One is hopeful that if he becomes CM, Mr Thackeray will not be as trigger happy in calling for bans or encouraging outrage, says Uttaran Das Gupta.
The Congress questioned the Maharashtra governor for the "arbitrary" allotment of time to the Nationalist Congress Party, the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party to prove support for government formation.
The 'Group of 23' leaders who participated included Ghulam Nabi Azad, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Anand Sharma, Mukul Wasnik, Prithviraj Chavan, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, besides Sibal who hosted the post-birthday dinner for them.
Even as the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress were burning the candle at both ends to hammer out a deal over forming the government in Maharashtra, the Amit Shah-led BJP was quietly planning its moves.
'People are questioning these highways and expressways in UP because ultimately, they want to get bread and butter first.'
Here's how the heavyweights are faring.
Thirty-one army personnel too have been awarded the Sena (gallantry) medal.
'If they call themselves a Hindutva party, then they must sever the alliance with the PDP in Kashmir.'
'Mithun has showed Hindi cinema that a tall, dark man with a charming smile and a great physique can take the world on.'
That's a deficit the NDA will have to make up with the help of 'friendly' alliance partners, the very groupings the PM has said are 'family-run'.
Somaiya, an old BJP hand and one of its leading speakers on economic issues in Parliament, had been a trenchant critic of the Sena.
Rahul Gandhi is neither Congress president, office-bearer nor Congress leader in Parliament. This technical leeway provides adequate cover for Shiv Sena-Congress ties taking a nosedive, says Rasheed Kidwai.
The results of bypolls to three Lok Sabha and 29 assembly seats spread across 13 states and a union territory have been a mixed bag for the BJP as its fortunes continue to nosedive in West Bengal against the might of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee while bad tidings have also come from states like Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
From the drones show to projection mapping show, this year's ceremony also presented quite a few firsts.
In a first, a grand drone show will dazzle the sky above the national capital during the Beating the Retreat ceremony to be held at Vijay Chowk on Saturday as part of the country's 73rd Republic Day celebrations.
Modi, Shah and Nadda have created a strategy to boost the BJP and the government's image.
With a tagline "Dui hajaar uneesh, BJP finish, the West Bengal chief minister met several opposition party leaders as well as Bharatiya Janata Party critics and in-house rebels.
The move came at a time when deliberations between the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena seemingly reached the final stage on Friday.
The Janata Dal-United, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, opposed the government's move on Article 370 through a fresh Presidential Order ending special status to Jammu and Kashmir. On Monday, opposing the Narendra Modi-led government's decision, they walked out of the Rajya Sabha where the bill to split the state into two Union Territories was passed. Similarly, on Tuesday, the JD-U walked out of Lok Sabha while the bill was being discussed. In Patna, JD-U national spokesperson K C Tyagi said: "We completely differ with the Central government's move on Jammu and Kashmir. There was a need for wider consultations on it, but no consultation was done even within the NDA. We own the legacy of socialist leaders Ram Manohar Lohia and Jai Prakash Narayan, who had opposed attempts to tamper with Article 370 during Congress (government in the past)." Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com on the same, the JD-U leader said that 'walking out of Parliament won't affect their ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party'.
On Tuesday, the government had agreed to refer it to the committee.
Usually, the chair in the Upper House reads out obituary references before members rise as a mark of respect to the memory of the departed.
Festivals of Lohri and Bhogi were celebrated in various parts of the country with fervour on Wednesday while Indians geared up for Makar Sankranti on Thursday.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday expanded his council of ministers, inducting 11 ministers, including 10 new faces, in the exercise which left Shiv Sena unhappy as it was denied a Cabinet berth.
Corporal Nirala, disregarding personal safety and displaying indomitable courage, retaliated with effective lethal fire and gunned down two category A terrorists and injured two others.
'He deliberately encouraged my rivals to diminish my influence in the party.'
Droupadi Murmu scripted history on Thursday by becoming India's first tribal President in the one-sided contest, defeating Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha.
How Modi retrieves the situation and how he enlists new allies in the next two years will show if the BJP is fighting fit, report Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
If you love India, you cannot weaponise religion to stay in power, asserts Ramesh Menon, author, Modi Demystified: The Making Of A Prime Minister.
The opposition made it clear during the meeting that it will press for a joint parliamentary committee to probe the Rafale jet deal and raise several issues, including the "misuse" of probe agencies and the autonomy for Reserve Bank of India.
The 71-year-old Dalit leader is expected to have a smooth sailing in the event of an election.
The Supreme Court Tuesday said suspension from legislative assembly for one year should be linked with some purpose and there has to be an 'overpowering' reason that the member should not be allowed to even attend the next session.
The demand was made by the Nationalist Congress Party, the Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
The appropriate bench will fix the schedule with regard to the hearing of appeals in the case. "We will fix the date of hearing of Ayodhya dispute case before the appropriate bench in January," the CJI said.
The Shiv Sena takes a swipe at NCP chief Sharad Pawar and ally BJP over the surrender offer of India's most wanted.
A coordination panel comprising senior leaders of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra will look into various aspects of the National Population Register (NPR), Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said in Mumbai on Tuesday. Addressing the media in Vidhan Bhavan in south Mumbai, where the budget session of the state legislature is underway, Thackeray said, "Responsible leaders of the three parties will be part of it (coordination committee on NPR)." "I won't let anyone snatch the rights of any citizens of Maharashtra. I am very clear on this," he said, when asked about differences in the ruling alliance over the implementation of NPR in the state.
As per the rules and regulations, members must not do anything that brings disrepute to the Parliament and affects their credibility, and members must utilise their position as Members of Parliament to advance general well-being of the people.
If the Opposition has any chance at the prime minister's job, it can happen only if they all stop dropping names and work at the grassroots-level, state-wise, suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Muslims have been observing namaaz for so many years.' 'The BJP wants to divide Hindus and Muslims for political gains.' 'This is happening in Haryana even though Muslims are only present in one district of Haryana.'
In a letter to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, party MP and spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi stated, "It would be a crying shame if we let go our history without giving the benefit of knowledge to our future generation.
The series of meetings are being seen as an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party to reach out to allies who have either been criticising or expressing their dissent with the party and also to strengthen the National Democratic Alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.
