'A month after assuming charge, Parrikar promised a policy within six months to "end or at least reduce" terrorist infiltration across the Line of Control.' 'However, infiltration continued apace, leading to high-profile terrorist attacks in Gurdaspur, Pathankot, and Uri.' 'During this phase, he made the controversial suggestion that India should fight terror with terror, hinting at supporting terror groups to strike in Pakistan,' observes Ajai Shukla.
With the Congress presidential polls round the corner, party leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said decisions, including that of one-man, one-post, taken at the Chintan Shivir at Udaipur in Rajasthan earlier this year are expected to be followed.
At its Jaipur meeting, the BJP will focus on this year's assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh while the Congress's Chintan Shivir in Udaipur will discuss how it can resurrect itself.
Chidambaram also stressed that there were lessons to be learnt by the Congress from the Gujarat loss, saying there is no such thing as a "silent" campaign in a hard-fought election.
Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi said on Thursday that his party has not accepted the Trinamool Congress's proposal of a merger as it does not want to compromise on its Assamese identity.
"Let them show whatever they have got. We are winning with a majority," Akhilesh Yadav said, dismissing predictions to the contrary on some TV channels.
The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud has recommended the names of three advocates for appointment as judges of the Bombay high court.
The Agniveer passing out parade was as much about family celebration as it was a military event. Alongside the pomp, pageantry and discipline of the parade were the personal stories of families, their struggles and how far they had come.
Since when have elections become rocket science that you need to hire highly-priced specialists?And even if in the age of social media every party needs to present its best face, is Prashant Kishor the only one with such expertise, especially when his record is mixed with more losses than election wins to his credit? asks Virendra Kapoor.
Some leaders of the non-BJP ruled states also alleged that the exclusion was an "insult" by the Centre.
According to the poll panel, election campaign can now be conducted between 6 am and 10 pm instead of earlier 8 am to 8 pm.
'Parties which supported me were all threatened. This could hardly have been called a fair election.' 'This is Modi's India.'
Words and actions like those of R N Ravi and a vocal section of the state BJP have only added to Tamil fears and suspicions, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
If we get a chance to form the next government at the Centre, all backward states will get special category status, Kumar said.
Shah said he is confident that BJP will return to power in four states -- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur -- and make impressive gains in Punjab.
Firing a fresh salvo at the Bharatiya Janata Party which had accused the Shiv Sena of paying only lip service to the cause of Hindutva, the latter's member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Tuesday claimed that the Sena was the first party in the country to contest an election on the Hindutva plank.
Malik believes he can solve the problems of farmers and is sending signals to the government to give him a chance.
Jairam Ramesh said the Congress has to be the "fulcrum" of any Opposition alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections as it is the only political force with a pan-India presence.
Shinde said the risk that he took has been appreciated by people, despite criticism from certain quarters.
Manohar Parrikar, the chief minister of Goa and former defence minister, died at his son's home in Panaji on Sunday after a long illness. He was 63. Since February 2018, Parrikar had been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, Delhi and New York after he was diagnosed with a pancreatic condition. Following his demise, tributes poured in from all over with political lines being forgotten.
As controversy grew, BJP leaders, actors also joined the discourse against him.
'Depicting the genocide of 3 lakh #KashmiriHindus cannot be called vulgar.'
'We get the opportunity for new recruitment and the chance to introspect.'
Since its release, the film has sparked a debate among the various political parties of India as well as the audiences.
Given the dismal show of the Congress in the recently concluded assembly polls and the JMM eating into its vote bank, the possibility of Congress MLAs switching sides is not bleak, reports R Krishna Das.
Regional films may have prevailed over the country, but regional leaders still have far mountains to climb to reach Delhi, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
'Whoever thought that building toilets and providing free rations to the poorest of poor Indians would give Modi a halo other political leaders would envy?' asks Sheela Bhatt.
Mamata said that she raised the issue of violence in Tripura in which TMC workers were allegedly assaulted by BJP workers.
Leander Paes said he is currently busy working on a biopic to portray the father-son duo's legacy on the big screen.
RSS leader Indresh Kumar termed the 'politics of hate' as 'corruption' and called all political parties and their leaders to refrain from indulging in hate-mongering and pitting one section of the society against the other.
Wordsmiths and artists of different parties are working overtime to deliver punches and counter punches in their bid to reach out to voters through different platforms ranging from Facebook to YouTube.
After its resounding defeat in the assembly polls in five states, the Congress on Thursday said the results are contrary to its expectations, but it accepts the people's mandate.
Opposition parties now recognise that the king on one side of the chessboard, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is ensconced, and unlikely to be shaken, although on his side there are no identifiable kings, queens, rooks, bishops or knights.
Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Nawab Malik on Tuesday said any decision on the opposition's candidate for the post of the country's next President will be taken collectively by leaders of various parties, and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's name could be considered only if his party Janata Dal-United snaps ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
There's enough time for Mamata Banerjee to change her mind, Alva said.
Yogi Adityanath's aura is no longer limited to Uttar Pradesh. At the age of 49, his journey to the higher echelons in the BJP has well and truly begun, predicts Sudhir Bisht.
"I am also quitting as member of Legislative Council," Thackeray said in a webcast.
The two-time MLA from Sankhalim in North Goa, Sawant, who was speaker of the state assembly, is a dedicated Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker.
