A resolution against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "allegations" of terrorism against Pakistan was today blocked in the Assembly of Punjab province, ruled by Premier Nawaz Sharif's PML-N party.
Rajdeep Sardesai's 2014: The Election That Changed India, will make him a ton of money, says Shreekant Sambrani, but admits he is more interested in knowing whether the book lives up to its title.
'The air force continues to be short of planes.' 'So, more than a decade after the last selection round got under way, the same process is about to start again for the same kind of aircraft, naturally with the same likely bidders,' points out T N Ninan.
Mr Modi has indicated he will carry on, and intensify, India's 'Look East' policy. But this start is hardly inspiring.
Even a doomsayer like Nouriel Roubini says India is in a sweet spot. If only we'd live up to the promise, says Shekhar Gupta.
'In the Indian context it is not easy for rival parties to come together, especially pre-elections.' 'Having pulled it off, they should be taken seriously.'
Mudra Bank will be a Rs 20,000-crore institution, which would "primarily be responsible for refinancing all micro-finance institutions.
'I would like to extend a heartfelt mea culpa to Mr Modi and his associates.' 'I'm sorry for having been so critical -- I didn't know, I didn't know...' says Mitali Saran.
For those who think India's democracy is just fine and there has been no change in the last few years, perhaps it would be instructive to see what has happened on a few issues, observes Aakar Patel.
'After Modi, Yogi is the most popular face of Hindutva, but it's too early to say that he is someone who could succeed Modi.'
The United States would handle the visa application of the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as per the country's immigration laws, a top US diplomat said.
'Anyone can string together a few alliterative words, but are they a substitute for serious thought?' 'And do they make for a strategy or plan for coherent action?' asks T N Ninan.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has justified the Narendra Modi government's move to raise the rail fare by 14.2 per cent, saying it was a result of the policies undertaken by the previous United Progressive Alliance government. In an exclusive interview to CNN IBN, Prasad blamed the UPA II government for leaving Indian Railways in shambles, adding that his government never knew that the railways was bleeding, thanks to the Congress-led regime.
'All statue-building is an exercise in hubris, but Mr Adityanath's enterprise begs a question: Can a state with rampant child malnutrition and 325 children dying in a Gorakhpur hospital afford Rama's benediction?' asks Sunil Sethi.
The International Cricket Council confirmed that it had received a letter from Lalit Modi in 2013 in which the former IPL commissioner alleged that three players were bribed by a business tycoon.
'Mamata will beat the living daylights out of BJP workers with the result that people who are not totally committed, they will promptly leave the party and go back to Trinamool.' 'Or when they find they cannot get what they came to the BJP for they will go back to Trinamool.'
To believe that the key job of his senior ministers is to ensure that his image be kept intact whatever be the outcome of his policies is to expect too much even of someone as ambitious as Narendra Modi, asserts Rashme Sehgal.
'Our government has created 10 million jobs when the Indian unemployment rate is at a 45-year high.'
'If the prime minister wants to be seen as a global statesman, then is it not embarrassing to be so closely associated with a gang of foul-mouthed bullies?' asks Vir Sanghvi.
Many important RSS people believe the 2014 result was the consequence of Hindutva and not just Modi's outstanding oratory, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
The letter, to maintain the current policy of denying Narendra Modi a visa to the United States, was released just as the BJP president arrived in Washington DC for a round of meetings with US lawmakers. Aziz Haniffa reports
The charges against the diamond merchant centre around his firms Diamonds R Us, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds making fraudulent use of a credit facility offered by the Punjab National Bank, known as 'letters of undertaking'.
'Don't forget the BJP in the last election almost doubled its vote.' 'Even if they were not traditional BJP supporters, they were convinced about Mr Modi.' 'If the voter perceives that Mr Modi has performed well and he reinforces it, they will vote for him.' 'Otherwise, they won't.'
'The biggest stumbling block will come from the traditionalists in the Pakistan army who have grown on a diet of anti-Indian propaganda and thinking on which much of their role -- both militarily and politically -- is centered upon.'
Pak claimed that the Indian Prime Minister's 'internal politics' do not permit him to extend an invitation to his Pakistani counterpart.
The US Department of Justice declined to comment on Modi.
'Ever since Mr Modi has come to power NDTV has been facing inquiries from different agencies of the government.' 'Those close to the ruling party have been openly advocating that the government use all powers to ensure that NDTV shuts shop.'
'Some semi-literate lunkhead tweeting at Rs 2 per tweet from a dingy basement in Chennai or San Diego accomplishes nothing, but give hundreds of thousands of them a time, date, and talking points, and they can create a wall of sound -- a nonsensical wall, perhaps, but one that is heard, and that can occasionally prevail just because it's there,' says Mitali Saran.
'The 2019 battle is a battle for the kind of India that we want to live in.' The Congress's long history is pockmarked with sins great and small, but Mr Gandhi has the advantage of representing a new generation with a relatively clean slate, and a chance to redefine contemporary perception,' says Mitali Saran.
Amit Shah now enters an unfamiliar and interesting phase of his political career. His success or failure will henceforth be assessed based on his performance as a key minister, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Modi appeared for his regular 28-day "call-over" appearance from London's Wandsworth prison at Westminster magistrates' court, where judge Gareth Branston reconfirmed that his extradition trial will begin on May 11 next year and will last five days.
'I could have joined the BJP in 2014, the doors were open.' 'I stayed on with the TMC, a party I was involved with since its very inception.' 'But today enough is enough.'
'We will resist it.' 'Farmers will not let that happen.'
This is something that Modi's critics are reluctant to accept: He is the most popular leader that India has seen since Indira Gandhi, says Vir Sanghvi.
Indian Cricket Board chief Shashank Manohar on Tuesday rejected Lalit Modi's latest tirade against the BCCI and ridiculed him by saying that the former IPL Commissioner might fascinate the media but not him.
It is time to reset expectations as government will move with alacrity on social policy, not on economic reforms.
'I don't buy the theory that if the BJP gets less than 220 seats or 200 seats, there will be a change in leadership.'
Wanted diamond merchant Nirav Modi on Thursday lost his fight against being extradited to India as a United Kingdom judge ruled that he can be sent back to face charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated $2 billion Punjab National Bank scam case.
'It will take the Opposition by surprise and catch it in total disarray.' 'By waiting for a year Mr Modi will only give it time to unite,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'Under this government, tax laws have become more draconian, and the government itself is setting stiff, unrealistic targets for tax officials, who have got more powers to harass us,' points out Debashis Basu.
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