It was also the shortest speech by Sitharaman, who had delivered the longest speech last year. Her first Budget speech in July 2019 went on for around 137 minutes and in 2020, it went on for more than 160 minutes and was cut short after she felt unwell.
India is a passion with him. He is immersed in India. But he cannot help worrying about India too.
The absence of the CM at the airport irked the saffron party, which said Rao failed to follow the protocol and 'insulted the prime minister'.
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wrote a personal letter to her British counterpart Margaret Thatcher soon after the 1984 Operation Bluestar in an attempt to justify her decision to send army to flush out militants from the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine.
'As his close associate Som Pal told me, "Mandal was never V P Singh's brainchild. It was a Janata Party commitment he inherited".' 'He would have done it anyway at some point, but the specific timing of his decision was dictated entirely by political exigency -- his government was threatened.' 'It also turned out to be a game changer in Indian politics.'
The sources said some leaders may be attached to her to decrease her workload. With the CWC meeting held in the backdrop of the letter of 20 party leaders to Sonia Gandhi which raised some heckles, several leaders expressed their views in the meeting lasted for over seven hours.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Party is committed to bring Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country but only after following all democratic processes and discussions on it.
The plane suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body, the complainant said.
'Name?' 'Amitabh.' 'Can't be only Amitabh. Amitabh what?' 'Bachchan. Amitabh Bachchan.' Alarm bells. 'Are you related to Dr Bachchan?' 'Yes,' he hesitated, 'he is my father.' 'Then this contract cannot be signed today. He is my old friend. I cannot give you this contract without his permission.' A fascinating excerpt from K A Abbas's Sone Chandi Ke Buth.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Opposition members, including from the Congress and the TMC, started raising slogans and showing placards to attack the government on the snooping issue as soon as the House met for the day at 11 am.
'How can I pursue my dream forgoing my identity? I want to fly as a trans man.'
While the Opposition is making a belated effort to form a joint front against the BJP, Mamata's ambiguous stand has created confusion, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Pranabda hasn't given us any indication of the tough period when he realised Sonia Gandhi had decided to give the presidency not to him, but to then vice-president Hamid Ansari. He wrested the presidency from her, and handed her the biggest defeat of her UPA years, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The government will use the Supreme Court order calling the 2005 deal between ISRO's commercial arm Antrix and privately-owned Devas Multimedia a fraud, to counter seizure of its properties, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday as she launched a blistering attack on the Congress for handing over airwaves used by the defence to the private firm for pittance. "It is a fraud of Congress, by Congress (and) for Congress," the minister told reporters as she read out paragraphs from the Supreme Court's January 17 decision allowing winding up of Devas Multimedia because of the fraud.
Archana, a beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Bikini India 2018, Miss Uttar Pradesh 2014 and Miss Cosmo World 2018, had joined the Congress party in November 2021.
Former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar was on Thursday sworn in as the 14th Vice President of India.
Soon after taking the oath of office, the newly-sworn in Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said his government is standing with farmers and will appeal to the Centre to withdraw the three farm laws.
Director Anubhav Sinha talks about his film, Ra.One, and Indian superheroes.
'Every religion is sacred and beautiful. There's no reason for people to hate each other because they practise different faiths.'
'The partnership of Amit Shah and Narendra Modi has made their biggest mistake. They have been very successful for their party in the last two years, but this batting pair has made the biggest political mistake of their life so far, which is calling Kejriwal a chor. It will backfire on them.'
Rahul said it is clear that the management of the first and second wave of COVID-19 was "disastrous".
'What is taught here is a mockery of the English language.'
Running a fractious House full of members every bit as well versed in parliamentary law as the chair, has, in the past, reduced several Rajya Sabha chairmen to tears.
Treasury and opposition members nearly came to blows in Lok Sabha on Friday when Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan condemned in "no uncertain words" the "outlandish" remarks made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Upset over political developments in Maharashtra, the Congress and other opposition parties boycotted Constitution Day celebrations in the Central Hall of Parliament and held a joint protest in front of the Ambedkar statue inside Parliament complex.
Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad during his retirement speech in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday summed up his more than four-decade-old political career in few Urdu couplets and a brief speech.
What these elections prove beyond any doubt (if ever there was one) that Modi's hold over public mind and Shah's mastery of election management are unparalleled. It doesn't seem likely that they will be matched any time soon in the Indian political scene, reaffirms Shreekant Sambrani.
'Just keep telling people that we have fixed the Muslims, and they will not be bothered about their empty stomachs or empty wallets.'
The Congress party will have an elected president by June 2021, with the party's working committee on Friday approving holding the internal election after the assembly polls.
'Between its natural immunity with Delta, in so many populations, and then getting on top of the vaccination (situation), I do not think India is going to have another bad wave.'
Without naming anyone, Modi at a Constitution Day event in the Central Hall of Parliament hit out at family-based parties, describing them as 'party for the family, party by the family' and added, 'I don't think I need to say anything more'.
'Is China's intention not clear?' 'Do we still think that if we are nice to China, it will be good to us?'
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought responses from the Centre and others on a petition seeking a direction to ensure investigation and action against those who allegedly made hate speeches during two events held recently in Haridwar and the national capital.
Rahul's remarks come against the backdrop when India reported more than 1.52 lakh new COVID-19 cases on Sunday. This is the fifth consecutive day when more than one lakh cases have been reported in the country.
Taapsee plays cricket... Mohanlal shoots with Rahman...
'People are questioning these highways and expressways in UP because ultimately, they want to get bread and butter first.'
'Modi looks to be an effective, result-oriented, purposeful leader, focused on bringing greatness and glory to the nation.'
'
So it is best for his critics to give up their sniping and supplement his efforts,' asserts B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant who served three prime ministers.
Setting aside the conviction of a tribal man in the alleged murder of a woman, the Madhya Pradesh high court has slammed the police saying they investigated the case with the "sole purpose of falsely implicating" him, and directed the state government to pay Rs 42 lakh to him as he spent over 13 years behind bars "awaiting justice".
Did Prime Minister Modi receive a different kind of reception at the Biden White House on Friday than he has has been used to at the American president's home?
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances