On the eve of Independence Day, President Ramnath Kovind addresses the country.
Turbans have been a highlight of the prime minister's sartorial choices at Independence Day and Republic Day events. Modi had sported a multi-coloured turban when he gave his sixth Independence Day speech from the rampants of the Red Fort last year after securing a second term. For his maiden Independence Day address as the prime minister in 2014, Modi had opted for a Jodhpuri bandhej turban in bright red colour with green at the tail.
Member of Parliament Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana have "undoubtedly crossed the line of freedom of speech" guaranteed under the Constitution, but mere expression of derogatory or objectionable words may not be a sufficient ground for invoking the charge of sedition against them, a special court in Mumbai has said.
Four-time Odisha MP Pinaki Misra's wedding to firebrand TMC MP Mahua Moitra in a quiet, intimate ceremony that chose privacy and tradition over fanfare, was a reflection of his personal style.
"The President was getting very tired by the end... she could hardly speak, poor thing," Sonia Gandhi, the former Congress chief, was heard saying in clips in what appeared to be a reference to how long the address was.
After being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, Trump started his inaugural address with a sentence that echoed Modi's coinage some years ago, notes Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Monday expressing shock and anguish over the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and resolved to fight resolutely to defeat the nefarious designs to disturb communal harmony and hinder progress.
While acknowledging that they needed strong allies for a chance in the assembly polls, AIADMK cadres seemingly prefer actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to the BJP, owing to the latter's 'communal agenda' and consequent hardline Hindutva image, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
In his Independence Day speech, Modi said recently, import of more than 100 military equipment has been stopped.
At present, 33 Sainik schools are operating in the country.
For the first time, as many as 150 foreign diplomats out of total 153 countries which have diplomatic presence in India, attended the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation.
On the eve of Independence Day, President Ramnath Kovind addresses the country. This will be the first speech that President Kovind will deliver to the nation.
Successive elections since 2019 have proved that the Modi charisma and Shah's strategy does not work in Tamil Nadu. Now, they have to see next year if the DMK is capable of losing, whether to an existing NDA alliance or an expanded version, if one becomes necessary and possible!, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
A multi-layered security cover has been put in place to secure the historic Red Fort from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation on the 75nd Independence Day on Sunday.
President A P J Abdul Kalam's address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hoisted the national flag and addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort. He said that it was an occasion to remember freedom fighters who laid down their lives for the freedom of the country.
Also seen interacting with Prime Minister Modi was Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra over a bowl of choorma.
China on Monday conducted day-long large-scale military drills aimed at surrounding Taiwan by deploying an aircraft carrier group, besides army, navy, air force and missile forces, in an apparent response to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's remarks that Beijing has no authority to represent Taipei.
In the Interim Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that a high power committee would be set up to consider the challenges arising from 'fast population grown and demographic changes.' 'But who wants data? It pays to feed people's fears, insecurities and apprehensions. If such fears don't exist, they must be created,' her husband Parakala Prabhakar says in this fascinating excerpt from his book, The Crooked Timber of New India: Essays on a Republic in Crisis.
'It is very easy to invoke Bhagat Singh but difficult to emulate him... There was a gentleman who was eventually hanged .... He stayed there..., he did not run away. You are saying you weren't even there'
A Pakistani court in Islamabad on Monday rejected former prime minister Imran Khan's plea seeking the suspension of the non-bailable warrant issued against him in the Toshakhana case.
Governments that do not respect central banks' independence will sooner or later incur the wrath of the financial markets, ignite economic fires, and come to rue the day they undermined an important regulatory institution; their wiser counterparts who invest in central bank independence will enjoy lower costs of borrowing, the love of international investors, and longer life spans, said Acharya, who will return to the New York University's Stern Business School in August.
Modi alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka gave reservations in tenders based on religion, "snatching the rights of SCs, STs and OBCs." But Ambedkar had said there would not be reservation based on religion and there is a bar on giving reservation on the basis of religion in the Constitution, he stressed.
The Supreme Court has sought details from the Allahabad High Court regarding controversial statements made by Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav at a VHP function. The development comes amid calls for action against the judge for his remarks, which have been labeled as hate speech by some. The judge's statements were made at a VHP function on December 8, where he spoke about the Uniform Civil Code and the law working according to the majority. Several individuals and organizations, including lawyer Prashant Bhushan and CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, have called for an inquiry into the judge's conduct and for his removal from judicial duties.
In more than one way, it's a setback for the DMK and Chief Minister Stalin in political terms. The electoral fall-out, if any, will have to wait until the next summer, only when assembly elections are due in the state, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Independence Day event at the historic Red Fort, where prime minister unfurls the tricolour and delivers a speech to the nation, was scaled down this year. Around 4,000 invites, a quarter of the usual, were issued to officers, diplomats, local leaders and others.
Asserting that it was a matter of concern that Prime Minister Modi was comparing the Kashmir issue with Balochistan, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said the former should not take up two issues together.
The President in his Independence Day eve speech said the government should increase expenditure on education to about six to seven per cent of GDP.
On the eve of 70th Independence Day, President Pranab Mukherjee is addressing the nation.
Hitting back at Gujarat strongman Narendra Modi, Congress on Friday accused him of "crossing all limits in over-ambition" by his no-holds bar attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and asked him to first gain acceptability within BJP.
The veteran politician accused the BJP of breaking duly elected governments in opposition-ruled states even as it boasted about providing a stable government at the Centre.
The two leaders had a complex relationship yet formed a partnership and even after their parting of ways, the two admired each other in their efforts for India's freedom.
Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal has criticised Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for questioning the judiciary over the timeline for the president to take decisions, calling it "unconstitutional " and a lowering of the dignity of the chair. Sibal asserted that Dhankhar's remarks are not neutral and amount to an attack on the judiciary by the executive. He also pointed out that the president acts on the aid and advice of the council of ministers, and therefore, the president's power cannot be curtailed. Sibal urged Dhankhar to seek a review of the judiciary's decision or an advisory opinion from the Supreme Court if he has problems with it. He also questioned why Dhankhar only focuses on actions taken during Congress governments and not after 2014.
This is Modi's eighth straight Independence Day speech from the historic Red Fort
The 'Iconic Week' under the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' will be a grand celebration by the ministry which will showcase the convergence of the values and glories of the freedom struggle of the past with the aspirations and dreams of a young, new and iconic India.
'Is the idea of a committed judiciary once again being floated, though surreptitiously, unlike in the past when it was direct?'
From playing to the Sikh vote bank because Punjab elections are round the corner, to ensuring that a discordant 'us versus them' note was struck, whatever could be done to exploit every last drop of communal appeal, was done, observes Jyoti Punwani.
Holding that the Constitution of India envisages a secular nation, the Supreme Court Friday directed the Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to come down hard on hate speeches, promptly registering criminal cases against the culprits without waiting for a complaint to be filed.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has distanced itself from controversial remarks made by its senior leader and West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim regarding the Muslim percentage in the population. Hakim, in a speech, had claimed that Muslims constitute 33 per cent of the population in West Bengal and 17 per cent nationwide, adding that they could become a numerical majority if they empower themselves. The party issued a statement on Monday condemning Hakim's remarks, asserting that they do not reflect its ideology and commitment to communal harmony. The remarks have sparked a political storm, with the opposition BJP accusing Hakim of attempting to stir communal sentiments. Hakim later clarified that his remarks were misinterpreted and that he was advocating for the empowerment of minorities through education and skill development. However, the controversy has caused ripples within the TMC and complicated the party's messaging.
