The cable in which Rahul Gandhi tells the US ambassador Timothy Roemer that radical Hindu groups pose a bigger threat than the LeT could haunt the young leader, says Sheela Bhatt.
Sheela Bhatt speaks to Meenal Baghel, author of Death In Mumbai, an account of the Grover murder case, on the judgment that has shocked and surprised many.
Kidnapped collector Alex Paul Menon's wife Asha, in an exclusive first person account, gives glimpses of her husband's softer side, and requests the Maoists to release him.
On the night of November 25, at around 10.30 pm, Rakesh Maria hand-delivered a long letter to Chandra Iyengar, the state additional home secretary. He took three hours to draft his letter because he has attached a detailed rebuttal with his letter expressing a desire to resign if he is not defended.
The Union home ministry believes the newly-formed National Investigation Agency will have to reinvestigate the 26/11 case if the David Headley-Tahawwur Rana probe produces unexpected links with the Mumbai terror attacks. This will be a serious matter and hit the Mumbai police's credibility.
'If the prime minister was really serious, then he should have removed Raja long back,' says Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan.
If Kasab's lawyer K P Pawar argued with vigour on Tuesday, then public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam was tenacious in seeking the highest possible punishment for the Pakistani terrorist. Nikam argued that it would be a travesty of justice if noose is not awarded to justice. Sheela Bhatt and Prasanna D Zore tracks Tuesday's court proceedings.
During Tuesday's hearings in the high-profile 26/11 case, key accused Ajmal Kasab's counsel K P Pawar went full throttle, steadfastly arguing why minimum punishment should be given for his client. Sheela Bhatt and Prasanna D Zore, who were in the court through the day, bring the dramatic day's proceedings alive.
The legendary painter wanted to die in India, old friend Anil Relia tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt
After mishandling completely Baba Ramdev's hunger strike, the UPA government and the Congress party is branding the ongoing anti-corruption stir as the fight of people with communal agenda. Sheela Bhatt analyses where the deception lies.
Hours after he and his supporters were dramatically evicted from the Ramleela maidan in New Delhi by the police, Baba Ramdev spewed venom on Congress President Sonia Gandhi and claims that there had been an attempt to eliminate him. Sheela Bhatt reports on his press conference
India's 8 percent-plus growth has opened up opportunities where India is, for the first time, in a position to offer unprecedented opportunities to US businessmen in the nuclear power, space and manufacturing sectors.
Sheela Bhatt provides a ringside view to the hectic political developments after yoga guru Baba Ramdev landed in New Delhi to start his fast against corruption.
'If India does not succeed in making the US recognise the combined threat of the China-Pakistan alliance, there is nothing left in the visit,' says Brajesh Mishra, the former National Security Adviser.
Experts differ on whether the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh could escalate tensions between India and China and even lead to war.
'It is very, very mystifying that somebody who is a potential prime minister of this country and someone who is such a prominent leader in such a big political party lacks clear public engagement on the big issues of the day,' says Dr Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president, Centre for Policy Research.
"Instead of talking about war, we must increase trade many fold, we should have common goals for space, energy and food security. India and China should protect the supply chain. Like securing Malacca Straits from pirates on the high seas. Both countries should jointly find ways to use high technology for poverty reduction. And evolve a consensus on environment and terrorism-related issues."
Jason Burke, the Guardian newspaper's South Asia correspondent, tells rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt that there is no need to go hammer and tongs at Pakistan unless there's sufficient evidence to back up claims about its complicity in harbouring Osama bin Laden.
'If the older generation of SP leaders come back to power, it will ruin the opportunity. They will misgovern, they will be stale. UP and the SP's destiny is inter-linked right now,' Professor Rajesh Misra, head of the sociology department at Lucknow University, tells Sheela Bhatt.
His arrest has created a sensation, given his affluent origins in Mumbai and his elite Doon School -- where he was Congress leader Sanjay Gandhi's classmate -- and London education. Ghandy is an intellectual supporting the Maoists in various ways, and has no criminal record whatsoever.
Arun Jaitley, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, was restrained in his reaction to the Ayodhya verdict delivered by the Allahabad high court's Lucknow bench; but his joy was hardly hidden.
Ahmedabad witnessed some of the most gruesome incidents during the communal riots that rocked Gujarat in 2002. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt travelled to Ahmedabad to get to know more about the ethos of the city, which has seen it all in its 600-year-old history
In the current sordid saga, it is not the Indian people who have failed. It is India's political leaders who have failed the people, unforgivably, says Sheela Bhatt.
On location to cover the ongoing SAARC summit, Sheela Bhatt strolls through the valleys of this tranquil wonderland called Thimphu; and meets interesting personalities amidst ethereal surroundings.
Sheela Bhatt explores the tangled web of deception, lies and money woven by IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, former BCCI chief Sharad Pawar and the UPA government.
BJP leader Arun Jaitley on why it is important for the government not to bow to those propagating violence and offers possible solutions to the problems plaguing the valley.
It seems that realisation has dawned, at last, in New Delhi that the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir has become a national crisis. The government is waking up to connect to the state, which is under the wave of violence, notes Sheela Bhatt.
'They have been compromised, have taken favours, have other interests and are the people who have betrayed the profession,' legendary editor Vinod Mehta tells Sheela Bhatt.
'Holding elections in UP is a challenging task. If UP had been a country, it would have been the sixth largest country in the world! This is the scale at which we hold the elections,' says Umesh Sinha, the chief electoral officer, Uttar Pradesh.
In the wake of the nuclear emergency in Japan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should have ensured a 'check-up' of safeguards at nuclear power plants before declaring 'Everything is fine' at those sites, Dr A N Prasad, former director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Sudheendra Kulkarni tells rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt that he feels vindicated after a Wikileaks expose on the alleged 'buying' of MPs during the 2008 confidence vote of the United Progressive Alliance.
Senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Narendra Modi are sulking because they have a grouse against party president Nitin Gadkari, reports Sheela Bhatt.
'We are confused because the UPA government has cheated us. The question before us is, should we request the people to not vote for the UPA or should we not? Shall we not hit the streets again at all? There are many options before us. Each option has many implications for our movement,' Arvind Kejriwal confesses to Sheela Bhatt.
Sheela Bhatt lifts the lid off a Gujarat government scheme, piloted by Law Minister Amit Shah, currently in the dock over the Sohrabuddin encounter, to offer prime plots cheap to judges
The foreign ministers' talks failed just when progress seemed on the horizon, says Sheela Bhatt
An overwhelming majority of MPs think that in less than five years the Lokpal will become the most corrupt institution in India. Sheela Bhatt reports.
The Congress fears of a loss of credibility, the dwindling fortunes of the DMK and a chance for one-upmanship over the Opposition, especially the BJP, meant that A Raja had to got to jail, says Sheela Bhatt
'India doesn't want any fights with China. We want to develop a relationship further and faster, but we want to assure that our pride is not hurt in the process because China has risen and India is, still, rising. This, in a nutshell is India's policy on China.'
Sheela Bhatt in the second-part of an exclusive chat with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Indresh Kumar, the man who is under the national scanner for serious, but, so far unsubstantiated, allegations of mentoring a group of terrorists.
Kejriwal spoke exclusively to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt and was making his final position clear. Before the third round of agitation against corruption begins in the last week of December read the logic and passion behind it in this the first of a two-part series.
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