'The BJP's numbers in this government are almost the same as those enjoyed by the Congress under P V Narasimha Rao when the reform process was kicked off in 1991.' 'As before, the only constraints on the prime minister's actions are internal, not external.' 'They come from his own assessment of the political consequences of any action,' points out Mihir S Sharma.
The most important lesson is that you have to build your political proposition, and sell it yourself. You can't leave it to the courts, media, NGOs and civil society and expect them to play the role of the Opposition. That's precisely what Mr Modi's challengers have been doing and we know the results, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Wouldn't it be better to join the celebrations with the vast Hindu majority while at the same time criticising Mr Modi/BJP/RSS for politicising it? notes Shekhar Gupta.
'Every Indian who is concerned about the unity, integrity and the map of India should be worried about this growing divide.'
'Look at what happened to the BJP in that India Shining episode in 2004.'
Mr Prime Minister, good economics and the welfare of the people are always good politics. If you follow my advice, you will be enthusiastically rewarded come election time. If you fail, history will hold you responsible, warns Kalyan Singhal.
Why did the political system in the country react to these two decisions of the Modi government in a diametrically opposite manner? asks A K Bhattacharya.
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.
'Every Haryana assembly seat has its own unique problems to earn victory for a political party and you as a politician need to know what are those issues and tackle it.'
'Modi will do himself a favour if he starts studying about Mahatma Gandhi.' 'I feel pity that we have a PM who has no idea of our own history.'
Human memory about policy issues is short. That alone can explain why many are deliriously happy with his latest slogans and ignore seven years of poor 'doing business' climate, taxtortion, extortionate oil prices, and high dependence on babus and the big State that has kept the enterprise system stifled, observes Debashis Basu.
'...It is important for you to take a stand.' 'It is a sin to remain silent when the basic structure of the Constitution is being attacked.'
Contrary to the popular belief that the IAS cadres manage the country - they are actually required to manage politicians, most of whom do not pass any sort of muster, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
When the assembly election comes around later this year with Nayab Singh Saini, from the OBCs, at the helm, the sense of victimhood non-Jats feel will propel the BJP into power again, predicts Aditi Phadnis.
'Pura phas gaya woh... barbad, satyanash ho gaya woh.' 'Usko ticket bhi diya, election bhi ladha woh; ganda video bhi bahar aa gaya; hamara izzat bhi nikal diya woh; abhi letter ke baare main pooch ke kya hota hai?'
'The moment a new election comes, new guarantees are announced.' 'The BJP is adept at diverting people's attention.'
'The policy focus of the government should have been on creating more good quality jobs but that was not their focus.'
'Maybe, India will never be reformed and maybe India will continue to have a quagmire for the rest of history.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met his match in Kanhaiya Kumar, noted writer Nayantara Sahgal has said as she praised the JNUSU president for his speech at JNU after his release from jail and his subsequent "rational" interviews to the media.
Assuming we still have a Modi-led majority government after May 2024, there is no guarantee that reforms will move at anything more than a snail's pace, though we must be thankful even for that, notes R Jagannathan.
The real risk is that the core assumption -- that the votes for a candidate sponsored by an alliance will at least equal the sum total of its parts -- proves to be facile, observes T N Ninan.
'Mere fundamentals will not do the trick,' cautions former commerce secretary Rahul Khullar.
The Democrats, especially the Biden administration, wanted to deliver a sharper message to Mr Modi than would be possible in a formal summit setting. So, why not get the most prominent Democrat in decades to deliver it?, explains Shekhar Gupta.
Will January 22 mark a point of no return for our Constitutional secularism? asks Shekhar Gupta.
'They were very vocal on the defence of the Constitution, reservation, SC/ST Act and democratic rights.'
If Priyanka wins the Lok Sabha bypolls, it would be for the first time that three members of the Gandhi family will be in Parliament. Her mother Sonia Gandhi is a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan.
Modi also met Moshe's Indian nanny Sandra Samuels, who managed to escape with him from the Nariman House which came under attack by Pakistan-based LeT terrorists.
We are today carrying out the reconstruction of New Delhi which will cost us Rs 20,000 crore and give the prime minister a new house while crores of people have no means and no money to buy vaccines for their children, observes Aakar Patel.
Mr Modi must stop talking, and start writing
We remain at the mercy of the global economic climate.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) directed the removal of West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar and mandated the appointment of Vivek Sahay, once suspended by the poll panel, as the new state police chief, with the TMC accusing the BJP of controlling the constitutional body.
'There is no peace in the Kashmir Valley.'
The 'aura of invincibility' around Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been 'shattered' by the Indian voters who gave the Opposition a new lease on life, this is how the international media described the outcome of India's general elections.
'People want to do business in the name of the Kedarnath temple.'
'Someone who cannot even take his cabinet into confidence, how will he take the NDA alliance into confidence?'
'India could become the newest Asian tiger under Modi's dynamic leadership. Modi could become the Nehru of the 21st century, and re-establish a new Tryst with Destiny, by stating once and for all that Mera Bharat Mahaan is and will always be a truly secular and inclusive democracy in the best spirit of Bharatiya-tva,' says Ram Kelkar, offering an NRI view of the Modi triumph.
The parties which gave chief ministers and sent scores of MPs to Parliament, drew a blank this time.
'While other parties generally need support directly from their central leadership to get influencers or celebrities to endorse their party, the work of identifying and contacting such influencers has been decentralised to state and district level IT cells to get more engagement in the BJP.'
Gandhi said Modi's top priority now is to get his Speaker in Parliament and is not bothered about NEET .
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances