Hitting back at Narendra Modi, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said the Congress party wanted him to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Nanded due to the anti-incumbency factor and that he had the backing of his family including sitting MP and brother-in-law Bhaskarrao Patil.
The ministers quit their posts in protest against central govt to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
Caste assertions, including from the upper castes, could have the Sangh Parivar stumble yet again in its efforts to construct a Hindu rashtra.
If anyone is targeting Sasikala or the AIADMK, then they should be looking elsewhere, not at Deepa for leading a revolt successfully, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The voter thinks that the State is not going to impartially deliver services, provide justice, basic law and order, social insurance -- so as a voter it's very rational that I may choose a criminal who will help me navigate the State.' 'A weak State allows a criminal politician to be the person who provides that guarantee to mediate whatever problem the citizen has with the State.'
'If Nitish goes alone, he will be washed away.' 'If he hand holds the BJP, it will again crush him because it will be known that he has sided with the BJP because he doesn't have any other option.' 'Lalu knows Nitish coming back will be a political gain for Lalu.'
In potentially controversial remarks, Union minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday asked his party workers to take advantage of the multi-phase polling in the state by voting twice, first at their hometowns and then at their places of work.
'The BJP used to be a party of decent, Hindu, middle-class people. Today, it is a party of goons. At the ground level, goons beat you up and at the senior level, the intellectuals justify the beating up.' 'On May 13, one boy sent me an SMS at 2.35 am: "Mayank sir, only five seats, what will happen?" There will be a lot of these idealist kids who want that quick transformation that may not happen. We will have to mentor them. We will have to explain to them that nations cannot be changed like that.' Aam Aadmi Party leader Mayank Gandhi, on the lessons the party has learnt from Election 2014.
One would not think that a Facebook status or a tweet could land you in jail, at least not in India -- the world's largest democracy. However, the reality is a lot more brutal in India, which has a shameful history of locking up its citizens for dissenting viewpoints. According to Mint, at least 50 people have been arrested through 2017 and 2018 for posts on social media. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com presents some of the most prominent cases.
'This minority government will be for only 15 days.' 'By that time, its motion of confidence will be defeated, and it will have to resign.' 'Therefore, the swearing-in is a waste of money, energy and time.'
'Modi came out with this huge announcement that he has given a historic price rise to farmers.' 'It was actually a fake price. He did not give the price mentioned in the BJP's election manifesto.' 'So, Modi gave an incomplete price rise and publicised it as if he has completed his job.' ''This government has surely proved that it does not care about farmers in any way.'
'Disturbingly, the dissenting judgment of the Supreme Court has raised doubts whether religion, race, caste, community, language etc can be separated from politics at all. It has rightly underlined that this question should to be addressed by Parliament rather than the Supreme Court,' says Dr Madhav Godbole, the former Union home secretary.
Bharatiya Janata Party's PM candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday targeted Rahul Gandhi yet again, saying while nothing is being done to check price rise and corruption, the Congress leader has been only coming out with "akashwani" (celestial voices).
Laying down a host of criterion for the selection of candidates for the coming Lok Sabha elections, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has made it known that no tainted leader will be given a ticket by the party.
As the dust finally settles on the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 and Bharatiya Janata Party along with its NDA allies emerges as the clear winner, here is a list of who won in each of the 7 phases of elections.
In a year of the Yogi Adityanath regime in Uttar Pradesh, the state has witnessed 1,500 police encounter in which 58 criminals have been killed. On July 2, the Supreme Court sought a reply from the UP government on the issue of police encounter killings after advocate Sanjay Parekh appearing for the People's Union for Civil Liberties pointed out that gross human rights violations were being carried out through these killings under the Adityanath rule. Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com, PUCL's advocate Sanjay Parekh said that police encounters are not permissible in a democracy.
'In this country, if any government acquires one of these images -- anti-farmer, or anti-poor or corrupt -- the government doesn't survive.' 'The Modi government is fast acquiring that anti-farmer image, that is why it is nervous.'
England, who have won both the one-day and Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka, play a two-day practice match in Colombo before heading to Galle which hosts the first of the three Test matches from November 6.
The minister also cautioned the social media giant and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg of repercussions under the IT Act in case of any data breach came to light.
Union Budget 2015 cuold have included few smaller reforms.
Religious minorities in India have been subjected to "violent attacks, forced conversions" and 'Ghar Wapsi' campaigns by groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh after the Modi government assumed power in 2014, a US Congress-established panel has said.
De-scaling of businesses, job losses and subsequent impact on disposable incomes has created negative sentiment among traders, business owners and workers alike, says Abhishek Waghmare.
With an eye on assembly elections after severe drubbing in Lok Sabha polls, the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government on Wednesday approved 16 per cent reservation for Marathas and five per cent for Muslims in government jobs and education institutions.
The resentment against the government has increased.
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India's hydroelectric power generation grew 17.5 per cent to 7.5 billion units in January this year from 6.4 billion units in the same month of 2012.
The massive protest has been called by the All India Government Nurses Federation and the Delhi Nurses Federation seeking redressal of issues related to pay and allowances.
Poor land-use planning, indiscriminate approvals of building plans and the absence of disaster-risk assessment in urban design have resulted in what experts term concentrated concretization, predisposing cities to disaster risks
As many as 20 new faces are expected to be inducted into the Union Council of Ministers on Sunday in the first revamp exercise which is likely to bring in BJP leaders Manohar Parrikar, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Bandaru Datttatreya while elevating a few.
The government is following a path where it will not be irresponsible or profligate with public money but will intervene in the interest of the poor
Ahead of the assembly elections next year, the BJP has been wallowing in a welter of ideas that has resurrected the debate on populism versus pragmatism, as it has to pander to two important but incompatible constituencies, of the freebie consuming masses and Bengaluru's heavy hitters craving for even roads, pristine lakes and unbroken power supply, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
'If you look at the entire protest on April 2, you will find it was not only about the Atrocities Act dilution, but the accumulated anger of the Dalit community against the BJP over the last four years.'
'Across the political spectrum, especially from the side of the NDA itself, there is complete disillusionment (with the way the BJP is treating its allies).' 'This leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.'
BJP leader Arun Jaitley assesses Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's first ever television interview
The RSS uses its resentment against mosques and loudspeakers to stoke anti-Muslim feelings among other Hindus, whenever it can, be it during riots, or before elections, says Jyoti Punwani.
'This is India, bhai. This kind of country does not exist anywhere in the world.'
The BJP's manifesto for UP elections promised many things. But, given the state's precarious financial position, fulfilling these promises is likely to prove tricky, says Ishan Bakshi.
'When you read that for the first time, areas in Gujarat dominated by Patidars/Patels have been declared 'sensitive' for the civic polls that were held this week, you sit up and take note,' says Jyoti Punwani.
RSS leader Rajesh Kunte on why dragged the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi to court and why he believes that the RSS is being wrongly targeted in this matter.
'Modi and Shah know their politics. That is why the alarmed switch to reservations, and raising the threat from 'vote bank' politics,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'The one thing that a cricketer aspires for is earning the respect of the dressing room and that respect is earned only when any player puts his hand up in adverse conditions and does his job for the team.'
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