Sinha won't attend, citing 'important personal engagements.' Will L K Advani be present? M I Khan reports on a swearing-in ceremony the likes of which Patna may not have seen before.
Subramanian Swamy said if income tax is abolished, middle class will deposit money in banks which can be invested in manufacturing.
The prospect of an upset worries the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh as it faces a threat from a rebel candidate in the biennial election to Rajya Sabha slated for Friday.
The Centre has rushed additional security forces to Ayodhya to prevent the much hyped yatra that is being planned by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in spite of a ban on it by the Uttar Pradesh government.
'A false narrative is being created, that Modi is a habitual offender when it comes to lowering the political discourse in the country.' 'Nothing can be farther from the truth,' argues Sudhir Bisht.
The Supreme Court on April 18 ordered the villagers be provided with basic forest rights in form of the land titles
Unlike the LDF and NDA nominees who are at ground zero and campaigning hard every day, the Congress candidate's campaign is undertaken in absentia, dependent on an army of local and imported from the rest of Kerala Congresswomen and men.
Meanwhile, Gandhi said Modi has betrayed the people, claiming that he had not fulfilled promises of providing two crore jobs every year and "depositing" Rs 15 lakh in their bank accounts.
Monday's surprise meeting is an admission by the Bharatiya Janata Party that their purported strategy of hoping to ride the popular 'Modi wave' in a Tamil Nadu without Jaya and a bed-ridden Karunanidhi does not have much chance of success, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'They call us Punjabis as nashedi (drug addicts). So I also asked him with a smile, 'aaj aap kaunsa kar ke aaye hain (what did you take today). He failed to realise my gesture but only saw me smiling,' Akali leader and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur said.
More than 25 years after the Babri Masjid was destroyed, another generation proclaims its commitment to building a Ram temple.
The assembly polls are seen as a test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, especially in the wake of demonetisation.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday came under fire from the opposition and ally Paattali Makkal Katchi for her push to declare Bhagwad Gita as a national scripture with their leaders saying it was inappropriate and that all religions should be treated equally by the government.
Irani attacked Rahul Gandhi on his home turf on the food park issue, charging that he was more interested in protecting the interests of a business house.
The interesting bit about the Azamgarh poll finding on India TV was the whopping percentage of Muslims backing the SP-BSP alliance, which sort of negates Mayawati's appeal to the community to not split their vote with the Congress, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Arch-rivals Left and Trinamool, SP and BSP come together for Sonia's lunch
Returning to JNU campus on his release from jail three weeks after his arrest, Kanhaiya Kumar said they are seeking freedom within the country and not from India.
President Ram Nath Kovind said he was 'a determined champion of democracy during the Emergency' and would be missed by his readers.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh agreed for an all-party meeting to discuss the issue after the law commission submits its report on the law which has come under focus in the wake of the Jawaharlal Nehru University controversy.
Varun Gandhi contesting from the Bharatiya Janata Party and describing the seat as his late father Sanjay Gandhi's karambhoomi is seen as a comedy of errors by his opponent, Congress' Amita Singh, who asserts that while bringing in these emotions, he forgets that his father was a Congressman.
As the mercury keeps moving up in the wake of rising temperature, poll fever is also soaring northward in Tamil Nadu which will witness a fierce fight for the 39 Lok Sabha seats between ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, even as a six-party BJP-led alliance is trying to play spoilsport.
The meeting saw archrivals TMC and CPI-M coming together on a common platform against the government.
Minister of State for Home Kiran Rijiju had said the cabinet was forced to take the decision because of a constitutional breakdown as six months had lapsed between two sessions of the state assembly.
An AIADMK survey estimates that the party will get between 25 and 30 of Tamil Nadu's 39 seats. This makes Jayalalithaa a major player in New Delhi, if not a contender for the prime minister's post.
Kumar, a Dalit, as its candidate for president against NDA's nominee Ram Nath Kovind.
Despite serious corruption charges, this year has seen the resurgence of tainted leaders from across parties and states. Be it Yeddyurappa in Karnataka or Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar -- caste affiliation and an individual candidate's credentials matter far more than his alleged involvement in scams, says Anita Katyal
