The manner in which a large proportion of common people have mortgaged their rationality and questioning spirit to let hatred, prejudice, and bigotry take over their minds is a cause of worry, observes Mohammad Sajjad.
Justice V Gopala Gowda's name has been considered positively by the Trinamul Congress as well as the Left.
A West Indian Day celebration, Hurricane Dorian destruction, and the immersion of Lord Ganesha in Mumbai round out this week's best images.
'Coalition governments, sometimes assumed to mean years of political instability, actually saw key institutions emerging with greater strength -- the Election Commission, the judiciary, the press, and civil society at large, among others.' 'The question now is whether the clock is being turned back in a new political phase,' asks T N Ninan.
Bihar became the first non-NDA state and overall second after the BJP-ruled Assam to pass GST bill.
For deciding which vehicles are to be scrapped, the setting up of fitness centres and regulating them would be a humongous task.
Amendments to the Child Labour Act say children can work in 'family enterprises' but the definition isn't clear, points out Shyamal Majumdar.
Government strategists are trying to ensure that the requisite 16 of the 31 states ratify the Bill by the end of this month
Social activist Anna Hazare on Wednesday declared his support to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who apparently has ambitions outside the state in the coming Lok Sabha election, and snubbed his one-time protege by saying that he will not support Arvind Kejriwal.
At a meeting convened by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on a range of issues ahead of Monsoon Session of Parliament, the seven chief ministers unanimously agreed to the need for filing a review petition urging the Supreme Court to reconsider its recent order rejecting the postponement of the competitive exams.
Action has been initiated on making the Communal Violence Bill a law to protect minorities from targeted attacks, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday said, but was not sure if it will be tabled in the Winter Session of Parliament.
Raksha Bandhan festivities were little subdued this year owing to the coronavirus pandemic, with siblings having to rely on technology to wish each other.
UP and Bihar contributed 105 seats to the BJP's tally in 2014. It has now lost 8 Lok Sabha by-polls in the last four years, including three successive losses in UP and two seats in Rajasthan.
Jaitley, the first Union minister to meet Jaya since her conviction, manages to secure the AIADMK's conditional support to the government's crucial legislations in the Rajya Sabha.
In the wake of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's projection in the Bharatiya Janata Party as its future leader, political parties have begun to position themselves in the run up to the next general elections, says Renu Mittal.
He questioned why only migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given citizenship under the amended law and not the Sri Lankan Tamils.
Despite the Congress having nearly four times as many members in the Rajya Sabha as the TMC (48 to 13), Derek O'Brien has been informally leading the coordination of Opposition parties, rallying other parties to demand a discussion on electoral reforms and to protest the government's disinvestment plans, report Rahul Jacob and Archis Mohan.
'Sharad Yadav was deeply hurt by Nitish Kumar's decision, taken without consulting the senior party leaders at a time when opposition unity was to be strengthened against the BJP. He felt ignored and is likely to take a final stand soon.'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ruled out a rethink on the seat-sharing formula for the 'Grand Secular Alliance' for the state Assembly polls, a day after Nationalist Congress Party's ultimatum for reconsideration by August 20 and its insistence on 12 seats.
Its passage in the Lok Sabha is all but certain due to the massive majority the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies have, and the Union government is confident of its passage in the Rajya Sabha as well with the support of several non-aligned regional parties which have often joined the treasury benches in the past.
The government is banking on help from regional parties and rejigged numbers in the Rajya Sabha.
The apex court fixed the matter for hearing on July 11.
Expect fun and games on the floor of the two Houses.
Trying to allay apprehensions of then Bharatiya Janata Party and some state governments, the Centre has decided to drop several provisions in the controversial communal violence bill to ensure that it is neutral to all communities and also reduce the role of the central government in case of riots.
With infighting in state units showing no signs of abating, Rahul Gandhi is once again in the line of attack for not taking the initiative in tackling this rebellion and showing the way forward in the poll-bound states.
In the light of the global scenario on infiltration for economic gain what Modi said in his speeches in Assam and West Bengal recently was perfectly legitimate. Intellectual dishonesty marks this discourse in our country, argues Ram Madhav.
'Not unlike politicians who gravitate towards whoever is in power, mafia dons too have a great survival streak, switching loyalty to the party in power,' observes Virendra Kapoor a week after gangster Vikas Dubey was slain in an alleged encounter.
'The CPM is not in a mood to introspect, and their total failure on all fronts is being covered up by crimes such as maiming and killing political opponents,' alleges Bharatiya Janata Party's Kerala president V Muraleedharan on the eve of his rally to protest the murder of his party activists in Kannur.
'With over 50 per cent of medical seats reserved for those who have the ability to pay a fee ranging from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore for a five-year MBBS course and quotas in accordance with affirmative policies in government colleges, the band of seats available for the not-so-rich and non-OBCs is very narrow.'
A weak presence in the Rajya Sabha has forced the NDA to try and rope in 'weak links' in the Opposition ranks to pass key legislation in the Upper House.
The NRC has been discussed neither in Parliament nor in the Cabinet, Modi said on Sunday.
Defying prohibitory orders, protests were held in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and several other cities. Protesters, mostly students and activists, were detained on a large scale in national capital and other places.
'Indian nationhood is indeed at the cusp of alarming redefinition -- hate-filled, and exclusionary.' 'Nations are not built this way, instead these are the ways of liquidating nations.' 'We must pre-empt it.' 'Can we?' asks Mohammad Sajjad.
'We might have lacked somewhere but our commitment was absolute. We might have made mistakes and fallen short to some extent. We might not have done something but what did you do'
The Lower House, showing rare unanimity, passed the Constitution (119th Amendment) Bill to allow the operationalisation of the 1974 India-Bangladesh Land Boundary agreement.
Leaders from the Opposition celebrated after the BJP strong man resigned on the floor of the assembly.
The unity by the opposition parties is likely to reflect inside Parliament as well.
The Bill provides for according Indian citizenship to the the Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12 years even if they do not possess any document.
Oil marketing cos rightly passed on the burden to buyers.
Stalin has given due respect to seniority in the pecking order, but has also taken into consideration the demands of individual ministries and the suitability of individuals, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
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