It would be a miracle if demonetisation doesn't extract a political price from the BJP and Modi, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'The new generation of teenagers which has taken the forefront is largely an amorphous, leaderless mass.' 'It is extremely difficult to find a representative with whom to negotiate now, unless one turns to a militant leader.'
Ageing leadership, reckless family-oriented politics, absence of inner-party democracy, lack of debate on core issues within the party are all taking a very heavy toll on the original Dravidian party, says R Ramasubramanian.
Mamata Banerjee was on Friday sworn in as the chief minister of West Bengal for the second consecutive time, heading a 42-member ministry.
Indeed, this is one policy area where the Modi-led government is different from the one that was headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The Rafale will surely be flying in Indian skies next year. But the way the BJP government has botched this will cast a shadow on defence acquisitions in the years to come.
Delivery of a great operational machine must not get affected to settle political scores, says Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd).
The loss in Bihar has forced a change in NDA's market positioning, says Shekhar Gupta.
The panel will also recommend a fiscal consolidation road map for the central and state governments, study the impact of GST on the divisible pool, and propose performance-based incentives for states.
After opposing Narendra Modi's anointment as Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate, a mellowed L K Advani on Monday praised him for development in Gujarat and hoped that all good tasks undertaken by party governments in states will be rolled out across the country.
However, independent economists are not as gung-ho as the finance ministry over the likelihood of deficit target being met this time around, says Indivjal Dhasmana.
Pushing for better government-party coordination, the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided that its ministers will visit party offices once a month to meet party workers and hear their grievances.
Just as the mighty Bhim sacrificed his son Ghatotkach and Arjun sacrificed his son Abhimanyu in the battle against Kauravas, Yashwant Sinha must ask his son Jayant to sacrifice his ministerial office, says Sudhir Bisht.
The BJP scripted history by opening its account in the state assembly.
Two years is when the honeymoon surely starts to sour, so what should Prime Minister Narendra Modi focus on ahead of 2019? Devanik Saha offers some ideas.
"God forbid if they (militants) would have done something. It would not have been possible to have smooth conduct of the elections," Sayeed said.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi of "lecturing" as if he was the "cleanest of them all", Congress President Sonia Gandhi today advised him to read history again to know about the party's contribution in transforming the country since Independence from a poor state to a progressive nation.
'Why has the rhetoric gone down on the Indian side, Durrani wondered aloud.' 'I said because almost total normalcy and peace had returned on the ground in Kashmir,' recalls Shekhar Gupta. 'The general gave me that career spook's laser look. And he said: "That situation on the ground can change in no time".' 'This was precisely when the Pakistanis began their first incursions into Kargil.' 'Durrani had been retired for five years.' 'But once the ISI boss, you are always in the know.'
Did we miss the DeepState's Brazil Model in action in India in 2004 and 2009, asks Rajeev Srinivasan.
A new West Asia is emerging and India must engage at the highest level and help shape this change, says Saeed Naqvi
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jailtey on Tuesday defended the Vajpayee government's releasing the three most wanted terrorists in return for the safety of passengers of the Indian Airlines plane hijacked to Kandahar in 1999, saying the lives of all Indians were "more precious" than the release of the terrorists.
'All of Indira Gandhi's bad economic ideas are being strengthened, from nationalised banks to anti-poverty, handout yojanas,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji turns 90 on December 25. I wish him all the best. The nation has honoured him and Pt Madan Mohan Malaviyaji with the Bharat Ratna.
Manish Sisodia's elevation as Delhi CM would set Arvind Kejriwal free to take up a significant role in national politics, or he could return to activism, says Sudhir Bisht.
The failure to restructure our armed forces in line with contemporary needs 14 years after the Kargil war will impose strategic costs beyond just delays and scandals, says Nitin Pai
In a spontaneous outpouring of grief, thousands of people bid an emotional farewell to former President APJ Abdul Kalam who was on Thursday laid to rest with full state honours in his home town here amid chants of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai".
'Being authoritative is one thing -- Nehru was that -- but being authoritarian is quite another -- the current prime minister is clearly one.'
The 61-year-old feisty leader, who had single-handedly wrecked the red bastion in West Bengal in 2011, was unfazed by the Left-Congress alliance ahead of the assembly polls.
Amit Shah's formal leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party might have its days numbered, given the range of resentment now coming forth against him.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's grand nephew would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Germany on Monday to demand declassification of files relating to the freedom fighter's mysterious disappearance in 1945.
'The RSS doesn't intervene, interfere or try to dominate government policy-making... The responsibility of running the government is entirely in the hands of the BJP.'
'A CEO is successful if he is able to retain the confidence of his shareholders. And the shareholders of India Inc have backed their prime minister-CEO to the hilt,' says Sudhir Bisht.
Government floor managers are busy talking to Opposition members to resolve the stand-off over Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's remarks, in the Rajya Sabha.
Here comes the moment of truth. Modi prides himself on offering an "incorruptible" government. Will he dilute the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill to coax the administration's fealty and compromise his self-image?
'If, as appears to be the case, India is on way to 'mending fences' with China, and China is equally desirous to 'reset' the relationship, this could be a self-reflexive moment in India's positioning vis-a-vis not just the Dalai Lama, but also the Tibetan issue and China as a whole,' points out China expert Alka Acharya.
Glimpses of the change Narendra Modi promised million of voters were visible at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Modi has now no excuse, but to perform and change India for the better. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reports from the presidential palace. A feature on the swearing-in ceremony like none other.
Though the list of superstitious beliefs is long, often dissolving distinctions of class, caste, religion and education, Karnataka's anti-superstition bill is seen as a big step ahead.
The first Bharatiya Janata Party government in Maharashtra headed by state party chief Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn in on Friday with Shiv Sena unlikely to join the new dispensation for now as talks continued between the two saffron parties for a tie-up.
There is speculation that China released the White Paper on Tibet in a hurry after a Spanish court agreed to hear charges of genocide against former Chinese president Hu Jintao. Ajai Shukla reports
'Lending to Mr Mallya was the bankers' season ticket to corridors of power and glamour. Borrowing from them was like a favour Mallya did to them,' says Shekhar Gupta.
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