'The sadhus and sanyasis of UP are not for any economics.' 'They only know the religious agenda and the RSS will support them.' 'Modi does not have full control of the party at the ground level like Indira Gandhi had.'
BJP said if voted to power, it would bring out a 'white paper' on the financial health of the state under the Congress rule.
'The BJP, or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, are celebrating their biggest ideological and philosophical victory in some time,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The Congress kept sheltering Quattrochi, and the BJP was more intent on shielding the Hinduja brothers. The fact is that the two roads crisscrossed, and neither the truth prevailed nor did the law take its course, says Mohan Guruswamy.
The 71-year-old MP may have time to pursue her other interests, but many believe that she will continue to play the role of a mentor.
'Actually, the RSS is deeply ambivalent and uncomfortable with Gandhi as well as also Ambedkar, but it is not politically wise to oppose these two.' 'So Nehru is the main and only target.'
'On a new kidney, her immune system still getting used to it, she took on the Pakistanis at the UN, held meetings with her counterparts from across the world, and presented a picture of incredible poise and dignity,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
'The obsession of the Pakistan army with India leads to several destabilising things. Support for the Taliban in Afghanistan. Support for groups like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, that have attacked India. Every time you get an attack like that there is a possibility of a war. And then the build up of the their nuclear arsenals. Chances of a nuclear weapon landing in the hands of a terrorist group, or a nuclear war breaking out, are tiny. But they are higher here than anywhere else in the world.'
'Businessmen like Rajiv render public service when they speak truth to power,' observes Virendra Kapoor.
In the mid-1980s, India and the US struggled to arrive at sufficient confidence for Washington to even sell a supercomputer to India for monsoon prospecting. Now, the most sensitive military technologies, data, and intelligence resources are being shared. This would not have happened without that one, big deal that changed the fundamentals of India-US relations, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Why are states important to win for national parties? What is the significance of local power? That was what we should have a look at because the Congress has been squeezed out of power in more states today than it has ever been in history.
"A true nationalist must have a "sense of shame" for the crimes his government commits and accept that his country is not perfect," said the eminent historian.
With the frontline Indian benchmark indices trading near all-time highs ahead of the general elections that begin later this week, Marc Faber, Editor and Publisher of "The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report" tells Puneet Wadhwa that the Indian stock market is relatively expensive, especially the index (large-cap) stocks.
'What will this supposedly more business-friendly government do if it gets a second term?' 'Important labour law and land reforms remain off the table.' 'Witness the arm-twisting of foreign players in e-commerce and all but one player in telecom -- and it is very hard to justify this perception that the BJP is business friendly.' 'There will also remain the real risk of ideas seemingly gleaned from the pages of Amar Chitra Katha, overlaid with PowerPoint presentations,' predicts Rahul Jacob.
The government has received flak for allegedly shielding the corrupt ministers and slow pace of investigation in irrigation scam.
We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
'The American electorate are forced to choose between a shop-soiled spokesperson of crony establishmentarianism and an outlandish boor of a showman, who should never have been where he is now.'
Some of the memorable inaugural ball gowns through the years.
'Indians go to vote next week -- the world's oldest democracy should both celebrate and perhaps analyse this event and its implications.' Dr S Jaishankar, India's ambassador to the US, offers prescriptions for India-US ties.
Exit polls often go wrong in India because pollsters don't sample voters in the poorest parts of the country or the core support bases of different political parties, explains Professor Atanu Biswas of the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.
'We should not use and confuse the word Right to define Hindutva.' 'Doing so blurs the issue because it gives the BJP attributes that it does not have and does not even want,' says Aakar Patel.
'This prime minister thinks he knows everything.' 'He has to consult, he has to talk and he has to mobilise the best people, but having seen him function, I have no expectations from him.'
'Jignesh Mevani has many strengths: Youth, articulation, fearlessness, proficiency with social media, political and ideological flexibility.' 'Also focus, as in targeting the BJP as the one and only enemy for now and using that justification to align with the rest,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Zakir Naik, a gentle, rockstar televangelist, is dangerous as young Muslims may be swayed by his fundamentalist interpretations of Islam and justify victimhood and extremism, says Shekhar Gupta.
Over two dozen Muslims have been elected to the Lok Sabha. This shows that all is not lost for India's Muslims, suggests Mohammad Sajjad.
'The same instinct that thinks that women should remain at home and not be at the workplace, objects to the dance bar.'
The authoritative Congressional Research Service, which provides data and analysis to the US Congress, finds that India no longer features in the world's three biggest arms importers.
The international media on hailed Narendra Modi as a "no-nonsense, can-do leader" after Bharatiya Janata Party secured a stunning win in the Lok Sabha polls, but cautioned that many challenges are in store for the "steely style" politician.
"Judge Gorsuch has a superb intellect, an unparalleled legal education, and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its text. He will make an incredible Justice as soon as the Senate confirms him," said the US president.
'Usually, the Left backed the Congress and other 'secular' parties on the justification of keeping the BJP out. In Bengal, the alliance targets a truly secular rival,' says Shekhar Gupta.
In a veiled attack on Congress and Samajwadi Party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused them of continuing to practice vote-bank politics to divide society and asserted that disturbance of peace and harmony will not be tolerated.
Awful religious practices need to be abolished. But through social and political reformers, not by courts, argues Shekhar Gupta.
US Congressman Joe Crowley, who spearheaded the campaign for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to create a new separate hate crimes category in the agency's uniform crime reporting programme to track bigoted attacks against Sikh Americans, has now set his sights on fully integrating Sikh Americans in the US Armed Forces
Thiruvananthapuram did not give him a resounding victory, but did not abandon him either. If he learns his lessons and avoids the pitfalls of the past, he will have a bright political future, says T P Sreenivasan.
'It is still God's own country. Nobody needs to worry about coming here. Anybody can come to Kerala without worry because bad elements will be kicked out of the state mercilessly... These terrorists visited many places and not only Kerala,' says Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, reacting to the fears that Kerala has become a terror hub.
The Ganga agitation and the question of preserving the Himalayan ecology has become a deadly cocktail of politics and religion. Behind the scene, of course, at play are powerful business interests. What is needed is an independent scientific assessment of the problem and preparation of a blueprint for preservation of the Himalayan rivers and associated ecology, says Dinesh C Sharma.
Just to be clear, "love jihad" -- a concept that claims that Muslim men court Hindu women to convert them to Islam purely to take over India -- doesn't exist, says Mitali Saran
The general secretary of the world players' union FIFPro has blasted FIFA.
'If it is true that we are in a moment in time when the few economic advantages we hold are being lost, our focus must be on that rather than on finger-pointing,' says Aakar Patel.
'There will be some issues of contention, especially on H1B visa and on trade policy.'
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