'Himanta Biswa Sarma has put a lot of effort in demonising Muslims this time.'
Either this affidavit was prepared a long time back, or, Ambedkar has not been following the Commission's hearings.
The conference was seen by many as a show of strength by the Opposition with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav joining in to raise their voice against oppression of backward classes.
'His selection is to honour the sentiment of the communal majoritarianism, satisfy the upper caste and continue the process of Hindutva.'
The Congress, by and large, focused on local issues in this election and its campaign also was run by state leaders initially.
...the BJP's template of operation was different or if the Centre and the state were ruled by dissimilar parties? asks Shyam G Menon.
'Economic issues do not matter during elections; it is the emotional connect that helps swing votes.'
Sharma had on Monday slammed Congress' association with the ISF led by Muslim cleric Abbas Siddiqui in West Bengal, contending that it was against the "Gandhian and Nehruvian secularism" and the party cannot be selective in fighting "communalists".
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 BJP will be the ruling party.'
The Congress leader also said that the government wanted to "permanently" use Kashmir as a vehicle to divide the country on communal lines.
In the video, Nath is purportedly heard saying that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP have only one message for the voters -- a vote for Narendra Modi means a vote for Hindus -- and "agar Musalman ko vote deni hai, to Congress ko vote do (vote for the Congress if you want to vote for Muslims)."
Successive elections have demonstrated that the BJP campaign switches towards polarisation when it is faced with palpable discontent among the electorate, notes Utkarsh Mishra.
Rather than worry about what picture of India is being painted in the foreign media, the focus must be on marshalling all our energies to provide relief and solace to our deeply wounded and dispirited citizens, says former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
The Modi leadership could lose Election 2024 if a communal flare-up becomes cause for all-round catastrophe, warns N Sathiya Moorthy.
Senior officers admit the BJP's revival, and the mainstreaming of the Hindutva narrative that has accompanied this political shift, have complicated communal relations within the army.
'It is precisely because of the apprehensions about Lalu's revival that the upper castes have started re-thinking their electoral preferences. Out of confusion, they are simply deciding to vote for winnable candidates from their respective castes of any of the three parties -- the BJP, JD-U or RJD. This is what has considerably neutralised the NaMo wave in Bihar and resulted in Nitin Gadkari's remark that "Caste is in the DNA of Biharis". This is why Giriraj Singh, the BJP candidate from Nawada, made provocative statements,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
The bitter political rivals -- the ruling LDF and the UDF -- close ranks in the state assembly to oppose the ban.
Amid a political uproar over bomb blasts at Narendra Modi's rally venue in Patna, Congress on Monday appeared to suggest that his brand of politics was allegedly providing an opportunity to disruptive elements to engage in such activities.
'The Ulema have come out as villains against Indian secularism, impeding the secular united resistance against violent Hindutva that is backed by ministers in the government,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
Twenty years after the burning of a train in Godhra killed 59 'karsevaks' and triggered one of India's worst post-Partition riots, the poll-scape reflects the yawning gulf between the two communities.
Voicing concern over incidents of intolerance, including the killing of Kannada thinker M M Kalburgi, a group of scientists has petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee, urging him to initiate "suitable actions".
'Education played the most significant role in entrenchment of Hindutva ideology in coastal Karnataka.' 'Teachers of most of the schools, junior colleges, degree colleges and universities are active agents of Hindutva propaganda.'
Yechury has dropped enough hints that a fight is in the offing at the Hyderabad conclave in April, where any member may move an amendment to the draft on the party's electoral line. Archis Mohan reports.
The list, which is a mix of seasoned political players and greenhorns, has 17 women candidates, five more than the last elections, constituting roughly 41 per cent of the candidates.
Four persons, including a Pakistani terrorist and his accomplice, were killed in a gunfight in Hyderpora locality of Srinagar late Monday evening. The dead also included the house owner and a doctor, whom police dubbed as 'terror associates'.
'For the UDF, it will depend on how far Rahul Gandhi will succeed with the goodwill he has.' 'That will make a difference.'
'India's defining characteristic has been its ability to manage and sustain democratic governance through an accommodation of ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity.'
'The Modi government is about privatising profits and nationalising losses.'
Syed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, batted support for the AAP but party refused to accept his support.
'The government must consider that Modiji's vision of India turning into a $5 trillion economy will happen only when there is rule of law in the country.' 'Investors will not invest if these lynchings keep happening.'
This divisiveness is upsetting social cohesion and can throw the bright young people thronging to Bengaluru with billion dollar ideas in their creative minds off balance, warns Shekhar Gupta.
'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.
Bihar's former deputy chief minister and senior party leader Sushil Kumar Modi explains the party's poll strategy.
'This is a fascinating side to Sonia Gandhi, the way she disarms her opponents.'
The renaming of Mewat comes within weeks of an RSS-supported think tank issuing a 'study' about the growing population of Muslims in the Mewat region.
'If the BJP continues with Nitish as CM, it will not consolidate its position further in future.'
'We have finished that fear.'
'The biggest problem that faces the Opposition in Gujarat is just a day or two before voting is scheduled, Modiji goes on a spree of emotional appeals.' 'That process has been set in motion much earlier this time in Gujarat.'
'Here's a list of the things we should be reading more about in the media,' says Mitali Saran.
