A weak presence in the Rajya Sabha has forced the NDA to try and rope in 'weak links' in the Opposition ranks to pass key legislation in the Upper House.
AMU has once again been pulled into a crossfire of crass political opportunism. In these post-truth times, that the university also had political stirrings not subscribing to the Muslim League is chosen to be forgotten, says Mohammad Sajjad.
'The BJP has latched on to the idea of nationalism, but the nationalism they advocate is not nationalism as we have understood it since the time of the freedom movement.' 'This is not secular nationalism, it is Hindu nationalism.' 'It is a form of nationalism that is exclusionary and it tends to conflate national interest with the government.' 'So, if you disagree with the government, for example, on surgical strikes or demonetisation, you are anti-national or holder of black money.'
Bengaluru dominates Karnataka's economy and its infrastructure mess compounds the problems, with policies lagging need and expectations.
In a frontal attack on the Narendra Modi government, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said there has been an "alarming increase" in communal incidents since it came to power and asked party men to resist its "authoritarian and sectarian" tendencies.
Pledging full protection to minorities, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday questioned the practice of conversions and advocated a debate on the need for an anti-conversion law.
Demonetisation hit informal sector hard and caused job losses which was not addressed by the budget, Moily said.
One hopes the higher courts take the extraordinary steps needed to secure justice for the victims. The Gujarat carnage demands nothing less because of its unique nature and sponsorship by the State, argues Praful Bidwai.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi called for a relook at the entire ambit of Article 370, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
While there is no denying that certain sections of the community deserve aid, the politics of reservation can be suicidal for India.
It is mischievous to imply that the proposed bill to grant citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists from other nations implies that Muslims and Christians are not Indians, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
Today when we see the man behaving in a controlled, almost genteel fashion, creating a government with Prussian efficiency, colonising Delhi with a strange silence of expectation, one must ask is this Modi? Or is Modi all the trails he has left behind?'
While the Bharatiya Janata Party has gone out of its way to convert the upcoming Lok Sabha election as a contest between its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, the Grand Old Party is pitching next month's polls as a battle of two opposing ideologies. Anita Katyal reports
'Modi is likely to make more announcements to win or retain popularity, and put himself at the centre of things even more than now,' says T N Ninan.
'This is not a small change, it's a BIG change. People wanted to hear the voice of their PM. They can do so now. This is a big parivartan.'
In the final part of his interview with Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com, journalist Rajdeep Sardesai says the Congress lost the election in 2011, the year of Anna Hazare.
'Indian nationhood is indeed at the cusp of alarming redefinition -- hate-filled, and exclusionary.' 'Nations are not built this way, instead these are the ways of liquidating nations.' 'We must pre-empt it.' 'Can we?' asks Mohammad Sajjad.
'AMU is a secular university with an Islamic ethos.' 'We do not discriminate on the basis of religion. Let me tell you Muslims do not need reservations. They need affirmative action in education.'
That's how our politics is with no inner-party democracy. That's why we should listen to British MP Hilary Benn's speech, says Shekhar Gupta.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 'special package' of Rs 1,25,000 crore for poll-bound Bihar during his address at Ara district, in the state.
'Muslims, like people of all other faiths, are quite comfortable with the idea of nationalism and democracy today. But are they following Islam in its spirit? That is a different question.'
'We are overweight on India, as it is one of the best in emerging markets (EMs)'
'If the Congress is to challenge the NDA government, Rahul Gandhi will have to shed his indifference to Parliament, become more visible and vocal and, essentially, lead from the front,' says Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal.
'Muslims and Christians should understand that the cow is sacred to us. It is not good for health. They should eat something else.'
'There is anger against Rahul and this will become obvious in the days ahead.' 'He tried to run the party like a corporate.' 'He has been successful in wiping out the party from large parts of the country.' Within the Congress party there is extreme anger at Rahul Gandhi's style of politics.
The 67-year-old hasn't only received a clear-cut mandate for an unprecedented fourth term but also done it on his own. From distributing tickets to planning party campaigns to chalking out strategies for the present and the future, the chief minister had played a stellar role throughout, and emerged successful in his endeavour. Bikash Mohapatra reports
'High denomination cash notes which was 1.4 lakh crores of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in 2004 became Rs 15.5 lakh crores in 2016.' 'If it had been allowed, by 2022, it would have been Rs 34 lakh crores, and that would have been the end of the Indian economy.' 'Demonetisation was a huge hit on the head of the economy, but without the hit, you could not U-turn the economy.'
Chinese leaders may well respond to challenges with heightened rhetoric.
As the Lok Sabha election draw closer, a weary Congress is gradually getting reconciled to the idea of a stint in the opposition even though its strategists are convinced that the party will win up to 140 seats. Anita Katyal reports.
'Now that there is an election in the offing, she is repeating the same old promises. Does she think the people of Bengal are fools to fall for her lies?'
In an age of patents and intellectual property rights, it would be improper to deny that yoga comes from the Hindu tradition, says Sankrant Sanu.
When Rajni Kothari pointed towards a new democratic alignment in India.
'Do you know there is a 500 page report prepared by an inquiry committee headed by myself? When I placed the report in Parliament, have you heard any single Opposition leader give a notice for discussion? Why are they not demanding a discussion in Parliament on the report? They could have established that there was a scam. Today, a Parliament Committee report is as good as a Parliament report and this report says the 2G scam is no scam. Our government is suffering because of the media hype on these scams,' Congress MP P C Chacko tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.
'Tell me, what is more important to Modi -- his position as prime minister or as an RSS pracharak?' 'We feel he gives priority to his position as an RSS pracharak. Otherwise, why did he not agree to go to Parliament as the prime minister of the country and air his opinion on ghar wapsi as demanded by the Opposition?'
Markets are likely to go down, correct and stay subdued.
The beleaguered UPA government may provide Narendra Modi all the ammunition he wants. Still, without the politics of persuasion, the BJP's crowned prince has a daunting task before him, argues Akash Bisht.
For the third front to become a reality, it needs a party that has a pan-India presence and wins more Lok Sabha seats than all other parties in the front, say experts.
Why has a nation created on strong secular principles slowly chipped away those essential values? Why are so many Indians willing to compromise their freedoms and those of their compatriots for the cause of economic progress and to see a shining India,' asks Aseem Chhabra.
Admitting that the party was at crossroads and there were shortcomings both in the organisation and the United Progressive Alliance government, former Union Minister Sachin Pilot on Monday said "changes will happen soon" to put in place a 21st-century Congress.
'Babur has been facing gross historical injustice for the last two centuries, when he had no role either in the demolition of any temple or in the construction of the so-called Babri mosque at Ayodhya.'
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