Sircar, a retired IAS officer, claimed that corruption by a section of leaders of his party and lack of action against them was one of the reasons for his decision.
'To attribute motives to the individual election commissioner or the Election Commission as a group is very unfair.'
Lisa Curtis, who served as deputy assistant to President Trump and as National Security Council senior director for South and Central Asia from 2017 to 2021, said she expected the same bumps for India and the US, as in Trump's first term, including tariff, dependence on Russia over arms supply and oil purchase from Iran. Curtis, however, said both countries could never enter an alliance but develop a partnership that is "short of an alliance". She hoped them to achieve a cooperation that deters China, but also prepares both countries in case of a crisis or conflict, be it in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, or another flare-up on the India-China border.
Indians supposedly have the right to freedom, and the right to equality, which cuts across gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc, observes Devangshu Datta.
United States President Joe Biden on Monday hosted a Diwali celebration at the White House that was attended by more than 600 eminent Indian Americans, including Congressmen, officials, and corporate executives, from across the country.
'Initially, I didn't think much of him. But when I walked alongside him, I realized he has what it takes.'
'How can a citizen of this country having been a Member of Parliament, and the other who has seen enough of Foreign Service takes no time in saying that what happened in the neighbourhood will happen in India'
'The government is saying 88 Hindus have been killed, but it could be much more.' 'Their properties are being looted, their businesses have been ransacked. I am getting distress calls from there.' 'Muslims who believe in the philosophy of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman are also under attack. Most of those who have fled Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina's fall are Muslims.'
Calling Canada's behaviour 'the pits', India's recalled high commissioner Sanjay Verma says India was backstabbed and treated in a most unprofessional manner by a country that is supposed to be a friendly democracy.
This is the full text of the address to the nation by President Droupadi Murmu on the eve of India's 78th Independence Day.
'As we enter 2025, it must be acknowledged that there is a convergence of capital, influential people (from business and politics) and technology deciding the destiny of others in the name of pride, patriotism, nationalism, nation building, all of it thinly veiled disguises for personal profit and glory,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to Congress stalwart and former prime minister Manmohan Singh thanking him for his 'sheer presence' in Rajya Sabha despite his poor health to vote against the Delhi services bill.
Jaishankar briefed the leaders of all parties about the situation in the violence-hit nation and the steps taken by the Indian government.
Unsubstantiated and illogical opinions, delivered freely from within or abroad, could not destroy the democratic nature of the country, he added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday pulled off a stunning performance in Maharashtra winning a record number of seats to propel the party-led ruling Mahayuti alliance to a landslide victory while the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) stormed back to power in Jharkhand on the back of a spectacular showing by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said there was no question of an apology over Rahul Gandhi's remarks in the United Kingdom and that those demanding so must answer on Prime Minister Narendra Modi "humiliating" the people of the country with his comments abroad.
There are not too many more vibrant democracies in the world than India, the White House has said, applauding the people of India for exercising their right to vote.
'The Opposition parties will continue to woo Chandrababu Naidu even though he has said he will support the BJP.'
Congress members Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Shri Thanedar released a joint statement after receiving a classified briefing from the Biden Administration on Gupta's indictment.
India and China have made "some progress" in disengagement, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday, describing it as a "welcome" move which opens up the possibility that other steps could happen.
While the whole world is using good words to describe India, its main opposition leader is claiming on foreign soil that the country has been destroyed and democracy is no longer there while the judiciary and the media are in a bad shape, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters.
'It will be difficult to challenge Hindutva anymore as the police will have the power to charge you as anti-national.'
Jaishankar described as a "reasonable supposition" to expect some improvement in the relations between India and China following the last round of disengagement but hesitated to say that there could be a reset of the ties.
'Already, the BJP treats the Constitution like the unpopular old uncle at the party, whom everyone pays lip service to and then proceeds to ignore,' says Mitali Saran.
'His hopes and dreams for India reach higher and higher and are unstoppable, and his execution has been exemplary.' 'It inspires all of us to do more.'
The official said that India is a true democracy with a vibrant civil society, a free press and an independent judiciary.
Raising concern over the nearly 1.25 crore feedback submissions received by the parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Bharatiya Janata Party member Nishikant Dubey has called for a probe into their sources, including in the possible role of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and China.
He could have blazed a trail that few Indian judges had. It was a missed opportunity of a lifetime, notes Ramesh Menon.
'I think when he (Modi) apologises for statements like that, then all of us can apologise for saying the opposite abroad. I think this is the level of political discourse we ought to grow out of'
Gandhi, who is seeking a second-straight term from Wayanad in Kerala, in a video appeal said this election is to save democracy and the Constitution.
The annual Quad summit at President Joe Biden's hometown Wilmington is expected to roll out a series of new initiatives to boost cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and explore ways to find peaceful solutions to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
'...We should first look at and acknowledge what we have done to ourselves.' 'To not do so opens us to the accusation of rank hypocrisy and also reduces the stature of our globetrotting peaceniks,' asserts Aakar Patel.
'It has changed the political character of India by ejecting socialism as an ideology from the Constitution of India.'
Prayaag Akbar tells the story of 1,000 years of caste-based repression, and of a people's quest for dignity under a democracy that has failed them.
We are currently in a transition phase and its resultant turmoil as a titanic struggle between Indian and Western value systems is being waged, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Modi also said the way the Indian elections are being conducted could be a learning process for other democracies.
The Supreme Court of India has a new 'Lady Justice' -- a six-foot-tall sculpture in the judges' library holding scales in one hand and the Constitution in the other sans the sword.
The 'aura of invincibility' around Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been 'shattered' by the Indian voters who gave the Opposition a new lease on life, this is how the international media described the outcome of India's general elections.
'I would think that India faces less damage from opinions voiced overseas compared to the damage it suffers if the right to free speech of its citizens is curtailed in the name of image management,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday read out a resolution condemning the imposition of Emergency and termed the decision by then prime minister Indira Gandhi an attack on the Constitution, triggering a wave of protests by the opposition in the House.
