Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, George Kurian, strongly condemned the alleged threatening of teachers at a government school in Kerala by Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists over Christmas celebrations. Kurian urged the state government to take stringent action against the culprits to prevent such incidents from recurring. The incident sparked outrage, with opposition leaders accusing the Sangh Parivar of attempting to create communal tension. Meanwhile, VHP leaders clarified that they were not against any religion and admitted that their district office bearers had questioned the teachers about the organisation of the Christmas celebration.
BJP-ruled states argued in the Supreme Court that governors and the President have autonomy in assenting to bills passed by state assemblies, asserting that courts cannot mandate assent.
'... Rahul Gandhi's name came to my mind at that time.'
Remith, who suffered severe injuries on his head and neck in the attack that happened at 10.30 am, died on the way to hospital, police said.
'In Kerala, we are part of the government and our MLA is a minister there. These units understood the situation that made us to go with the BJP and supported our move. Our minister in the Left party's government (K Krishnankutty) in Kerala has given consent to us'
'The nuns were subjected to abusive language and all types of mental torture.'
'You can say it was a moment that can be described as unimaginable or unbelievable.'
A profile of C.P. Radhakrishnan, the Maharashtra Governor and former MP, who is being considered as a potential Vice President candidate. His political journey, association with RSS and Jan Sangh, and his influence in Tamil Nadu politics are highlighted.
Like his father Karunanidhi and AIADMK rivals MGR and Jayalalithaa, Stalin would like to confine his real political work to Tamil Nadu, and not want to take after the late Congress leader K Kamaraj and take up a national role, even if to create greater political space for son Udhayanidhi, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'We can't afford to fight each other.' 'We have to win the 2026 election.'
With elections elsewhere in India showing that multi-pronged contests usually work to the BJP's favour, the party can gain if it hangs on stubbornly. In the meantime, any additional support helps. That is why the archbishop's comment attracted political traction in Kerala, observes Shyam G Menon.
Sources close to the top BJP leadership tell me that Tharoor has already had secret meetings with the BJP's top brass and is waiting patiently to make his next move, reports Ramesh Menon.
Opposition-ruled states warn of steep annual losses; Centre assures higher consumption will offset revenue hit.
Noted lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, who is among four persons nominated to Rajya Sabha by President Droupadi Murmu, on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him to inform and spoke in Marathi.
'I wanted to go for the heart, and at the same time, open the audience's mind.'
On November 18, 1962, 114 soldiers of the 13th Kumaon fought till the last man, and last bullet, in sub-zero temperatures, to beat back the huge Chinese army. We salute the Heroes of Rezang La.
The political and ideological differences between the Congress and Shashi Tharoor is no longer a matter of whispers.
The grand old party alleged that these namesake candidates are backed by the Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Bharatiya Janata Party to confuse voters.
'Abuse, asking for sexual favours, and expecting women to compromise to gain a foothold or accelerate their careers exist in every field. Why is a woman alone expected to go through the grind?'
Modi hit out at the Congress for its president Mallikarjun Kharge's attempt to play down his party's poor show in the polls by describing it as "small state elections".
The Web portal of the Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece, published an article (withdrawn later) that the Christian community holds many acres of land, far more than Waqf property.'
'They just showed riots created by some political party. They never mentioned the name of the place or the political party.' 'I don't know why these people are agitated.'
Moderate turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling across five assembly constituencies across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat and Kerala where bypolls are underway on Thursday.
Kerala's election discourse operates surreptitiously. Its explicit face focuses on important national and local issues. At the same time, it seeks to secure apt communal equations to ensure votes, notes Shyam G Menon.
Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, received a grand welcome upon his return to Pune. Supporters celebrated his acquittal after a special court noted a lack of reliable evidence against him.
Nitin Gadkari led BJP delegation on Sunday met President Pranab Mukherjee over Kerala violence issue.
'Vote banks will change affiliations and the BJP will come out with good success in Kerala.'
While the BJP went back to the drawing board to recraft its political and governance outreach and regained momentum by notching up surprisingly big wins in a string of assembly polls, the burst of fresh optimism in the main opposition Congress and other INDIA bloc parties fizzled out.
Just eight months after its good showing in the Lok Sabha polls, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) seems to be running out of steam with internal bickering and conflicting ambitions resulting in diminishing electoral returns that have once again put the Bharatiya Janata Party in the driver's seat in national politics.
JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha heads a diplomatic mission to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore, to seek international cooperation after the Pahalgam attack while highlighting Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism.
If the DMK is able to sustain the momentum until the assembly polls, the AIADMK especially and the PMK and possibly the infant TVK too would find it hard to sign up with the BJP, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is set to elect its next general secretary, with speculation rife over who will lead the party. Leading contenders include M A Baby, backed by the party's Kerala unit, and Ashok Dhawale, who enjoys support from the West Bengal lobby. Other potential candidates include Mohammed Salim, B V Raghavulu, and Brinda Karat. The election will take place at the 24th CPI(M) congress in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
The BJP is focusing determinedly on the seats it lost in 2019, with the hope of winning these either independently or with the aid of its allies.
The Opposition Congress alleged that the blast, which occurred around 1 am according to the police, happened during the manufacturing of country-made bombs by some CPI-M supporters.
The party fielded Maneka Gandhi from Sultanpur, while Uttar Pradesh minister Jitin Prasada has replaced Varun Gandhi in Pilibhit.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has criticized the BJP for its allegations that elements in the American "deep state" were behind attempts to destabilize India, saying this "attack-dog" behavior is an embarrassment to India. Tharoor's comments come after the US rejected the BJP's allegations, describing them as "disappointing" and asserting that the US government is a champion of media freedom. The BJP had alleged that the US deep state colluded with the media portal OCCRP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to "damage" India's image.
Shailaja Teacher, arguably the most famous Covid warrior in India, versus former student leader Shafi Parambil who defeated 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan in the last assembly election. Shyam G Menon reports from the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency, which some feel is the most politically important contest in Kerala this election.
While the opposition alliance is putting up a united front in Ghosi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand's Dumri, Dhanpur and Boxanagar in Tripura and Uttarakhand's Bageshwar, its constituents are contesting against each other in Dhupguri in West Bengal and Puthuppally in Kerala.
This negated the gain of more than a dozen seats in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.
There are challenges galore before him, and it is not going to be easy. In the next four years, he has to conjure a system that changes the optics about him and the BJP both nationally and internationally so that he can ride back on his own, claim the top slot, and not have to lean on a coalition, asserts Ramesh Menon as Modi 3.0 completes a year in power.
