Modi can abandon the path of Hindutva only at risk to his position within his own fraternity. But if he pursues a hard line, he faces the risk of being hauled up by his coalition-partners. For the first time in a decade, Modi is not in enviable situation, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Opposition's stand on the Ayodhya consecration is puzzling. Their only objection seems to be that the BJP has hijacked a religious event for political benefit. In saying this, the Opposition is either being naive or hypocritical, argues Jyoti Punwani.
'Crores of rupees have been spent on paper but nothing has actually happened on the ground.'
Navy personnel perform yoga on board INS Vikramaditya. In the run-up to the International Day of Yoga, several naval ships are conducting yoga and meditation sessions on board.
'You can see both being used in our textbooks already and that will continue in new textbooks'
BJP chief Amit Shah had set a target of winning 22 Lok Sabha seats out of 42 seats in West Bengal.
In a statement, he said it is his belief that the Shri Ram Mandir will represent India as a strong, prosperous, peaceful and harmonious nation with justice for all and exclusion of none to truly usher in 'Ram Rajya, the epitome of good governance'.
'If the BJP thinks it is going to overnight transform Bengal into Madhya Pradesh, sorry, that's not going to happen because I have faith in our ethos and culture.'
At a time when the BJP's stars are at the top on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls, the Puri-Joshimath Sankaracharyas may have kick-started a row whose efforts might be to divide Hindus, not in the name of castes, but on what passes for greater belief, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Amid tight security, the 137th edition of Lord Jagannath's rathyatra began in Ahmedabad on Sunday morning from the ancient Jagannath Temple in Jamalpur area.
RJD-JD-U leaders believe Dhirendra Krishna Shastri's visit is part of the BJP's 2024 poll strategy.
With the 2012 state assembly elections not very far, the Samajwadi Party has got into the election gear. And to top it all, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has pushed his son Akhilesh Yadav to take the lead.
Before pedalling down the streets of the state capital, Yadav told mediapersons at the party headquarters that the BJP government has "failed" in Covid management.
Several BJP leaders including Prime Minister Modi called on Lalji at his home in New Delhi to wish the former deputy prime minister.
Riding a scooter, Union minister Smriti Irani led a rally of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday as she campaigned for the upcoming West Bengal elections in the South 24 Parganas district.
The Supreme Court verdict on the Ram temple showed India's secular character to the world, Shah said.
Sacked Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt on Wednesday withdrew his plea in the Supreme Court seeking suspension of his life sentence in a 30-year-old custodial death case.
We bring you a collection of some of the odd moments from around the world in recent weeks.
The events that unfolded after Advani's arrest not only benefited the BJP, whose political clout grew exponentially, but also catapulted Lalu to the forefront of the anti-saffron camp.
What we find interesting are the crowds Akhilesh Yadav has been attracting on his Samajwadi Vijay Rath Yatra in the state.
Advani's rath, a bus specifically modified by ace automobile designer Dilip Chhabaria, was flagged off by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from Chhapra on Tuesday. But only 80 km into the journey, the bus developed a technical fault at Hazipur.
Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani alongwith Uma Bharti is scheduled to visit Somnath temple on Saturday, party sources said.
He hinted that the same hue and cry is not made about 1984 riots not being in textbooks.
Keeping up with the 83-year-old BJP veteran and his yatra across India is a bit of a mad rush, says Priyanka
Advani has said that there can be no rest for him until that is done.
Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya on Tuesday resigned as the party's national general secretary accusing the leadership of discriminating against him and not defending him over his remarks.
The satta market is accepting bets on how many times Modiji will mention Nehru at his election rallies, says A Ganesh Nadar with a wink.
Terming Modi as a 'chela' (disciple) of Bharatiya Janata Party veteran Lal Krishna Advani, Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad on Saturday vowed to stop him like he had stopped Advani during his rath yatra in 1990.
The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, was passed unanimously as besides the BJP MLAs, members of the Opposition Congress as well as the Aam Aadmi Party extended their support to it.
The ultimate consequences of Rahul Gandhi's yatra may be known only in 2024, points out Dr Sudhir Bisht.
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh launched a sharp attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party, likening their "hatred" towards Muslims to that of the Nazis towards the Jews and claiming that the "roots of terrorism" in India lie in BJP leader L K Advani's 1990 Rath Yatra.
The Ayodhya verdict, far from legitimising the deeply divisive rath yatra Advani set out on, has tried to repair the damage he did to inter-community relations in India, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Gujarat was labelled Hindutva's crucible and Modi was to become the chief 'chemist'. A revealing political saga excerpted from Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay's The Demolition, the Verdict and the Temple: The Definitive Book on the Ram Mandir Project.
Rediff readers tell us how they are celebrating Ganeshotsav this year.
Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in Karnataka, the ride has been anything but smooth for the party. Today, it is headed for another showdown as veteran leader L K Advani's rath yatra comes closer to the state.
Expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti accompanying L K Advani to Somnath temple on Saturday set off speculation about her return to the party fold but party leaders said that it will not happen anytime soon.
The Madhya Pradesh chief minister described BJP's concept of cultural nationalism as "nothing but cultural terrorism".
These images from across the globe tell us that it is a bizarre world out there!
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