'We are going to need more technical people in government.' 'You can't expect a generalist to understand the complicated world of financial engineering.' 'I regret to say that most of our politicians have no competence to deal with these things. Nor is there a willingness to learn.'
'Don't be surprised if the Census forms come with a caste box.' 'I will be surprised if it doesn't. It will be a point conceded to Rahul Gandhi and his allies,' asserts Shekhar Gupta. The BJP machine could take all 3 in its stride, but this election has changed that, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Leading the campaign in Bengaluru, MLA and former minister V Sunil Kumar staged a sit-in demonstration near the Sadashivanagar police station, amid chants of "Jai Sri Ram" by BJP workers.
From the time he first rose to prominence during the movement against the then UPA government, Arvind Kejriwal has regularly grabbed headlines for his surprise moves and decisions. Here are 10 such instances.
The rulers of the day need to be sensitive and involved in managing the identities of sacred spaces and the ongoing dialogues about the past in diverse societies, suggests Colonel Nikhil Apte (retd).
A group photo taken at the Bharatiya Janata Party office in Jaipur ahead of Tuesday's legislature party meeting showed Bhajan Lal Sharma in the very last row.
'This is necessary for protecting the Hindu religion'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the people have given his government a mandate for stability and continuity for the third consecutive term after seeing its work of 10 years and accused the Congress of trying to build a narrative that it has defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha polls.
The Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly on Thursday passed a bill that provides for recovery of losses from the people and organisations responsible for damaging public and private properties during protests.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said 13 persons were detained for an alleged assault on a group of persons taking out a vehicle rally in Mira Bhayander area adjoining Mumbai on the eve of the Ram Temple idol consecration in Ayodhya.
The bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards proposes far-reaching changes in the Wakf Act, 1995, including ensuring the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies.
'How come the BJP won even in the Muslim belt? I am 100% sure that the BJP would not win in the Muslim belt.'
The notable names in the BJP's first list include Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow, Hema Malini from Mathura, Ajay Mishra Teni from Kheri, Smriti Irani from Amethi, Lallu Singh from Faizabad (Ayodhya) and Mahendra Nath Pandey from Chandauli among others.
Close on the heels of the much-hyped '84-kosi parikrama' on August 26 last, yet another 'fixed' match between the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Samajwadi Party was witnessed in Ayodhya on Friday when blatant posturing by the two sides ended in a damp squib.
Bharatiya Janata Party president Lal Kishenchand Advani on Tuesday said the BJP will hold nationwide protests on Wednesday condemning the terrorist attack on the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal have announced that they will mark the day as Shaurya Diwas and Vijay Diwas (day of victory) and have asked the people to light earthen lamps as on Diwali.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Sunday inaugurated its controversial yatra from Ayodhya amidst a massive crackdown launched by the Uttar Pradesh administration which has arrested senior VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Praveen Togadia, and over 500 people.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he does not get 'intimidated' and fights for truth even if the world stands against it, remarks that come amid repeated confrontations between his party and the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Assam during the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'.
Political observers lauded the SP's choices in fielding several non-Yadav and Scheduled Caste candidates, the party's alliance with the Congress, and Rahul Gandhi's campaign around the danger to the Constitution if the BJP won a big majority.
'They hate him so much that if PM Modi says the Sun rises in the east the Congress will say the Sun rises in the west.'
'They know that if they do not tie up with the Congress, then the minorities will move to the Congress.'
Struggling to gain political traction on issues of corruption, the West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party is shifting its focus to emotive topics such as the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in a bid to achieve its target of securing 35 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats from the state.
Hundreds of sadhus, who were marking the 16th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid at the Karsewakpuram in Ayodhya, ended up burning Pakistani flags to protest the 'Pakistani sponsored terror attack on Mumbai'.Leading the group of hundreds of saffron-clad sadhus, former Bhartiya Janata Party member of parliament Mahant Ram Vilas Vedanti gave a call for 'military attack on Pakistan'.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a pitch for electing a strong and stable government in an uncertain world beset by geopolitical tensions as the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday released its manifesto, prioritising development and welfare while shunning populist measures and contentious issues like the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Uneasy calm prevailed in Ayodhya, which on Saturday looked like a fortress, with deployment of more than 10,000 cops on the 22nd anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Mosque.
Pakistani peacenik Hamid Mir's singular idea to ensure extremists in his country do not retaliate over the Ayodhya verdict.
Sukanta Majumdar, the state BJP president, said, "Amit Shah has set a target of 35 seats. We will achieve that".
Addressing a rally in Lucknow in support of the CAA, Shah threw the challenge for the debate to Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. He also declared that the construction of a Ram temple 'touching the skies' in Ayodhya will begin within three months.
'The Congress in the past backed the demand, but will not support it now since the SP opposes any division of UP.'
Addressing a rally in the Balpur area in Gonda in Uttar Pradesh on the completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi government, Singh skipped any direct reference to the wrestlers' protest for his arrest and chose to target the Congress over the Emergency, Ram temple, the 1984 anti-Sikhs riots and other issues.
The Mumbai police has decided to provide security to Manoj Shukla Muntashir, the dialogue writer of the film Adipurush after he cited a threat to his life, an official said on Monday.
His five-year rule saw the Babri Masjid demolition, the rise of the saffron forces and also the country being placed firmly on a new economic path, away from the Nehru years of public sector socialism.
Without making two-thirds of the country's population a development partner, India's prosperity is impossible, the Congress leader added.
'The verdict must be seen as something more; as a historical balm, a moral restitution and the deliverance of justice to a people wronged,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
Modi wants the BJP to gets an additional 10% of the vote share from what it won in 2019. Plans are afoot to get new faces to replace MPs with poor chances of winning. Sources say more than 100 MPs are like to be axed, notes Modi biographer Ramesh Menon.
A Muslim body fighting for rebuilding Babri Masjid in Ayodhya will not organise any protests on Saturday, on the anniversary of the demolition of the mosque, to express solidarity with the victims of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.The All India Babri Masjid Re-building Committee said it will, instead, send a memorandum to President Pratibha Patil urging her to order the rebuilding of Babri Masjid at its original site in Ayodhya or refer all disputes related to the SC.
In Phase 6, indications are that the BJP, which is defending 40 seats, will lose in double digits and gain in single digits. Not good, if you are the ruling party scrambling to earn a working majority, with just one phase left to go, argues Prem Panicker.
In an interview with Newsweek magazine of the US, Modi said for India, the relationship with China is significant.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad was on Monday refused permission by the Uttar Pradesh government to organise a yatra from Ayodhya to push for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site, just days after it asked Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav to work as a bridge between Hindus and Muslims on the issue.
Shinde also said directives will be issued to give the Kunbi caste certificates to blood relatives of a person who already possesses similar documents.
