Infighting within West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) came to the fore after a video of an alleged verbal spat between party MPs and screenshots of heated exchanges from its official WhatsApp group for parliamentarians went viral. The incident reportedly involved a public altercation at the Election Commission headquarters, followed by a heated exchange on the party's WhatsApp group, leading to accusations of misconduct and leaked screenshots. The controversy has triggered calls for action against the party chief whip, Kalyan Banerjee, who is accused of misbehavior and tarnishing the party's image.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, known for his hardline Hindutva views and 'bulldozer justice' approach, has spoken out about his policies toward Muslims, the Waqf board, and his vision for India. He asserts that Muslims will receive a fair share of development in Uttar Pradesh, but not special concessions. He also criticizes the Waqf board for its alleged appropriation of government properties and calls for its reform. Adityanath defends his 'bulldozer justice' policy, claiming it is necessary for infrastructure development and removal of encroachments. He also discusses his vision for India, emphasizing the importance of Hindi as a national language and the need for unity across different linguistic groups.
Kaushik Kar, had been invited by Palodhi's group Ichcheymoto' in 2019, to play a character whose name had a reference to the victim who was lynched in 2015 Dadri case on suspicion of eating beef.
"I do not think the idea of turning India into a 'Hindu Rashtra' is appropriate," Sen, 90, said.
'Had anyone asked me if I was Aamir Khan, I would have admitted to it.' Senior movie journalist Roshmila Bhattacharya flips through the pages of her many interactions with Aamir Khan, who turned 60 on March 14.
A gleefully hammy Madhuri and Vidya's volley of death stares and evil laughs engage in a ruthless glamorous tug of war in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, notes Sukanya Verma.
Indian English is the only language that uses the expression 'non-veg' for meat, fish, and those who consume them. A fascinating extract from Shashi Tharoor's A Wonderland of Words: Around the Word in 101 Essays.
Shoma A Chatterjee offers a sneak preview of Via Darjeeling, a Hindi film shot against the intriguing landscape of this hill city.
An angry Banerjee slammed a minister, a former Trinamool Congress mayor and a few bureaucrats for their "below-par performance".
Bengal, where the electoral discourse has mostly steered clear of divisive agenda, has been drawn into the vortex with the TMC and the BJP accusing each other of fanning communal sentiments ahead of elections.
More than the jingoism overkill, it's the tedious tone of telling stories of this genre that hurts Pippa, observes Sukanya Verma.
'Today, let us reaffirm our commitment to strive to realise Gandhiji's dreams. His watchwords, truth and nonviolence, will continue to remain relevant for the whole world. He also taught us that rights and duties are but the two sides of the coin - indeed, the true source of rights is duty. Today we recall his lessons in compassion too - compassion not only for our human neighbours but also for our other neighbours, namely, flora and fauna, rivers and mountains.'
Ma Durga might be the city's most celebrated annual visitor, but Kali is the resident Goddess, notes Sandip Roy.
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.
The jottings on torn pages of a diary with sketches of elephants, fish and sun on the other side, were probably written during the leisure time of a passenger whose identity is not known as yet.
National-award winning actor, producer, hotelier, ex-politician, cricket team owner, philanthropist, highest tax payer, reality show judge, animal lover and, above all, people's hero -- Mithun Chakraborty -- who has been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award -- is truly a force of nature, notes Sukanya Verma.
'The 2024 election results will lead to much intense targeting of Modi, more intense debates, many more breakdowns in Parliament and many more movements on the streets.' 'The results have hit Modi's standing, and the politics of the Opposition parties will be sharply focused to ensure that Modi doesn't get back his charisma of being 'invincible' with help of State power.' Sheela Bhatt looks at the political situation through the prism of 2024 Lok Sabha election results.
Scams, stuntswomen, pirates, freelancers, Sukanya Verma shows you everything you can catch on OTT this week.
A total of 11.45 lakh candidates out of 20.38 lakh have qualified the examination, up by 48 per cent from last year.
Surrounded by a mass of needy professionals, weepy family members and terrified miners, a one-note Akshay basks in all the attention, thumbs down Sukanya Verma.
Sukanya Verma shares her OTT recommendations.
The harum-scarum-ness of Kaala is astounding, exclaims Deepa Gahlot.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) in Delhi reprimanded Jadavpur University for submitting a "generic" report about the incident.
'Conrad Sangma is an interesting mix of charisma, ability and has emerged as a capable leader.' 'Neiphiu Rio is very unassuming, quiet, subtle and stands out among all Naga leaders today.'
An amateurish crime comedy that wants to be taken seriously, Mrs Undercover can never quite find its bearings, observes Sukanya Verma.
'She is associated with our growing up years.' 'When I first met her, it was a little awkward for a couple of days as she is a really popular actor of the '90s.'
'Are we supposed to look the other way as Islamists go on a rampage against Hindus and the Hasina government pay lip service to secularism?' A revealing excerpt from Avishek Biswas and Deep Halder's book, Being Hindu In Bangladesh: The Untold Story.
'Mamata is campaigning hard and not giving the BJP a walkover.'
'People coming from the slightly upper section of Palestinian society want to fight and I see vengeance in their eyes.'
'People say my personality doesn't have sharp edges, but politics doesn't have to be about pulling down your opponents or bad mouthing them.'
Three persons, including the president and general secretary of the Assam Miya Parishad, have been detained for their alleged association with terror outfits, police said.
'In enacting the citizenship law, the BJP's focus has been so much on consolidating its Hindu vote bank all over the country to divert attention from the economic downturn that the party forgot that there are Hindus and Hindus and that one group of Hindus may not always be warmly embraced by another,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
Having failed its litmus test, the Bengal's ruling party is back to square one, trying to draw up a fresh strategy ahead of the polls in Meghalaya and Tripura.
The politicisation of ethnic sentiments in the state has coincided with the ascent of the BJP and increased activities of far right Hindu outfits, which organised rallies and other events on religious occasions such as Ram Navami a festival not very popular in West Bengal- unlike states in north India.
The number of people living in England and Wales identifying as Christian has fallen below half the population for the first time, while those identifying as Muslim or Hindu have registered a small rise, according to the latest census figures released on Tuesday.
'I was about 27 at that point in time, and I knew that if I didn't take this leap then, I wouldn't take the leap ever.'
'Partition was a two-sided story in a very big way.' 'We've oversimplified it, blamed the British, thought of ourselves only as victims.' 'We've been both victims and perpetrators.'
The present happenings in Manipur are the wages of continued neglect, and not so benign at that, of a vital region and its people. Had we lavished on the North East even a fraction of the care and resources we do on Kashmir, things would not have come to this pass, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
Changing a state's name requires constitutional amendment and it is done after taking into consideration all relevant factors, he said.
'Nobody will be saved if you don't stop this ideological and political-strategic bulldozer.'
