'1984 is important as it is the beginning of the State making war against its citizens in India.' 'Since then, we had the government of the day organising riots or genocide by attacking certain people.'
By ending the Shiv Sena's political untouchability, the Congress is creating a level playing ground for itself in the political battle of Hindu identity, explains Sheela Bhatt.
'There were areas where the JD-S put up weak candidates against the Congress to benefit the BJP.'
Amethi's member of Parliament failed to use his first formal television interview to reach out to the people in general and the electorate in particular ahead of the crucial elections in which the Congress has already been written off by opinion polls and surveys. He did little to change that impression by failing to exploit the platform provided to him.
Studied silence at high command won't help party revival to face assembly polls. Sanjay Jog reports.
'Rightly or wrongly, 1962 got ascribed to Krishna Menon and him alone. That's unfair.' 'Certainly, he was one of the guilty men, but he was not the only guilty man. Mistakes were made all around.'
'They were the leaders of my country and the children of Mother India, but they didn't die as martyrs.' 'They were killed, most unfortunately, by a well planned enemy plot, and they were victims of political violence,' states Sudhir Bisht.
'The Congress party hated him because he had not gone to jail, he was not lathi charged, he had not gone on hunger strike.' 'They felt he had lived in London all his life and then he came to India and became an MP and a minister.'
The new party president, the sixth member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to lead the political outfit, takes charge from his mother Sonia Gandhi at a time when the party is facing one of its worst crises, with the Bharatiya Janata Party occupying the centre stage of national and state politics.
Can Gandhi handle the rough and tumble of 24X7 Indian politics with aggressive rivals such as Modi and BJP President Amit Shah to counter?
Jaishankar said that the resolution on Kashmir introduced by Jayapal in the House is not a fair characterisation of the situation in J-K. And also said that he has no interest in meeting the Congresswoman.
More and more Congressmen are breaking their silence and coming out in the open blaming party vice president Rahul Gandhi for the poll drubbing. Renu Mittal reports.
Seeking to minimise the impact of the recent headline-grabbing moves, he said there had only been one instance of compulsory licensing.
Nationalism, Hindutva, and war on corruption, not growth, will define Modi's politics until 2019.
Congress leaders and political analysts feel that Congress president Sonia Gandhi should have visited Telangana after the Parliament passed the Telangana Bill and after the Telangana Rashtra Samithi refused to ally with the Congress. Vicky Nanjappa reports
It would be a huge achievement if the new administration manages a successful transition to some sense of domestic and international normalcy in these frantic times marked by the pandemic and rise of illiberal regimes across the world, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
'It is an important and significant election -- but there is nothing make-or-break about it. A victory is always great, but if the BJP wins, it can't make Mr Modi any stronger in his party and government than he already is,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'Of all the PMs of India, I had the closest relationships with Morarji and Rajiv.' Mark Tully, the most famous foreign correspondent in India, remembers some encounters with prime ministers, dictators and militants.
Several Sikh groups on Thursday staged a protest outside the Congress's headquarters in Delhi and demanded that Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi reveal the names of party members who were involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Prashant Kishor, the man who led Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar to victory, has his task cut out for him as he tries to secure victory for the Congress in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh
'I am quite optimistic that sooner or later, my wishful thinking would turn into a reality.' The only hitch is that the INC president's own career ambitions may be hurt if the Congress merges with the BJP,' says Sudhir Bisht.
'Modi has been successful in convincing people that from a social point of view, he is closest to Indian citizens. His is a victory of Indian-ness.'
It is time to pack up, sir! Please resign and save some honour of the Lok Sabha, an anguished Sheela Bhatt reports from the Lok Sabha press gallery after watching the shameful goings on over the tabling of the Telangana Bill.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said he does not appreciate the "impotent" remark made by Union Minister Salman Khurshid against Narendra Modi in the context of the 2002 Gujarat riots.
In view of the volatile situation, the Centre rushed 1,100 personnel of anti-riot Rapid Action Force.
The party may announce Somen Mitra as the Lok Sabha candidate from North Kolkata whose name is set to be decided upon following intra-party elections to choose contenders -- a move initiated by the Congress vice-president to ensure transparency in ticket-distribution system. Renu Mittal reports.
Rana Gurjit denied the charges saying neither he nor his company - Rana Sugars Limited - has any direct or indirect stakes in sand mining business.
As the elections appear closer, the nervousness in the Congress party has become more visible. Each one is frantically concerned about his own position rather than wanting the Congress party to get ready for a spirited fight.
When he was chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was able to blunt inter-regional and inter-communal tensions which Farooq and Omar Abdullah could not do. Whether he can repeat it with the BJP by his side would have to be seen, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
'The general perspective -- certainly on Capitol Hill and Congress -- the love for India, the positive feeling for India still focuses on India as a democracy.' 'The more that Indian democracy and its pluralistic features is called into question by Indians, the more that same debate will replay back here.'
Of the 12 seats in Bastar, the Congress won eight. The BJP had secured 11 of these seats in 2008.
'What has cemented the renewed bilateral commitment is the maturity of the relationship. This has been reflected at the highest levels, with you and President Obama driving the relationship, and at the citizen-to-citizen level.'
'Judging by the conduct of two governors of Kerala and one governor from Kerala, Congressmen treated Raj Bhavan as a transition point before taking a flight back into active politics.'
'Can he remain ignorant by saying he was 13 years old?' 'That means Rahul Gandhi must not talk on any subject in this country that precedes his adulthood.' 'He should remain unaware of history and knowledge of anything that has happened.'
'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.
Meet Bengaluru's fondest freedom fighter, HS Doreswamy, who has been a sprightly witness to the country's ups and downs since 1947.
'Modi should have trust in us and the minorities should also have trust in him.'
We've got a national case of hitchyourwagonitis, a condition that causes people to believe that unless they shut down their brains and self-respect and concentrate on propping upsome ascendant star by smacking down dissent, they'll never get ahead, says Mitali Saran
The occasion at Congress party headquarters on 24, Akbar Road in New Delhi was that of celebration, one that is rare with the party these days. However, what prevailed was confusion, chaos and mayhem.
Siddaramaiah seems overwhelmed by problems coming at him from every direction, reports Aditi Phadnis.
