'Extravagant new promises can buy him time, but far from solving the problem, they compound the risk.' 'His main alternative is to stress not aspirations, but resentments.' 'He has already de-emphasised aspirational appeals: Nothing has been heard for over two years of the coming of achhe din,' points out James Manor.
Though MEA did not clarify the individuals being referred to, it is being seen as a reference to US lawmakers critical of India on the issue of the Delhi violence.
Violence returned to Kokrajhar town on Friday night with the killing of one person, taking the toll to 78 in the clashes that started in Assam's communally-sensitive districts since late last month.
Hitting out at Narendra Modi over his veil of secularism remark, Congress said the "cloak of secularism" envelopes all faiths while the veil of communalism is sectarian and the country is witnessing a clash of these two visions.
The monsoon session of Parliament opening on Wednesday promises to kick up a lot of heat and dust as opposition parties are planning to raise issues like communal violence in Assam, rising prices, economy and drought.
"The kind of incident which happened yesterday (Wednesday) can definitely be attributed to lapses on part of the police due to which some people dared to do this (violence). We will take strong action," Devraj Nagar, state Director General of Police told media persons.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought a decisive mandate for BJP in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, saying the 15-year-rule of Congress and NCP have "destroyed" the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's ideology is to spread "rumours and instigate riots" to meet their political ends Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday alleged and claimed that according to intelligence inputs the saffron party was conspiring to ignite riots in Uttar Pradesh.
Yogi Adityanath on Monday completed 100 days in office as Uttar Pradesh chief minister but it was a low-key anniversary with no big event to showcase the achievements of the government.
Curfew was imposed early Thursday in Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh after communal tension spread in the town over a post on a social networking site that allegedly hurt the feelings of a particular community and also led to the killing of a person, a police official said.
Have we been allowed to forget Partition? Isn't Partition the reason many Hindus cannot bring themselves to trust Muslims? So many Muslims born after 1947 have told me with anguish: "How long will we be blamed for Partition?" notes Jyoti Punwani.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the arrest of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and six journalists including Rajdeep Sardesai in connection with first information reports lodged against them for their alleged 'misleading' tweets on the violence during the farmers' tractor rally on the Republic Day.
Four days after a scuffle between intoxicated young men on Diwali night in Trilokpuri's Block 20 spiralled into a diffused communal riot that resulted in scores of injuries, dozens of arrests, and the incineration of at least one Muslim-owned shop, the violence appears to have abated but tension and suspicion persist.
A Bharatiya Janata Party MLA in Punjab was allegedly thrashed and his clothes torn by a group of farmers at Malout in Muktsar district on Saturday, police said.
President Maithripala Sirisena has issued a gazette notice banning three Islamic extremist organisations, including National Thowheeth Jama'ath that was blamed for the Easter bombings.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Dinesh Kumar directed Delhi Police to file the reply by January 14 on how the charge sheet was allegedly leaked to the media before the court took cognisance of it.
Though a number of Jat leaders and farmers said they would vote against the BJP in the upcoming panchayat election, slated for April, they remained non-committal on supporting opposition parties in the assembly polls next year.
Arvind Kejriwal is poised to return to power with a simple majority. Even if the BJP wins 20 to 25 seats, it will be seen as a victory, says R Rajagopalan.
'He was always opposed to a form of nationalism that was narrow, selfish and arrogant.' 'He will always remain a beacon of inspiration for freedom-loving people across the world and for movements of resistance against oppressive State power.'
Eight persons have been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police in connection with Wednesday's renewed communal rioting in Muzaffarnagar, which left four dead.
Defying curfew, irate mobs on Friday torched vehicles and road kiosks and clashed with the police, leaving a superintendent of police and five other personnel injured in Bareilly, which has been hit by communal violence since March 2.Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Brij Lal said in Lucknow that unruly elements indulged in heavy brick-batting and arson in Sanjay Nagar and Subhash Nagar localities, forcing the police to use tear gas shells.
This is the first meeting chaired by Gandhi after relinquishing the post of Congress president last year.
'It is the RJD, otherwise known for misgovernance, which has offered a candidate of clean and performing credentials, rather than the NDA,' points out Mohammad Sajjad.
'Who decides what is jingoistic?' 'What is patriotic?' 'Who decides Lagaan is patriotic and Gadar is jingoistic?'
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday condemned the elements who cause communal and sectarian divide and said these 'elements expand their activities as elections draw near'.
'The Bodos and the Assamese were at each other's throats, the Assamese Muslims and the Bengali Muslims were at each other's throats, the Bengali speaking Muslims and Hindus were coming together against the Assamese speaking caste Hindus and the plains tribes and vice versa.'
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.
Bhim denotes Dalit icon Bhimrao Ambedkar, while Mim denotes the letter 'M' in the Urdu alphabet; the party used the slogan effectively in the 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections
One person was killed in police firing and eight were injured in a clash between members of two communities during Ganesha idol immersion at Fatehpura locality of Vadodara on Monday, police said. Police opened fire to control the violence that erupted in the communally-sensitive area, following an argument between revelers participating in Ganesha immersion and residents of the area on Sunday night.
The communal violence in Kandhmal in the aftermath of the killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Swami Laxmananda Saraswati and four of his disciples, has so far claimed 26 lives, Orissa Home Secretary Tarun Kanti Mishra said in Bhubhaneshwar on Monday.
It was not clear if any decision was taken to act against those responsible for killing police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday reviewed the security situation in the country, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor NSA Ajit Doval and other top officials.
For over three months, the three Delhi border points at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur have transformed into townships occupied by thousands of farmers from different parts of the country, mainly Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
'Other communities are also equally frustrated, but they have not been able to put up a front so far. Now a wind of change is blowing,' says Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia.
No untoward incident has been reported from the district over the past three days.
'This is what Hindu Rashtra looks like, which has been enabled by conditions of democracy.'
Formidable challenges including funds for the farm loan-waiver, and law and order stare him at his face, with the opposition claiming the misses have outnumbered the hits.
Curfew remained in force in riot-hit areas of Muzaffarnagar on Tuesday with the army patrolling troubled places as the death toll in the clashes in the district and adjoining towns rose to 38.
Opposing Tipu birth anniversary celebrations, Bharatiya Janata Party and pro-Hindu organisations had called for a bandh on Tuesday even as the district administration had made arrangements for the celebration.
The party hopes that the multiple road projects, schools, canals, and water projects which have come up in the Meo-Muslim-dominated area will be able to sway the votes in its favour.
