Thackeray said people should be aware of how religious issues are raked up to distract their attention from core issues.
"In India, we derive our strength from tolerance, and respect our pluralism. We celebrate our diversity," he said.
For the first time in his political career, he failed to carry his party to even a working majority -- and again, for the first time in his career, he finds himself in a situation where he cannot rule by dictatorial fiat, points out Prem Panicker.
The Shiv Sena on Monday said that there was nothing wrong with reverse conversions and flayed "those who kept mum when Hindus were converted to Muslims."
'We are very close to become a theocratic State where Hinduism is the official religion of the government.'
Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday rode into a controversy when he was caught on camera entering RSS headquarters in Nagpur on his scooter without wearing a helmet in violation of traffic rules.
Gogoi says BJP will suffer the same fate as Bihar in Assam if secular forces unite.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday demanded that all roads and monuments named after Mughal emperors be re-christened, claiming that the country should not drag on with "signs of slavery".
Modi's presence at the evnt would open wounds, the Hyderabad MP said.
A man with a grandfatherly moustache, another in saintly robes and reportage on the saffron face of terror that went unnoticed, says Bharat Bhushan.
Rediff.com lists a few instances when BJP leaders and ministers shot their mouth off.
Shiv Sena has said it would recommend eminent agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan's name for the highest post.
Dwivedi, son of BJP's district unit president of Allahabad Ramraksha Dwivedi, had reportedly announced a reward of Rs 1 crore for chopping off the tongue of Owaisi and called the AIMIM chief a 'traitor' who has no right to live in India.
Narendra Modi, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Pratibha Patil, Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle took blessings of him.
If Rahul's yatra makes a political statement from the other side of the aisle and Shah Rukh's success underlines a more relaxed popular mood, Mr Modi and Mr Bhagwat's cues to their followers are coming from another place, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The gau rakshak stated that the famine-stricken people were suffering because of their past karma and nothing could be done for them. The reply apparently infuriated Vivekananda, who told the gau rakshak bluntly that he had no sympathy to spare for societies which would not lift a finger to help human beings but wasted piles of food on birds and beasts. A fascinating excerpt from Govind Krishnan V's book, Vivekananda The Philosopher of Freedom.
Wipro Group chairman Azim Premji, who attended an event organised by an Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh body near Delhi on Sunday, said his presence did not mean that he endorsed the view of the forum.
The BJP ignored the principle of the Cabinet's joint responsibility and the adage of the buck stopping at the top, observes Amulya Ganguli.
BJP MP Sadhvi Prachi advised youngsters not to idolise actors like Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan who spread a culture of violence.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Sarbananda Sonowal, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Narayan Rane, all of whom are being seen as probables for induction as ministers in the Modi government, arrived in the national capital on Tuesday amid indications that the Union Council of Ministers is likely to be expanded on Wednesday.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and his deputy Minister of State for Home RPN Singh on Wednesday rejected the allegation levelled by 2007 Ajmer blast accused Bhavesh Patel that they had pressured him to implicate top Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionaries in the case, saying they do not know him.
Amid huge cheers from supporters, Chakraborty, borrowing a dialogue from one of his films, said, "Ami joldhorao noi, bele borao noi... ami ekta cobra, ek chobol-ei chobi (Don't mistake me for a harmless snake, I am a cobra, can kill people in one bite)," he said.
Taking a swipe at the prime minister, he said there was no dearth of skills in the country and those from the backward classes are endowed with skills but not given an opportunity to move forward.
'Any kind of political activity is not on our agenda.'
Modi hasn't raised or encouraged the raising of slogans such as 'Jai Sri Ram' at public meetings
Terror groups are keeping security agencies on their toes in the run-up to Independence Day.
Maharashtra and Haryana voted in assembly elections on Monday. Several prominent personalities also exercised their franchise.
If Jaitley is finalised for the First Citizen's post, Modi will have scored two strategic goals, reports Rajeev Sharma.
"If the defence minister thinks that by examination and change in currency (demonetisation), the storm, which has erupted here, will die down, then he has a misconception. This storm will not die down. Whatever they do, this storm is there and after exams, they will see that the storm will rise once again."
A day after the Union cabinet withdrew a controversial ordinance on convicted lawmakers it had earlier cleared, yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Thursday termed the decision as "strangulation of democracy" as it was effected after condemnation by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.
Against the backdrop of sidelining of some senior leaders in the Bharatiya Janata Party, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday said change is necessary in keeping with the times to ensure that the journey is successful.
Amid mounting criticism of right wing outfits over Dadri lynching incident, Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday hit back and said it has become "fashion" for "some people" to abuse Hindus or else they contract "diarrhoea".
Reiterating the Shiv Sena's demand for sharing the chief minister's post, Raut said the state's CM will be from the Uddhav Thackeray-led party only.
This time Modi has no emotive message to take to the stump. Muscular nationalism doesn't work against the backdrop of China's successive inroads into Indian territory. Rising prices is a sore point that cuts across class and caste barriers; unprecedented levels of unemployment has the youth in a ferment. This has reduced the BJP campaign to a laundry list of recycled grievances and thinly veiled communal appeals, neither of which are working as well as they have in the past, argues Prem Panicker.
Bhagwat said a sense of idealism is good and described himself not as 'anti-modern', but as 'pro-future'.
Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said that Mukherjee, in his speech at RSS headquarter in Nagpur, reminded them of India's pluralism, tolerance, secularism and inclusiveness.
Brisk polling began on Thursday morning in 91 constituencies spread across 18 states and two union territories in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections. As people queued up across the nation to cast their vote, there were some famous faces in the lines at different polling stations. Take a look.
Union ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Thaawarchand Gehlot, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Santosh Gangwar, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, BJP national general-secretary Arun Singh and party MP Maneka Gandhi also visited the hospital to know about his wellbeing.
Vaidya, who had recovered from coronavirus infection, died at a private hospital in Nagpur, his grandson Vishnu Vaidya said. The last rites will be held on Sunday.
Beginning his speech with 'Jai Siya Ram', the prime minister told the gathering that a grand temple will now be built for 'Ram Lalla', the infant Ram, who had been living in a temporary tent for years.
