'All statue-building is an exercise in hubris, but Mr Adityanath's enterprise begs a question: Can a state with rampant child malnutrition and 325 children dying in a Gorakhpur hospital afford Rama's benediction?' asks Sunil Sethi.
'Valmiki has not written anything about Hanuman's caste.' 'I want to clarify that Hanuman was not a Vanar, but an Adivasi.'
Amid Narendra Modi's attack on Jawaharlal Nehru, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said that criticism of the first prime minister by some forces was based on "innuendo, insinuation and falsehood aimed at character assassination".
In his campaign blitzkrieg in poll-bound Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Congress of seeking to divide the people on caste and religious lines.
Just like Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's 'chai pe charcha' where he connects with various sections while sipping tea over the internet, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will take part in a 'Google Hangout' on March 15, where he will interact with block, district and Pradesh Congress Committee presidents to give them pep talk on the coming elections and to get their feedback on their states and their districts. Renu Mittal reports
"Just a handful of Indian youth have joined the ISIS. Some have also returned after being persuaded by their families," asserted the home minister.
Beset by a Princess Syndrome in the past, Kareena Kapoor reigns over this pandemonium like a stately queen, feels Sreehari Nair.
'Her elevation in public life signified the end of parochial extremism and hate on a casteist basis.'
Taki in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district is the last Indian outpost on the border with Bangladesh. It is one of hotspots for Bangladeshi infiltration into India. While most poor Bangladeshis cross over to look for work, terror groups take advantage to ferry their men and material into India. Indrani Roy/Rediff.com reports.
Religious leaders from various faiths assembled on Thursday for a prayer meeting to express support for and solidarity with a 71-year-old nun whose gang-rape at a convent school in West Bengal's Ranaghat sent ripples across the country.
Mayawati urged the Muslim voters to vote for the party, saying her party has given tickets to 99 candidates from the community.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the passage of bills as a "momentous occasion" in parliamentary democracy and said a new dawn awaits the people there as they are now free from the "shackles" of vested interest groups.
Voting in the first phase began with reports of multiple faulty electronic voting machines at various booths, prompting Congress leaders to request quick action from the poll body.
The ruling party sharply countered the comment, saying the Congress had "demeaned and defamed" Hindus of India.
'She really doesn't care if she is called heartless.' 'For her, the job needs to be done. That's all that matters.'
The prime minister further alleged that the work of Congress while in power was mere pretentiousness.
Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's supporters seemed desperate to get a glimpse of their leader as they waited patiently on balconies and rooftops along the 4 km route of his road show, reports Sharat Pradhan
With capes, garara pants and dungarees, three designers are taking khadi to luxurious heights.
Notwithstanding Congress' reprimand, Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Saturday intensified his attack on his friend-turned foe Mulayam Singh Yadav accusing him of conniving with the Bharatiya Janata Party to flare up communal passions and dared the Samajwadi Party leader to a public debate on Babri issue.
Indian sports had a lot to celebrate despite a decrease in the medal count at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
As preparations for the Rio Olympics gather pace, India may be headed for yet another paltry medal haul.
'You had earlier sent a Prime Minister from Assam (referring to Manmohan Singh) whom people do not even remember now'
Shah said the people of Gujarat would seek an answer from Congress in December, when the state goes to polls.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday mounted a counter offensive against Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, rapping him for "lowering the norms" of politics by indulging in personal attacks and stoking controversy on a "non-issue".
In an apparent dig at the Aam Aadmi Party over its poll pledge to reduce power bills, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday wondered how such promises could be made by political parties in states which are dependent on electricity supply from outside.
How has Raj Thackeray, who is as much a businessman as politician, been able to pull it off, when most Opposition politicians live in fear of IT and ED and CBI, asks Krishna Prasad after attending a Raj rally in Nashik.
Rediff reader Major Punjab Singh tells us how he found love.
'The one thing India has over these two States, whose toughness awes us, is our ability to embrace diversity with ease. 'The way ahead lies in learning from Vajpayee's method, not in Xi Jinping's,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'Now you have a full clampdown and a huge security blanket. How long are you going to maintain that? The moment you lift it, all that suppressed protest and anger will come out.'
Ajit Doval is now India's all-powerful security boss. This concentration of power disrupts our layered security system. Will it not weaken whatever remains of the power and authority of the home, defence and finance ministers? asks Shekhar Gupta.
'Shooting is number one.' 'Archery, wrestling, badminton and boxing.' 'These are the five where we stand the best chance of winning a medal.'
Controversial Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's Man Friday Amit Shah arrived in Lucknow on Wednesday to take over the reins of the party in the country's most populous state, which he himself termed as the route to the ultimate seat of power in Delhi.
After arriving in Brisbane, Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with students at Queensland University of Technology.
As the year 2016 draws to a close, vote for the best Indian sportsperson of the year.
There is some irony, and a lot of hypocrisy, when a person like Modi chooses to disdain Nehru's popularity. Does this man, who is considered India's most popular leader as of today, believe that popularity is of little concern when it comes to choosing leaders, asks Amberish K Diwanji.
'One big problem for the RSS is, while they spread their ideology of hard, Hindu-ised Indian nationalism, the absence of their own pantheon of modern nationalist giants. They missed out on the freedom movement quite comprehensively, in some ways comparable to the Muslim League and latter-day Communists. They have to find heroes elsewhere.' 'They borrow who they can from the Congress, like Madan Mohan Malviya and Sardar Patel, and then steal the entire lot of revolutionaries, from Bhagat Singh to Netaji, never mind that many of them were extreme leftists.'
