Shashi Tharoor also said that it was too premature to write the obituary for the Congress party and that as an organisation it had no time to sit and lick its wounds as it must immediately pick itself up for the upcoming state elections.
'Their candidates are simple people who will be there in hours of need.'
With almost all opposition parties and several trade unions backing the 'Bharat Bandh' and many announcing parallel protests in support of the farmers, the Centre has issued an advisory directing all the states and Union Territories to tighten security and ensure COVID guidelines are followed.
Most television channels, including NDTV, were giving NDA a thumbs up, when it was the Grand Alliance that was winning the battle on the ground.
'War is won by team work. War is won by sacrifices,' says Subedar Sanjay Kumar, Param Vir Chakra.
Amidst rumblings of a crisis within AAP, a letter by its internal Lokpal has pointed to the growth of two camps within the top leadership of the party due to an "abject breakdown in communication and mutual trust" and said it needs to make efforts to address criticisms over inner-party democracy.
'It will be a mistake to imagine that Sidhu will be a permanent feature of the Congress' Punjab scene,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'Brand Kejriwal-AAP have a long way to go even if they win another Delhi election...'
'It is a force nobody can ignore, not even Mr Modi, because it will keep punching above its weight,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Eyewitnesses alleged the attackers entered the premises when a meeting was being held by JNU Teachers' Association on the issue of violence on campus and assaulted students and professors.
Escalating further the controversy over his interview to Doordarshan, Narendra Modi on Saturday rued the "decline" in journalistic freedom in the public broadcaster and invoked "horrific" memories of the Emergency days in 1975.
'Look at the aggressive way in which a campaign against Friday namaz is going on in North Indian cities.' 'Even the Union home minister is part of this vicious campaign.'
Is politics gaining at the expense of civil society?
'It is nobody's contention that uncomfortable questions regarding national security should not be raised. But that is a topic for another day and another time when the immediate threat has faded,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
'The message the government is sending out is you are not safe if your dare oppose this regime.' 'The entire incident gives you an understanding of what happened in Germany during the Third Reich.' 'This is jingoism and this is not nationalism of any kind.'
Farmers with land sizes less than 0.01 hectare have an average annual income of Rs 54732 and annual consumption of Rs 61296, thereby, a debt of Rs 6564 each year. Compare this with the minimum pay for a government employee, says Devanik Saha.
'Mr Modi may have the aura of an irresistible conquistador now, but he is human. He isn't an 'avatar,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
Either drivers were blissfully unaware of the requirement or they hadn't bothered to get one installed in their vehicle.
The Aam Aadmi Party has demanded the dismissal of Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleging a conflict of interest that has prevented him from issuing a notice to Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio on the 4G issue, a charge vehemently denied by Prasad who said he never gave advice or appeared for the company.
As it completed an eventful 100 days in office, the Aam Aadmi Party government on Sunday mounted a blistering attack on Modi dispensation accusing it of making a "U-turn" on granting full statehood to Delhi and indicated tabling a resolution to reject the "unconstitutional" notification giving absolute powers to the Lt Governor.
The party needs to fight competition not by acting like others, but by finding a strong narrative of its own.
Kejriwal in his public meetings took up issues, which garnered him strong support
The debacle that pollsters faced in the Bihar assembly elections is in part being blamed on the small sample size and lack of advancement in field surveys, says Sahil Makkar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has managed to pull off what was unimaginable a year back -- adopting a much-needed centre-left approach, says Devanik Saha.
'The BJP will never do anything substantial to empower Dalits.'
Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday came out with its manifesto for the December 4 Delhi polls, promising to enact Jan Lokpal Bill in 15 days if voted to power.
Given the controversy over Uttar Pradesh's population control moves, Hemant Shivsaran/Rediff.com digs deep to find out how many children BJP MLAs in UP have.
President Ram Nath Kovind said he was 'a determined champion of democracy during the Emergency' and would be missed by his readers.
'Kejriwal's way of working is 'my way or the highway'. If you don't say Kejriwal zindabad then you will be thrown out of the party.' 'I feel Kejriwal is a very darpook (frightened) man. When he lost in the Lok Sabha elections his strength disappeared and he started compromising.' Aam Aadmi Party rebel Pankaj Pushkar speaks out.
Should the party expand to Punjab, Bihar and other places, or should it consolidate its gains in Delhi? This was one of the questions before the party when it split sometime back. An answer is yet to emerge.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal's jail stay was extended till June 6 on Friday as he remained adamant on not furnishing bail bond in a criminal defamation case against him by the Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitin Gadkari, with a Delhi court chiding him for "legal illiteracy" and asking him to be "sensible".
For the third front to become a reality, it needs a party that has a pan-India presence and wins more Lok Sabha seats than all other parties in the front, say experts.
There is a vital difference between Bofors and Rafale, explains Shekhar Gupta.
'I fight for anyone who is poor, marginalised or victimised.' 'If a Dalit factory owner is inflicting atrocities on his Brahmin worker, then I will fight for the poor Brahmin.'
'Drought in the 1990s was essentially the drought of a poor India.' 'This 2016 drought is of a richer and more water-guzzling India.' 'The severity and intensity of the drought is not about lack of rainfall.' 'It is about the lack of planning and foresight, and criminal neglect.'
Can un-democracy be the foundation for a democratic party that aspires to be different from all other parties in India.
Kapil Mishra was one of the closest aides of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. However, in May 2017, the tides turned. A loyalist of the Aam Aadmi Party founder, Mishra shocked one and all by openly accusing him of corruption, a claim that the AAP dismissed. Since then Mishra has become one of the most prominent AAP rebels. In the face of the sit-in by Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and ministers - Satyendar Jain and Gopal Rai at Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's office, Mishra spoke to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com and said that this is the first time in history that a sitting chief minister of a state in India has kidnapped himself.
Several former colleagues say Kejriwal is undemocratic. But his loyalists stand stoutly behind him
Political observers feel that the outcome of the elections weighs in favour of the BJP which had won a massive mandate in the Lok Sabha elections, held earlier this year.
'In this country, if any government acquires one of these images -- anti-farmer, or anti-poor or corrupt -- the government doesn't survive.' 'The Modi government is fast acquiring that anti-farmer image, that is why it is nervous.'
'...a dazzling flash, and then, fizzle,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
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