Commerce, Connectivity, Consular and Community -- External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has urged Indian ambassadors in Central Asia to find ways to explore the massive potential that the strategically-important region offers. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, who travelled to Tajikistan with the foreign minister, reports.
A weak and troubled United Progressive Alliance government has stumbled badly by issuing the ordinance to counter the fine judgment by the Supreme Court that forces the disqualification of lawmakers convicted for a criminal offence punishable with a jail term of over two years.
'Gujarat has a very long tradition of Panchayati Raj. And many of the social sector things we are talking about are actually implemented by the panchayats. Decentralisation exists here. Now to decentralise I need the capacity in the panchayats.In most Indian states, we don't have the capacity in the panchayats, which is why governance in India is so very bad. But Gujarat has had this since the 1960s,' economist Bibek Debroy tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Only after the final bill for Telangana goes to Parliament will the disturbances in Andhra Pradesh subside. Sheela Bhatt reports
There is discontent amongst many strategic analysts against Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid's stand on the fallout of the Snowden's leaks. The news of the US National Security Agency's bugging the Indian embassy in Washington alongwith the embassies of 37 other countries has been taken lightly by India.
National security and corruption will be the BJP's poll plank for the coming Lok Sabha election, reveals Sheela Bhatt.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh had a talk with Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday about security related, developmental and the political situation on Ground Zero in Chhattisgarh's tribal area.
With Saturday's attack on a Congress convoy that killed party members and police personnel along with Salwa Judum founder Mahendra Karma, the Maoists have issued a strong political message.
Though the Samajwadi leader did not give any specific reasons for staying away, he had spoken out strongly against China during the recent border row, reports Sheela Bhatt.
BJP leaders argue that there is a serious argument against Cyriac Joseph's appointment because one of his "acts of omission" in not delivering a sensitive judgment within a reasonable time-frame has helped the first United Progressive Alliance government by bailing out Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family, reports Sheela Bhatt
Sheela Bhatt speaks to the popular Gujarati writer Gunvant Shah, who holds some strong and firm views on Narendra Modi.
Once the tremors of Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh Yadav's political shock dies down, they will return for fresh negotiations with the Congress, notes Sheela Bhatt.
By asking Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to move the resolution authorising the Congress president to select the party's presidential nominee, Sonia Gandhi has strengthened her political position. Sheela Bhatt analyses
'The hanging has made Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's position very vulnerable. The government has created an issue in Kashmir when there was none.'
Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt analysis what Rahul Gandhi's elevation to number 2 position means to a struggling Congress party and a government facing a credibility crisis.
Sheela Bhatt blames the Delhi gang-rape and its aftermath on the dreadful transport mafia, the offspring of the nexus between politicians, crooked bureaucrats and shady operators.
Asif Ibrahim's appointment as Director of India's Intelligence Bureau has stirred considerable interest. Observers believe the UPA government has chosen the new heads of the IB, the Research and Analysis Wing and the Central Bureau of Investigation, keeping in mind the next Lok Sabha election, reports Sheela Bhatt.
'The idea was not just to kill those hundreds of people,' historian Ramachandra Guha tells Sheela Bhatt, 'the idea was to provoke people against Muslims. It is really shocking that Pakistan is in denial about what happened in Mumbai.'
Sheela Bhatt reports how Ajmal Kasab's execution is significant for the central government and for the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra.
Opposition parties are wary that any such attempt that is likely to fail or is even potentially risky will end up helping the Congress eventually, says Sheela Bhatt.
The Indian government is fuming. Many serving and retired diplomats are anguished. The public arrest of Indian Deputy Consul General Devyani Khobragade in New York has triggered an 'unprecedented' chain of events. Sheela Bhatt reports
The President asked many questions on the treasure found in the temple, however, he wasn't shown the actual treasure since it's sealed under a Supreme Court order. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com, who accompanied the President, reports from Thiruvananthapuram.
The real effect of the so-called 'weak-allegations' against Robert Vadra is that the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty is shaken to its core, even if temporarily, says Sheela Bhatt.
The news report that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi helped in the evacuation of 15,000 Gujaratis from Uttarakhand in two days has come under fire from various quarters. Even if one disputes the figures, Modi's detractors can learn how the entire operation was handled meticulously. Sheela Bhatt reports.
Neither Swami Vivekananda nor his guru Ramakrishna Paramhans is Modi's "monopoly", is the message that Sonia Gandhi sent out on Wednesday, reports Sheela Bhatt
Narendra Modi will be the face of the BJP, the symbol of anti-Congress sentiment and the messiah of the Indian middle class in the general election, reports Sheela Bhatt.
'Their Maoism is a facade only to become leaders in society,' argues former IPS officer Mahendra Kumawat, who has extensively dealt with Naxalites.
With former Congressmen the Radadias in the BJP fold thanks to Narendra Modi's deft coup, the latest bye-election result may create an energetic power balance within Saurashtra, reports Sheela Bhatt
Sheela Bhatt, who attended the dinner to celebrate UPA-II's fourth anniversary, sensed a deep unease in the ruling echelons.
The real assessment of the actual diplomatic gains out of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's three-day India visit can be made only after promised actions are initiated, but surely it has yielded some political dividend for the beleaguered United Progressive Alliance government, notes Sheela Bhatt.
His provocative comments are the first political steps taken by the Congress to handle the coal scam and its fall-out, says Sheela Bhatt
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has more or less finalised the plan to tweak the Union Cabinet before Parliament opens on August 8. Three ministers will be shifted to the new portfolios. Home Minister P Chidambaram, as expected, will become the finance minister. He succeeds Pranab Mukherjee who has become President of India. He is impatiently waiting for the announcement to be made within 'three to four days'. Sheela Bhatt reports.
Thousands of sadhus and sants from across India have congregated in Haridwar to attend the Purna Kumbh Mela at Haridwar.Many of them participated in the Chaitra Purnima Snan at Har ki Pauri, the main ghaat in Haridwar, on Tuesday.
The Kumbhkarna has woken up and the prime minister can now rest easy. Sheela Bhatt presents the ten new trends set by the Uttar Pradesh elections
Mamata Banerjee changed her stand on the presidential election because the Congress and Pranab Mukheree, at different levels, worked hard to make her understand that the 'Vote for Pranab' is a win-win situation, reports Sheela Bhatt
Sheela Bhatt who traveled with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the BRICS summit in Durban, reports on what transpired during Dr Singh's first meeting with China's new leader Xi Jinping.
A senior government source explains to Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt why India cannot pre-judge a rivalry with China.
Sheela Bhatt spoke to various members of Parliament to elicit their opinion about Finance Minister P Chidambaram's last Budget before the general elections, and found them lukewarm in their reaction. 'Political nuksaan nahi, lekin faida bhi nahin. Bach nikle,' about sums it up
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