'This is India, bhai. This kind of country does not exist anywhere in the world.'
'There are many things we need to work on.' 'At the heart of it is, one, the extent of inequality, which is not good for democracy and nation; two, a structural decline on how a country ought to function, how people should be held accountable, whose role is what.'
Will January 22 mark a point of no return for our Constitutional secularism? asks Shekhar Gupta.
It is in power on its own only in three states -- Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana -- with a big question mark on whether it can even stake claim to be head of the INDIA bloc.
The Rajya Sabha election scene in Karnataka heated up with the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (Secular) combine fielding its second candidate, even though the alliance has the strength to win only one out four seats.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on March 19 the pleas seeking a direction to the Centre to stay the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Rules, 2024 till the apex court has decided the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
The stakes are significant for the BJP in this round as the party had in 2019 won an overwhelming majority of these seats, including all in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, that will go to polls on May 7.
'Genuine secularism cannot be built on the backs of Hindus alone.' 'In a pluralistic society every religion is duty bound to respect the rights and sentiments of the others.' 'Vande Mataram was a casualty of minorityism. Bharat Mata Ki Jai cannot be allowed to go the same way,' says Vivek Gumaste.
The Gorakhpur-based Gita Press, which is the world's largest publisher of Hindu religious texts, has declined the Rs 1 crore cash award for the Gandhi Peace Prize amid a political row over its selection for the prestigious honour.
According to insiders, their lack of enthusiasm is showing on the ground. There is nothing to suggest that their enthusiasm will return in the final four phases of polling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Apparently aimed at keeping the flock together ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, all ruling Congress MLAs in Karnataka will stay put together at a hotel in Bengaluru on Monday after the budget session of the state legislature concludes and will later also travel together for voting the next day.
The sengol must revert to where it belongs -- behind a glass case and not figure in ceremonies concerning India's democracy, argues Shyam G Menon.
From melodrama to mockery (remember Amar and Prem's phony separated-at-Kumbh Mela reunion in a gag of Andaz Apna Apna?), there are numerous instances of its presence.
Away from the courtroom and legal circles, Nariman was a familiar figure for residents of Hauz Khas who would see him walk regularly, even in the cold winter months of December and January.
If only the Congress could rebuild on its strengths and develop a modern enough ideology, we could again be moving towards a clearer two-party political landscape, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'The minority community has been used only for political gains.'
Special judge Hardeep Kaur sent both the accused to jail after they were produced before the court on expiry of their custodial interrogation by the Delhi police.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was welcomed in Dublin by the voices of Irish children reciting Sanskrit shlokas, took a jibe at the opposition parties back home saying that if this was done in India then it would have raised questions about 'secularism'.
The IMD has warned of heatwave to severe heatwave conditions in parts of West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh during the next five days.
Imam Bukhari alleged that a number of Muslims hold important posts in various states and union governments and even the prestigious post of the President but had done nothing for the uplift of the community.
In an interview to Rediff.com's Anita Katyal, Shambhu Srivastava speaks about the need of breaking out of the communal-secular paradigm and focusing on the Congress party's poor performance and its track record in fuelling communalism.
Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting of 26 opposition parties in Bengaluru, Kharge said, "This was a very important meeting to save democracy and the Constitution in the interest of the people of the country."
The Communist Party of India leader A B Bardhan on Wednesday said there was room for a credible alternative of Left and secular parties in the country to fill the "political vacuum" created by people's rejection of the two alliances led by Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party in the recent Assembly elections.
According to party sources, the Congress leadership has been making efforts to convince some ministers and lawmakers to contest, as they have faced problems in identifying winnable candidates in several segments.
'There will be no compromise with someone who has betrayed the party at this stage even if she is my sister,' Congress MP K Muraleedharan told reporters.
The Congress and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are talking about secularism only to cover up their failures in governance and corruption, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader M Venkaiah Naidu alleged in New Delhi on Tuesday.
With so much bad news, everybody is hunkering down in readiness for Mr Modi's next radical Big Idea, says Kanika Datta.
In a strategic move, the BJP has welcomed prominent Christian figures like Anil K Antony, son of Congress stalwart AK Antony, and seasoned Kerala politician PC George, into its fold.
To promote Advani as a moderate is as much a travesty of truth as to present the children of Godse as followers of Gandhi, feels Poornima Joshi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has honoured Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain refugees by giving them citizenship through Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), Union home minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday and maintained there is no provision of stripping of anyone's citizenship in the new law.
Maurya resigned as the party's national general secretary on February 13, accusing the leadership of discriminating against him and not defending him over his controversial statements on the Ramcharitmanas and the Ayodhya temple consecration ceremony.
In a remarkable comeback, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pumped Rs 1.7 lakh crore into the Indian equity markets in 2023, propelled by confidence in the country's robust economic fundamentals amid a challenging global landscape. The year 2023 has witnessed massive investment by FPIs, thanks to the sharp uptick in inflows of Rs 66,134 crore in December. Going forward, FPI flows are expected to be robust.
'It has made minorities' position uncertain,' he said.
A revealing excerpt from Mani Shankar Aiyar's fascinating new book, The Rajiv I Knew.
The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) has distanced itself from its member Bibek Debroy's article suggesting embracing a new constitution, and said the article in no way reflects the views of EAC-PM or Government of India.
The Lok Sabha contest in Thiruvananthapuram is shaping up to be a significant battle involving key candidates like Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and Panniyan Ravindran. This three-cornered fight highlights the political dynamics in Kerala's capital city, with each candidate bringing their own vision and promises for the region's development, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
2019 was the Bharatiya Janata Party's breakout year, when it stretched the boundaries of what was thought possible and ended up with 303 seats on its own steam. Now it is forced to play defence, on a pitch queered by too many variables, asserts Prem Panicker.
If the party's members aren't sure what it stands for, see no path to wealth or power, and endure control by a dynasty, which, almighty as it is within the party, cannot get them the votes, they are likely to explore options, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Raja attacked the BJP over the attack on Christians in Orissa, and said that democratic parties should join the Left parties to oppose the menace of communalism posed by the BJP and pro-Hindutva forces.
'During the nine years of BJP rule, not a single temple has been reconstructed.' 'They might have constructed the Ram temple as it is an emotional issue. But they are not much interested in issues like heritage.'
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