Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad. Whether Hindus or Greeks coined that aphorism, it resoundingly describes the Bharatiya Janata Party's blundering ineptness. Obsessed by 2014, the party has missed the chance of creating a precedent for statesmanship and squandered the asset it has in someone of Jaswant Singh's calibre.
President Pranab Mukherjee will honour freedom fighters on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Quit India Movement on Thursday.
Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan, will be celebrated across the country on Saturday.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday greeted the nation on the occasion of Eid-ul-Zuha.
President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul and Priyanka were among those who turned up early to vote in the fourth phase of elections on Thursday.
Late cartoonist Mario Miranda, actors Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi, top mathematician M S Raghunathan, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner N Vittal and industry leader B Muthuraman were among those conferred the Padma awards by President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The fracas over the vice-president's absence and alleging Rajya Sabha TV's blackout of the event took some sheen off the event.
After the presidential elections, it may still be advantage Congress-UPA but at some point the utter lack of governance is going to cost it dearly. Meanwhile the BJP has largely failed to take advantage of the disarray in the Congress, says Rohit Pradhan.
Scripting a new chapter in his illustrious career, Pranab Mukherjee will on Wednesday take over as India's 13th President. Watch the momentous ceremony LIVE on rediff.com
Scripting a new chapter in his illustrious career, Pranab Mukherjee will on Wednesday take over as India's 13th President.
Amid prayers and a 21-gun salute, his body was consigned to flames at Smriti Sthal on the banks of Yamuna where Vice President Hamid Ansari and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi were also present.
Too much subsidised cooking gas is being consumed by country's VVIPs, according to the transparency portal launched on Friday by state-owned oil firms.
With Azadi's Daughter -- The Journey of a Liberal Muslim Woman, Seema Mustafa chronicles her journey from the violence-ridden 1980s when she covered riots in Assam, Punjab and Kashmir. She says the book heavily borrows anecdotes from her personal life, and presents her views on not only her personal journey but also reflects upon the issues that riddle the Indian Muslim.
Sheikh Hasina, in her maiden visit to Tripura, expressed gratitude to the people for their help and cooperation during Bangladesh's liberation struggle. K Anurag reports.
On the occasion, the PM presented a memento to the outgoing president.
Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday refused to add any fodder to the talk of him being the front-runner for the President's post, saying he was himself "in the dark" over the issue that has hogged headlines back home. The past week has witnessed intense speculation in India over who would occupy the Rashtrapati Bhavan next, with Mukherjee and the current Vice President Hamid Ansari being touted as the main contenders.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist asked the Congress to take the initiative in building a consensus on the candidate for the presidential election though it indicated it was not averse to supporting either Vice President Hamid Ansari or Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for the post.
Other members of the group are former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Communist Party of India-Marxist chief Sitaram Yechury.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's Uttar Pradesh vice president Arvind Kumar Sharma will be reaching out to residents of western UP with public meetings in Noida, Greater Noida and Bulandshahr from Friday.
Here's a recap of the events from the past 24 hours.
Wonder what POTUS and FLOTUS thought of our Republic Day parade?
Vice President Hamid Ansari said that there is no shift in India's foreign policy and asserted that it is participation that matters as it is "not a conference of Prime Ministers".
Yesteryear actor Waheeda Rahman, singer S P Balasubrahmanyam, music composer Khayyam, former diplomat Brajesh Mishra and pioneer of the test tube baby in India Indira Hinduja were among a host of distinguished people conferred with the coveted Padma awards in New Delhi on Thursday evening.
With zero growth facing Indian industry and the strong possibility of a bleak financial future ahead, the Congress's managers have to show that Sonia Gandhi's authority and charm are not on the wane. Which is why the election of the 13th President becomes crucial, says Sheela Bhatt
A metal detector was on Monday installed in front of Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari's office in Parliament after he wondered why he is exempt from usual checks that all others are subjected to.
Joyous people poured onto the streets, danced and kissed the earth to mark the oil-rich South Sudan becoming the world's newest country on Saturday, with international leaders, including Vice President Hamid Ansari, witnessing history unfolding in the country's capital in Juba.
Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh led the nation in paying homage to the martyrs of December 13, 2001, terrorist attack on Parliament.
The legend passed away in the early hours of December 4.
On Thursday, December 14, Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy tweeted: 'Jihadis have killed, maimed, brutalised tens of thousands of innocent people all across the world. And you ask me about a man killed in Rajasthan and then tell me not to do whataboutery!' It was not the first time that Roy's statements have provoked controversy. Should Tathagata Roy even be a governor, asks Amulya Ganguli.
Opposition parties want to contest the election to the post of the deputy chairman on August 21 while the Congress is keen to get its nominee P J Kurien get elected unopposed.
Both Houses of Parliament will mark the 60th anniversary of their first sitting by holding a special sittings on Sunday.
'He was a very good friend for India. He stood by us through thick and thin.'
A dazzling laser show and a musical extravaganza on Thursday marked the finale of the Commonwealth Games, the biggest sporting event hosted by India which crowned itself with sporting glory by winning an unprecedented 101 medals.
Senior Indian Administrative Service officer P J Thomas was on Tuesday sworn in as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner amid a boycott by main Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been objecting to his appointment to the post in view of his alleged tainted background.
President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday visited the residence of Arjun Singh to pay their last respect to the party veteran who died in New Delhi.
In a setback to Sikkim High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to quash some of the charges framed against him by a Rajya Sabha-appointed panel looking into allegations of corrupt practices and misconduct against him.
Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were among a host of leaders who on Thursday condoled the death of artist M F Husain, describing him as a "legend" whose passing away is a "national loss".
Barack Obama became the second United States president to address the Parliament after Bill Clinton in 2000 on Monday and though the joint session opened to a packed central hall, the buzz, excitement and sheer charisma of Clinton was missing.
Vice President M Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a host of dignitaries on Sunday condoled the passing away of Sathya Sai Baba, saying he was a spiritual leader who inspired millions to lead a moral and meaningful life.
Giant effigies of demon king Ravan along with his son Meghnad and brother Kumbhkaran went up in flames as part of the Dussehra celebrations in all its colour symbolising the triumph of good over evil.
