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".
'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.'
'There are three pillars of concern: The expansion of Hindu majoritarianism, the concentration of executive power and decay of independent institutions, and curbs on free expression and dissent.'
'The prime minister's comment on 'revdi culture' was welcome. But I am disappointed he did not follow up on that.' 'All political parties, including the BJP, have been guilty of this.' 'Now, Modi's guarantees, the Congress's 'nyay' path and both ruling and Opposition parties are vying with each other for freebies in my home state Andhra Pradesh.'
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.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has stated that there is a need for evolving a general consensus among various political parties at the national level to resolve the Kashmir issue. Mufti said, "Strengthening of democratic institutions and emergence of a strong civil society is a good sign and the country has to respond to the prevailing positive atmosphere in the region'.
The Congress has launched a campaign to counter the anti-graft movement by Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev and accused a section of civil society of trying to weaken democratic institutions.
Identifying Pakistan as a frontline state along with Afghanistan and Iraq, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday asked American lawmakers to approve the Obama Administration's proposal of $3.2 billion civil and military aid to Islamabad for the fiscal year 2011.
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.
It was Nehru who instilled a democratic culture in our country by his regard for democracy, she said.
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'.
Without naming Gandhi and referring to the Congress leader's remarks made in London -- that structures of Indian democracy are under 'brutal attack', Modi termed it an insult to 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara, the people of Karnataka, India's great traditions and its citizens.
President George W Bush has signed an $87.5 billion package for military operations.
Parliamentary sovereignty cannot be permitted to be diluted or compromised by the executive or the judiciary, he said in his strongest remarks yet against alleged judicial interference in the working of Parliament.
In its verdict last month, the top court directed the SBI to furnish the details to the Election Commission (EC) by March 6.
A landmark constitutional reforms package aimed at striking down the Pakistani president's sweeping powers and strengthening democratic institutions was tabled in Pakistan's parliament on Friday, with the ruling Pakistan People's Party describing it as a "bill of hope".
'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.'
'Justice B V Nagarathna has excellent human qualities and is a stickler for the law.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party said that there should not be any politics on the Supreme Court ruling and everyone should respect it.
For the first time in its history, Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly will not have a representative from the Kashmiri Pandit community.
The incident took place at the shop-cum-residence of BJP leader Wasim Bari, earlier district president of the party, where some motorcycle-borne terrorists attacked the three from a close range with a silencer-fitted revolver, they said.
'If such a practice were feasible, every state would seek additional funds, posing a significant risk to the overall health of the economy.'
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Terming the petitions seeking legal validation of same-sex marriage as one which reflect an "urban elitist" view, the Centre has told the Supreme Court that recognition of marriage is essentially a legislative function which the courts should refrain from deciding.
The president made a special mention of the threat to the environment and asked all citizens to take care of it for future generations.
The mastermind of Pakistan's deadly attack on Bacha Khan University on Friday threatened to target more educational institutions, which he said were "nurseries that produced apostates".
A third-year student of National Institute of Technology-Silchar allegedly died by suicide on the campus, following which his classmates began a protest that eventually turned violent, prompting the police to lathi charge, in which 40 people were injured, officials said on Saturday.
Prime Minister Khan, in his address, said Pakistan will never fight any other country's war in future and his government's foreign policy will be in the best interest of the nation.
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.
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.
Myanmar military television says that the military has taken control of the country for one year.
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.
The former Congress president said Jawaharlal Nehru, as India's first prime minister, "consolidated democracy and entrenched the basic values of India's polity -- values to which we are still proud to lay claim."
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday said "dangers are emanating from outfits", including some foreign universities, doubling up as centres of subversive anti-India activities out to demolish the country's civilisation ethos and sully and muddy its growth.
'If the situation deteriorates and there is further escalation, the USA is in preparedness.'
The Centre on Thursday disputed in the Supreme Court the figure pertaining to alleged attacks on Christian institutions and priests, terming the data "wrong" and claiming the petitioners wanted to keep "the pot boiling" to sully the image of the country abroad.
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.
'The government should immediately enact an Act to make caste discrimination a criminal offence and lay down a procedure similar to that of the Anti-Ragging Act.' 'Ragging has nearly been eliminated because it is treated as a criminal offence.' 'Similar procedure should be used in case of caste discrimination.'
Biden is not risking his reputation in a crucial election year, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Asserting that Indian democracy is a "global public good", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said that its "collapse" will have an impact on the world and is not in America's national interest.
