Addressing the annual Dussehra rally at the iconic Shivaji Park ground in Mumbai, Thackeray lashed out at Shinde, whose rebellion in June this year brought down the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in the state.
In his book Arun Bhatnagar, a retired IAS officer, makes a dig at Hardeep Singh Puri, former diplomat, Union minister and BJP nominee from Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, for Rajiv's faulty Sri Lankan policy, writes Rasheed Kidwai.
Rajya Sabha also rejected an opposition sponsored motions to send the bill to a select committee of the House and for making triple talaq a civil offence with 100 votes against it as compared to 84 in favour.
The Akali Dal is convinced that Waris Punjab De and Amritpal Singh are part of a bigger plan to create a law and order problem in the state, leading to the imposition of central rule and even the exclusion of Punjab from the Lok Sabha polls as was done in 1991.
On Friday, the Bombay high court reversing the ban imposed on women entering the inner sanctum of the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai said, "The ban is contrary to articles 14, 15, 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India. Women should be permitted to enter the dargah on par with men." The news brought much cheer and joy to petitioner Zakia Soman who is also the founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan. Zakia spoke to Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf on what made this verdict historic and how it will bring about a change in the future.
Twenty years after the burning of a train in Godhra killed 59 'karsevaks' and triggered one of India's worst post-Partition riots, the poll-scape reflects the yawning gulf between the two communities.
If there is a lesson to be learnt from the 1980s, it is that mobocracy never works. And a government that yields before public protests will have ceded its right to govern, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'I'm 79 + now, and I've been doing all this since my late 20s.' 'Sometimes the ideological war extends to the home as well.' 'Many nights I couldn't sleep when someone close to me uttered the smallest insult.' 'It would cause me a lot of pain. But one has to be honest to oneself.'
'Although Narendra Modi had no direct participation in the Ayodhya agitation, he would not have been in the dominant position he is now had it not been for the Ram Janambhoomi agitation.'
In a statement after the apex court verdict, Thackeray said, "With folded hands, we request the prime minister and the president to take an immediate decision on Maratha quota."
What does a Muslim in politics do? Where does he go?
You'd wonder what madness seized Rahul that he has decided to play to the BJP's strengths, says Shekhar Gupta.
'Since the two successive drubbings of the Congress have rung the alarm bells about the party's future, the need to chart a new course cannot be delayed any further,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'We are losing the battle of secularism, but we have not lost.'
'From chaiwala he has now become Rafalewala. He speaks a bunch of lies,' the West Bengal CM said.
The Centre pleaded in HC that it is waiting for responses from various states over UCC.
'...and instead do 20 minutes for someone else for a week, what an impact that will be...' says Maharaj Damodardas
'You cannot suppress a section of society permanently.' 'The spark of revolt will catch fire sooner or later.'
Bilkis, whose cross-examination was concluded on Thursday, had earlier identified in the court the 12 accused.
The high court further observed that the triple talaq practice, sanctioned under Muslim Personal Law that governs marriage, property and divorce violates the rights of Muslim women.
Independent candidates have emerged as big winners in Jammu and Kashmir's maiden District Development Council polls, with 49 of them having been declared elected so far from 280 seats, putting them ahead of parties like the Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
'People want to know the life led by those living in Pakistan.'
That AAP managed a sizeable vote share in Gujarat is creditable. The BJP can no longer ignore AAP's growing presence in its strongest bastion, explains Ramesh Menon, long-time observer of Gujarat politics.
70-plus years after Independence, 'Hindu India, metamorphosised as 'Hindutva India', is proving the British right -- and for all the wrong reasons. Mohan Bhagwat should have answers for the why of it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
What these elections prove beyond any doubt (if ever there was one) that Modi's hold over public mind and Shah's mastery of election management are unparalleled. It doesn't seem likely that they will be matched any time soon in the Indian political scene, reaffirms Shreekant Sambrani.
Sukanya Verma looks back at Bollywood royalty, and asks *you* to pick your favourite!
'For Muslims, India is now a Hindu Rashtra, no matter what kind of Constitution is still in place,' argues Mohammad Sajjad.
On all key issues, Congress is MIA, sighs Shekhar Gupta.
'As I watched Sacred Games, I kept flinching at the thought of all the thorns poised to lodge themselves in the sides of the thin-skinned,' says Mitali Saran.
'When it comes to national politics, the Modi-Shah BJP has successfully redefined secularism.' 'If a party like the Congress has to have a future, it has to move closer to the secular centre from the far Left where its Left infatuation during the UPA years dragged it,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
A constipated, constricting UCC would be worse than the current scenario of competing personal laws, says Devangshu Datta.
'I hope he will continue to be what he is. And doing so, he won't be much different from those whose example he is being given right now,' says Utkarsh Mishra.
'The Ulema have come out as villains against Indian secularism, impeding the secular united resistance against violent Hindutva that is backed by ministers in the government,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
When the Muslim Personal Law Board promises 'advisories' and nikahnamas to the Supreme Court, one has to remember not only its recent campaign against any change in Muslim personal law, but also its past record of inaction on the question of triple talaq, says Jyoti Punwani.
'In a competitive industry where no one has a formula for success other than the actor's personal appeal, the need to dominate the news cycle in the interim between films is so overpowering that even the otherwise sober stars can suffer a Ghajini moment,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'Who is the government to decide about my religion?' 'We are governed by the Constitution. The Constitution has given me the independence to follow my religion.'
Mohammad Sajjad profiles Professor Riazur Rahman Sherwani, 94, versatile mind, intrepid intellectual.
'The BJP, or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, are celebrating their biggest ideological and philosophical victory in some time,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'Indian secularism doesn't deserve a tombstone. It needs a new shrine,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
By all yardsticks 2024 isn't expected to be like 2014 or 2019. But with the mandir expected to be ready in time for the next Lok Sabha polls, Modi will have a new ally in Ram to see him through, observes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
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