Only three percent of Indians pay income tax; our tax-GDP ratio is among the lowest in the world. This must change. Our elites must realise that India's poverty has damaging consequences for them, and that they can help decrease it. The food security bill, with all its limitations, will hopefully contribute to generating such awareness, says Praful Bidwai.
Biennial elections are being held for 58 Rajya Sabha seats across several states and by-poll for one in Kerala.
'Instead of camping in the cities and leading the party, leaders have to go to the interiors of the country.' 'The Congress is losing touch with the common man.'
'Nobody is killing you in Kerala because you are Hindu unlike in North India where Muslims have been killed only because they are Muslims and were carrying some meat.'
'Curiously, Pinarayi's approach, stressing the imperatives of development, is robustly backed by Nitin Gadkari.'
'I stand next only to Gadkari, one of the few outstanding ministers in the Modi government, in applauding Pinarayi's political courage and vision,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Her rivals have been floating stories that by supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party Sheila Dikshit was trying to pre-empt investigations against her, says Kavita Chowdhury
A message from KCR on Thursday evening persuaded the Congress to take its MLAs to Hyderabad.
'Tamil Nadu is a state of temples, it's a holy land. People don't seem to realise that.'
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.
The leaders alleged that those who had no contribution in the freedom struggle wanted to spread fear 'in the name of nationalism', suppress the voice of people and were questioning the legacy of Congress.
As the dust finally settles on the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 and Bharatiya Janata Party along with its NDA allies emerges as the clear winner, here is a list of who won in each of the 7 phases of elections.
The focus is not only on governance but also to ensure that the BJP's political considerations are taken care of.
'Except for the Akali Dal and Shiv Sena, the BJP has not found any permanent friends.' 'This is because most parties are genuinely concerned about what Hindutva politics does to Indian society,' argues Aakar Patel.
While the DMK dubbed the meeting as only a 'courtesy visit', Rao did not meet the waiting reporters.
Just after the brief address of the Governor, MLAs of the BJP raised the demand for a floor test, triggering an uproar. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Govind Singh raised the issue of coronavirus threat in the country and also mentioned the Central government's advisory.
'We need all the people who support Jallikattu to empathise with a poor, frightened, animal. Like racism and casteism, this is speciesism; discrimination based on species.' 'Human beings consider themselves superior and they consider it their right to exploit non-human beings, the animals.'
'We fear worse things to happen. We feel this is just a teaser.' 'I wonder whether later, the Christian community will be targeted.'
If the process becomes completely online, there will be no intervention from a state government at any level.
Will the M (Muslims) in the RJD's M+Y move fast swiftly towards the MIM and away from the RJD, asks Mohammad Sajjad.
At least eight MLAs of the opposition Congress in BJP-ruled Gujarat appeared to have voted for Kovind.
'If you believe the Congress will win in 2024 because Modi is blundering from one monumental disaster to another, that means you are living in a fool's paradise.'
However, the woman told police that she was not keen to visit the shrine and admitted that she had come to Pamba following pressure from her husband.
The PM name is to be decided only after the Lok Sabha results, a top opposition leader said.
The main Opposition party is likely to lose some more of its strength in 2016-17
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that bringing in resolutions against the Citizenship Amendment Act is more of a "political gesture" by the states as they hardly have any role in granting citizenships. The lawmaker said that in the implementation of the National Population Register and the proposed nationwide NRC, the states will have a vital part as it will be their officials who will conduct the exercise because the Centre doesn't have the required manpower.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the Congress and its erstwhile government in Puducherry, saying the V Narayanasamy led dispensation had 'different priorities' than public welfare and flayed party leader Rahul Gandhi over his recent 'north-south' remarks.
'The BJP's all-India plans can be expected to become clearer around 2022-2023, particularly if -- as some anticipate -- the senior Congress leadership cracks, broadly as between the Nehru-Gandhi loyalists and those who may be termed 'pro-changers',' observes Arun Bhatnagar, a retired IAS officer.
Leaders of 22 opposition parties met the Election Commission and demanded verification of VVPAT slips of randomly-selected polling stations before the counting of the votes.
The high octane campaign marked by vitriolic attacks and counter-attacks by political leaders and use of derogatory language and objectionable remarks that forced the Election Commission to step in ended at 6 pm.
'Why do they talk about Narendra Modi insulting Oommen Chandy when he himself informed the PMO that he would not be available? Why did he write to Delhi that he was preoccupied on the 15th? After that, he should not make such noise about the function.'
'We might have lacked somewhere but our commitment was absolute. We might have made mistakes and fallen short to some extent. We might not have done something but what did you do'
The saffron party is assured of victory in eight of the ten seats in UP going by its dominant numbers in the state assembly.
'A pandemic like this will leave behind a trail of political, economic, social and psychological scars.' Coronavirus is going to impact every being on earth even if they do not contract it.' 'Everyone will pay a price,' cautions Ramesh Menon.
The government is banking on help from regional parties and rejigged numbers in the Rajya Sabha.
A day before the start of the Budget session of Parliament, as many as 18 opposition parties, led by the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Shiv Sena and the Trinamool Congress, decided on Thursday to boycott the President's address to the joint sitting of both Houses in solidarity with the farmers protesting against the new farm laws.
Its passage in the Lok Sabha is all but certain due to the massive majority the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies have, and the Union government is confident of its passage in the Rajya Sabha as well with the support of several non-aligned regional parties which have often joined the treasury benches in the past.
'Oommen Chandy may well prove to be the Teflon chief minister whose reputation cannot be tarnished,' predicts Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'He was always opposed to a form of nationalism that was narrow, selfish and arrogant.' 'He will always remain a beacon of inspiration for freedom-loving people across the world and for movements of resistance against oppressive State power.'
Reservation is an albatross whose continuation under the current system risks creating deep fissures in our society, warns Vikram Johri.
'There's nothing in the 2019 campaign air, the chunavi hawa that tells you it's a wave election, for anyone,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
