Celebrations continued for a second day on Friday after the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee put up a stunning victory in West Bengal winning 211 of the 294 seats, bettering its 2011 tally of 184 seats. And the mood prevailed at the south Kolkata residence of Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Saugata Roy with his associates distributing sweets and samosas and smearing each other with green gulal. Amid this hullabaloo, Roy squeezed out some time to speak to Indrani Roy/Rediff.com about the victory.
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas with independent charge Dharmendra Pradhan on the controversy over the government's use of Hindi in the social media and how the government is going ahead to execute its plans to honour the 60-month mandate it has been given.
All Indian prime ministers must know that the route to their Nobel Peace Prize doesn't go through Pakistan, says Rajeev Sharma.
He underlined that India stands for dialogue and cordial relationship with Pakistan.
'High denomination cash notes which was 1.4 lakh crores of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in 2004 became Rs 15.5 lakh crores in 2016.' 'If it had been allowed, by 2022, it would have been Rs 34 lakh crores, and that would have been the end of the Indian economy.' 'Demonetisation was a huge hit on the head of the economy, but without the hit, you could not U-turn the economy.'
Inflow of more funds is likely to widen the reach of insurance and drive M&A activities in the sector where growth has stalled.
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The stock market responded to his speech by going up by over two per cent; the rupee also gained in strength, by about 1.45 per cent, against the dollar.
The Budget sets out a comprehensive vision.
Vittorio Colao, who is currently on an India visit, said he would be open to listing his company in the country
An AIADMK survey estimates that the party will get between 25 and 30 of Tamil Nadu's 39 seats. This makes Jayalalithaa a major player in New Delhi, if not a contender for the prime minister's post.
Speaking at a rally in poll-bound Bihar, Modi said that the Congress has no right to talk about tolerance after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
'Muslims may turn to the BJP or may not come out to vote in great numbers like they have in the past.' 'Anything can happen.' 'They can feel an increased sense of alienation, but that depends on the BJP -- on how it includes them.'
Rubbishing the allegations, the Uttarakhand CM said that the CD presented was totally fake, adding that efforts were being made to tarnish the image of the Congress-led state government.
Slamming the government over the situation in Kashmir, Opposition in the Rajya Sabha on Monday pressed for holding an all-party meet to discuss the issue and pitched for a political solution rather than using "barrel of the gun" while dealing with the unrest.
The fragmentation of politics and the pressures of coalition management have contributed to a near-secular rise in budgetary social expenditures and spending on subsidies since 1991, leaving little fiscal space for government-led capital investment.
Nationalism, Hindutva, and war on corruption, not growth, will define Modi's politics until 2019.
'If India and China come together, 40 per cent of the world's people are going to be prosperous'
Pakistan's new Army Chief has begun setting the stage to act against groups like LeT and JeM
Muslims need to get out of their Isolation Syndrome, argues Mohammad Sajjad.
'The monumental first Modi wrought in 2014, followed by the miracle in Uttar Pradesh, is not a matter for celebration, but an ominous warning of the perils ahead.' 'There are 5 areas which Modi has to address immediately and relentlessly if he has to live up to all that the people are taking him for,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
For the first time ever, the BJP's headquarters for a Lok Sabha election is outside New Delhi. Meet the folks behind Narendra Modi's campaign for prime minister.
Namo, Namo as India's prime minister? Not yet, says Pakistan-based journalist Amir Mateen.
Realtors, consultants and foreign universities vie for big share.
While Trump played on fears about Muslims and immigrants, Hillary played out the fear of Trump, says Sankrant Sanu.
'The TDP walking out of the NDA is a victory for the YSRCP.' 'The YSRCP wanted it to happen so that it would help them in coming elections.'
'The people of the state can be won over by love, and not by swords.'
If either faction of the AIADMK failed to muster a floor majority, then the governor would be called upon to ask MK Stalin as the leader of the opposition if he would like to try his hand at government formation.
'Gujarat should have been a breeze. But the Patidar agitation and economic uncertainty queered the pitch.' 'Yes, the BJP won and its rank-and-file will take great comfort in the assembly victory. But the leadership is taking stock for a very tricky set of elections coming up in 2018.'
Preparing legal framework to protect states from revenue loss.
'For the sake of the nation, and the preservation of its polity, it is high time the country's largest political party and the country's largest religious minority make peace between them,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The FM should quietly get the oil companies to offload the shares in the market and pocket the gains
The current draft of the Goods and Services Tax could kill any hope of economic revival - and you should blame the Congress if it rolls over and lets it pass, says Mihir S Sharma.
'India alone cannot walk the path of peace. It also has to be Pakistan's journey to make,' says Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the government's geo-political flagship initiative "Raisina Dialogue-II".
'He should bring in a working president from outside the family.'
In the 2009 election, P Chindambaram the Sivaganga seat by a narrow margin. Then the Congress was in alliance with the ruling DMK. This time his son Karti is battling the seat with the alliance. India abstention at the UNHRC on an anti-Lanka resolution will further fuel Tamil anger against the Congress party. This leaves the finance minster sulking and his son facing an uphill political debut, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'We have put people on notice that if you're harbouring terrorists, be warned, be forewarned that we're going to engage with those who are providing safe haven and ask them to change what they're doing.'
What Shekhar Gupta would have really liked to know from Pranabda: Why did Sonia prefer Dr Singh to him as PM? Why did he deny finance first, why did he accept it 5 years later, and why did he make such a mess of it? How did he force Sonia to nominate him for President and not Hamid Ansari? And how does he justify that most toxic legacy -- the Vodafone tax amendment?
The decision marks first successful policy intervention.
'The most valuable personal sensitive information of present and future citizens has been made available to foreign data firms and governments and non-State actors for all time to come,' says Gopal Krishna.
Veteran Communist Part of India-Marxist leader Mohammed Salim in an interview with Rediff.com's Indrani Roy speaks about volatile atmosphere in Bengal this election season, the prospects of the Left and more. Edited excerpts:
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