The Congress-led UDF secured a decisive victory in Kerala's local body elections, dealing a blow to the LDF, while the BJP gained significant ground, including winning control of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
Unfortunately, the best man does not always win, but I feel enriched by the experience of the campaign and getting to know Rajeev Chandrasekhar, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'Senior Vatican officials were pleasantly surprised at the number of Indians who had come to witness the ceremony.'
Hours after the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed in Parliament, 50 individuals embroiled in land disputes in Kerala's Munambam joined the BJP, hoping for a resolution to their claims. The residents, who have been protesting for 174 days, allege that the Waqf Board is claiming ownership of their properties. BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar assured them of the party's support and a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express gratitude. The BJP capitalized on the Catholic Church's support for the legislation, accusing the Congress and the Left of appeasement politics. The opposition, however, questioned the impact of the bill on the Munambam issue.
'They have to prove the credibility of their talk; whether they want to focus on the secular face of India, whether they want to focus on democracy and above all freedom of an individual to practice his or her religion.'
'In today's political spectrum, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party that always says, nation first.'
The current situation in Kerala politics is perhaps best described as a case of the state's traditional two front politics now seeing a third front (the BJP) muscling in with the potential outcome being either a messy three front affair or a renewed endorsement of the two front pattern but with one of the old fronts compromised or quashed, observes Shyam G Menon.
The Web portal of the Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece, published an article (withdrawn later) that the Christian community holds many acres of land, far more than Waqf property.'
Whether Rajeev Chandrasekhar wins or not, Thiruvananthapuram will likely never see such an interesting contest again.
BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar's wife and son who keep themselves far from the political limelight reveal what it is like to campaign for the first time.
'The nuns were subjected to abusive language and all types of mental torture.'
As the curtain falls on the campaign for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat on Wednesday, April 24, a ringside view of the closing ceremonies.
Communications Minister A Raja, who has been facing a lot of flak from GSM-based mobile firms on new spectrum allocation norms, received support from an unlikely quarter on Tuesday -- the former head of GSM lobby and fellow M P Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Once a strong advocate of auctioning spectrum, Chandrasekhar extended his support to the policy of allocating spectrum to all on equitable basis.
But BSNL operates in the dynamic telecom sector with high growth rates. BSNL's problems have more to do with management and interference from the DoT.
The Lok Sabha contest in Thiruvananthapuram is shaping up to be a significant battle involving key candidates like Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and Panniyan Ravindran. This three-cornered fight highlights the political dynamics in Kerala's capital city, with each candidate bringing their own vision and promises for the region's development, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
Stocks of smallcap and midcap companies, which had caught the fancy of retail investors, also feature in the portfolio of leading politicians in addition to bluechip stocks.
Dubbing the debate triggered by Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar with Ratan Tata on 2G spectrum as 'futile', a Tata Group firm on Friday said his attack on a former telecom regulator was a 'cheap gimmick'.
Chandrasekhar's comments came within hours of Tata slamming him for the alleged subversive role played by him to change the telecom policies.
A special court in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district granted bail to three persons, including two nuns from Kerala, arrested on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar outlined his ideas to turn Thiruvananthapuram not only into a hub for higher education, but also a knowledge city, points out Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'It is not because of any threats or pressure by anyone.'
Business Standard got in touch with CEOs and corporate promoters around the countr. Is India Inc shocked? Surprised at the tone and tenor of the letters? Most shied away from a comment, some were diplomatic and only a few were ready for plainspeak.
A Kerala man, Ramachandran (65), was killed in a terrorist attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, leaving his wife unaware of his death. Ramachandran and his wife, Sheela, were on a holiday with their daughter and grandchildren when the attack took place. The couple was known for their love of travel and had recently returned to Kochi after living in the UAE. The family is in shock and mourning Ramachandran's death. The Kerala government has launched a help desk to assist Keralites affected by the terror attack.
24 hours before campaigning ends in Thiruvanathapuram, Archana Masih/Rediff.com discovers Shashi Tharoor and his BJP rival Rajeev Chandrasekhar are busy getting their message across to voters.
'The Congress wants to distort the very fabric of Indian society because they are obsessed with vote bank politics.'
"Too many scams are left unpunished. In the last 10 years, there have been some highly sophisticated economic crimes. There is an unfortunate belief that smooth talking the media and using complicated words can get them to bury the truth. I had to examine over 1,600 documents with complicated words just to come up with a simple 41-slides presentation. That is how things have become," Chandrasekhar told rediff.com after a presentation he made in the capital on Friday.
After engaging in a war of words with industrialist Ratan Tata, Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrasekhar has now given a 7-point agenda to Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal suggesting that the ministry be made "free of lobbyists and wheeler-dealers" to clean up the sector.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar was at the airport to see off Trudeau.
'You can say it was a moment that can be described as unimaginable or unbelievable.'
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has accused the RSS of "majority communalism" over an article published in an RSS mouthpiece regarding the Catholic Church's property holdings in India. The article, which has since been removed from the website, called for the government to acquire the church's land, claiming it was illegally leased during the British era. Vijayan said the article reveals the "true mindset" of the RSS and its alleged plan to "target minority groups one by one and destroy them step by step." The Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, echoed Vijayan's concerns, stating that the article shows the RSS's intent to target the Church's property. He also claimed that the article's publication coincides with the passing of the Waqf Bill in Parliament, suggesting a pattern of targeting religious communities. Meanwhile, the BJP state president, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, denied the article's accuracy and stated that the article was removed after it was found to be untrue. He also emphasized that owning land is not a crime, and countered allegations that the Congress and Waqf have illegally acquired land in Karnataka. Archbishop Joseph Pamplany of Thalassery, however, expressed confidence that the Church is not afraid of any "Church Bill", as its properties have been earned through hard work. He said the Church will take legal action if necessary.
On Thursday, the opening day of the movie itself, the Sangh Parivar came out with vehement criticism against the film on social media, while the Congress and a section of the Left platforms celebrated the film for portraying the right-wing politics as "villainous".
A journalist has shared a screenshot in which a question was asked to Google Gemini about Modi.
'I have had occasion to work with Bill Gates as a young engineer, and am one of the few people in India who has interacted with Steve Jobs and Larry Ellison.' 'I have worked with Andy Grove at Intel, so I know what bright and great people are like, but Modiji is a different level of perfection.'
FHe is the only one among 17 ministers from the outgoing council of ministers who lost the Lok Sabha polls to be reappointed minister.
As the results for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 were declared on Tuesday, here is how some of the big faces fared in the contest.
The Delhi high court on Monday issued summons to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in a defamation suit filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajeev Chandrashekhar.
'If an employee has a contract with the employer that he cannot moonlight, you should honour that contract.'
A number of leaders from Tamil Nadu, including 15 former MLAs and an ex-MP, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi on Wednesday as the ruling party looks to strengthen its presence in the southern state in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
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