'It is important India to stay focussed on its primary national objectives: Combating terrorism; not losing sight of other security and strategic concerns (on the Sino-Indian front for instance); ensuring a strong economy and registering growth which includes improving the lot of common people; and finally making certain that the social fabric remains intact and harmony among people is not jeopardised, at least any further,' asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Amid outrage over the controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad by the Bharatiya Janata Party's now-sacked two functionaries, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said it is high time Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on the 'proliferation of hate speech and Islamophobic incidents' in the country, asserting that his silence is interpreted by some as condoning what has been happening.
The meeting comes amid both leaders being seen as prospective contenders for the post of AICC president.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP, who was speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode on Friday, said while he concedes the BJP's dominance, it is also a fact that they have lost many states and them losing the central government is not impossible.
Tharoor said the message is also that the Congress is the party that can unite India and if the public is sufficiently inspired by this message, it will indeed inaugurate the revival of the party.
Amid the row over a new set of unparliamentary words, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Sunday said he would treat the list as indicative rather than definitive, and 'speak normally' in the House and see whether it is applied in a 'draconian manner' to stifle meaningful criticism.
A total of 20 forms were received during the nomination process. Four of them were rejected as signatures were repeated or did not match, he said.
For those having any 'fear or doubt' in their mind, Tharoor said, the party has made it clear that it will be a secret ballot.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday met Sonia Gandhi and expressed his intention to contest the upcoming AICC chief polls, while the Congress president conveyed that she would stay "neutral" in the elections, sources said.
Regarding Satheesan, he said that "if we see each other at the venue, then we will see".
By filing his nomination as Congress president on Friday, Shashi Tharoor has shown he is no 'quockerwodger' -- a word he introduced into our lexicon which means someone acting on the instructions of an influential third party.
While 39 members of the all-important panel are general members, it has 32 permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state and 13 special invitees.
Gehlot, one of the proposers of Kharge, said Tharoor is also a good man and has good thoughts but he is from the elite class.
'Prime Minister Modi should sit with Trump and find a solution to this issue.'
The Lok Sabha MP said a clear picture about the Congress president poll can be known on September 30 and the Yatra would cross the state's borders the next day.
Tharoor said people have incurred losses after their money which was invested in LIC, SBI was put by the government "in its friend's account".
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra did remarkable and energetic campaigning for the party, and "from my point of view, I don't think that the Congress per se can be faulted because on the grounds of one person's campaigning", Tharoor said.
Several opposition MPs in India have criticized the government's handling of the deportation of Indian citizens from the United States, questioning the treatment they received. A US military aircraft carrying 104 Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar, India, on Wednesday, marking the first batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration. The deportees reported being handcuffed throughout the journey, sparking protests from opposition leaders who staged a demonstration in Parliament wearing handcuffs. While the government maintains it will address the issue at a later time, opposition members condemned the treatment of the Indians and questioned the government's handling of the situation.
Chairman of central election authority Madhusudan Mistri will be available in Congress headquarters in the national capital to take the nomination papers as returning officer of the election.
Government representatives told a parliamentary panel that the US has not officially conveyed to India that it should cut tariffs by April 2.
At the expense of his latest victims who were too petrified to pronounce the biggies he threw at them, Shashi Tharoor had a good laugh on Twitter recently, says Veer Arjun Singh.
Tharoor said he learnt of the new word pogonotrophy, which means the growing or cultivation of a beard, from a friend.
Tharoor later apologised for offending 'some people' and said the 'whole selfie thing' was done at the women MPs' initiative in 'great good humour and it was they who asked me to tweet it in the same spirit'.
The tweet further said, "We can't sit back and watch Muslim girls being publicly persecuted they said. Time for the Ummah to unite."
While Tharoor declined to comment on whether he would throw his hat into the ring, he has written an article for Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi calling for a "free and fair" election.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal with a limerick over the Delhi chief minister's "mannerless" posture row.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed the Lok Sabha that the situation in Manipur is largely under control, with no deaths reported in the last four months. However, he acknowledged that the situation cannot be considered satisfactory as displaced people are still living in relief camps. Shah attributed the violence to a high court decision regarding a reservation-related dispute, emphasizing that it was not terrorism-related but ethnic violence between two communities. He highlighted government efforts to establish peace, including discussions with both the Meitei and Kuki communities and a rehabilitation package for the displaced. While the opposition supported the resolution confirming the imposition of President's rule, they urged for a swift return to peace and normalcy in the state.
'@IamSanjuSamson, who hit a century in his last ODI, has not been picked for ODIs, while @IamAbhiSharma4, who hit a T20I century in the #INDvZIM series, has not been picked at all/'
Tharoor had earlier said post mortem and other medical reports have allegedly established that it was neither a suicide nor homicide.
Voting began on Monday in the Congress presidential polls as senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor face-off for the post of All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief.
Tharoor put the blame for the logjam in Parliament on BJP and accused the saffron party of reducing the "temple of democracy to a rubber stamp for its agenda or worse, a notice board to announce its unilateral decisions".
Even as the dust settles on one election, glory in Thiruvananthapuram has come with a new question on the horizon: Who will be UDF's candidate in the next Lok Sabha election given Shashi Tharoor has said 2024 would be his last? It isn't a vacancy that can be easily filled, points out Shyam G Menon.
Expressing solidarity with the 12 suspended Rajya Sabha MPs, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said he has decided to suspend hosting of a talk show on Sansad TV until the suspension of the legislators is revoked and a "semblance of bipartisanship restored to the conduct of Parliament".
'When I joined politics at 53, I thought I had left it too late to make the kind of impact I felt I was capable of. What can I say about someone who is 88?'
The former Union minister said the population debate is 'utterly misplaced' and half a century out-of-date as a large majority of Indian states have achieved replacement levels of fertility.
A parliamentary panel on Friday questioned top Twitter officials over a whistle-blower's revelations on its India operations, and gave them a dressing-down as their replies on issue of data security and privacy were "not satisfactory", sources said.
'I assured them I will not back away. I will not betray those who have supported me till now. Their confidence in me is what gives me the strength to move forward'
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said credit should be given to the government for achieving the 100-crore COVID vaccine dose landmark in the country, drawing a sharp response from party colleague Pawan Khera, who asserted that giving credit is an 'insult' to millions of families.
Tharoor also said that he certainly thinks Rahul Gandhi has the "mettle, capability and aptitude to once again lead the party", but if he does not wish to do so then the party must "take action" to elect a new chief.
The grilling of Brigadier-General Dyer by Akshay Kumar's Sir C Sankaran Nair, as shown in Kesari 2, is purely an imaginary sequence, proves Utkarsh Mishra.
