'Something so unfortunate has happened because of illiteracy in our country. Almost all the junior actors' costumes have been burned to ashes. There is so much hard work that was put into making the clothes. We will work day and night and make up for the damages but morally, we are are very low.'
PM said Kovind will make an 'exceptional President'.
Narendra Modi is all set to be elected leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National Democratic Alliance parliamentary coalition on Tuesday as jockeying for positions in the new Cabinet gained momentum on Monday.
Thirty-five Union ministers on Friday huddled in a strategy meeting for an image make-over for the government on a day when Congress began its foot march against the land bill from the symbolical Bhatta Parsaul village.
'In a party run by 'two-and-a half men', Kovind fits the bill perfectly because, unlike the BJP's previous choice for the Presidency, A P J Abdul Kalam, he is unlikely to return a bill as Kalam did with the office of profit legislation,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
Manmohan Singh, reveals the former President, was keen that either P Chidambaram or Montek Singh Ahluwalia be the finance minister.
'Till the time the MSM and Modi don't trust one another, expect more Nirmala Sitharamans springing out from nowhere,' says Sudhir Bisht.
Let those in power put trees on par with the sacred cow. And century-old trees certainly need to be worshipped, says Anil Singh.
'No right thinking student of politics can name one state where the BJP gains in double digits.'
The theme of the reshuffle is to fulfill Modi's earlier promise of 'maximum governance, minimum government.' Some key ministries are likely to be merged.
Anupam Kher on why he thinks the prime minister is a genuine person.
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.
Fresh protests erupted on the University of Hyderabad campus on Tuesday over the alleged suicide by Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula even as members of a social outfit tried to hold a demonstration outside the residence of Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, who has been accused in the suicide case.
Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan, who was transferred to Mizoram for his remaining tenure, resigned on Sunday.
'Wisdom demands Modi moves to restore the critical institutions of the State and dial back on the cult building around his persona,' say Sonali Ranade and Shealja Sharma.
From the Aadhaar verdict to #MeToo's arrival in the country to the entry into the Sabarimala temple -- India had a newsworthy 2018. As we step into 2019, these are the top moments from the year gone by.
The Opposition is putting up a symbolic fight for the presidential polls as it knows that the BJP has the numbers to get its candidate elected to the top post.
'In the 30 years since the Ayodhya movement began, the RSS has created a generation of Hindus who are the mirror image of those fanatic Muslims who take to the streets at the slightest, even imagined, 'insult to Islam,' argues Jyoti Punwani.
'I hope the honourable PM and Mr Shah take steps to ensure that the NDA doesn't split.'
Even a 6 percent vote-share would make AAP an important player on the national scene. The key lies in strategically concentrating AAP's vote, especially in the cities, so that it can break Narendra Modi's momentum, besides defeating an already weak Congress, says Praful Bidwai.
'She was once asked what the secret to political leadership was and she said it was the ability to like all kinds of people.' 'I don't think Rahul fundamentally likes people -- that's probably why he can't deal with them and it shows.' 'Sonia is a more talented political mobiliser than her son, but I think the decline of the Congress set in in 1969...'
Incidents of arson, firing and vandalism were reported from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab as protesters agitated against the dilution of the SC/ST Act.
How do you translate a first love into a profession? How do you become a writer once you set your heart on it? Susmita Bhattacharya, who once worked as a graphic designer in Mumbai, now teaches the basics of English to newcomers to Britain and is also a creative writing tutor. Her first novel The Normal State of Mind was published earlier this year after a grim battle with cancer.
'All that Maharashtra can give someone whose husband has died is a piece of cloth. That was extremely tragic for me.' 'If you go back historically there is no reference to Maharashtra whereas there is complete reference to Vidarbha.'
In spite of being wounded in battle, Lieutenant Colonel A B Tarapore fought for six days before meeting a hero's death on the battlefield in the 1965 war. A legend in the Indian Army, he is the highest ranking officer to be awarded the Param Vir Chakra.
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