The event brings to fruition the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'mandir' movement that defined its politics for three decades and took it to the heights of power.
It was a sea of saffron in Kolkata on Tuesday when Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah held a roadshow taking the battle against arch-rival Trinamool Congress to Mamata Banerjee's den. BJP supporters chanted "Jai Shri Ram" as activists dressed up as Lord Ram, Sita and Hanuman walked along, not often seen on the streets of the city of Kolkata. Shah meandered through Kolkata on a truck, decked up with marigold, as the crowd carried BJP flags.
"To be honest, I am not bothered about such calls. I have also informed other signatories about the call and forwarded them the number," Sen said.
Saxena, 64, will succeed Anil Baijal who resigned from the post last week citing "personal reasons".
Parrikar had moved to the South Block at the insistence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2014.
Modi felicitated Kunwar Bai from Kotabharri village of Dhamtari for her efforts to make her village open defecation free.
On the other hand, the Yogi Adityanath government has 'completed nine lakh houses under the scheme and 14 lakh are under construction', Modi said, reeling out comparative figures.
As news of the death came in, condolences for the family poured in from leaders and others, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind.
Gold and silver will be used in the design of the main doors of the temple.
Iconic composer Ilaiyaraaja, celebrated athlete PT Usha, philanthropist Veerendra Heggade and screenwriter V Vijayendra Prasad Garu were nominated to Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
'The condition in Bengal is such that if you chant Jai Shri Ram, you would be put behind bars
From referencing "josh" of Bollywood flick 'Uri', to chants of "Modi, Modi" from the Bharatiya Janata Party, there were varied reactions in Lok Sabha as Finance Minister Piyush Goyal gave his interim budget speech on Friday.
Leaders hope the Ayodhya temple ceremony would pave way for harmony.
The met department said rainfall is very likely at most places in Tamil Nadu, Puduchery and Karaikal with heavy to very heavy showers at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places on Wednesday.
Veteran actor Mohan Joshi, Dasmodar Ganesh Bapat, who is working towards eradication of leprosy, and L Subadani Devi, Manipur-based weaver, were among those presented with Padma Shri.
Natekar, who was considered one of most popular sportspersons of his time, was also a former World number three.
While a tweet from a close aide of the Gandhi's and the Chief Whip of the party in Rajya Sabha, Jairam Ramesh took a dig on Azad for accepting the award, Congress stalwarts from the G-23 group have congratulated him for the 'well-deserved' award.
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.
'The Vajpayee personae is so mirrored in Modi's initiatives that one wonders if the similarities are merely a coincidence or a divine design,' says RSS ideologue Tarun Vijay.
The entire temple complex will, however, be ready by 2025.
In a recent awards event, industrialist Rahul Bajaj said that India Inc was afraid of criticising the Narendra Modi government, The comment drew flak from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam who said spreading one's own impression "can hurt national interest".
Riding a scooter, Union minister Smriti Irani led a rally of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday as she campaigned for the upcoming West Bengal elections in the South 24 Parganas district.
By presenting the battle in Bengal as one between Mamata on one side and Modi-Shah on the other, the saffron camp has projected the former as a larger-than-life figure, a portrayal which has the potential of turning her into Modi's main competitor in 2024, predicts Amulya Ganguli.
Charanjit Singh, who captained the Indian team which won gold in the Olympics of 1964, died on Thursday
The nation on Friday remembered Mahatma Gandhi on his 146th birth anniversary.
A home ministry spokesperson also denied the reports about Swaraj being appointed as the Governor.
Fernandes was hospitalised in July after suffering a fall while doing yoga at his house.
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's mother Lakshmi Palaniappan died on Friday. She was 92, her family said.
With the election campaign in Karnataka witnessing a bitter war of words between the BJP and the Congress, both the parties rushed to the Election Commission, seeking ban on electioneering by top leaders of the other side.
Earlier in the day, President Ram Nath Kovind accepted Murmu's resignation as the Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
The 1977-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer took oath in English after which he greeted the Chairman and other members present in the House.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, for whom the temple town sharpened its Hindutva plank, is facing a challenge particularly from the Samajwadi Party in the ongoing state polls.
The actor, known for her provocative and often inflammatory statements, posted a series of questions on Instagram, also bringing in Partition as well as Mahatma Gandhi and alleging that he let Bhagat Singh die and did not support Subhas Chandra Bose.
From twisting ears to poking into strange claymen from China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proven time and again that he is an awkward-moment magnet. The camera loves him, and he responds in kind, always.
Happy at the clear mandate given by voters to the BJP-led NDA, India Inc on Friday exuded confidence that Narendra Modi will initiate bold and decisive policy reforms to promote economic growth.
The BJP secured a runaway victory in the Municipal Board elections in Assam, pocketing 72 civic bodies out of 80. The Congress, the principal opposition party of the state, could not even win a single civic body.
'Modi has also made mistakes and overpromised.' 'However, his cautious and careful approach have insulated him from criticism.'
After Prime Minister Modi performed the bhoomi puja for the Ram temple, Lata Mangeshkar picked her favourite Ram bhajans.
Indian sprint legend Milkha Singh died on Friday after a month-long battle with COVID-19, during which he lost his former national volleyball captain wife Nirmal Kaur to the same ailment.
"As we light diyas here today our nation is strengthened by the sacred traditions that binds people together across our land. May this light bring hope to all and may everyone have a wonderful Diwali," Trump said in video he tweeted on Twitter.
