There was more to him than he let on, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj passed away on Tuesday. From being tagged the 'supermom' of India by Washington Post to becoming one of the most followed politicians on Twitter, the former external affairs minister had truly struck a chord with young and old alike with her round-the-clock social media presence, eagerness to help, and ready wit on social media. Here's a look at how she won Twitterati's hearts.
Debutant legislator Rekha Gupta was sworn in as Delhi chief minister along with six ministers on Thursday in a grand show of strength full of colour and spectacle to mark the Bharatiya Janata Party's return to power in the city after more than 26 years.
First-time MLA Rekha Gupta will be the new chief minister of Delhi, capping 11 days of suspense over who will get the top post after the Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power after over 26 years ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party.
Swaraj was admitted to All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) following a deterioration in her health. She passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Condolences continued to pour in from world dignitaries for former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who breathed her last due to cardiac arrest on Tuesday night.
The decision was taken at the executive council meeting of the university, sources said.
'Let Fadnavisji prove to the people of Maharashtra that he acts fairly against one and all.'
'These people got caught in Pakistan, and jailed for a year-and-a-half, their release was delayed due to various political factors that were happening during 2017, 2018 and 2019.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader passed away on Tuesday night after a massive cardiac arrest.
'Not just the angry families, but also the public will remember Swaraj's foreign ministership for this colossal lapse of judgment,' notes Karan Thapar.
The monthly Rs 2500 payment for poor women is expected to cost Rs 11,000 crore while the pension scheme of Rs 2000 for every senior citizen will cost around Rs 4100 crore. The Yamuna clean up will cost over Rs 10,000 crore while a similar amount is required to upgrade Delhi's hospitals. Ultimately, the new BJP government will have no choice but to ask the centre for financial support, notes Rashme Sehgal.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a two-thirds majority on the back of a hyper localised campaign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'AAP-da'(disaster) blitzkrieg.
rediffGURU Radheshyam Zanwar, founder of Zanwar Classes, helps aspirants prepare for competitive exams such as MHT-CET, IIT-JEE and NEET-UG.
The upcoming Delhi Assembly elections are set to be a thrilling contest between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress. The BJP is focusing on its "Parivartan" (change) slogan and a targeted campaign against AAP over corruption allegations, while AAP is highlighting the credibility of its leader, Arvind Kejriwal, and his promises to deliver on his promises. The Congress, seeking to reclaim its lost footing in the national capital, is also campaigning with a renewed vigor.
Violence erupted in the central Maharashtra city of Parbhani after a replica of the Constitution was vandalized. Around 50 people have been detained for the protests, while a man with mental health issues has been arrested for allegedly damaging the replica. Opposition leaders condemned the incident, calling for strict action against those responsible. The situation is under control, but tensions remain high in the city.
The CBI lodged the case after a two-year preliminary enquiry, which originated from a pen drive handed over to the then Maharashtra Assembly speaker by Devendra Fadnavis, who was in the opposition in 2020, they said.
Joined by leaders from all major parties, Modi paid tributes to the Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart, who died last week, at a condolence meeting.
'Challenge is basically near-term growth as the outlook has turned a bit adverse.'
Delhi's youngest Chief Minister Atishi took charge of the capital's government on Monday, September 23, 2024.
'Senior Vatican officials were pleasantly surprised at the number of Indians who had come to witness the ceremony.'
His comments came hours after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in the Pakistani capital to attend the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Travelling from South India to Kashmir in December was magical for Ganesh Nadar as he feasted his eyes on the beauty of the snow-capped Himalayas.
Delhi is set to get its third woman chief minister, after Congress' Sheila Dikshit and Bharatiya Janata Party's Sushma Swaraj, as Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi has been chosen to succeed Arvind Kejriwal.
'Geeta said Swaraj used to talk to her and discuss about all her problems and progress in studies'
Bharatiya Janata Party rebel leader Naveen Goyal, who is contesting as an Independent candidate from Gurgaon in the upcoming assembly polls, reacted to an ultimatum by Union minister Piyush Goyal, saying he was not going to withdraw his nomination.
The last Indian external affairs minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had travelled to Islamabad in December 2015 to attend a conference on Afghanistan.
'Why do visas require the intervention of India's Union ministers? Does any civilised nation assure visas like this over Twitter?'
AIIMS doctors said the BJP stalwart and former external affairs minister died of a cardiac arrest.
While the pilot suffered injuries, the helicopter's rotor blades got damaged in the incident.
The AAP unanimously agreed to elect Atishi as the leader of Delhi AAP Legislative Party.
The Congress Twitter handle showed that over 76 per cent of a total of 33,879 voters answered in negative and only 24 per cent agreed with the contention.
It is the first time in nearly nine years that India's foreign minister travelled to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained tense over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
During a five-hour meeting with his entire Council of Ministers, Modi specifically asked for faster and better communication of the government's decisions.
Hamid Nihal Ansari, a software engineer from Mumbai, returned to India in December 2018 after spending six years in a Pakistani jail for illegally entering the neighbouring country from Afghanistan, reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online. He was arrested in 2012 and lodged at Peshawar jail after Pakistan had slapped espionage charges against him. The decision to release him was on account of relentless pressure from New Delhi and Sushma Swaraj, who was the external affairs minister and was personally monitoring the case. Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com, Ansari recalls the time he spent with her and says that if it wasn't for her efforts, he would still be rotting away in a Pakistani cell.
The body of the former minister, wrapped in a tricolour, was brought to the crematorium in the afternoon from the BJP headquarters, where it was kept for few hours for people to pay their respects.
The brief exchange and handshake between Jaishankar and Sharif took place at a banquet dinner hosted by the Pakistani prime minister at his residence in honour of the delegates attending a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
It will be for the first time in nearly nine years India's external affairs minister will travel to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained frosty over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
His cinema of compassion inspired me, gave me tools to develop empathy for others. But it also made me understand that serious, socially committed cinema with deeply engaging narratives and great performances is an art form to admire, appreciate and explore. Aseem Chhabra remembers Shyam Benegal, who passed into the ages on Monday evening.
'A first-time politician can only get such opportunities in AAP. Had I been in some other party, I wouldn't even have got a ticket to contest polls'
