'Unlike the Congress, the BJP is not a party that merely goes by family connections.' 'Scindia's future will depend on what he brings to the BJP table.' 'The BJP is also a party where vertical growth is mostly factored by RSS preferences.' 'To secure confidence of the saffron brotherhood, Scindia will have to be his grandmother's grandson and not his father's son,' notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Expressing shock over the "brutal murder" of BJP state general secretary V Ramesh, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday constituted a Special Investigation Division under the Director General of Police (CB-CID) to probe the case.
Once Ram temple is built it will become a 'ghoshit (declared) Hindu Rashtra', a VHP leader told the gathering.
'What the BJP will have to ensure in order to score an ideological victory is to demonstrate not only its commitment to the rule of law -- which is the first prerequisite -- but to introduce a sense of compassion,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'Here was a man who played a major part in helping the Bengalis of East Pakistan create a new nation, secured the merger of Sikkim into the Indian dominion and built R&AW into a formidable outfit, comparable to the best in the world.' Rameshwar Nath Kao shunned the limelight, hated to be photographed and preferred to work behind the scenes. A revealing excerpt from Nitin A Gokhale's much awaited book, R N Kao: Gentleman Spymaster.
'Their brave resistance keep our hopes alive that this youth upsurge is strengthening India's democracy and pluralism,' states Mohammad Sajjad.
It discharged three accused -- Shyam Sahu, Shivnarayan Kalsangra and Praveen Takalki -- from the case.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh mouthpiece 'Organiser' has justified the action taken against a Dalit students body by IIT, Madras, and claimed educational campuses are "afflicted with red ideology."
'Amit Shah's trajectory seems unstoppable; no wonder some say the day is not far off when he could be pitching for the top job, and that this is only the first step,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'I have noticed how a certain country wants to establish the presence of ISIS in Bangladesh.' 'Are these terrorists working under some religious inspiration or they are being lured by an obnoxious amount of money?' 'For some mysterious reasons, no action is taken by the government against suspicious organisations.'
In the midst of a raging row over the conversions in Agra by Hindutva outfits, the Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah on Friday favoured a strong law to stop forcible conversions.
The director general of police said everyone in the force should have to perform their duties irrespective of their religion and politics.
The Deen Bachao, Desh Bachao conference in Patna on April 15 was attended by lakhs of Muslims. Will the electoral dividends from this rally be reaped by Nitish Kumar, the BJP (through Hindu consolidation), by both Nitish and the BJP or will it be reaped more by the anti-BJP forces, asks Mohammad Sajjad.
Opposition Congress termed the government's decision as 'unilateral' and said it was against the interest of a majority of Ayyappa devotees in and outside the state.
'While the government must be relentless in its efforts to curb unruly elements to ensure secular harmony and protect its goal of national development,it must not lose the moral high ground by giving in to the antics of the anti-nationalist lobby.' 'They must be countered and relegated to the dustbin of history,' says Vivek Gumaste.
If people respect our culture and interests, why should anyone become more regressive? Education will not be saffronised. Just the correct picture will be portrayed and facts not distorted.' Dr Dinanath Batra, who successfully litigated to have Penguin withdraw copies of Wendy Doniger's book on Hinduism, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa what India will be like if the BJP under Narendra Modi forms the next government.
Calling for an 'enlightened debate' on Uniform Civil Code, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the 'real mood' of the country was to end triple talaq and some people were trying to create confusion over the two issues.
The President asked, "Is tolerance and acceptance of dissent on the wane?"
Police have initiated action against independent MLA P C George who had levelled derogatory charges against the victimised nun.
The court said, "The ban imposed on women from entering the Haji Ali dargah is contrary to Articles 14, 15, 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India."
The supermodel is a multi-tasker at many levels.
The National Investigation Agency has accused the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad of planting evidence and coercing witnesses, but its own investigation is incomplete and leaves many questions unanswered.
What you must know about Urvashi Rautela, Miss Universe India 2015.
With actor Aamir Khan joining the intolerance debate, BJP today insisted that some isolated extreme incidents should not be allowed to define India and took a dig at his wife's suggestion to leave India, saying people move out for many reasons, including for saving taxes.
'The fight was against those who were being immoral. Not once was there any directive from me or anyone to beat up women,' says Pramod Muthalik, the man behind the shameful Mangalore pub attack incident
Condemning the incidents of intolerance, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that it is against the traditions of our culture. He said publicising the acts of vandalism is also a matter of great concern.
'India can rely on him to fight terrorism in all its forms, including Pakistan-sponsored outfits.'
'I am in mortal danger not personally, but politically,' Mani Shankar Aiyar tells Anjali Puri.
In Shujaat Bukhari, Kashmir has lost a journalist, an activist, ambassador, a formidable voice and, above all, a great human being, mourns Athar Parvaiz.
The statements made by the opposition parties after the preemptive air strike on terror camps have made only people of Pakistan happy, he claimed.
"India will succeed if it's not splintered on religious lines."
'It would be a folly on our part to believe that the KKK or its Indian version exists only as some dedicated organisation. Rather, the Indian KKK, much like the American counterpart, exists as a fragmented and amorphous collection of independent groups and individuals,' says Shehzad Poonawalla.
The twin towns of Ayodhya and Faizabad were on the edge on Saturday as tension mounted on the eve of VHP's yatra with the UP government cracking down on the saffron outfit arresting some of its leaders and over 350 activists.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Friday said its stance on Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir has not changed, even as it termed as "teething problems" the friction between BJP and PDP in the state stressing that the "novel experiment" should be given time to succeed.
'The situation in the country is very scary.' 'There is an increasing attack on the Constitutional democratic rights of our people.'
The prime minister, says Ram Kelkar, could do a lot to advance his stature as a national leader by speaking in strong and unequivocal terms on the subject of opposing intolerance and emphasizing the rule of law, thereby setting the tone for the nation and the party.
The Hindu right-wing body in its mouthpiece taunts "liberals" protesting the Dadri lynching incident, asking what exactly is their idea of India.
Muslims constitute 20% of UP's electorate. Currently, Muslim voters are divided between Akhilesh's SP and Mayawati's BSP. What will tilt the balance? Can Muslims back the winning party? Mohammad Sajjad explains the mysteries of UP's Muslim politics.
"The RSS is trying to change the nature of India. Other parties haven't tried to capture India's institutions," he said.
From the Aadhaar verdict to #MeToo's arrival in the country to the entry into the Sabarimala temple -- India had a newsworthy 2018. As we step into 2019, these are the top moments from the year gone by.