The Indian prime minister said end of cross-border terrorism and dismantling of terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan will create the atmosphere for talks.
Expressing serious concern over "two distinct voices" that have emerged "louder" after the Gujarat election, the prime minister said Hindutva was being projected by "some people in a narrow, rigid and extremist manner."
He was returning to Delhi after a day's visit to Lucknow when his plane was diverted to Jaipur.
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday said he was in favour of extending reservation benefits to Muslims but emphasised that it should be based on social backwardness and 'not on the basis of religion'.
The prime minister was accompanied by three Union ministers C P Thakur, Bijoya Chakraborty and Ashok Pradhan.
'Good sense will prevail even on those who are opposing it and together we will fulfil Paramhans's dream,'
'Narendra Modi is one person who came up fighting many injustices. So, he is a fighter all the time, and that makes all the difference.'
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Kishenchand Advani has requested the government to honour former Prime Minister and senior BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee with the Bharat Ratna, the country's higest civilian honour.
Before leaving for a six-day visit to China, the prime minister said India accorded 'top priority' to ties with China.
Mohite is expected to replace Heavy Industries Minister Balasaheb Vikhe Patil, who has resigned on the directive of his party chief Bal Thackeray.
The National Security Adviser during his visit to the US had an unscheduled substantive meeting with US President George W Bush.
'The BJP is racing against its opponents by putting a chain on their legs.'
Rehman had suggested that the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration could be the basis for normalisation of Indo-Pak ties.
'We will discuss it with an open mind,' the former PM said.
'We want our military tanks in Lahore, missiles in Rawalpindi and the saffron flag in Karachi,' Togadia said at a trishul diksha programme in Delhi.
The prime minister gave this assurance to an all-party delegation from Manipur led by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. Singh also wanted a constitutional amendment in this regard.
The team won the ODI series against Pakistan.
The Indian prime minister described his Israeli counterpart's visit as an important landmark in bilateral relations.
"In the NDA's meeting, it was decided to authorise Vajpayeeji to nominate a person of his choice by holding talks," NDA convenor George Fernandes told newsmen outside the residence of the former PM.
His observations came as news reports spoke of Modi, the Hindutva icon, being angry with Singh's decision.
Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who turned 88 on Sunday, was greeted by a host of senior leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Expressing serious concern over "two distinct voices" that have emerged "louder" after the Gujarat election, the prime minister said Hindutva was being projected by "some people in a narrow, rigid and extremist manner."
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said he was betrayed by the BJP-RSS leadership.
The Punjab Kings are all set for their third game in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.
Books and films were the bonding factors for his friendship with former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Kishenchand Advani said.
The prime minister will be in the state for four days.
The situation in the Banbhoolpura area in Haldwani, the epicentre of the mob violence last week, was normal on Monday as additional troops of paramilitary forces were deployed to maintain law and order, officials said.
"Indian sports persons had done well in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games and now we are ready to enter the Olympics," the Indian prime minister said.
The BJP's strategy seem to be to wean away allies from the Congress, in Dravidian Tamil Nadu, and maybe later in UP, Bihar and elsewhere, though in slow doses, but without wooing them into a new alliance. The idea seems to be only to weaken the INDIA bloc from within -- and leaving it at that, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Known to be close and loyal to Bharatiya Janata Party veteran and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, senior BJP leader and four time MP Lal Muni Choubey on Monday announced that he would contest as an independent from Buxar.
'Union Budgets are often used as political instruments and that was the intention of this government too.' 'But while the exercise has settled two fronts, it has left open several others and this has the potential to aggravate with time,' predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The 17th Lok Sabha, which was dissolved on June 5, did not have a deputy speaker for its full term, and it was the second consecutive term of the lower house without an LoP.
