Several Carnatic musicans have pulled out of Madras Music Academy's annual December conference to protest the Sangita Kalanidhi award to classical vocalist T M Krishna, who they allege has 'glorified Periyar' and vilified the Carnatic music community.
As a group of Bharatiya Janata Party workers chanted 'Jai Shri Ram' and raised 'Modi, Modi' slogans in front of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra bus in Nagaon, the Congress leader waved, gave flying kisses and stepped down to meet them.
Rahul Gandhi's focus will be on his Nyay Yatra, rather than the INDIA bloc's election campaign, leading to speculation among allies that the Congress leader is already looking at the Opposition's fight beyond May 2024.
As the adjournment of Parliament for an indefinite period with the Rajya Sabha also adjourning sine die kickstarts the final countdown for the general elections, Modi said the last five years were a period of "reform, perform and transform" with the country moving towards "big changes" at a fast pace.
Six decades and more later, we are now captives of our identities. Every poll is based on elaborate calculations of electability of candidates on the basis of their castes and other narrow definers. That, along with voter promiscuity, is what defines our political culture, which remains stubbornly resistant to any change, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
The five-state assembly elections are seen as a now-or-never, no-holds battle for the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Every young diploma and degree holder in the country will have the right to apprenticeships in the private and government sectors, he said.
Addressing a rally in Karkardooma in east Delhi, Modi alleged that the AAP and the Congress were provoking people and misinforming them. They were keeping the Constitution and tricolour in the forefront, but the aim was to 'divert attention from the real conspiracy', Modi said ahead of the Delhi elections on February 8.
It is not much of an issue just now, but it could become one if the idea of caste census captures socio-political imagination, going beyond electoral tags and identities, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Is it is necessary to play divisive politics to succeed in the next general elections? asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
'Modigate is snowballing into a huge thing with the electorate. The BJP is in for huge punishment by the electorate.'
Thakur's tenure as chief minister is best remembered for implementation of the recommendations of the Mungeri Lal Commission, whereby quotas for backward classes were introduced in the state in 1978. This panel was the forerunner of the Mandal Commission. Both Mungeri Lal and B P Mandal were from Bihar, which has a long history of socialist struggles.
Issues including the Rafale deal, construction of Ram Temple and Cauvery river water caused disruptions in the House.
As the situation went out of control, police first used water cannon and then burst tear gas shells to disperse the unruly crowd.
Against the backdrop of the opposition closing ranks on the CAA issue and the BJP faring poorly in several state elections recently, the 2022 electoral battle is unlikely to be a cakewalk for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
Rahul Gandhi's yatra was marked with high drama on Monday as he was denied permission to visit the Sri Sri Sankardeva Satra in Nagaon district and also from holding a meeting in the Morigaon district, triggering a strong reaction from the Congress leader who protested and asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will now 'decide who will visit a temple and when'.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad's controversial Ayodhya yatra rocked Parliament on Monday with both Houses being disrupted repeatedly due to clashes between Samajwadi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party as demands were made for dismissal of the Uttar Pradesh government.
The Shiv Sena has plans to field 50 to 100 candidates in Uttar Pradesh, including in Ayodhya and Mathura and made it clear that the party will not be part of any alliance.
If the party's members aren't sure what it stands for, see no path to wealth or power, and endure control by a dynasty, which, almighty as it is within the party, cannot get them the votes, they are likely to explore options, notes Shekhar Gupta.
...close to the 2024 general election. The BJP calling the Congress 'seasonal Hindu' is as laughable as the saffron party sparing itself the title of 'seasonal extreme Hindu.'
How else should one describe its election campaigns of the past years?
It was typically obsessive religion and personality cult with economic development for fig leaf, asserts Shyam G Menon.
Seventy-seven MLAs were present in the assembly during the voting.
No sooner had the House paid its respects to the nine persons who laid down their lives 17 years back when terrorist attacked the Parliament House complex and the listed papers presented, members belonging to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam trooped into the well of the House shouting slogans.
Demand disbanding of WFI
The VHP president said that it is beyond understanding that the administration is denying permission for a peaceful Yatra.
The Act prohibits conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.
What some of our leaders were up to over the weekend.
The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) will challenge before the Gujarat high court the recent acquittal of all 67 accused in the 2002 Naroda Gam riot case by a special court, sources said.
Addressing Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, Ranaut posted a video message saying his 'ego will be destroyed' the way her Bandra home was demolished.
Gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari's alleged aide Sanjeev Maheshwari Jeeva was shot dead on Lucknow court premises on Wednesday, the police said.
They all seem to forget that the Music Academy is as much an independent institution as T M Krishna is an individual musician. In drawing those red lines for the Academy management, they do not even seem to recognise that they too have crossed a red line themselves, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Our culture and faith is glorious, intricate and nuanced. And we have to be careful that it does not get defined by trivia which takes the focus away from the real and the true.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday warned that Bihar's areas close to the borders (seemant) will become 'infested with infiltrators' if Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not voted back to power.
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed three bills to replace the colonial-era criminal laws by voice vote.
Maybe, the need for secrecy may have tied the government's hand from sharing details in Parliament. Still, it should consider the need of sharing the utmost within any consultative committee, so that relative secrecy is still maintained. But such a course should involve the prime minister or home minister, as it is much more serious than is being made out to be, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
Udayanidhi has handed over to the BJP one real issue to draw the line between it and the INDIA alliance, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'A time will come when the white structure in Mathura that hurts every Hindu will be removed with the help of the court'
Mayawati said she is fully assured that the people of the "Brahmin community will not get misled by the Bharatiya Janata Party and vote for the party in the upcoming elections".
A court in Bengaluru has granted an interim stay on the distribution and sale of a book on Tipu Sultan, on a plea, saying it contained wrong information about the ruler of the erstwhile Mysuru Kingdom.
The government started the crackdown against such YouTube channels for the first time in December last year using its emergency powers under the Information Technology Rules, 2021.
'Those leading the current political dispensation, whether at the central or the state level, must recognise the enormous risks that their divisive policies are creating for the national security and wellbeing of the country,' cautions former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
