'Not even a single rupee from the electoral bonds should be allowed to be used in the election.' 'If it is used in the election, it will taint India's electoral process itself.'
The bench, headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, will also hear a separate plea which has sought initiation of contempt action against the SBI alleging it "wilfully and deliberately" disobeyed the apex court's direction to submit details of the contributions made to political parties through electoral bonds to the Election Commission by March 6.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has honoured Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain refugees by giving them citizenship through Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), Union home minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday and maintained there is no provision of stripping of anyone's citizenship in the new law.
For trust in democracy to be retained, elections need to be not just free of intervention -- ruling out Pakistan and Russia -- but also demonstrate the capability to both deliver ruling mandates and hold the potential for large swings in favour of the opposition, points out Mihir S Sharma.And, after an election is done, they need to see a mandate in order to go back to their lives and let their representatives get on with the business of government, points out Mihir S Sharma.
The big surprise is that Narendra Modi, the greatest conjurer in our national politics, has not yet presented a theme to this election, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The Opposition candidate in the July 18 presidential polls, Yashwant Sinha, held his first campaign strategy meeting on Wednesday at the Nationalist Congress Party office in New Delhi and said a "rubberstamp President" will not work in the country.
'What you need is a credible Opposition, a credible platform to persuade people to believe that it can replace this government.'
She said on one hand, giant hoardings calling upon Kashmiris to "celebrate" the abrogation of Article 370 have been put up across Srinagar, whereas "brute force is being used to choke the actual sentiment of the people".
'The people decide who is a purush, yugpurush and a mahapurush'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Wednesday that his government's action against corruption has made some people angry but he will not turn back in this fight against graft and nepotism, however big an alliance his rivals form against him.
In an apparent swipe at previous Congress dispensations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that attempts were made after independence to erase contributions of many great people besides India's culture and values, and asserted that the country is now correcting mistakes of the past.
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
On January 10, the top court had refused urgent hearing of the plea, saying there are 'democratically elected institutions' to deal with the situation and all important matters should not come to it.
Balakrishnan, a full professor in the economics department who joined the private university in 2015, on Saturday wrote to Ashoka University Chancellor Rudrangshu Mukherjee and board of trustees chairperson Pramath Raj Sinha explaining his reasons for his resignation.
She said that access to justice for all has been a theme close to her heart and mentioned several steps taken to help economically disadvantaged sections of society to approach legal institutions for remedial action.
The protesting farmers' main demand to legalise the minimum support price (MSP) regime has divided opinion. One school of thought says it would lead to crop diversification and help India keep under check its burgeoning import bill on edible oils and pulses, while another says it would incentivise farmers to produce low-quality crops. Contrary to popular perception, India has a trade surplus in agriculture and allied activities, which stood at $18.65 billion during 2022-23 (FY23) against $15.92 billion in the previous year. However, the surplus was mainly on account of rice, wheat, sugar, spices, and buffalo meat.
Pakistan still has to acquire the patience you need in a democracy. The patience to accept that even if I do not like the government I have, I must wait till the next election to change it, explains Shekhar Gupta.
On the other hand, Modi said that the country saluted those who "fiercely and fearlessly" resisted the Emergency period.
A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Lok Sabha secretariat for inauguration of the new Parliament building by President Droupadi Murmu.
In its verdict last month, the top court directed the SBI to furnish the details to the Election Commission (EC) by March 6.
Deprecating "endemic" protests against corruption, President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday warned that the country would be "flirting with chaos" if its democratic institutions come under an assault.
For the first time in his political career, he failed to carry his party to even a working majority -- and again, for the first time in his career, he finds himself in a situation where he cannot rule by dictatorial fiat, points out Prem Panicker.
'If such a practice were feasible, every state would seek additional funds, posing a significant risk to the overall health of the economy.'
Six decades and more later, we are now captives of our identities. Every poll is based on elaborate calculations of electability of candidates on the basis of their castes and other narrow definers. That, along with voter promiscuity, is what defines our political culture, which remains stubbornly resistant to any change, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday made a strong push for reforming multilateral institutions, including the United Nations, and spoke glowingly of India's ties with the United States, saying the two countries stand at a new dawn in their relationship that will not only shape their destiny but also that of the world.
Asserting that Aligarh Muslim University is not a minority institution, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Saturday said the varsity is committing a "big crime" by not implementing the policy of reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs.
'They are taking the people of the country for granted.'
Right to apprenticeship, legal guarantee for MSP, passing a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs, a nation-wide caste census and scrapping of Agnipath scheme are among the promises made by the Congress in its Lok Sabha polls manifesto released on Friday.
"There are democratically elected institutions to look into it. Everything important should not come to us. We will list it on January 16," the CJI said.
The Congress on Thursday said it firmly believes that India's democratic processes themselves have to deal with the threats posed to its democracy, remarks that came after the Bharatiya Janata Party attacked the opposition party for its leader Digvijaya Singh thanking Germany for "taking note" of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
The Bharatiya Janata Party said that there should not be any politics on the Supreme Court ruling and everyone should respect it.
Experts say Canada's allegations regarding the Indian government's involvement in the fatal shooting of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada 'could be most significant test of strength of US-India partnership since early 2000s'.
'The appointment of judges must not be under the control of the government,' says Prashant Bhushan.
'I wonder how people who come to power through democratic means turn out this way.' 'But people of India are strong, and those who think they can hoodwink people, are mistaken.' 'You can fool some people for some time, but not all people, all the time.'
India has also taken note of reports of Saeed's son Talha contesting elections in Pakistan and said the "mainstreaming" of radical terror outfits in the neighbouring country is nothing new and that it has been part of its State policy for a long time.
Showcasing the efforts of the Centre for ensuring democracy at grass-roots level, the newly-elected members of the DDC would be meeting besides holding a meeting with a few prominent citizens and administrative secretaries.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram's road show in Singapore highlighted India's strong growth and investment prospects.
Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar in his maiden speech in the House on Wednesday criticised the judiciary for scrapping the NJAC bill, terming it as an instance of "severe compromise of parliamentary sovereignty", and said the government's three organs should respect the "Lakshman Rekha".
Mehbooba Mufti was on Monday re-elected as the president of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party for a further period of three years.
The amendments passed by the government will ensure that no Information Commissioner shall be free from interference and signalling by the Modi government, she said in a statement.
