Former Kerala minister M A Baby was elected as the CPI(M) general secretary at the 24th party congress in Madurai. Baby, who was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1998, has been a member of the Politburo since 2012. He succeeds Sitaram Yechury, who passed away last year.
'If his health was good he would have become CM again after polls.' 'Those who are with Nitish Babu today will remain with him till the elections to use his name for votes and would definitely play games with him after the polls.'
Delhi University (DU) has informed the Delhi High Court that it is willing to show its records on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree to the court, but not disclose it to "strangers" under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The university's solicitor general, Tushar Mehta, argued that the "right to privacy" superseded the "right to know" in this case, and that allowing disclosure would expose the university to RTI applications for information about lakhs of its students. The court has reserved its verdict on the matter.
Protesters in West Bengal's Murshidabad district set fire to police vehicles and hurled stones during a demonstration against the Waqf (Amendment) Act. The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon in the Jangipur area, where a large crowd had gathered demanding the withdrawal of the legislation. Police responded with lathi charges and tear gas to control the situation. Several people were detained and police personnel were injured in the stone-pelting. The West Bengal Police has said the situation is under control and strict action will be taken against those who resorted to violence.
'Why should children, who are already burdened with so many subjects, be over-burdened with three languages?'
A fake cardiologist operating at a missionary hospital in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, has been linked to the deaths of seven patients. Police have filed an FIR against the accused, identified as Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav, who allegedly used the name of a renowned UK cardiologist. The incident came to light after a complaint was filed with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which is investigating the case. The accused has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including forgery and criminal liability. The incident has sparked political controversy, with the Congress accusing the BJP of protecting the accused.
Fraudsters read your mind, weave convincing stories, earn your trust and then vanish with people's savings. Ramalingam Kalirajan reveals five simple tricks that cons use to steal money from you.
The Supreme Court of India has invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in West Bengal's state-run and state-aided schools, deeming the selection process "vitiated and tainted." The court ordered the state government to conduct a fresh selection process within three months. The decision comes after a Calcutta High Court verdict in April 2024, which also annulled the appointments. The apex court, while upholding the high court's order, made some modifications, including exempting disabled employees from returning their salaries. The case stemmed from alleged irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC), involving OMR sheet tampering and rank-jumping. The Supreme Court had previously termed it a "systemic fraud." Former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee and Trinamool Congress MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha are among the accused being investigated in the recruitment scam.
'Mamata needs to address the anger and resentment among various sections of the Hindu community because low-scale communal violence has always paid richer electoral dividends for the BJP.'
Former Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap has strongly supported Pullela Gopichand's recent comments about the challenges faced by middle-class families pursuing sports careers.
The government has to specify what it intends to do with caste census data. It will be closely tracked if the government would simultaneously move towards removing the present 50% bar on reservations using means which are permitted in law. If this is not done, the entire exercise will become meaningless and could boomerang on the BJP, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'A government whose policies are focused around making the life of ordinary citizens, specially the most deprived sections, richer; a government that prioritises education, health and transport, that doesn't treat its citizens as subjects who must come to it for everything, is rare in our country.' 'When such a government is thrown out, one is left stunned,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
The founder of KIIT, Achyuta Samanta, and other top officials of the private engineering college were questioned by a government committee about the alleged suicide of a Nepalese girl in her hostel and the assault on students of her country. The incident sparked outrage in the Odisha Assembly, with opposition members demanding a judicial inquiry. Samanta was questioned for two hours, along with the institute's Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, Dean, and two suspended women officials. The committee is investigating the circumstances surrounding the student's suicide, the alleged high-handedness of the institute's administration, and the decision to suspend specific students and shut down the institute for them. The Odisha government has assured Nepalese students that it will cover their travel expenses, arrange remedial classes, and reschedule their mid-semester examinations if necessary.
'At least 25 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of plastic chewing gum gets dumped.' 'And because the way people spit it out, there's no possible way this plastic can be recycled.'
Caste census politics took centre stage on Thursday with the Congress terming the government's decision as a 'diversionary tactic' and a move for headlines management and the Bharatiya Janata Party saying it has exposed the difference between the Centre's 'true intentions' and the 'empty sloganeering' of the opposition party.
'On the governmental level, we are saying all the right things, like beti bachao, beti padhao. Yet, a High Court judge in Prayagraj, who is highly educated, has studied the Constitution and its laws, says breaking the naada of a pyjama or touching the breasts of a minor girl is not part of the reform process. Just giving lip service is not enough, the general mindset has to change.'
Bangladesh has demanded a public apology and compensation from Pakistan for the 1971 atrocities, raising "historically unresolved issues" during the first foreign secretary-level talks between the two countries in 15 years. Dhaka also asked Islamabad to pay USD 4.3 billion as its share from the combined assets at the time of East Pakistan's split from West Pakistan in 1971 to form an independent Bangladesh.
Jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi has been awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.
'We want to hide it (by saying) we are too busy in our lives, we have other things to attend to, we have families.' 'But they all had families, including Jyotiba or Mahatma Gandhi, or anybody who challenged the system.'
Responding to the controversy, Congress leader Harish Rawat refused to comment on Aiyar's remarks, dismissing him as a "frustrated individual."
'The government has to explain (to the army, air force and navy chiefs) whether they want a punitive strike, a deep punitive strike, or whether they want limited war or an all-out war, will it be a circumscribed war or will it be a shallow attack along the border.'
A Dalit groom's wedding procession was held under heavy police protection in Rajasthan's Ajmer district after the bride's family expressed concerns about potential opposition from upper castes. Around 200 police personnel ensured the safety of the traditional 'Bindoli' ceremony, where the groom Vijay Regar rode a mare to his bride Aruna Khorwal's village. The bride's family had approached the authorities after anticipating possible resistance from locals. The police presence prevented any incidents and ensured the wedding procession took place peacefully.
An astrologer told Ramesh Menon that he was increasingly having worried parents asking him about the future of their children who were showing serious behavioural changes like lack of tolerance towards others, shunning social interaction, and even violent behaviour. They were worried because they had never ever seen such traits in their children before the pandemic.
Accusing the Centre of overlooking practical aspects of implementing the Right to Education Act, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati sought funds from the United Progressive Alliance government to enforce the law on Saturday.
'We are committed to leveraging our influence constructively to support the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) in fostering cricket development and ensuring playing opportunities for both men and women in Afghanistan'.
'We don't have to compete with Maharashtra or Gujarat. We have to now start thinking about how we compete with the United States or China.'
Financial success isn't about making impulsive moves -- it's about making informed choices, asserts Ramalingam Kalirajan.
'Understand your financial goals. Next, categorise them by size. Then evaluate your investment options.'
The importance attached to the legislation could be gauged from the fact that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in an unprecedented move will address the nation on Thursday highlighting the various aspects of the law.
Afghanistan's exiled women cricketers will be the first beneficiaries of a new refugee fund started by the Marylebone Cricket Club, the MCC said on Friday.
Bhujbal, who has strongly opposed the demand to include the Marathas in the other backward classes category for quota benefits, said a new social system is taking shape in Maharashtra which is different from the order envisaged by prominent social reformers.
With the deadline for meeting RTE obligations ending on Sunday, the government ruled out any extension, maintaining that 90 per cent of the schools have met required norms.
'The government wants to ban surrogacy and take away women's fundamental right to do what she wants with her body.'
He emphasised that the people of Manipur are enduring hardships for the benefit of future generations and that protecting the rights of indigenous communities must remain a top priority.
Ahead of Trump's inauguration here on January 20, the debate on foreign guest workers visas for highly skilled professionals, the H-1B, has intensified which has literally created divisions in both the Democratic and the Republican parties.
What if I told you that you only need to invest for 5 years to accumulate Rs 1 crore? Sounds unbelievable, but it's possible, asserts Ramalingam Kalirajan
Seeking to make changes in the process of granting recognition to madrassas, Uttar Pradesh Minority Welfare Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has said that two universities will be opened in the state and all madrassas will be affiliated to them.
A state government that came to power after swearing to protect all people without discrimination refused to help a non-Christian organisation till the high court rapped it on its knuckles, observes former BJP MP Tarun Vijay, former Chief Editor, Panchjanya, the RSS weekly.
President Trump with his MAWA has unwittingly provided us this opportunity. Will PM Modi grasp this and leave a legacy of an ushered in scientific and technological revolution in India, asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
India's demographic advantage and diverse economic landscape position it uniquely to benefit from AI, the Economic Survey for 2024-25 tabled in the Parliament on Friday afternoon asserted. However, achieving these benefits requires significant investments in education and workforce skilling, supported by enabling, insuring, and stewarding institutions, the state of the economy report tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
