'Till the time the MSM and Modi don't trust one another, expect more Nirmala Sitharamans springing out from nowhere,' says Sudhir Bisht.
'This updated NPR database along with Aadhaar Number would become the mother database and can be used by various government departments...' the home ministry declared in July 2015. 'UID/Aadhaar has been used as a fish bait to ensnare and entrap present and future generations of citizens,' warns Gopal Krishna.
With Modi's international image seriously damaged -- perhaps, irrecoverably -- and Indian foreign policy finding itself in drift, we move on to the New Year in a depressing scenario, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The focus shifts almost immediately from celebrations to the challenges faced by the man who powered his party to 303 seats in the Lok Sabha.
In his final address, the president said that the soul of India resided in "pluralism and tolerance.
If Modi's truly a reformer and a believer in minimum government, he would bury the Vodafone ghosts now. He would also then go to Bihar, campaigning on his politically controversial reforms. Both will need him to dip deep into his accumulated political capital and risk it, suggests Shekhar Gupta.
Rasheed Kidwai unearths little-known stories from the Dadasaheb Phalke awardee's past as Amitabh Bachchan celebrates 50 years in the movies this month.
The Trinamool Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, have indicated that their party chiefs have better credentials for the post than the newly-elected Congress head, reports Archis Mohan
Modi may take satisfaction from his display of considerable political skill in managing a mercurial, temperamental and unpredictable US president and nudging him into uncharacteristic restraint and even carefully orchestrated remarks. This personal chemistry will come in handy if Trump returns as president in the November elections, says former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
'There is no future for the Shiv Sena under Uddhavji's leadership.'
AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam is said to be upset at his son Raveendranath Kumar, a Lok Sabha MP, being denied a ministerial chance for a second time in a row, beginning with the formation of Modi 2.0 in 2019, reveals N Sathiya Moorthy.
Modi sarkar took few initiatives to uplift the poor strate of society.
When Modi's name was called out by the Secretary General for taking oath, Members from the ruling National Democratic Alliance thumped the desk greeting the Prime Minister with slogans such as 'Modi Modi' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'.
'Gotabaya will expect India to observe the red line.' 'He even dispensed with any gesture welcoming India as an interlocutor on the Tamil issue.' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Even the ruling party -- if it really respects the independence of the judiciary and democracy -- should support this impeachment motion.'
With an unexpected new turn in Kashmir, an ominous Afghanistan, a reliably unpredictable Trump, and an unfathomable reversal with RCEP, Modi may have to reinvent his character, suggests Ambassador B S Prakash.
The action comes alive in New Delhi.
Highlighting the pendency of cases in various courts of the country, he said Indian legal system is marked by long delays and some of the reasons for it are infrastructure gaps and considerable vacancies, particularly in subordinate courts.
"There has been one meeting (on this). It is a matter of setting up the governance structures. Now ball is in the court of the Indian side to finalise the governance of the setting up of the fund. We are ready for it," the UAE ambassador Dr Ahmed Al Banna said.
'Having been an air warrior myself for three decades, I am sure the IAF has all the info in place to be divulged at the right time,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
However, the number of confirmed cases reported by states rose by over 500 to cross 3,000 with at least 90 dead. While Maharashtra, Telangana and Delhi disclosed several new cases of the deadly virus infection, government officials said the numbers have risen in last few days mostly due to one event -- referring to the Tablighi Jamaat's religious gathering in the national capital attended by thousands of people last month.
The PM said, 'Regrettably, one of the countries of its origin and spread is in India's neighbourhood.'
India and ASEAN have relations "free from contests and claims" and believe in sovereign equality of all nations irrespective of size, and support for free and open pathways of commerce and engagement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in his column.
'This country belongs to each of us and to all of us -- every group and every community, every region and every identity.'
Voters deserve one. Democracy requires one. We need an alternative that people want, not just an anti-vote, says Mitali Saran.
Delhi was just one riot. Add Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and you can count a few scores dead. It could, regrettably, be just the beginning of a very long, dark phase for India, notes Shekhar Gupta.
'New Delhi and Washington are now on the same page, on dealing with growing Chinese assertiveness, across the entire Indo-Pacific region,' notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy, Chancellor, Central University of Jammu.
'The central learning of the day was that if the BJP leadership can cajole, coax and convince regional parties to vote for bills, it would not be a stretch to see the same votes cast in favour of the land bill,' a senior Congress leader from a northern state told Rediff.com
Slogans of 'Rahul ji, we are with you' and 'Please do not resign' rang through the air.
'Rohit had so much talent that he would have made it anyhow, under any coach, but I am happy I was able to guide him.'
'No matter what Modi may boast about 'new India', the geopolitical reality is that India's stature diminishes when it needs a small country like Saudi Arabia under an autocratic ruler to help out with what is arguably one of the most critical templates of its diplomacy,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The most unfortunate part is that after precipitating the crisis situation on Tuesday, the government ducked and took help from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to 'de-escalate' the situation.' 'Make no mistake, this fateful move has grave implications.' 'You don't take help from the wolf to guard the sheep, right?' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Rahul Gandhi has personally paid a heavy price for this character assassination and remorseless ridiculing and the Congress, of course, has been demolished politically.'
'The more emphatic denial of any proposal for an OIC foreign ministers meet in Islamabad appears aimed at keeping Pakistan on a leash,' notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Opposition parties on Thursday launched a vociferous attack on the Centre over its handling of the farmers' agitation, callings its dialogues with the protestors 'monologues', even as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party defended the new laws asserting that its government is committed to the welfare of peasants and increase their incomes.
From Sri Lanka's most popular political family to its most despised -- going by the voices on the streets calling for the Rajapaksas' ouster -- what went wrong for the clan? Veteran Sri Lanka watcher N Sathiya Moorthy offers an insight.
This is the first time that a Muslim lady has filed a nomination in a Presidential election.
As someone with nostalgia for the good cheer and friendly feelings of Brazilian people, former Ambassador to Brazil B S Prakash can only hope that when they see on their TV screens their President being feted on Rajpath, they will sense India's goodwill for Brazil.
The 71-year-old filed his nomination in front of NDA ministers and CMs.
Here's the full text of address to the nation by President Ram Nath Kovind on the eve of the Republic Day 2022.
