'The BJP's solo aim in Mumbai and Maharashtra is to finish off the Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar's NCP.'
The educated, respectable and established Muslims voices, that were on the modernising side on the Shah Bano issue, are fighting on the opposite side now, mostly because they worry about Narendra Modi, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Congress leader and ex-finance minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said the Union Budget was the "most capitalist" with nothing for the poor and farmers while sops were being provided to big industrialists turning India into a very "unequal country". At a press conference after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a Rs 39.45 lakh crore Budget, he said because of the ruling party's "brute majority" the Lok Sabha pass the Budget but people will reject it. He claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party was going to elections, scheduled in five states, not with their performance or with the promises and assurances to the people, but solely "with the agenda of dividing the country and bringing Hindutva back to power".
Amid questions over his future, many political observers believe he has enhanced his political stature.
Rishi Sunak on Monday is all set to make history on Diwali as Britain's first Indian-origin prime minister after being elected unopposed as the new leader of the governing Conservative Party, following Penny Mordaunt's withdrawal from the race.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday stirred a controversy by saying that she has every right as an individual to imagine Goddess Kali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess, as every person has the right to worship god and goddess in his or her own way.
Indian-origin Rishi Sunak, who will take over as Britain's prime minister from Liz Truss, on Monday promised 'stability and unity' as his priority.
The national award-winning actor had organised a mass Vishu kaineettam campaign earlier this week in Thrissur, where he unsuccessfully contested in the last assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
'In other parts of India, people may feel their religious identity is more important, but here in Assam, we are Assamese first and then, anything else. So, we are against this CAB (now CAA). It will hurt the interests of us Assamese'
If the BJP wins Bengal, would Kishor's indiscretions have played a significant role in that victory? Victory for the TMC would be another badge of honour in his CV, but defeat would raise an unsavoury question: Which party was Kishor actually working for? asks Payal Singh Mohanka.
While the Congress is not willing to campaign in Muslim areas, the BJP encourages Muslims to attend its public meetings, reports Archis Mohan.
The TMC, in total, bagged 75.02 per cent of the votes cast, whereas the BJP got some 14.48 per cent votes, in the four assembly segments.
"Indians see religious tolerance as a central part of who they are as a nation. Across the major religious groups, most people say it is very important to respect all religions to be 'truly Indian'.
The bill, which seeks to give citizenship to refugees from the Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zorastrian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh was passed in Lok Sabha on Monday.
In a setback to the main opposition Samajwadi Party, the BJP wrested both Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), a sister organisation of the Bajrang Dal, said its workers carried out the act to register their protest against Gujarat Congress president Jagdish Thakor's recent statement regarding minorities.
Didi said her party doesn't divide people on religious lines even if they are Hindus, Muslims or Christians.
A veritable political `storm in a tea cup' has arisen over Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee's assertions on Wednesday that all in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were "not bad" and there are many who "do not support the BJP".
'Just keep telling people that we have fixed the Muslims, and they will not be bothered about their empty stomachs or empty wallets.'
The poll results will depend much on whether the caste and community coalition worked out by Akhilesh can withstand the onslaught of the Hindutva forces who have increased their efforts to polarise the electorate on communal lines.
The BJP promised revival of the legislative council in Tamil Nadu, which was abolished decades ago by its ally, the ruling AIADMK, if their combine was voted to power in the coming assembly elections.
The Congress forget Modi has demigod status in Gujarat and there is no way he can be defeated in the state, argues Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
The year is coming to an end and overall, it's been one hell of a year! We have had our share of ups and downs and we look forward to a better 2020. While we count down the days to the new year, let's also reflect on those who gave us strength to stand up in what we believe, the courageous who didn't bow down and the ones with gumption who inspired us to be better. We, Rediff.com, have selected 26 personalities, who we think are worthy of the title -- HERO OF THE YEAR -- and we want you, dear readers, to choose your hero!
According to official sources, there was stone pelting when the body of the deceased Harsha was being taken from District McGann Hospital in Shivamogga.
'BJP loses a democratic election, then buys MLAs from the ruling party's flock and rides to power in these states.' 'Do you think Atalji would have tolerated this?'
'No country or society ever prospered or remained secure by marginalising more than one-sixth of its own,' warns Shekhar Gupta.
Democracy is the heart of our body politic and elections are its life blood. Because there is some disease that affects it, we cannot apply leeches to drain it off, killing the body in the process, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
Jakhar, the former president of Punjab Congress, said the party had never named its CM face adding that it was only an exception that the Congress high command had declared Captain Amarinder Singh as the chief ministerial candidate in the run-up to the 2017 state assembly polls.
With the former prime minister stepping aside on Sunday night saying it was "simply not the right time" for his comeback, the prospect of a Diwali victory for Sunak cannot be ruled out.
The BJP has many ruthless leaders with super-sharp political minds. But none has all this and Yogi's charisma and personal ambition, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirodi Lal Meena moved for leave to introduce the bill to provide for the constitution of the national inspection and investigation committee for preparation of a Uniform Civil Code and its implementation throughout India and for matters connected therewith during the private member's business.
'People are losing their freedom to eat, speak, write and practise their religion.' 'All that is said in the Constitution has been taken away.' 'Does every Muslim or Christian or Hindu have to say I am a patriot every morning and repeat it in the afternoon and at night?'
Tejashwi Yadav on Friday called out Union Minister Giriraj Singh for sharing an "edited video" of an interview to suggest that the young Rashtriya Janata Dal leader was going back on his promise to create 10 lakh jobs in the state.
Keshav Prasad Maurya's election from Sirathu in Kaushambi will be among the keenly watched contests in UP. If he and the BJP win, will he be luckier this time?
cution' of the Brahmins in the regime of Adityanath, a Rajput, accused of pandering to his caste's interests. Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Reacting to Yadav's dig at her on Wednesday, Mayawati said she has never aspired to become the President and the Samajwadi Party leader was dreaming about it to clear his path to become the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.
'It was more than ego.' 'It carried with it a sincere belief that he was the quintessence of the country, that the country's destiny was irrevocably intertwined with his destiny.' An excerpt from T J S George's The Dismantling of India: In 35 Portraits.
His remarks came on a day when Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi announced slashing of the power tariff by Rs 3 per unit for the domestic sector and increasing the dearness allowance for government employees.
'Pure, uncluttered anti-Modi-ism, however angry, can't be an ideology or an electoral alternative.' 'The best it can do for you is damage Mr Modi enough for him to finish below 200.' 'Can it enable you to cross 100 to begin with?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
