Most politicians and even non-politicians have been honoured because of what they were purported to be electorally worth for the ruling party of their time, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, VVS Laxman and tennis sensation Sania Mirza were among sports personalities to express their views on social media.
The top of the sanctum sanctorum will be 161 feet from the ground floor and will be constructed with Rajasthan stone and marble.
It is suspected that some deaths have occurred in the accident as well, an official said but could not immediately confirm the information.
Making a strong Hindutva pitch at the hustings in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked Trinamool Congress leaders for calling those wearing saffron, sporting tilak and choti as "rakshas", and declared that he does not believe in "seasonal faith".
Batting icon Sachin Tendulkar will felicitate the India Under-19 women's cricket team for winning the inaugural T20 World Cup, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
The bench took on record the statement of senior advocate Amit Anand Tiwari for Tamil Nadu that there are no restrictions on 'puja archana' in temples or live telecast of consecration ceremony at Ayodhya.
'You can't pull down the nation's builders and architects to please the people in power.'
Some of them also carried pictures of Lord Hanuman as party workers and leaders assembled at Indira Bhawan, the state Congress office, and distributed sweets, threw gulal powder and burst firecrackers.
Taking note of the expected rush for the ceremony, divisional commissioner Gaurav Dayal on Wednesday convened a meeting of hotel owners of Ayodhya in preparation and instructed them to decorate their hotels to give a warm welcome to their guests during the consecration ceremony.
Several Union ministers, including Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar resigned.
Modi's presence at the evnt would open wounds, the Hyderabad MP said.
No longer, Virendra Kapoor points out, are these awards given on the recommendation of ministers, or the Delhi-based liaison men who had ruled the roast till 2014.
'I wonder how people who come to power through democratic means turn out this way.' 'But people of India are strong, and those who think they can hoodwink people, are mistaken.' 'You can fool some people for some time, but not all people, all the time.'
After the oath of aldermen and elected councillors, the House was adjourned for 15 minutes during which a number of Bharatiya Janata Party councillors started moving into the House, chanted 'Modi, Modi', and raised slogans against Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal.
Consensus emerged on the appointment of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as the chairperson of the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), while Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar's name was proposed for the convener's post, pending approval of parties absent at the alliance meeting on Saturday, according to sources.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Washington, DC, on Wednesday on an official visit to the United States during which he will hold the first face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris, attend the maiden in-person Quad summit and address the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
This comes after Gandhi on Tuesday replied to the Lok Sabha Secretariat's notice to vacate his official bungalow, and said he will abide by the notice.
To mark the day, the BJP has asked its workers to facilitate the COVID-19 vaccination drive as it eyes record-breaking numbers on Friday.
Biden and Modi committed that the US and India will work closely together to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, renew their partnership on climate change, rebuild the global economy in a way that benefits the people of both countries, and stand together against the scourge of global terrorism, the White House said in a readout of the call.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday offered prayers at a Matua temple in Bangladesh's Orakandi, the birthplace of Hindu mystic figure and Matua community's spiritual guru Harichand Thakur.
On Monday, Modi held a video conference meeting with chief ministers of all states to discuss the road ahead in India's fight against COVID-19.
Reaching out to tribals, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday lauded their contribution to Indian culture through the ages and said Lord Ram drew inspiration from them during his exile as he slammed the Congress for "neglecting" adivasis during its previous rules.
"Birthday wishes to Delhi CM Shri @ArvindKejriwal. May he be blessed with a long and healthy life," Modi said in a tweet.
Shah said the decision reflects the Modi government's immense reverence for Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and the Sikh community.
More than 3,000 gifts for Lord Ram from Sita's birthplace in Janakpur in Nepal have arrived in Ayodhya.
Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas leader Chirag Paswan has decided to return to the National Democratic Alliance, Bharatiya Janata Party chief J P Nadda announced on Monday, hours after Paswan met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a day before the crucial meeting of the ruling coalition.
Watch out for live updates from Narendra Modi's visit to Delhi's Shri Ram College of Commerce for its annual lecture.
The Congress has accused Twitter of acting against Gandhi's account under pressure from the government.
Arrows were fired to set the effigies of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhakaran ablaze at the Parade Ground on Saturday, an event that was attended by President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi among a host of other dignitaries.
The tit for tat actions came a day after Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-BJP government as deputy chief minister along with eight other NCP MLAs who were inducted as ministers.
Reserve Bank of India's former governor Raghuram Rajan on Wednesday joined Rahul Gandhi during the Congress-led Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan.
Modi on Wednesday laid the foundation of the Ram temple in Ayodhya after offering prayers at the Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday accused Trinamool Congress's Mahua Moitra of taking 'bribes' from a businessman to ask questions in Parliament and urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to constitute an 'inquiry committee' to look into the charges against her.
Prime Minister Modi gave President Biden the unique sandalwood box sourced from Mysore with intricately carved flora and fauna patterns and handcrafted by a master craftsman from Jaipur during an intimate dinner at the White House on Wednesday.
Women dominated this year's Padma awards for sports with tennis star Sania Mirza and ace shuttler Saina Nehwal getting the nod for the Padma Bhushan, while archer Deepika Kumari was chosen for the Padma Shri in New Delhi, on Monday.
"BJP workers are coming in front of the vehicle of Chief Minister Banerjee and shouting 'Jai Shri Ram.' Is it fair to do so? Is it right to interrupt and come in front of the car of somebody? The hooligans are also after our MLAs and MPs and are shouting 'Jai Shri Ram.' We will not do any such mischievous thing and will not stop the way of prime minister," said Debashree Banerjee, a TMC worker.
Accusing him of trying to steal a motorcycle, a mob beat up Ansari on June 17 of that year.
The Australian police have arrested three more people in connection with two incidents of brawl that broke out between Khalistan activists and pro-India demonstrators in Melbourne in late January, the police said on Thursday.
The Congress on Saturday wrote to the Election Commission seeking action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his 'Congress shielded terrorism for vote bank' remark and said he has crossed the 'lakshman rekha'.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances