"This is Narendra Modi government, nobody can dilute the AFSPA as we are standing like a rock behind the security forces, protecting (our) border," Shah asserted.
Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party leader N Chandrababu Naidu has welcomed the "cash transfer" initiative of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but reminded him that it was his brainchild as the TDP had promised direct cash transfer to beneficiaries in its 2009 election manifesto.
'This Lok Sabha election is more of a trial for GenAI content.'
'Are we so ready to believe that in this country whose virtues we constantly shout from the rooftops, there is no single person -- other than Modi -- in a minimum of 272 elected MPs with the talent and ability to lead this country?' asks Prem Panicker.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has asserted there were no lapses on the part of the government in handling cases relating to the alleged sexual abuse of women by Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna and that the Special Investigation Team was probing them from all angles.
If Pitroda's blunder cost him his office, what should the BJP's unrepentant attitude cost it?, asks Shyam G Menon.
Here are the 10 key issues likely to be the centre of discussion in the seven-phase general elections that begin on April 19.
The NRC has been discussed neither in Parliament nor in the Cabinet, Modi said on Sunday.
Uniform Civil Code is aimed at replacing personal laws based on religions, customs, and traditions with one common law for everyone irrespective of religion, caste, creed, sexual orientation, and gender. Personal laws and laws related to inheritance, adoption and succession are likely to be covered by a common code.
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.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said government will soon come out with a draft Food Security Bill.
The discussion will be about setting up various coordination committees, he said.
Mamata Banerjee led TMC has released its election manifesto on Monday promising to bring all round development in West Bengal with special emphasis on industry and agriculture.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday promised loans to farmers and unemployed youth, creation of 15 lakh jobs and quota for Gujjar and other backward communities if voted to power in Rajasthan in next month's assembly election.
The Conservative party's election manifesto released on Tuesday contained a pledge to issue an annual cap on migrants.
The Congress wants to reinforce the tax more powerfully now after its four generations reaped benefit of the wealth passed on to them, he said.
Aafia Siddiqui, also known as 'Lady Al Qaeda', is a Pakistani national who was convicted in 2010 by a New York City federal court of attempting to kill US military personnel. She is currently serving an 86-year sentence at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell, in Fort Worth, Texas.
It also assured that the amount of medical insurance coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme would be doubled from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
Proclaiming that prospects of a 'change' in the island nation were in the offing, Sri Lanka's presidential challenger Sarath Fonseka on Thursday vowed to restore democracy and eradicate corruption from the country.
State Congress president Jagdish Thakor urged Muslim leaders, including Pirzada, to frame a time-bound programme targeting 60 assembly seats with sizable Muslim population.
' I have seen PM Modi working diligently from 5 am in the morning to 1 am. It is a result of that there is such a large cadre with him'
Shrug off the yoke of the imperialism of Delhi. That is why the DMK manifesto offers what it offers: The promise that Tamil Nadu will, one day, become an independent republic, notes Aditi Phadnis.
The fact that Gehlot has stayed relevant these five years with his populist schemes is one reason why he may beat incumbency in a state that votes for change every election, observes Ramesh Menon.
According to KCR, candidates have been changed in only seven assembly constituencies.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday wrested power from Congress in Chhattisgarh, winning 54 of the 90 seats in the state assembly, while the grand old party got 35 seats, a far cry from the 68 it bagged in the last elections.
While people voted in a fifth round that will set the tone as this election rounds into the straight, and while Modi on the stump chews the cud of personal grievances and hackneyed promises that have long since passed their use-by date, there is a rogue wave rising -- what damage it will do, we will know 16 days from today, observes Prem Panicker.
With tax collections slowing down because of the global economic crisis, the government is looking at non-tax receipts like disinvestment to plug the widening fiscal deficit gap, which last fiscal crossed 6 per cent of the GDP. It can raise significant resources by selling a minority stake of 10 per cent in state-run firms. The Centre can earn at least Rs 37,000 crore by selling up to a 10 per cent stake in the top 10 PSUs in which it owns over 90 per cent.
Kejriwal met Rajnath Singh; raised issue of full statehood for Delhi.
The 42-year-old frontrunner's tally continues to grow as former prime minister Boris Johnson flies back from his Caribbean holiday to reportedly also join the contest.
The first Karnataka legislative assembly session, after the formation of the new government will be held on starting Monday next week in Bengaluru.
Indications are that the DMK combine will win more seats than the AIADMK and BJP, but is facing a tough fight in about half a dozen from the rest, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy of the electoral contest in Tamil Nadu.
A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices P Sathasivam and J M Panchal issued notices to Tamil Nadu and other states on a petition challenging the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government's decision to distribute colour televisions in rural areas as promised by the party in its assembly election manifesto, which will cost the state exchequer about Rs 2400 crore.
According to insiders, their lack of enthusiasm is showing on the ground. There is nothing to suggest that their enthusiasm will return in the final four phases of polling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The BJP's quest for dominance over the states political scene, evident from a seat-sharing deal as part of which it clinched nearly as many constituencies as the Janata Dal-United its senior partner so far- resonated during the election campaign.
Those responsible for protecting MPs have failed in their constitutional duties, said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat said though All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalitha could not join the meeting of leaders belonging to the Third Front but she was very much in touch with them."In fact she approved of the six point charter that formed the basis of Sunday's discussion," Karat said while addressing a press conference at the release of the first part of party's election manifesto in New Delhi.
Through gestures and decisions, the BJP high command has signalled that Raje may not be the lead actor but rather play a supporting role in a high-stakes election in its stamping ground.
'Bringing in Dr Mohan Yadav as the Yadav-OBC face from Ujjain as chief minister, and a scheduled tribe leader Jagdish Devda from Mandsaur district, and a Brahmin face Rajendra Shukla from Rewa, the BJP is making an attempt to put in place a new caste equation in the state keeping an eye on the general elections next year.'
As the temple is inaugurated, unfortunately for Advani but unsurprisingly for the rest of us, the architect of the party's rise will not lead the ceremony and claim credit for his achievement, notes Aakar Patel.
'Is the Agniveer scheme or their post-retirement re-employment in paramilitary forces or in the state governments the BJP's answer to the crying need on the job front?' 'Or, even Finance Minister Sitharaman's one-year internship scheme in the public and private sector, is it a permanent solution, either?', asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
