Congress Lok Sabha candidate Imran Masood was arrested on Saturday on charges of hate speech in which he threatened to "chop" Narendra Modi "into pieces", remarks that led to a first information being filed against him by the police besides sparking an outrage.
As the year 2014 draws to an end, we at Rediff.com take to look at some of the ridiculous remarks made by some blundering politicos.
Major Somnath Sharma was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his bravery in the Kashmir operations on November 3, 1947.
'How can you say this is a test of my loyalty? I feel comfortable saying "Jai Hind." I feel comfortable saying "Hindustan Zindabad".'
Irked by Narendra Modi's remark that why Ganga could not be cleaned like his government had done with Sabarmati, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday hit back, saying they don't need lessons from other states.
The BJP chief began his speech with the slogan of uprooting the TMC government from Bengal and said in order to do that, he would visit all the districts of the state.
On Tuesday night with veteran BJP leaders raised a banner of revolt against the leadership of Narendra Modi in the wake of Bihar debacle saying that the party has been "emasculated" in the last one year.
'Some of his decisions were not so good, but his intentions were always guided by a deep national interest.'
After months of anticipation (and 31,000 submissions from the British public), the Britain's Duchess of Cambridge's final selection of images for Hold Still is available to view on the National Portrait Gallery's website. Designed to "capture and document the spirit, the mood, the hopes, the fears and the feelings of the nation" during lockdown, the project brings together 100 moving amateur shots of everything from at-home haircuts to make-shift classrooms; exhausted NHS staffers on duty to dedicated postmen in superhero costumes; pensioners FaceTiming with their grandchildren to mothers cradling their newborn babies. Below, see 22 remarkable images from Hold Still - then head to the The National Portrait Gallery website for the full exhibition.
The recent offensive launched by the Congress against campaign committee head Narendra Modi is being viewed with a degree of apprehension by party seniors who believe that a sustained aggressive strategy against the Gujarat strongman could prove to be counter-productive, says Anita Katyal
'Potent nationalism doesn't just distract from the economic task at hand; it actively undermines it.'
'The movie seeks to strike a long-awaited conversation. A story that the screen should have told long ago.' 'It is an attempt to cure that epidemic of social media opinion and provoke us to leave our rhetorical positions for once and see the issue purely as a great tragedy which happened for more reasons than we give to ourselves,' says Utkarsh Mishra.
The PM said that democracy's greatest strength is harmony and amity.
A fresh case has been lodged against controversial Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan for his alleged 'hate-speech' in Shamli district. A case was registered against Khan in Thana Bhawan police station on Saturday for his remarks at an election rally in Jalalabad area of the district on April 8, District Magistrate NP Singh told mediapersons.
'The violence that shook Assam was a direct outcome of the state's ethnic problem... The tension that created a rift between the Bodos and the non-Bodos for years found a blood-spattered expression.' Former NSG chief Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary, the Trinamool Congress candidate from Kokrajhar, speaks to Indrani Roy/Rediff.com about last week's carnage in Assam.
Accusing Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of flouting the Model Code of Conduct, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday complained to the Election Commission over his remarks linking the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to Mahatma Gandhi's killing and sought action against the Congress vice president and derecognition of the party.
The Opposition seems to be speaking on lines of the neighbouring country on Article 370, he said.
'Though it's a story of inspiration, Meghna Gulzar's Chhapaak is not the kind of film you walk out feeling entertained or ecstatic about,' says Sukanya Verma.
Slamming Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Monday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party leader's attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the purported dehati aurat (village woman) remark shows that he does not like village women and likened him to a "parrot" who makes utterances without verifying facts.
The polarisation politics seems to have succeeded in western UP much to the delight of the BJP. However the non-BJP parties are hoping that the polarisation will not be as intense and they will be able to hold on to majority of their vote banks, says Girish Nikam.
The polarisation politics seems to have succeeded in western UP much to the delight of the BJP. However the non-BJP parties are hoping that the polarisation will not be as intense and they will be able to hold on to majority of their vote banks, says Girish Nikam.
'Wayanad has become famous because of Rahul Gandhi.'
'While high-level interventions may help smoothen inter-State relationships, they cannot fundamentally change the alchemy of such relationships, which are firmly rooted in mutual benefits and mutual interests,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav are all set to put up a show of strength by holding rallies in Agra and Bareilly respectively on Thursday.
Stung by repeated barbs by the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders at former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the voice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "feebler even than that of a mouse".
Let us see the problem for what it actually is: Illegal Immigration plain and simple, confined to the northeast with a definite communal slant that poses a national security risk and one that needs to be dealt with firmly and promptly by stringent identification (and deportation), says Vivek Gumaste.
Suu Kyi also was expected to meet other US officials including Secretary of State John Kerry and senior members of Congress.
Celebrating Independence Day the Bollywood way.
Voting will be held in 55 seats on Sunday in the penultimate phase of Bihar election, with stakes high for the Bharatiya Janata Party as it had along with its then ally Janata Dal-United bagged majority of seats in last assembly polls.
Jaitley said the Congress party which ruled the country for decades is out of sync with the ground realities and aspirations of India as it exists now.
Bharatiya Janata Party's PM candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday targeted Rahul Gandhi yet again, saying while nothing is being done to check price rise and corruption, the Congress leader has been only coming out with "akashwani" (celestial voices).
Despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's praise for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Congress kept cards close to its chest on whether its members of Legislative Assembly would vote in favour of the trust vote sought by him on Wednesday.
The anti-CAA protest was an ugly rant more consistent with the violent chaos of anarchy, argues Vivek Gumaste.
India's majoritarian regime is now making a dangerously fast-paced move towards theocracy, like its western counterpart did a few decades ago, warns Mohammad Sajjad.
Former Defence Minister A K Antony tells Amit Agnihotri that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's statement is an insult not only to the Indian Army but also the previous National Democratic Alliance government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Union Minister Salman Khurshid on Wednesday criticised Bharatiya Janata Party's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for going ahead with his political rally in Patna despite the blasts at the venue in which six people were killed, saying it was a "giveaway" and exposed his true character of not caring for anyone.
Most of the opposition parties blamed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliates for the cow vigilantism.
Khan said that investigative agencies should explore the possibility of the opposition parties involvement in the shocking gang rape case.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Friday replied to the Election Commission notice over alleged model code violation with controversial remarks that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence was in touch with Muzaffarnagar riot victims, denying the charge.
'Mulk questions the very principle, of good-Muslim exceptionalism.' 'That, of course, we adore Abdul Hamid, A P J Abdul Kalam and Bismillah Khan and if only more Muslims were like them.' 'Anubhav Sinha sticks his neck out to say that these are no exceptions.' 'Most Muslims are like them. It is the terrorists who are exceptions,' says Shekhar Gupta.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances