Jairam Ramesh denied that he was going after the big fish to get into limelight.
Proceedings in the Upper House have been derailed almost every day for the last 10 days on various issues ranging from the Babri Masjid demolition to the controversy generated over the prime minister's remarks on minorities.
'It is not with feelings of devotion or piety that these people are gathering.' 'It is mostly with emotions of hatred.' 'Listen to their slogans and their rhetoric and this becomes immediately clear,' says Aakar Patel.
District prosecution officer Rajendra Upadhaya said the MLA was asked to furnish a personal bail bond of Rs 50,000 in the case of assault and of Rs 20,000 in the other case.
The fate of Mumbai's scam-tainted Adarsh Housing Society, which is facing a threat of demolition for allegedly violating green norms, is expected to be decided by the environment ministry by the this week-end "The ministry is likely to announce its final decision on Adarsh by Friday," said an official source.
'He failed to foresee that the campaign of hatred need not be continuous; a sporadic, scattered campaign is enough.' 'What was important is to keep the pot boiling, not let it overflow like happened during the masjid-mandir days,' notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Monday postponed a debate in the House on the report of the Liberhan Commission, which was scheduled for Tuesday, due to non-availability of Hindi version of the Commission's report on Banri mosque demolition.
The Liberhan Commission that probed the Babri Masjid demolition on Tuesday came down heavily on mixing politics and religion and has recommended a law providing for exemplary punishment for such misuse to acquire political power.
'The politics of Goa is moving around a sole entity, which is land.'
Anyone with such experiences could have been expected to turn fundamentalist. But Shaheen Kadri is anything but that.
"It was just too much of a coincidence that that house, that unusual-looking house would be built in that community near the military academy, surrounded by retired military professionals, even though, we couldn't prove it," she said.
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned on Monday amid protests by Opposition members, over the issue of Kerala CM Chandy being reportedly asked not to attend a function.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh virtually ruled out any enactment of law for building the much debated Ram temple in Ayodhya on Sunday.
During the meeting, Home Minister P Chidambaram would bring in the Action Taken Report for approval before it is laid on the table of the House along with the Liberhan commission report. Pranab Mukherjee will chair the Cabinet meet in Dr Singh's absence.
70-plus years after Independence, 'Hindu India, metamorphosised as 'Hindutva India', is proving the British right -- and for all the wrong reasons. Mohan Bhagwat should have answers for the why of it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
On a hectic day marking completion of one year in office, President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday inaugurated a library and sports ground with a small regret that if he had come to Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier he could have saved some structures from demolition.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on Tuesday a fresh plea of residents of illegal flats in ampa Cola housing society who have been asked to vacate their premises by May 31.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the unauthorised flats owners at the Campa Cola Society in Mumbai to vacate the premises by May 31, 2014, as no specific proposal could be worked out to provide them space in the compound for new construction.
A number of top cricketers have expressed concern about being confined to biosecure bubbles for months on end to keep international schedules on track.
'Non-separation of religion from politics is India's most daunting challenge'
The injured -- 130 -- cannot go back to work nor do they have homes to return to. Many of them refuse to leave the hospital while some of their relatives sleep in the hospital corridors. Apart from their physical injuries, the trauma of seeing their family members swept away haunts them as does the loss of all their possessions. But the BJP-Sena government remains indifferent to this human crisis.
Here's a collection of some of the best photos from around the world shot in the last 24 hours.
With Uttar Pradesh elections round the corner, the mood of the House was clearly reflected as members came prepared for the battle ahead. Shiv Sena members wore saffron scrafs in support of the Ayodhya cause.
'Indian secularism doesn't deserve a tombstone. It needs a new shrine,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
In an exclusive extract from his new book Lance Armstrong tells of the incidents and accidents he survived to win this year's Tour de France.
Though he went back to writing "beautiful scenes" for other Bollywood directors, his deep interest in the lives of ordinary citizens never slackened, evident from the way he made himself available to human rights groups whenever they called him.
'If Mr Modi continues growing as a Hindu Hriday Samrat, better that it is done by restoring ancient temples than demolishing medieval mosques,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Britain has called on the ICC to ban Zimbabwe from playing international matches because of its human rights record
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned today, following the Opposition's clamour over a report claiming that the Prime Minister's Office PMO had asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to explain why no action was taken against L K Advani
The commission has got 39 extensions so far.
With only two working days left in the winter session of parliament, the fate of the government's economic reform agenda, particularly the Insurance Bill and the Coal Bill, hangs in balance in view of strong opposition by some parties.
Series of controversies related to Dalit issues have come at a time when the BJP has launched a massive campaign to win back Uttar Pradesh.
The govt said seeking information about the legal position of any case was its 'legitimate right'.
'The signals were clear. December 6 would not witness another show of "Hindu" strength staged periodically in Ayodhya. Something grave was afoot.' Radhika Ramaseshan's personal recollection of the events of December 6, 1992.
'Governments, democratically elected governments, are custodians for a short- specified time.' 'Parents don't let baby sitters decide the course of their child's future.'
'I reached Bhopal the day after the gas tragedy; the smell was still in the air. It was a professional hazard but I was not scared.'
