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.
Voters, it is said, get the government they deserve. We will soon see what voters in Maharashtra choose. Till then, a sense of helplessness and scepticism hangs in the air, notes Ramesh Menon.
It also promised to launch the 'Poshane' scheme through which every BPL household will be provided with half litre 'Nandini' milk every day and five kg 'Shri Anna - siri dhanya' through monthly ration kits.
Freebies promised by political parties in their election manifestos shake the roots of free and fair polls, the Supreme Court on Friday said and directed the Election Commission to frame guidelines for regulating contents of manifestos.
Freebies do not seem to have attracted many buyers, as both property prices and lending rates continue to remain high.
Karnataka minister Satish Jarkiholi on Wednesday said the guarantee schemes need to be reviewed so that only the economically weaker sections, and not the rich, benefit from them, sparking a debate on the ambitious programmes launched by the Congress government.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's vision document for Bihar promises to shower freebies on all sections of society if comes to power.
The corporate sector is fuelling the campaign of Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi because it wants 'freebies' from him which he has already extended in Gujarat, Law Minister Kapil Sibal has claimed.
If the BJP has to work as a junior partner of Vijay's TVK, then either the party will have to change the state leader, or the latter should change himself. Incidentally, ever since Vijay started talking politics and elections, the pro-BJP/Hindutva social media had stopped dragging his name into any non-existing issue.' In particular, they have stopped referring to him by his Christian name, 'Joseph Vijay', observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Akhilesh Yadav made voters think why is the BJP asking for 400 paar.' 'They understood his words and believed the BJP wanted 400 paar only to demolish the Constitution and end reservations.'
'What should surprise BJP supporters is Modi's call for 'stability' at the manifesto launch, a theme that he and his team members had not touched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.' 'The last time the party called for 'stability at the Centre' was in 1998 and 1999,' recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
Kumar also hinted that the Maharashtra elections could be held after Diwali.
Chief executive officers (CEOs) across sectors have expressed intentions to expand capacities, expecting the government's target to invest a record Rs 11.11 trillion on infrastructure development will act as a catalyst for a jump in consumer demand. "With the government planning a capex of Rs 11.11 trillion, private sector investment will come in a big way. Companies will be preparing for it right from today," H M Bangur, chairman of Shree Cement, told Business Standard. For the past few years, the investment scene in India has been dominated by government capital expenditures; private investments in the manufacturing sector have remained muted.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar did not appear before the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Friday in connection with alleged assault on Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal.
The Opposition on Tuesday termed the Union Budget as a 'kursi bachao budget' driven by political compulsions and claimed that it ignored opposition-ruled states in a bid to 'appease' Bharatiya Janata Party's allies.
Chandrababu Naidu's victory comes barely eight months after his political career seemingly crashed in September 2023 when the YSRCP government arrested him in an alleged corruption case.
Criticising the police for arresting an SUV driver and blaming him for the incident, the high court said, "Mercifully, you have not challaned the rainwater for entering into the basement."
Pandemic-hit auto majors are likely to set aside these time-tested strategies for now, and, instead, focus on attractive finance schemes and an enhanced digital experience.
The west somehow think it is some kind of God-given right, Jaishankar said.
It said that increased focus on expenditure monitoring was the reason being the seizures, which included freebies such as sarees, 'food kits', pressure cookers and kitchen appliances.
The scarcity of resources is particularly evident in the case of Rajasthan compared to many other states.
'...It is important for you to take a stand.' 'It is a sin to remain silent when the basic structure of the Constitution is being attacked.'
'If we want real democracy, the economy itself will need to be democratised.'
The Congress needs to reorganise itself at the grassroots, infuse younger blood, and have more boots on the ground. Just offering freebies is not the answer anymore. Leadership matters, asserts Ramesh Menon.
There is little doubt that the prime minister's own charisma exceeds that of his party, but 2024 is proof that no party can ultimately depend on one person to deliver victory all the time, points out R Jagannathan.
Modi said what is the meaning of its guarantees when that party's warranty itself has expired.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday alleged that graffiti threatening Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were scribbled inside the metro trains in Delhi, as it accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of being behind this incident.
The poll panel said the seizures made since the polls were announced on October 9 are over seven times (Rs 239.15 crore) the seizures made in the previous assembly elections in these states in 2018.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL campaign that began with optimism has melted into chaos. Their bowlers require a drastic transformation in mindset against Sunrisers Hyderabad for them to register an elusive win in Bengaluru on Monday.
With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday vowed to thwart alleged attempts to rob Dalits and backward classes of reservations by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) which he accused of 'enslavement' and performing 'mujra' for Muslim vote bank.
Dayal, Green or the Windies duo of Dre Rus and Narine?
Faced with an unprecedented bear run, the consumer electronics industry is planning to pull out all stops in generating sales during the upcoming festival season, with heavy discounts, freebies, bundling offers and even dealer junkets.
According to officials, this year there has been a three-fold increase in the total seizure, which was Rs 322 crore in 2021, Rs 347 crore in 2022 and Rs 1,021 crore so far in 2023.
With pricing power returning to the fast moving consumer goods sector as consumers begin to upgrade to premium products, most companies have stopped offering freebies and reduced prices.
Modi's BJP has promised more revdis or freebies for these assembly elections than ever before, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
During a review, the EC found that the performance of some officers was "unsatisfactory" and they were found "complacent, if not complicit" in various matters, including the illegal supply of liquor as a possible poll inducement, sources said.
Modi wants the BJP to gets an additional 10% of the vote share from what it won in 2019. Plans are afoot to get new faces to replace MPs with poor chances of winning. Sources say more than 100 MPs are like to be axed, notes Modi biographer Ramesh Menon.
I hope those who underestimate Rajeev Chandrasekhar will be proved wrong in this fight for Thiruvananthapuram's future, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
