"They call themselves the champions of speech and expression. But deny the same for the people of Kerala."
'None of these three countries -- Turkey, Iran or Malaysia -- ever made a hostile move against India to support the Pakistan-based terrorist elements,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Reservation is an albatross whose continuation under the current system risks creating deep fissures in our society, warns Vikram Johri.
'How better can we depict the Mughal heritage?'
Despite receiving so much love from Gujarat, Modi didn't bother to visit the bereaved parents of those 22 children who lost their lives in Surat, points out Jyoti Punwani.
'If the political executive doesn't want an independent judiciary, it will be impossible for the judiciary to maintain its independence.'
Modi may take satisfaction from his display of considerable political skill in managing a mercurial, temperamental and unpredictable US president and nudging him into uncharacteristic restraint and even carefully orchestrated remarks. This personal chemistry will come in handy if Trump returns as president in the November elections, says former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Mohammad Sajjad salutes the memory of Mushirul Hasan -- historian, thinker, academic, institution builder, -- who passed into the ages this week.
'When there are people who hate brands, it shows they are standing for something.' 'If you are trying to be everything to all people, you are failing.' 'Brands should be brave enough and take more stands on issues.'
In a veiled attack on Congress and Samajwadi Party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused them of continuing to practice vote-bank politics to divide society and asserted that disturbance of peace and harmony will not be tolerated.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday carried out searches at premises of social activist Teesta Setalvad and her organisation in connection with a case of alleged violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act in receiving funds from abroad without taking prior permission from the home ministry.
'The 2019 election and the run-up to it will certainly see bots being deployed in large numbers on all sides.'
The BJP needs to revisit its strategy ahead of the forthcoming Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections, says Dharmendra Kumar Singh
'This is basically aimed at vilifying Nehruvian ideals.' 'Why?' 'Because, Nehruvian leadership is seen by Hindutva forces as the one which did not let them have their Hindu Raj.' 'The Hindutva proponents have always assumed that had Sardar become the first prime minister, India could never have become a secular State,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'The Modi government is about privatising profits and nationalising losses.'
Smartly blending its development agenda with Hindutva politics, the BJP has not lost assembly elections in the state since 1995.
Suspended Gujarat IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt wrote a letter to senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Arun Jaitley, inviting him for a national debate on any issue pertaining to the 2002 riots in the state.
'Indian secularism doesn't deserve a tombstone. It needs a new shrine,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
'Beef-eating is the new media frenzy that is being orchestrated to wrongly implicate the BJP government and is reminiscent of the false anti-Christian acts highlighted by the media when the BJP first came to power in 1996,' says Vivek Gumaste.
Stunned by the sudden saffron surge, daggers seems to have been drawn in the Trinamool Congress camp with local leaders blaming those holding top party posts for their "lack of foresightedness" and "arrogant approach" as primary reasons behind the poor poll show.
'Modi has also made mistakes and overpromised.' 'However, his cautious and careful approach have insulated him from criticism.'
'Like 2014, 2017 was also Modi's election.' 'Every voter you met, apart from those who are BJP cadres, everybody said they would vote for Modi, not the BJP.' 'The one and only factor is the Modi juggernaut. He is the one who turned the tide.' 'The wave which he created in 2014, and to maintain it for three years, is a huge task in itself.'
'Gujarat poll results have boosted the morale of Congress workers, not only in Gujarat but all over India'
Terming Modi as a 'chela' (disciple) of Bharatiya Janata Party veteran Lal Krishna Advani, Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad on Saturday vowed to stop him like he had stopped Advani during his rath yatra in 1990.
The prime minister also underlined the belief of many Hindus that cow is like mother, but said that this should not let people take law in their own hands and every state government should act against violation of the law.
Many corporations extended benefits to same-sex couples well before the law was overturned.
'China was a relationship from which Mr Modi had expected the most it seems.' 'It showed in a string of summits, and somewhat breathless celebration of Xi Jinping.' 'It was hasty and simplistic,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
'I would personally like to see Rahul Gandhi continue as party president.' 'I genuinely believe he has far more to offer to the party still, particularly in leading us in these challenging times that we find ourselves in.'
"Our decision to form an alliance with the Congress was to stop the Modi-Shah duo," Sisodia said.
Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been trying to shrug off the 'communal' tag, has fielded nearly 40 per cent Muslim candidates in Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls under its ambitious 'Mission 44 plus' to wrest power in the state.
Can you even imagine the fear that must have passed through Kiran Rao's mind, asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'Some BJP old timers have remarked that the BJP is now driven by its own high command, the way the Congress was under Mrs Gandhi, says Subir Roy.
'Coalition governments, sometimes assumed to mean years of political instability, actually saw key institutions emerging with greater strength -- the Election Commission, the judiciary, the press, and civil society at large, among others.' 'The question now is whether the clock is being turned back in a new political phase,' asks T N Ninan.
Hitting out at the Nationalist Congress Party's decision to extend outside support to the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday charged that the offer made by the Sharad Pawar-led outfit is to ensure that its "scam-tainted" leaders enjoy full protection.
The BJP leaders said the party wants to bring in new faces in the cabinet and work for the people of the state.
Modi said he saw the election results, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, as the "foundation of the new India".
'Hindu middle class doesn't like anti-Muslim rhetoric'
'This is a watershed election in Indian politics.' 'For the first time, we are moving away from identity politics to aspirational politics.'
'The clearest interpretation of the November 8 mandate is that the backwards, Dalits and minorities, and a huge proportion of women cutting across caste and class, displayed massive consolidation to the extent that despite chipping of votes by the Left Front, by the Third Front and by the BSP, Mahagathbandhan candidates won, and in many cases by huge margins,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
