Pakistan-India bilateral relations remained frozen for the fourth year over the vexed Kashmir issue but analysts hope the strained ties could be repaired if Nawaz Sharif becomes the prime minister for a record fourth time in the general elections in February in the absence of his main challenger Imran Khan who is in jail in multiple cases.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday questioned the character of the opposition alliance, saying its true face was seen when it indulged in corruption to save its governments.
In a post on X, Chidambaram said the Israel-Gaza war threatens to escalate and cause more deaths on both sides.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the country needs a strong government but not of 'one party with brute majority', and batted for a coalition rule.
Most politicians and even non-politicians have been honoured because of what they were purported to be electorally worth for the ruling party of their time, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
May we suggest that Rahul spend Tuesday night with the homeless in Delhi who are shivering in cold and frosty conditions?
"Who are they to tell me to retire? I can still work," Pawar said in an interview
The Bhartiya Janata Party may have forgotten its one time stalwart and ailing former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. But the 2014 Lok Sabha election has prompted party president Rajnath Singh to profusely remember the tallest BJP leader, whose five-term long stint as MP from Lucknow obviously comes in handy for Singh to make the capital of Uttar Pradesh his new political turf.
Vishnu Deo Sai, a prominent tribal face of the Bharatiya Janata Party, will be the next chief minister of Chhattisgarh where the saffron party returned to power after a gap of five years following the recently-concluded assembly polls.
'There was trust, but perhaps there was also this apprehension that given the supreme post of prime minister, Sonia Gandhi felt her authority may be a challenged.'
Mole issue: PIL against Vajpayee, Jaswant
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government is committed to ensuring that the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' aimed at expanding women's participation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies becomes a law, as he urged MPs of both Houses of Parliament to pass the bill unanimously.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani has said he had some political differences with his long time colleague and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpyee especially on the Ayodha movement and the removal of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi after the Godhra riots.
Given the reality of the disparity and the enormous shift over the last 50 years, this can be done without an open and frank conversation with the people, something that has not begun and, knowing the style of our leader, is not expected to begin, asserts Aakar Patel.
The Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha will meet again on Tuesday afternoon in the new Parliament building, with Speaker of the Lower House Om Birla urging the members to abstain from 'organised disruptions' and 'carrying placards' in the new chamber.
Vajpayee's statement comes as a setback to Bharti, who had himself incurred the wrath of the entire second generation\nleadership in the party earlier.
In a bid to evolve a political consensus before the bilateral talks, the United Progressive Alliance government has begun discussions with opposition leaders as part of which Natwar Singh had met Leader of Opposition L K Advani on Thursday.
Both leaders should take note of their age and remove themselves from active command of the party, RSS chief K S Sudarshan said.
The new BJP dispensation under party president Nitin Gadkari is likely to continue with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as chairman of NDA and adopt an "accommodative approach" towards out-going senior office-bearers at the Centre and in states by giving them other responsibilities.
Asking people to vote out the Congress, he said, "Punjab will see a change and when our alliance comes to power, we will bring a check to the rising prices."
Replying to a letter from former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on June 15, Singh emphasised there was no room for ambiguity regarding India's position on Jammu and Kashmir in its discussions with Pakistan or actions.
The controversy over a derogatory statement, made against former prime minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee by a Congress member during the debate over the Liberhan Commission's report in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, is not likely to die down soon with the party threatening to stall Parliament till he apologises for his remarks. "I am today both sad and angry," said deputy Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he respected veteran BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a senior politician and did not know whether the Liberhan Commission has done the right thing or not by naming him in its report on the Babri demolition.
On Wednesday, the prime minister had declared that Advani would lead the BJP in the next general election.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Sushma Swaraj termed reports about AIIMS refusing to admit the commando as 'unfounded'.
"At one time, Vajpayee was talking about 'aar paar ki ladayi' (fight to the finish)...at another point he said talks with Pakistan would not be possible till cross-border terrorism was stopped," Gandhi said.
A B Vajpayee and L K Advani head a list of 68 leaders of the Sangh Parivaar and bureaucrats held culpable by the Liberhan Commission for leading the country to the "brink of communal discord" over the Ayodhya issue. In a scathing indictment, the Commission said these leaders cannot be given the benefit of the doubt and exonerated of culpability.
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences following fever and chest congestion, on Thursday showed signs of improvement, doctors said. "He doesn't have fever and his lower respiratory track infection is much better. His condition is stable," AIIMS Medical Superintendent Dr D K Sharma said. The 84-year-old BJP leader was admitted to AIIMS on Tuesday night following complaints of fever and respiratory infection.
The prime minister is Vikas Purush, while his deputy is Lauh Purush, party chief Venkaiah Naidu said.
What the INDIA alliance needs is neither a counter to Modi's tall personality and undiminished charisma nor a counter-narrative to his Hindutva agenda, now centred on the Ayodhya temple consecration on January 22, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
Vajpayee had, on Sunday, asserted that he would consider attending the SAARC summit if Pakistan completely stopped cross-border terrorism before the event. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Calling Narendra Modi a "chest-thumping, self-proclaimed hero", Union Minister Sachin Pilot has said that it is not possible for the Gujarat leader to be like former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
"I request you to please see that my friends in NDA join the House and take part in the proceedings," Somnath Chatterjee said in a letter to the former prime minister.
Maharashtra BJP chief and former deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde asked reporters not to read too much into Thackeray's absence at Tuesday night's Sena-BJP dinner meeting.
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