It would be ludicrous to expect Modi, Erdogan or Biden to pay to keep blue ticks on their respective official accounts. It would be equally ludicrous to expect the Delhi Metro or the Income Tax Department to pay, points out Devangshu Datta.
The Army, the National Disaster Response Force, police and the fire force along with the locals began rescue operations on Sunday morning at Koottickal and Kokkayar panchayats where over a dozen people are listed to be missing due to numerous landslides accompanied by heavy downpour since Saturday.
In 2010, Gujarat government is believed to have allotted 250 acres of land next to Gir Lion Sanctuary to Wildwoods Resorts and Realties Pvt Ltd for setting up a resort which was allotted at a price of Rs 15 per square metre or Rs 60,000 per acre.
Since taking office in 2014, the prime minister has been working tirelessly, a query through RTI reveals.
Former Union minister and controversial Bharatiya Janata Party MP Anantkumar Hegde has once again stoked a row by calling the freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi a "drama". However, this is not the first time a leader from the ruling party has insulted the Father of the Nation. Here are other instances when BJP leaders took a swipe at Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
While accounts/pages linked to the Congress party appeared to be large in number, the following or reach of pro-BJP accounts was several times more.
It is unclear if he would be renamed the finance minister soon after his return.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday criticised the Narendra Modi government over foreign direct investment in defence and railways, claiming a 49 per cent FDI cap in defence "will put a question mark" on the safety and security of the nation.
Former Railway Ministers were not on the same track as incumbent Sadananda Gowda, calling the Rail budget "pro-rich" and a " Modi gadget" which has nothing new to offer.
The prime minister is one of the most-followed world leaders on social media. He has 53.3 million followers on Twitter, 44 million on Facebook and 35.2 million on Instagram.
'Surprised and pained that my name has been dragged into Indian domestic politics,' says Pakistan's former foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri.
What is the lure of a government job? The answer is India's worst kept secret: Job security. And among the many government jobs desperately sought after is in the armed forces. Which is why the riots by aspiring armed forces job seekers against the government's Agnipath scheme should not really be surprising, points out Harishchandra.
Here are the few candidates who are in contention for the readers' choice for Time magazine's 'Person of the Year' in 2016.
As reports of political parties swiftly switching loyalties -- to quench their thirst for power -- swirl over Maharashtra, Rediff.com speaks to different players involved in the game of thrones.
'After the 2002 riots when the media and other political parties started blaming Modiji, thousands of people like us -- now, it must be crores of us -- started becoming staunch supporters of Modiji. The more you blamed him the more of our support he gained.' Pramod Singh of Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh is one of Narendra Modi's biggest fans and a member of Modi's India272 Web initiative, spreading the leader's message on social media and the Internet.
Jaitley said the Congress has given to the people many slogans but very little resources to implement its election promises.
Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar, Sitar maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and music composer AR Rahman also paid tributes to the musician.
From twisting ears to poking into strange claymen from China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proven time and again that he is an awkward-moment magnet. The camera loves him, and he responds in kind, always.
Wordsmiths and artists of different parties are working overtime to deliver punches and counter punches in their bid to reach out to voters through different platforms ranging from Facebook to YouTube.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders condoled the death of Veerendra Kumar.
He said that non-ideological opportunistic coalitions always get trapped within their own contradictions.
Hasty, ill-conceived steps show how isolated Mamata Banerjee had been from the national political trend. A fascinating excerpt from Sugato Hazra's Losing The Plot: Political Isolation Of West Bengal.
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi who has come under attack of the Bharatiya Janata Party over reports of his son getting involved in alleged sexual escapade with a lady policewoman, on Saturday defended his son saying anybody could have a "girl friend".
The Delhi high court has said that Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, Netta D'Souza along with others conspired to 'launch a tirade of false scathing and belligerent personal attacks' on Bharatiya Janata Party leader Smriti Irani and her daughter, who are neither owners of the restaurant in Goa nor have they ever applied for the licence for food and beverages at the eatery, as alleged.
The veteran leader breathed his last at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in Shimla at 3.40 am, senior medical superintendent Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) Dr. Janak Raj said.
Penning a Facebook post on the second anniversary of GST rollout, Jaitley said as many as 20 states are already showing more than a 14 per cent increase in their revenues and do not require the Centre to compensate them for revenue loss arising out of GST implementation.
Questioning whether "New India" can be ever run by this "kleptocrat's club", Jaitley said those who have lent support to the West Bengal dharna are those who are battling serious allegations of economic improprieties
'Modi's decision to hold out an olive branch to Sharif within 48 hours of the 'surgical strikes' has been a timely move as it helps tensions to 'de-escalate',' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Is this protest real or a manufactured one? Is this not a case of ideological intolerance?" the finance minister writes in a Facebook post.
Ahead of the Union Cabinet expansion on Wednesday, several Union Ministers, including Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Education Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar resigned from their posts.
Father Uzhunnalil, 58, who hails from Kerala, was abducted in March last year by the terror group.
'It disappoints and saddens me no end that Mahua has allowed herself to be carried away by the Goebbelsian onslaught mounted on the BJP and Narendra Modi by certain vested interests which find themselves exposed and thrown out of the gravy train,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Estimates suggest Sina Weibo has over 500 million users.
Says govt is creating conditions for greater private investment
Shergill said the primary reason was that "the ideology and the vision of the current decision makers of the Congress is no longer in sync with the aspirations of the youth and modern India".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in New York on Thursday on his second visit to the United States, has a "packed schedule" ahead of him, during which he will address world leaders at a landmark United Nations sustainable development summit and interact with top CEOs and the Indian Diaspora in the Silicon Valley.
Kerala CM Oommen Chandy said the decision to exclude him from the function of unveiling of former CM R Sankar's statue at Kollam by PM Modi was a "painful experience".
Start your digital detox today before irreversible damage to health and mental complications stalk your life, advises Ramesh Menon.
Kejriwal congratulated Modi for the BJP's victory.
The spectacles on the Gandhi bust in Kannur were broken while the Ambedkar bust had red paint splashed across it.
