He is among the contenders for the top job in the event the BJP gets fewer seats in 2019. That may have something to do with him picking up the cudgels for Sushma Swaraj when many in the party kept mum, says Aditi Phadnis.
The need of the hour is not a divisive, slanging match of accusations and counter-accusations, but a call for sanity,' says Vivek Gumaste.
Maharashtra police on Tuesday raided the homes of prominent Left-wing activists in several states and arrested at least five of them for suspected Maoist links. Near simultaneous searches were carried out at the residences of prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao in Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonzalves and Arun Farreira in Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bhardwaj in Faridabad, and civil liberties activist Gautam Navalakha in New Delhi. Subsequently, Rao, Bhardwaj and Farreira were arrested. Although Navalakha was also arrested, the Delhi high court ordered police not to take him out of the national capital at least until Wednesday. According to unconfirmed reports, others whose residences were raided are Susan Abraham, Kranthi Tekula, Father Stan Swamy in Ranchi and Anand Teltumbde in Goa. The raids were carried out as part of a probe into the violence between Dalits and the upper caste Peshwas at Koregaon-Bhima village near Pune after an event called Elgar Parishad, or conclave, on December 31 last year. Here are their brief profiles:
Chhattisgarh Congress chief Charan Das Mahant has said he will "sweep the party office with a broom" if asked by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, inviting ridicule from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which called him a "sycophant" who considers his post as that of a "fourth grade" employee.
With heavy security deployment in hyper-sensitive areas of Bastar region ahead of polls, Naxalites are apparently trying to change their course of action and mobilising cadres to town areas to attack "soft targets" outside their core hold, intelligence sources said.
'You tell me without support, can the ABVP do these things? They are only doing these things because the central government is supporting them.'
he Maoists released the boy after four hours after making him walk in the jungles.
The AAP leader resurrected his political fortunes by making changes to his approach
Security forces say Naxals have amassed nearly Rs 1,500 crore through extortion, kidnapping, looting and the narcotics trade.
'The judge said that anybody who does not believe in the RSS ideology is not acceptable to you. You have terminated his contract because he thought differently.' 'The Modi government has no accomplishment to show. Therefore, they are using the tool of nationalism to divert the country's attention from very serious things like farmers suicides and the water crisis.' 'You cannot simply dismiss anyone because they are not willing to raise a slogan and not think like you.'
Two weeks after Maoists and police exchanged fire in Wayanad, a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet and two offices of the Forest department were on Monday attacked by suspected Maoists in Palakkad and Wayanad districts.
Kerala Union of Working Journalists decided to boycott the press meets called by the BJP after saffron party workers attacked mediapersons.
He was billed as the next big thing in Dalit politics in Uttar Pradesh and a challenge for the Bahujan Samaj Party but Mayawati's party is least impressed by the exploits of Chandrasekhar Azad 'Ravan' let alone consider him a threat.
Acting Director General of the CRPF, Sudeep Lakhtakia said the ambush has "naturally called for the revision of standard operating procedures" in these areas.
The JNU student leader said, "There is an atmosphere of fear in the country and anybody who speaks against the government is threatened."
'This government has huge respect for the Supreme Court and when there is going to be a hearing on the review petition, it is appropriate to refrain from taking any action till then.'
This after high drama in the House over what opposition charged was "intimidation" by the treasury benches to get the motion for sending the amendment to the RTI Act to the select committee rejected.
'My only interest is that the law is upheld for each and every citizen.' 'Whenever this case is decided, it will be protection for you and every Indian.' 'I just want the rule of law of to be followed.'
People were being honoured without a recommendation, he stressed in his monthly radio programme.
He said the government was committed to protecting their rights. It was committed to working on the path of development and asked them to educate their children.
According to a report by the National Bomb Data Centre, a total of 337 blasts of various kinds were reported last year, an increase from 268 in 2015.
Bihar assembly speaker Uday Narain Choudhary, who is contesting Lok Sabha polls from the Jamui seat, refuted on Friday that he entered into a pact with the Maoists for their support to win the election.
This is one of the biggest casualties suffered by the elite COBRA unit that undertakes special jungle warfare ops.
Issaq is a shoddily written film with a cringeworthy performance from its leading man Prateik Babbar, writes Raja Sen.
"Nobody is talking about the police's role and how the case was investigated well," ex-Delhi police commissioner said.
Aamir Khan was at the centre of a raging debate a day after he expressed "alarm and despondency" over the rise in incidents of intolerance in the last six to eight months.
'He wanted to fire, I held his hand tight so that he would not be able to shoot.'
'The Pollachi case will have a negative impact for the AIADMK alliance.' 'The BJP and AIADMK are in alliance in Tamil Nadu.' 'That may be the reason for the delay in the central government's approval for case transfer to the CBI.'
'This is a political case and police is being used here right from the day one.'
'Maoists are enraged that the media is reporting the truth.' 'They want to physically isolate the media and psychologically isolate the villagers who have found the confidence to speak to the press about the real situation.' 'Like terrorism ended in Punjab, Naxalism will end in Chhattisgarh,' the AIIMS doctor-turned IPS officer and SP of Dantewada tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih.
The Naxalites are reportedly extorting a 'levy' of about Rs 140 crore annually from a variety of sources, Government said on Wednesday.
Former Army Chief Gen VK Singh on Thursday alleged that the arms lobby had become "very powerful" and was now a part of the "system" in the country.
'With the appeal of both the Left and the Congress fading, Banerjee fears the saffron brigade's inroads into her citadel,' says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
'And if you think this is alarmist nonsense, you are helping it happen,' says Mitali Saran.
The government has identified 65 terror groups active in the country, out of which a maximum of 34 are in Manipur, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Among very few woman editors in Kannada journalism, she was a fierce activist, who openly expressed her pro-Naxal and Leftist views.
'She has to get the funds, cut through bureaucratic flab, speed up modernisation, ensure planned acquisitions stick to timelines, make organisational changes and ensure the military is capable of performing the task that it is given,' says Brigadier S K Chatterjee (retd).
As the National Investigation Agency started its probe into the serial blasts in this temple town, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday did not rule out the involvement of three to four persons in the attack.
A CoBRA company has about 100 personnel each.
Sandeep Pandey salutes women who have contributed to social transformation in India after 1980.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances