India's most powerful prime minister in five decades gets publicly admonished -- if gently -- by the US vice-president. The question is, would this make him reflect on how and why, or which ones of his government and party's missteps exposed his flank like this? asks Shekhar Gupta.
He cited the Congress' poor performance in the 2019 general election after victories in assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh the previous year to buttress his point.
Joshi said, "(BJP leader) Nishikant Dubey issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi for making baseless allegations (against the PM). What they say has to be supported with evidence but they haven't produced any. We all are answerable to the people of this country. This time action will be taken on this notice."
A handsome victory for the BJP in UP would act as confirmation of its recent political choices. The UP chief minister would be cemented in the popular mind as Mr Modi's chosen heir within the Hindutva fold, and presumably as his successor in New Delhi, observes Mihir S Sharma.
Lauding India's ambitious space programme, The New York Times has said the country, currently witnessing an 'explosive' growth in space-tech start-ups, is set to 'transform the planet's connection to the final frontier' and can emerge as a 'counterweight' to China.
The bilateral and Quad summits, in which Prime Minister Modi played a significant role, has sent the right message to China, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
A faltering economy may have led to a re-think on economic strategy. And Mr Modi might think he is politically strong enough to take some risks. But there could be a minefield ahead, observes T N Ninan.
The political discourse hit a new low on Monday with Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri making disparaging remarks targeting Rahul Gandhi and the Congress paying him back in the same coin.
The Bharatiya Janata Party might have a majority in the Lok Sabha but sarcasm and public humiliation of rivals may not be the way to assert this. In fact, it is a waste of time
'Now Mr Modi has been offered a more real but different kind of war, which he has likened to the Mahabharat,' notes T N Ninan.
Every February 28th, Zakia Jafri relives the agony of witnessing the brutal massacre of her husband, former Congress MP Ahsan Jafri, along with scores of other women and children. Despite deteriorating health, her hope that those responsible will be brought to justice, remains strong, notes Najid Hussain.
The last three prime ministers who served full terms started out in their early 70s. Mr Modi is younger and fitter than all of them. But he needs to find it in him to change course if he is to beat the odds, notes T N Ninan.
'If we can award Madan Mohan Malaviya who died in 1946, then why not the Mahatma who died in 1948?' 'Why not go a little further back in time and give the award to Rabindranath Tagore who died in 1941?' 'And should we mark Lokmanya Tilak's 100th death anniversary in 2020 by giving him a Bharat Ratna,' asks Amberish K Diwanji.
Invincible as he appears in his western stronghold, can Narendra Modi sweep forth from it and take New Delhi for an insurgent BJP? The good news for Modi's rivals in his party is that these results don't even begin to suggest he can.
If the real economy is indeed looking up, then it no longer needs hand-holding and fiscal laxity
One of the reasons why the TMC decided not to demand a JPC is that the chairperson and most of its members would be from the BJP, he said, adding JPC means putting the issue under the carpet.
'In today's situation, it is not going to help anyone's case if they try to politically contest with the BJP on ideological issues.' 'Instead, it is best is to swim along the tide, present the more acceptable face of the cultural Hindu, but not be a political Hindu as the BJP or Mr Modi is.'
The challenge is to enhance opportunities for people to generate livelihoods through entrepreneurship, both big and small, argues R Jagannathan.
Heading G20 will give India a foreign affairs year like it has never had in history. You can trust Narendra Modi to exploit this to India's benefit. And, of course, to his own in his election year, explains Shekhar Gupta.
Teen Murti Bhavan served as the official residence of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
'They don't want anybody to stand up and support the vulnerable sections of society who may be targeted.'
'Why does Mr Modi only attack Nehru from the Dynasty?' 'At one level, it is pure politics,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
'China killed our soldiers. China took our land. Then, why is China praising Mr Modi during this conflict,' he asked on Twitter.
Justice will finally be served in one way or another, in one form or another, Najid Hussain warns Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
In reply to Modi's letter to citizens on Tuesday, leader of the Opposition in the assembly and Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil has written an open letter to Modi.
If the BJP wins by getting Hindu voters to consolidate, its opponents can't beat it by bundling together the Muslims and some of the 'others', observes Shekhar Gupta.
'I defended them -- Amit Shah and Narendra Modi -- in over 10,000 national debates, but I never asked for any favour.'
Haryana's chief minister enjoys Narendra Modi's support and protection and will be in office unless the state sees a massive administrative botch-up.
'In India, a really popular and well-entrenched leader is not defeated by a rival.' 'Such a leader has to defeat himself,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
The Opposition party asked whether the prime minister will take responsibility for the 'deadliest rail tragedy' of this century.
The Modi government has ambitious plas to achieve 10% growth, but there is no assessment of how much money is needed for the whole package of measures, and where it will come from. In short, there is no plan for how to get from here to there, points out T N Ninan.
The attack by the Opposition party came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the logo, theme and website for India's upcoming presidency of the grouping.
The Chinese aren't after territory. Their target is our national will, morale and the sense of autonomy we feel in making our strategic choices. They are attacking India and the Modi government at their weakest point, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The Congress demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi answer what action he took against WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh when issues were allegedly flagged to him by a wrestler in 2021.
'The prime minister is talking to his Chachaji and he is crying in the PM's lap, it was such an emotional scene.'
e Union minister of state for home is somewhat brash and rowdy, and has enormous confidence.' Some of this derives from the fact that he has independent sources of income (he reported assets amounting to Rs 18 crore in his 2019 Lok Sabha nomination papers)
'With Trump, the relationship was very transactional, whereas with President Biden it is very structured.'
India would not be seen to be anything but rude with the Pakistanis. In the big picture, who is the bigger adversary right now? Who is the bigger pain in the neck? And who is it that is keeping more than 3,000 km of our borders active, throwing our military posture and deployments into imbalance? asks Shekhar Gupta.
'There is a compulsion to look hard, decisive, and risk-taking; start something; and then conclude it in a way you can claim victory.' 'That is not such an easy option against China,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Those who worry that the Adani saga will turn the world off India are not looking at the entire picture, asserts Mihir S Sharma.
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