Sharif raises Kashmir issue at UNGA, renews plebiscite demand.
A day after the Supreme Court ruled that it was up to the prime minister to not induct those with criminal record into his Cabinet, Rediff.com examines how serious are the charges against some of Narendra Modi's ministers.
Confrontation between Pakistan government and the opposition escalated on Wednesday with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif rejecting demands for his resignation and Imran Khan calling off the dialogue with his regime until he quits.
The legislation passed with 230 votes in the 300-seat chamber.
For the anti-apartheid icon, all life and struggle were occasions to be relished with joy, says Shreekant Sambrani
A glance back at some important events that occurred in 2018.
The linking of biometric UID/Aadhaar number to all public services makes "We, the People of India" worse than slaves, says Gopal Krishna.
The report said there was no corruption in bidding process. It criticised England's bid for the 2018 tournament for "inappropriate requests" from former CONCACAF president Jack Warner, a FIFA powerbroker at the time, in what it said was "an apparent violation of bidding rules". However, the report said ethics investigator Michael Garcia intended to open formal investigations against individuals, who were not named.
'The problem of 2015 is not who did it but how we should punish the guy who did it. The judicial system in our country is hugely inadequate.' Dibakar Banerjee talks about his new film Detective Byomkesh Bakshy and much more.
Three men, who survived the April 6 'encounter' in the Seshachalam forests, give crucial evidence to the National Human Rights Commission on how their friends and family members were wrongly detained and later shot dead.
'I don't think there is a need to order a fresh investigation into the complaint against Modi & Co. As the amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran said in his report to the Supreme Court, the existing material is more than sufficient to prosecute Modi and other high-ups of his regime,' Manoj Mitta, author of the book The Fiction Of Fact-Finding: Modi and Godhra tells Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore.
George Joseph
The nature of the entity you choose for your business, how you structure its legal form, how conducive you make it to receive funding, compliance with statutes from the outset, are all vital parameters that a good lawyer can lend you his experience with.
As Rose Valley resurfaces, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Pal's arrests marks the end of the bonhomie between the TMC and BJP.
In spite of Budget's rural focus, the government has consistently stumbled in agriculture, says Shreekant Sambrani.
But not for too long, as TTV Dinakaran can still play spoilsport, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The nation wants an ex-ante body for endorsing "public purpose" during land acquistion process.
By weakening Sharif, the corps commanders could have a final say in important matters like relations with India, dealing with Taliban militants, interacting with Americans and once again achieving strategic depth in post-NATO Afghanistan. Which is why they may be behind the unrest in Pakistan led by Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri, says Shahzad Raza.
Kiran Bedi tells Amberish K Diwanji reasons for her optimism about change in the political sysatem.
The curative petition and other legal remedies still available to Yakub Memon are part of his rights as a prisoner condemned to death. Does the Maharashtra government want to deprive him of these rights, asks Jyoti Punwani.
Coal industry expert Sunjoy Joshi tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com that the NDA's e-auction of coal blocks will not solve the fundamental problems that dog the industry.
Manipur needs an integrated politico, military, socio-economic approach, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
Gujarat Lokayukta Justice R A Mehta's resignation letter is a stinging indictment of the Narendra Modi government's obstructionist attitude towards a constitutional watchdog.
Congress leaders led by Sonia Gandhi marched from the Congress headquarter in New Delhi to the residence of Manmohan Singh to express solidarity with the former prime minister, who has been summoned as accused by a court in a coal scam case.
AIADMK's Jayalalithaa won three assembly by-elections from her hospital bed. However, the DMK heir's decision to disempower second-line satraps, who were running personal fiefdoms in their districts, and his fresh approach, could prove beneficial in the next polls, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Endless cases, piles of files, meagre resources and unrelenting scrutiny... the CBI's life story is all that and more, says Ruchika Chitravanshi
It will allow more transparency in policies and flexibility in premium payment, besides improving processing of claims.
'We should hope and pray that the PM's sentiment is not held ransom by machinations and craftiness of a few junior babus who throw in an imaginary impediment at every welfare measure and snigger and giggle at the sidelines every time a soldier is ill at ease,' says Major Navdeep Singh on the one rank one pension debate.
'The approach towards Mallya is not right because his unit could have been turned around earlier with additional funds from his side and the bank's side.'
Admittedly, EVMs too have a UID number and any convergence of data can make the secret ballot system a party of history, warns Dr Gopal Krishna in the 5th part of his series against Aadhaar.
The major driver of Mod's foreign policy can be gauged from his economic priorities such as creating employment opportunities for the youth bulge. Related to this is emphasis on manufacturing, and infrastructure development, which in turn raises the issue of FDI. He has already articulated his views on all these issues, says Rup Narayan Das.
One of the urgent tasks ahead for the new government should be to improve public trust in the executive.
'ISI mouthpieces in the media have been quick to blame India for the attack. Clearly, the intellect and worldview of these characters (which includes fairly senior retired military officers) is based on Bollywood movies like Ek Tha Tiger and Agent Vinod... More seriously, the fact that ISI touts have been using this opportunity to train their guns on India raises serious questions about all the talk of the army being on the same page as the civilian government on the issue of improving relations with India,' says Sushant Sareen.
Iconic rights activist Irom Sharmila on the highs and lows of her long fast, why she gave it up and her plans.
'Indira Gandhi, it appears, did not to consult her Cabinet colleagues, or diplomats, or civil servants when she decided to sign the agreement in Shimla.' 'We ruefully recall Bhutto's perfidy and the Indian prime minister's gullibility,' says Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd).
Imagine being a part of a country, but being discriminated against by the majority community and atrocities being committed against you by the state. This is the deplorable conditions that the Rohingyas of Myanmar live in where they are cut off from their livelihoods and sources of income, unable to access markets, hospitals and schools, and have little or no access to relief aid. In order to understand the situation and the genesis of the tragedy unfolding, Rediff.com's Archana Masih speaks to Ambassador Vijay Nambiar, the United Nations' Chef de Cabinet (Chief of Staff), who had served a long stint with the UN in New York on the issue.
'You have the home-cooked food. But on top of that you are having the sugary drinks, the junk food, the mithais and whatever else....' 'People should not be frying in this sunflower oil, corn oil or eating any foods fried in this stuff.' 'They should cook in butter or ghee or olive oil. That is much healthier.'
As political rivals clamour to retain their pan-Tamil credentials, the BJP may use the 'nationalist' card to even the odds in its favour, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
India's nuclear establishment is continuing its march of folly at the expense of safety in the false belief that atomic power is the energy of the future. It's not. Nuclear power is in relentless global decline, says Praful Bidwai.
The shift to gross calorific value-based grading of coal aligned domestic prices with international benchmarks.
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