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.
At the dharam sansad, a resolution was adopted to mobilise support for a Ram temple from March 5 to 24, and give a call for Dilli Chalo.
'The humanity displayed by ordinary, lower middle class residents of north east Delhi -- Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs -- will be remembered perhaps even more than the evil wrought in the riots,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
The court had concluded the arguments on quantum of sentence on Friday last week after taking into consideration submissions made by both the prosecution and defence lawyers as well as the lawyer of the victims.
Former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri and 68 others were killed in the incident during 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat.
With this phase, election will be over in 424 seats and polling in the remaining 118 seats will be held on May 12 and 19.
On Monday, prosecution had sought death penalty for all the 24 people convicted for the gruesome killings.
Elections 2024 is not as open and shut as has been presumed. There is some life left in it, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Make no mistake, the Bangladeshi and Afghan missions in Chanakyapuri would report verbatim to their capitals the abrasive remarks attributed to the Indian leadership, casting a slur on their countries' political culture and national honour, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Here was a man who played a major part in helping the Bengalis of East Pakistan create a new nation, secured the merger of Sikkim into the Indian dominion and built R&AW into a formidable outfit, comparable to the best in the world.' Rameshwar Nath Kao shunned the limelight, hated to be photographed and preferred to work behind the scenes. A revealing excerpt from Nitin A Gokhale's much awaited book, R N Kao: Gentleman Spymaster.
There is ambiguity as some top leaders are not comfortable about moving the motion.
As opposition parties targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party over the police action on the campus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and asked him to address the issue at the earliest.
The prime minister thanked the people but said it was the start of a long battle, as he urged them to follow social distancing to stop the chain of transmission of Coronavirus which has infected 360 people and claimed seven lives in India.
Speaking about his mission in the party, Sidhu said, "This isn't my personal battle, but the fight for Punjab's well-being and it's existence, and I am only the medium."
Addressing the party workers and people of Bihar through a virtual rally, he attacked the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal saying the growth rate of the state was just 3.9 per cent when the party was in power, but it rose to 11.3 per cent under the NDA.
'What are the circumstances at that time? Had you thought Modi will come after Vajpayee?'
Of the 24 convicted, 11 have been convicted for murder and 13 for other charges.
The Congress on Sunday said it will give a "good fight" to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi on Varanasi seat and did not rule out fielding an outsider.
The court said it has decided to award imprisonment for life without any time frame to the 11, who have been convicted for murder, while requesting the state not to use its power to remit the sentence after 14 years of imprisonment.
Registrar (Judicial) informed Chidambaram's lawyers that Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has listed the matter for hearing on Friday.
The author talks to the veteran photographer about his work, and some of his favourite images over the years
The names of several probables, including Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who had led the BJP government in the state in the past, were doing the rounds at the state party office.
As the situation went out of control, police first used water cannon and then burst tear gas shells to disperse the unruly crowd.
The year is coming to an end and overall, it's been one hell of a year! We have had our share of ups and downs and we look forward to a better 2020. While we count down the days to the new year, let's also reflect on those who gave us strength to stand up in what we believe, the courageous who didn't bow down and the ones with gumption who inspired us to be better. We, Rediff.com, have selected 26 personalities, who we think are worthy of the title -- HERO OF THE YEAR -- and we want you, dear readers, to choose your hero!
Ravi Kishan, the BJP's candidate, is an outsider. The BSP-SP candidate is from the powerful Nishad community. Yogi faces a tough task in ensuring that the Gorakhpur seat, which he represented from 1998 to 2017, stays with the BJP.
'The cases on hand have no genesis in the act of terrorism or waging war against the state,' the court said.
'The Congress shall have to take some brave-tough decisions to give a new social face to the party and its leadership composition,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
A total of 851 candidates are in the fray for 93 seats spread across 14 districts in north and central Gujarat, in the final phase of the polls, where 2.22 crore people are eligible to exercise their franchise.
'No one talks about the Mumbai riots anymore, though like Delhi 1984, the guilty have not been punished. In Gujarat, many powerful leaders of the state's ruling party are in jail for their role in the riots... In Mumbai, only one politician of the Shiv Sena, a former MP, was convicted of hate speech, along with two other Shiv Sainiks, one of whom was a corporator and the other a junior functionary... So why the apathy? Could it be because despite these statistics and the widely-publicised findings of the Srikrishna Commission, what remained in public consciousness was the violence by the Muslims, thanks to a highly efficient Sena propaganda machine? There's no demand for it, but would an SIT probe into the closed cases of the Mumbai riots help today?' The fadeout of Mumbai's riots from public debate can be called a triumph of the communal State, argues Jyoti Punwani.
'There is no remorse over the Dadri lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq or of Pehlu Khan by cow vigilante groups.' 'But should you not have remorse for those who came to kill them?' 'They were Hindus. Do you accept that?' 'That to kill one Pehlu, 20 Hindus have become murderers.' Rajdeep Sardesai in conversation with Ravish Kumar.
Its allies Apna Dal (S) and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party bagged nine seats and four seats, respectively, taking the total tally of the combine to 325.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rahul Gandhi and BSP supremo Mayawati will descend on Varanasi on Saturday making it their battleground ahead of the last phase of Uttar Pradesh polls, a schedule that has put the administration on its toes.
He told the court that he had met Kodnani at Sola Civil Hospital that morning.
In his first exclusive interview to rediff.com after he was made in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, politically the most crucial state of India in May 2013, Shah speaks at length about his task in UP, his party and his boss Narendra Modi, the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf lists 10 instances when the BJP didn't pull its punches.
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.
Out of the 403 seats up for grabs, the BSP had prepared a final list comprising 97 Muslim candidates (12 more than 2012), 87 Dalits and 106 other backwards castes, besides earmarking 113 seats for upper castes -- Brahmins 66, Kshatriyas 36 and others 11.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad today dared the Bharatiya Janata Partyto declare its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.
BJP prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi left no stone unturned to make frontal attacks on Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, repeatedly blaming them for Amethi's neglect. Sharat Pradhan reports
