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.
From the time he first rose to prominence during the movement against the then UPA government, Arvind Kejriwal has regularly grabbed headlines for his surprise moves and decisions. Here are 10 such instances.
However, Karunanidhi said he was not bothered even about his life and that democracy was important for him.
Observing that Hindu-Muslims ties are under "severe test" lately, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday appeared to target Narendra Modi as he asked the countrymen to be vigilant of those who work against India's secular thought by attempting to "redefine secularism".
'This decision to go with the BJP is Kumaraswamy's individual decision and not a party decision.'
He further added that the people of India respect different languages, religion, food and customs which varies from region to region. "That's the India that I believe in, where everybody has a place and everybody compromises little bit," he said.
'It is a welcome development, but the ordinance has limited validity of six months, that is the problem.' 'Therefore, we are urging all political parties including the Congress to collaborate and bring a law.'
DMK Parliamentary Party leader T R Baalu told reporters in New Delhi that Tamil Nadu Law Minister S Regupathy, who led a delegation, handed over to the President what state Chief Minister M K Stalin has 'written', but repeatedly insisted the content of the communication was only known to the CM.
The Janata Dal-Secular on Thursday petitioned Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, seeking his intervention recommending a CBI probe into the sexual abuse charges against Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna.
'The BJP's numbers in this government are almost the same as those enjoyed by the Congress under P V Narasimha Rao when the reform process was kicked off in 1991.' 'As before, the only constraints on the prime minister's actions are internal, not external.' 'They come from his own assessment of the political consequences of any action,' points out Mihir S Sharma.
Those joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers for the first time include three former chief ministers -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and H D Kumaraswamy (Karnataka).
'Congress leaders who are making strategy for the Congress to win elections have not even won a class monitor elections.' 'When you have not contested school monitor elections, what will you know about the ground reality?'
'Bharat is the core value that has to be lived by and if you deny it, then the people will discard you.'
'Are we supposed to look the other way as Islamists go on a rampage against Hindus and the Hasina government pay lip service to secularism?' A revealing excerpt from Avishek Biswas and Deep Halder's book, Being Hindu In Bangladesh: The Untold Story.
'Like every Budget, this time, too, there is chatter around tinkering with the long-term capital gains tax.' 'Investors may not want to jump into the markets until there is clarity on this front.'
'In the name of pluralism-secularism, the kind of politics that was pursued revealed to many that it was basically a favour to Muslim conservatism and communalism -- a politics of minority-ism, rather than of secularism.' 'This is how significant sections of Hindus have been made to loathe the very idea of Indian secularism by now,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
Over 260 eminent citizens, including former judges and bureaucrats, have written to Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud urging him to take cognisance of DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's 'eradicate Sanatan Dharma' comment, calling it "hate speech".
In India democracy is only notional. One can see the discriminatory nature of policies for different classes of citizens. The policies adopted have increased the gap between the rich and the poor. This is not just corruption, it is a big scam! says Sandeep Pandey.
Hitting out at Narendra Modi over his veil of secularism remark, Congress said the "cloak of secularism" envelopes all faiths while the veil of communalism is sectarian and the country is witnessing a clash of these two visions.
The BJP is focusing determinedly on the seats it lost in 2019, with the hope of winning these either independently or with the aid of its allies.
The high-level committee on 'one nation, one election' approached 62 parties out which 47 responded -- 32 in support of holding elections simultaneously, 15 against it.
Khan, who is currently lodged in Sitapur jail, has been replaced by Mohibullah Nadvi, a cleric of a mosque located on Delhi's Parliament Street.
The jama'ath of a mosque in Kerala has allegedly opposed the participation of people belonging to the lower strata of the Muslim community in their general meeting, drawing sharp criticism from progressive organisations in the society.
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.
Official said a CBI inquiry has been recommended against Aman Biradari for violation of various provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.
The DMK and its allies submitted a list of pending assembly bills with the Raj Bhavan.
'Does anyone understand India?' 'Does anyone have a larger perspective for India as a whole?' 'Today we have rulers who do not understand the ruled.'
Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, all ministers in Modi 2.0 Cabinet, took oath as cabinet ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In all, 71 ministers were sworn-in along with Modi, taking the strength of the Union council to 72.
Polling is scheduled in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
'As a governor, I have every right to speak my mind if I feel the security of my country is at stake.' 'Why is it that we would have to shed tears when Muslims are killed or tortured, but have to keep mum when the Hindus receive the same treatment?'
Days after he attacked Bharatiya Janata Party's PM candidate Narendra Modi over the 2002 riots issue, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that BJP's "divisive" policy was responsible for spoiling the country's secular fabric and incidents of hate crime.
It said AMU is not and cannot be a university of any particular religion or religious denomination as any university which has been declared an institution of national importance cannot be a minority institution.
There is no use of the BJP targeting the likes of Mamata Banerjee and M K Stalin, directly by the party's political bosses, both in Delhi and the respective state capitals, or even using the Raj Bhavans to fire those salvos from. Successive elections have proved that it's counter-productive, if anything. But the BJP is yet to understand it, acknowledge it, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
Manipur Governor Shivinder Singh Sidhu administered the oath of office and secrecy to Ibobi Singh.
Congress ally in outgoing Secular Progressive Front government, Communist Party of India, won two seats. The two parties did not contest the Assembly elections as allies this time.
Stalin described his party-led coalition as the "Secular Progressive Alliance."
'He has emerged as a formidable leader who cannot be ignored anymore, who cannot be mocked.'
To highlight alleged misgovernance by the present regime, its first nationwide campaign ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections.
The Congress on Thursday secured a seat in the present Bengal assembly as its candidate Bayron Biswas won the Sagardighi bypoll, defeating the nearest rival of the Trinamool Congress by 22,980 votes.
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