The BJP calling the Congress a "torn old party" moving towards a stage where its relevance and necessity will be completely lost.
What is foreign policy worth if it stands disconnected from domestic realities? Make no mistake, the horrifying visuals of the human suffering in metropolitan India is only the tip of the iceberg. The vast swathes of the hinterland are heaving with untold sorrows, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Social media is reflecting a reality that the BJP does not want communicated. More people are saying things on social media that are upsetting the government, asserts Aakar Patel.
But his opponents are making a mistake. They shouldn't be smug, argues Vir Sanghvi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver on Tuesday his 10th consecutive Independence Day address which will also be his last before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as a mood of anticipation builds around the annual showpiece event that he has used to present his government's report card, unveil flagship schemes and lay down his vision for the country.
The development comes amid reports that social media companies are being asked to remove posts that are critical of the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Raising slogans, members of the BRS, Left parties and some members of the Congress walked out of Lok Sabha in protest as the prime minister was speaking.
The prime minister's insistence that his voice cannot be suppressed left me both puzzled and amused. He has at his call, the government's official news dissemination/publicity channels, the pliant newspapers and television channels that were eager to prostrate themselves before a powerful government and yet, the dominant voice thinks it is in competition with other voices! exclaims Shyam G Menon.
The Congress on Monday promised that a government led by it will conduct a nationwide caste census and implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies at the earliest, including adequate representation for women belonging to the OBC community.
In his opening remarks at the virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Modi also said that some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policy and the grouping must not hesitate to criticise them.
In a post on X, Modi said, "Happy to have welcomed @POTUS @JoeBiden to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Our meeting was very productive."
Do we have enough trained oncologists and medical professionals in India to man these over 4,500 beds in the public sector?
Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Monday said there was 'nothing wrong' in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to his residence on Ganpati Puja and underscored the need for a 'sense of maturity in political sphere' on such issues.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for a global framework for ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as he flagged concerns surrounding bias in such modern technologies and their impact on the society. Days ahead of the G20 Summit, the prime minister also made a strong case for developing an integrated approach to deal with issues concerning cryptocurrencies. Modi, addressing B20 Summit India 2023 organised by CII, said India is preparing a global framework for Green Credit and urged industry leaders to adopt life and businesses with emphasis on planet positive actions.
'The Bharat Jodo Yatra successfully resurrected the Rahul Gandhi brand.' 'There's a critical mass that has built up for the Congress and Mr Modi is feeling the heat on the Adani issue, the raids on the BBC offices, the Opposition getting together.'
Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday appealed to the opposition for the unanimous passage of the women's reservation bill and said shortcomings, if any, can be rectified at a later date.
'Is the Agniveer scheme or their post-retirement re-employment in paramilitary forces or in the state governments the BJP's answer to the crying need on the job front?' 'Or, even Finance Minister Sitharaman's one-year internship scheme in the public and private sector, is it a permanent solution, either?', asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The direction from Modi came following a review of the status of human resources in all government departments and ministries.
'In a complex situation a PM coming was not necessary'
From the time he first rose to prominence during the movement against the then UPA government, Arvind Kejriwal has regularly grabbed headlines for his surprise moves and decisions. Here are 10 such instances.
With a large number of Indian youth aspiring to work in the railways, delays in filling up railway job vacancies were a point of criticism against the BJP in the run-up to the elections.
'303 seats ki sarkar has problems with a cartoonist.'
This is a national leadership gone so wrong that India's most powerful prime minister in four decades has personally taken charge of medical oxygen shortages, observes Shekhar Gupta.
KAPP-3, the country's 23rd nuclear power reactor, is a 700 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) designed indigenously, the NPCIL said in a release. The components and equipment for the reactor have been manufactured by Indian industries, and its construction was undertaken by various Indian contractors, it said.
'...a more capable State -- one that operates with greater capacity, greater efficiency, and greater clarity of purpose.' 'But I also see a more despotic State -- one that places more constraints on speech, assembly, dissent, and critique.' 'It may run 'better', but on the regime's rules.'
Prime Minister Modi last week called for optimal grain storage, fire audits and mock drills in hospitals as preparations for the harsh summer forecast by the meteorological department.
Prima facie, the bus driver could not clearly see the stationary truck parked on the roadside due to heavy rainfall, as a result of which the bus rammed into it from the rear side, he said.
The announcement for the QUAD Caucus came from Congressman Ami Bera, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Indo-Pacific Subcommittee, Congressman Rob Wittman, and Senators Tammy Duckworth and Pete Ricketts, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The opposition parties on Sunday slammed the move to hire public servants through lateral entry, claiming it will snatch reservations from SCs, STs and OBCs, but the Bharatiya Janata Party hit back stating the National Democratic Alliance government was bringing transparency to this mode of recruitment started by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.
George Soros, who is in the eye of the storm over his remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Adani issue, is an Hungarian-born American financier, philanthropist, and activist whose success as an investor made him one of the wealthiest men in the world. He is also known as a powerful and influential supporter of liberal social causes. In a speech at the Munich Security Conference on Thursday, the billionaire philanthropist said he believes the turmoil at Gautam Adani's business empire may weaken Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hold on the government, a statement which was strongly contested by the BJP as an attack on Indian democracy.
BJP leaders hit back at the DMK and asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi if he agreed with the insulting remarks of its Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partner against the north Indians.
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Monday expressed concern over the law and order situation in the state and said if he was the state home minister, 'things would be different', remarks seen as direct criticism of Vangalapudi Anitha, who is holding the department currently.
The Congress on Tuesday took strong objection to the criticism directed at it by the Indian envoy to Ireland while responding to an Irish daily's editorial, saying that attacking opposition parties openly in a manner like a 'party apparatchik' was 'disgraceful behaviour' and the ambassador should be sacked.
But use of that word -- privatisation -- is not encouraged. This seems to be a classic case of reforms through subtle signals, observes A K Bhattacharya.
Modi said, "The Karnataka government was indifferent...it did not care about the benefits that a farmer can get from the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana."
Under Urjit Patel, the then RBI Governor, the central bank had a habit of making complete about-turns on various issues, including electoral bonds and digital payments, former finance secretary Subash Chandra Garg said in his book titled 'We Also Make Policy: An Insider's Account of How the Finance Ministry Functions.' Citing some instances of about-turns by the then RBI Governor Patel, Garg in his book said, RBI had done so on the electoral bond issue and it had so in case of setting up of Payments Regulatory Board (PRB). RBI also made unilateral decisions like ordering complete data localization for participation in the payment system, Garg wrote in the book which will hit the stands on October 1.
Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala also said, "Saheb knows his qualities very well". He also shared a copy of the news report.
'Good economics isn't necessarily bad politics, or vice versa,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The fundamental construct of India's neighbourhood policy still needs to be what Vajpayee postulated, Manmohan Singh embraced, and Modi energised. It's just that we need to junk domestic politics and excessive religiosity, while acquiring much humility and a renewed respectfulness towards our neighbours, recommends Shekhar Gupta.
The CPI-M leader was fluent in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bangla, and also Malayalam. He was also well-versed in Hindu mythology, and often used those references in his speeches especially to attack the BJP.
