The EC is perhaps the only body in the country still untarnished and commanding universal respect round the world. It has often been savaged by the ruling political dispensations in the past also, but the EC has come out with flying colours in every case including the latest one against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, says B S Raghavan.
World Squash Federation president Narayana Ramachandran is set to be elected unopposed as the president of Indian Olympic Association in the polls to be held here next month as he was the only candidate to file nomination papers for the top post.
Continuing his Lok Sabha plank of ousting the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought a clear mandate for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Haryana for putting the state on a growth trajectory.
'Since the rise of the Modi-Shah paradigm, the BJP has followed a simple formula.' 'Sweep the Hindi heartland and the two big Western states, and you can rule India with a majority by just adding some little bits on the platter from here and there,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
In the political satire, Lollypop Since 1947, Deepak Dobriyal will play an aam aadmi who becomes a mighty political force.
Manohar Lal Khattar, who is stated to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was unanimously elected leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party legislature party, paving the way for his becoming the first chief minister of the saffron party in Haryana.
We pick some actresses who we think can replace Shilpa Shinde as Angoori Bhabhi. Vote for your favourite at the end, or simply send us your own picks in the message board below.
Ramachandran's support in the council has been reduced to a few members and if some are to be believed he can be removed from his post before or during the AGM on December 14.
With several Congress leaders pushing for Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's removal, the Congress is finding it difficult to keep its flock together in the poll-bound state. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports.
The decks were cleared for India's return to the Olympic fold after a 14-month suspension with Indian Olympic Association conducting its polls with N Ramachandran being elected as the president.
Nine months after he stepped down, JD-U leader Nitish Kumar was on Sunday sworn-in as the Bihar chief minister
The show premieres on Colors on July 11.
Using a sledgehammer to fix some ills can cut down a game at its peak, warns Shekhar Gupta.
'If Rahul wants to pick up the sacred thread where his 'daadi' left it, especially when the BJP, which reduced his party to 44 in 2014, claims monopoly over Hinduism, it's smart politics.' 'Why cede your Gods to your rival?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
The question we must ask is how do politicians get that wealth disclosed in the affidavits, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
It also provides that no preliminary enquiry will be required for registering a criminal case and an arrest under this law would not be subject to any approval.
The passage of this major legislation comes ahead of the general election due early next year.
'You have to work for the development of the people; stay connected with them; be available for your voters so they can come to you for redressal of their problems and don't rely on the brand equity of the central government.'
Shatrughan Sinha won't attend, citing 'important personal engagements.' Will L K Advani be present? M I Khan reports on a swearing-in ceremony the likes of which Patna may not have seen before.
Major political parties in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday ensured victory for all their candidates despite cross voting in Rajya Sabha biennial polls in which senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal emerged triumphant against the Bharatiya Janata Party-backed Independent socialite Preeti Mahapatra.
Ahead of the visit of an all-party delegation to Jammu and Kashmir, political parties on Saturday pitched for holding dialogue with "all stakeholders", including Hurriyat, to douse the unrest and banning the use of pellet guns by security forces.
Giving a message of larger opposition unity, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh will march with leaders of at least ten parties from Parliament House to President House on Tuesday and submit a memorandum against the new land bill.
In the wake of forthcoming assembly polls in Haryana, retired bureaucrats and police officers are in the fray to test political waters in the 'jat' heartland which goes to polls on October 15.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked the Election Commission to take serious note of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda clearing the land deal between Robert Vadra and DLF, alleging that it was done hastily as the Congress faced "certain defeat" in the October 15 Haryana assembly polls.
'Narendra Modi might not have made 145 in Maharashtra, but it is definitely true that the Congress, and other dynastic parties, are well and truly stumped.'
Not all Opposition parties on board, say they are once bitten, twice shy.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
The Indian Olympic Association General Body Meeting started off on a stormy note on Sunday with close to 50 demonstrators under the banner of Clean Sports India protesting against the association's officials, who have been chargesheeted in corruption cases.
Ace shooter Abhinav Bindra on Saturday applauded IOC's decision to not change its stance on barring charge-sheeted persons from contesting Indian Olympic Association (IOA) elections, saying it is heartening to see the world body keen on cleaning up sports in the country.
In a move aimed at consolidation of opposition forces, six constituents of the erstwhile 'Janata Parivar' will soon become one party as their leaders on Thursday authorised Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav to work out the "modalities" in that direction.
More than two decades after the then Janata Dal disintegrated, six of its constituents merged on Wednesday to form a new party which will be headed by Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav.
He may have been the latest victim of the gang-war which has been going on in between two villages
International Olympic Committee's member in India, Randhir Singh on Wednesday asked the officials of suspended Indian Olympic Association to accept the IOC's directive to bar charge-framed persons from contesting elections or face further action from the world body.
From President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit to Rahul and Varun Gandhi, at least 50 parliamentary constituencies will be contested by 'sons and daughters' of politicians of various parties during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Family feuds, in what are essentially family-run outfits, have cast a shadow over the reunification efforts of Janata Party.
RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav said on Sunday that the merger of six Janata Parivar parties to counter the BJP has already "happened".
In news that will please Indian sports lovers, IOA secretary-general Rajeev Mehta confirmed on Tuesday that the International Olympic Committee has lifted the ban on India.
'Imagine a situation where an upright officer refuses to carry out a chief minister's or a central minister's orders that he considers wrong.' 'Can he be summarily thrashed at a meeting at your residence, or in his own office?' 'If AAP legitimises political violence, there are many, many, tougher political leaders elsewhere to draw the wrong lessons,' warns Shekhar Gupta.
'Can the Aam Aadmi Party challenge the BJP? Someday perhaps. But to set him up as a national alternative just now smacks of the very sin that Arvind Kejriwal admits brought him down in 2014 -- arrogance.'
With the Congress down in the dumps and the BJP juggernaut on a roll, 'secular' parties are attempting to revive the Janata Parivar coalition to fill the vacuum.
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