In a background briefing arranged by the Prime Minister's Office, a government official last week suggested that Atwal's presence was arranged by "factions within the Indian government who want to prevent Prime Minister Narendra Modi from getting too cosy with a foreign government they believe is not committed to a united India," the paper said.
Bindu and Kanakadurga, who broke centuries-old tradition by entering the holy shrine, said there were no objections from the devotees and called those who were protesting riot-mongers.
Neelabh Mishra had earlier been editor of Outlook Hindi and has done extensive work in areas of research and documentation including for the Right to Information movement.
The fifth and last phase of the state assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir ended on Saturday with a turnout of 76 per cent.
Counting has begun for the election which will be the second democratic transition of power in the nation's 70-year history.
'If Narendra Modi and Amit Shah will campaign here, the BJP's defeat will be bigger.'
The ruling party sharply countered the comment, saying the Congress had "demeaned and defamed" Hindus of India.
A 12-hour hartal is being observed against the preventive detention of a Hindu Aikya Vedi leader.
The ban restricts entry of people from Iran, North Korea, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Venezuela.
'As of now, this one move seems to have precariously altered the balance of forces on the volatile ground, between separatists and the mainstream. 'The landscape today presents a fearsome picture of the future of mainstream politics in Kashmir. 'Conversely, the separatist ideology looks to have got an unearned boost,' points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs
'Like it or not, the Congress is still the only party with the potential to challenge the BJP at a pan-Indian level,' says T V R Shenoy.
The Sabarimala Karma Samiti, a platform of right-wing outfits, including VHP, appealed to media houses not to depute women journalists in the menstrual age group to cover the developments in Sabarimala.
The apex court questioning the police about the arrests said that 'dissent is the safety valve of democracy and if you don't allow these safety valves, it will burst.'
Senior ministers of Pakistan's ruling Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz party on Wednesday rallied in Parliament in support of embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and dismissed demands for his resignation by protest leaders Imran Khan and Tahir-ul-Qadri.
Sonia Gandhi has expressed her agreement with the concerns of Anna Hazare on the land bill and vowed to oppose it.
The Left has ideologically become irrelevant globally, says the finance minister.
Despite the Samajwadi Party demanding unconditional apology from Bharatiya Janata Party over chants of "Har Har NaMo" cheering BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi during a recent rally in Varanasi, Murli Manohar Joshi on Sunday again raised slogans of 'Har Har Modi' while addressing party workers.
Thousands of angry supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, chanting slogans like "down with military rule", today took to the streets after Friday prayers demanding his reinstatement, as soldiers opened fire to chase them away, killing at least three people.
The army said it was targeting 'criminals around Mugabe' who have sent the nation spinning into economic despair.
New Delhi has repeatedly missed opportunities for political engagement in Kashmir in the past. It must seize the next one, says Ajai Shukla.
The TMC team went there at the instruction of party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
For the first time in 25 years since the start of militancy in Kashmir, the separatists have not called for a general strike on Martyrs' Day on Monday in view of the fasting month of Ramzan.
'The three tycoons I deal with in the first chapter -- Ambani, Mallya and Adani -- in their own way represent the change that has come over India.' 'Of the three of them, Mallya is the most fun. He was terrific.' 'And I don't say that because I tell the story in the book of his golden toilet.'
The Congress said it will observe 'Save Democracy Day' on Friday with party workers and leaders holding protest marches at all district and state headquarters.
'The brutal violence of the UP government's first response to the anti-CAA protests suggests that the BJP will test drive the NPR/NRC in UP, where it has both a massive majority in the assembly and a chief minister whose instinct for Hindutva extremism and whose appetite for punitive policing allows a prime minister as darkly majoritarian as Modi to appear statesman-like,' notes Mukul Kesavan.
'It is highly doubtful that the Trump administration will consider inserting itself into the volatile India-Pakistan dispute.'
Delhi assembly on Friday passed the Janlokpal Bill, incorporating suggestions of Anna Hazare, which provides for an ombudsman with powers to act against any government functionary.
'Success will require political skill, not just economic expertise'
Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu is keeping everyone guessing about whether he plans to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance for the forthcoming Parliamentary polls.
When criticism mounted about projects coming to a standstill last year, the Manmohan Singh government sacked one of its Cabinet ministers. The buzz was that the minister had been sitting on clearances and refusing to approve the projects.
Prime Minister Modi described the DMK chief as a prolific thinker and a deep-rooted mass leader who stood for regional aspiration and national progress.
Non-Congressism is the answer to India's current difficulties, says Dr Shambhu Shrivastava, who gives a historical perspective of non-Congress experiments in 1967, 1977, 1989 and 1998.
While we have to hiss loudly and do the lunging bit to keep our foes on their toes, that's only a tactical matter. What is the strategic goal? What is the end game? In my opinion, there is only one possible end game: the unwinding of Pakistan into several pieces: Balochistan, Sind, Balawaristan (Gilgit, Baltistan, the rest of PoK), the Pashtun area Khyber Pakhtunwa which will merge with Afghanistan, and the rump Punjab, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'We will certainly perform and take India to newer heights. We will really like to see India become a world power in every sense of the term and build a strong and robust economy that is capable of employment generation on a scale required for a country like India,' BJP ideologue Vinay Sahasrabuddhe tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com
Even two-and-a-half years after the National Democratic Alliance came to power, people remember the previous United Progressive Alliance regime for corruption, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday, asserting that demonetisation would go a long way in curbing black money.
Cancelling Uighur leader Dolkun Isa's visa could have been a mutual face-saving exercise for New Delhi and Beijing.
The government on Friday ruled out holding any talks with Naxalites but said a balanced approach will be adopted in close coordination with states to tackle the violence perpetrated by Maoists.
'If the Citizenship Bill passes, then the very principle of Indian citizenship, which is called jus soli (right of birthplace) will convert to principle of jus sanguinis (right of blood) on the basis of religion.' 'Citizenship is being given on the basis of religion and it is against the Constitution.'
Minister of state for power Piyush Goyal will gift wooden-framed 'appreciation letters' to one million govt employees.
Can Mamata Banerjee unite the Opposition?
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