The BJP's vote share in Punjab has been declining -- 8.21 per cent in 2007 to 7.13 per cent in 2012, and finally to 5.4 per cent in 2017, when it won just three of 23 seats the party contested. So doing an election deal with Amarinder and a political formation he might float in the future is not inconceivable.
The home ministry is expected to ask the state government to use the religious institutions (prevention of misuse) Act, 1988, under which authorities can ban misuse of religious institutions for political and other purposes and any activity which promotes or attempts to promote disharmony in society.
The inauguration of the state-of-the-art infrastructure surrounding the historic Kashi Vishwanath Temple near the iconic Dashashwamedh Ghat comes ahead of the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh early next year.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will visit the city, Takht Keshgarh Sahib and 'Virasat-e-Khalsa' also known as the Khalsa Heritage centre at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab on Wednesday.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee's controversial move honouring family members of the two assassins of General A S Vaidya in the Golden Temple complex came in for attack from the Congress as well as the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday.
Three men accused of stabbing Lt Gen (retd) Kuldeep Singh Brar, who led the 'Operation Blue Star' in Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984, have been ordered by a British court on Friday to remain in custody for further hearing on January 18.
As the number of COVID-19 cases is witnessing a spike in India, religious places across the country remain closed to encourage social distancing, a key component in preventing the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
As debate raged over raising of a memorial for those killed during Operation Blue Star in 1984, the the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee, in a controversial move, honoured family members of the two assassins of General A S Vaidya in the Golden Temple complex.
Four persons, including a woman, have been arrested in London in connection with the stabbing of retired Lt Gen K S Brar, who had led 'Operation Blue Star' 28 years ago to flush out pro-Khalistani militants from the Golden Temple.
Military officers, who spend their career mostly in barracks or cantonments, intimate their travel plans to the Army unit responsible for their security in India and presume that necessary follow-up action will be taken, says B Raman
Amid separatist slogans and "honouring" of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana, the 28th anniversary of Operation Bluestar to flush out militants from Sikh holy shrine the Golden Temple, was on Wednesday observed at Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat, an event from which Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal kept away.
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British Prime Minister David Cameron has asserted that there was "absolutely no" involvement of the Margaret Thatcher-led United Kingdom government in Operation Bluestar -- when the Indian Army conducted a raid on the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984 to flush out militants from the Golden Temple.
Addressing the party's national executive, Nadda also reached out to Sikhs, who are in majority in poll-bound Punjab, by listing a number of measures the Modi government has taken for the community, including expediting action against 1984 riots accused, facilitating foreign grants to gurudwaras and keeping langars outside the review of the Goods and Services Tax.
The meeting, to be chaired by Union Home Secretary RK Singh, and to be attended by Army, Maharashtra police and others, will also review whether there was any security lapse anywhere leading to the assassination attempt on 78-year-old Brar on Sunday
It is unfair to abandon national heroes like Lt General Kuldip Singh Brar when they travel aboard on personal visits. The government should step up and provide them with security cover, says Anil Chowdhry
The anger and the hurt caused by the military action in the Golden Temple in 1984 continue to linger, says senior analyst B Raman.
Lt General (Retd) K S Brar, who led the Operation Blue Star against Sikh terrorists in 1984, was attacked and injured in London.
Harnoor Channi-Tiwary writes about the stuff you can do (and eat) in the city of the Golden Temple.
Avtar Singh, president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak committee which controls and runs Sikh shrines, told rediff.com that he plans to lodge its protest with the United States ambassador in India against the comment made by television anchor Jay Leno on Harmandir Sahib while presenting a programme on US elections.
Those who will campaign in Punjab include former IRS officer Arvind Kejriwal, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, Manish Sisodia, Kumar Vishwas, Naveen Jaihind and Gopal Das.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said the chief minister had told him that he or his government had nothing to do with it as it was being done by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhik Committee. Congress leaders disputed Badal's claims and told Chidambaram that the SGPC was under direct control of Badal's party, the Shiromani Akali Dal.
India's trade with the Gulf-Arab region stands at $180 billion. India needs the Gulf region more in terms of trade, investments and employment than the other way round. When it comes to faith, the Gulf-Arab nations have not been found wanting at any point in time, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
AAP will have to learn to be patient as such electoral changes do not happen in a hurry, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Rahul Gandhi treated teachers from Kanyakumari to a 'special Delhi dinner' and won their hearts.
Meet Daniela Nieto, the newly minted Miss Multinational, who simply loves and adores India.
Sikh Americans have expressed their anger and disappointment over United States President Barack Obama's decision to skip a visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The President's decision was revealed after US advance and security teams visited the city and met the temple authorities, leaving the impression that a visit by the US president to Sikhism's holiest shrine was imminent
Various Sikh organisations on Friday held a demonstration in front of the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, California, in memory of those who were killed during Operation Blue Star, on the 27th anniversary of the military offensive.
Ignominy, not executions, can end terrorist movements, asserts B Raman
Amid the raging row over claims that Margaret Thatcher's government had aided India in the Operation Bluestar to flush out militants from the Golden Temple in 1984, Lt Gen (Retd) K S Brar, who led the offensive, on Tuesday said it was planned and executed by Indian military commanders.
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wrote a personal letter to her British counterpart Margaret Thatcher soon after the 1984 Operation Bluestar in an attempt to justify her decision to send army to flush out militants from the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine.
Three Sikh men and a woman convicted of carrying out a revenge attack on Lt Gen (retd) K S Brar, the hero of the 1984 Operation Blue Star, were on Tuesday sentenced from 10-and half years to 14 years in prison by a British court.
The White House has strongly refuted reports appearing in the American and Indian media that United States President Barack Obama apparently cancelled his planned trip to Golden Temple so he will not have to wear a head covering that could fan misconceptions that he is a Muslim.
According to a reliable source in the administration in Washington, United States President Barack Obama will be visiting Mumbai and New Delhi only during his trip to India in November. His proposed visit to Amrtisar is unlikely to happen, said the high level source.
During his November visit to India, Barack Obama will be paying a visit to Amritsar's Golden Temple, a first for a United States president. This stopover may be unusual for a head of the state and has many thinking. Is this visit being made especially for First Lady Michelle Obama, who will be accompanying her husband to India? May be, for not many know of the Obamas Punjab connection.
The home ministry can notify Google of the Voice of Punjab app's hateful content and have the app taken down from the app store. The glorification of Beant Singh's assassination alone is enough to have the app taken down.
'It is deeply humbling and provokes feelings of profound shame to visit this place that witnessed such atrocities hundred years ago'
