Buoyed by the results of exit polls that gave the Bharatiya Janata Party an edge in the Maharashtra assembly elections, state unit chief Devendra Fadnavis said the party would form the government in the state. In an interview, Fadnavis, a leading contender for the chief minister's post, spoke on the party's performance.
COVID-19 has propelled him into a place in the sun that he could only have hoped for.
Beginning with the bird's eye view of itself -- a narrow state of hills, rivers and high population density, in a tapering part of the Indian subcontinent. It can be a beautiful place shaped by aesthetic founded in appropriate lifestyle and progressive views, or a junkyard shaped by money and what money buys. The choice is Kerala's, notes Shyam G Menon.
The Tamil Nadu voter may not be in the mood to test new talent, not when the state and the people are going through unprecedented and unanticipated crises, of which coronavirus is only the first. All of it boils down to an election between the ruling AIADMK and the Opposition DMK next year, with small-timers, had-been parties and promised parties left on the sidelines, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'How can middlemen disappear as long as our political parties are sucking in massive amounts of black money?' 'There is an old political art well practised in New Delhi -- people create artificial problems and then solve it for you to earn your gratitude for a lifetime.'
'Of the 202 debates, 79 were around attacking Pakistan and 66 attacking the Opposition and Nehru.' 'The PMC Bank scam where thousands of depositors lost their savings got just one,' points out Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Noting that it was his government that had recommended a CBI probe into the actor's death, Kumar said the incident saddened both the state and the country.
'If the Modi government does not waive farm loans, we guarantee to waive farm loans if voted to power in 2019'
With all its ups and downs, 2015 is now concluding. And the New Year will bring new expectations to all of us. So tell us your expectations from 2016:
The hounding of Rhea Chakraborty in the Sushant Singh Rajput case is a drug that is being carefully pumped into India's veins to make it comfortably numb as it is wracked by economic ruin and disease, notes Sumit Bhattacharya.
'High denomination cash notes which was 1.4 lakh crores of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in 2004 became Rs 15.5 lakh crores in 2016.' 'If it had been allowed, by 2022, it would have been Rs 34 lakh crores, and that would have been the end of the Indian economy.' 'Demonetisation was a huge hit on the head of the economy, but without the hit, you could not U-turn the economy.'
Vagela could not have reached this position if Narendra Modi, who'd known him from his chief minister days, had not backed the choice.
After the Bihar setback, these are the issues the PM must address to maintain the people's faith in him.
In his dare, the Congress president asked the PM to reduce the spiralling fuel prices in the country or face a nationwide stir by his party.
'Param Bir's letter alleges that Waze was being used directly by the home minister.' 'I think an enquiry by a high court judge is the need of the hour.'
'We get to know secrets such as some of India's top-rated firms do not always make payments when due and many State-owned, listed, enterprises that borrow in bond markets default regularly.' 'Without naming the bank, he says that ever-greening of poor loans by a part of India's shadow banking lay at the doorstep of India's banking, notably 'one private bank'.' Viral Acharya's Quest for Restoring Financial Stability in India won't be music to many ears, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
She wondered why PM Modi is not removing his own cabinet secretary or the Union home secretary, if he was so 'fond of making last-minute changes'.
Likening the National Population Register and the National Register of Citizens with demonetisation, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said these exercises are "tax" on the poor, who will suffer the same way they did after the note ban in November 2016. "Poor people will have to go to officers and show their documents and give bribe. They will have to give bribe if there is a slight mistake in their names. Crores of rupees will be pulled out of the pockets of the poor and will be given to the same 15 people. This is the truth. It is an attack on the people," he said.
'Now I will see how you escape...'
At least a dozen rallies are expected to follow in the coming days, party sources said.
Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Amit Shah on Tuesday attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging she was focused on trying to save her chit fund scam 'tainted' leaders instead of governing the state and was jeopardising national security for vote bank politics.
To mark the anniversary of note ban, the Congress was observing a 'black day'.
'Four weeks have passed after the scam was exposed, yet no big guy has been arrested.' 'This gives the impression that he wants to be soft on the biggies.'
Taking a jibe at Mamata Banerjee over her "paper tiger" comment, Narendra Modi on Sunday said that a real tiger is one who jails those involved in the Sharada chit fund scam and gets back money of the poor.
Hardening further its stand on 'Modigate', the Congress on Tuesday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored special investigation team probe into the "scandal".
The Congress said arrogance of the BJP has touched its zenith as it turned 'blind' to farm distress.
The Opposition grand alliance is proving to be a non-starter, with senior RJD leaders reluctant to be ordered about by an immature and entitled Tejashswi, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Justice Sikri, the second senior-most judge in the apex court after Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, was part of the three-member panel along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior Congress leader Mallikajurn Kharge which decided on removal of Alok Verma from the post of Central Bureau of Investigation director.
By conventional yardsticks, Das was an audacious choice by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP president Amit Shah, like Devendra Fadnavis was in Maharashtra and Manohar Lal Khattar in Haryana. Will his choice pay off in the elections next month?
Somen Mitra, the one time pillar of the Trinamool Congress and now Congress candidate from Kolkata North constituency, can't help smiling. The SC's order directing the CBI to probe the Saradha scam is the fruit of his hard and lonely battle. On the day when 17 constituencies in the state go to polls, Mitra speaks to Rediff.com's Indrani Roy about the impact of the Saradha scam on the elections and his relationship with his former party chief.
Stalin has given due respect to seniority in the pecking order, but has also taken into consideration the demands of individual ministries and the suitability of individuals, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Congress on Tuesday sought to make more trouble for the government on Lalitgate issue, putting forth six demands including making public minutes of a meeting it claimed External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had with United Kingdom High Commissioner James Bevan in which she had favoured grant of travel documents to Lalit Modi.
A large number of public sector bank employees, as a matter of routine, do not "take" promotions so that they are not transferred out of their hometowns. The eastern region is famous for this, but it is a common practice everywhere, says Shyamal Majumdar.
Modi said this time 'a third decisive strength is emerging in Kerala and I am seeing this', thanking the thousands of people who stood braving the scorching heat.
Sports Minister Goel hits out at IOA chief N Ramachandran for making Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Chautala life presidents
Mired in corruption, politics and with a history of suicides by its hapless depositors, PMC Bank's revival is a challenge very different from Yes Bank and LVB, both for the regulator and the rescuer, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Last year, he was the BJP's darling. Today, Arnab Goswami is a hated figure for the Modi bhakts. What changed?
Never back down! The government has decided to battle out the controversies in Parliament and a conscious decision was taken not to shorten the monsoon session, say sources