Muhammad Yunus proved that he was neither an armchair economist nor a slogan mongering political activist, but a doer destined to do what Mahatma Gandhi said -- to remove every tear from every eye, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
Manmohan Singh came to vote in the Rajya Sabha on a wheelchair to help strengthen democracy, Modi said.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away at the age of 92 on Thursday. He will be given a state funeral with full state honors at Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday. Singh served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014 and was known for his role in India's economic reforms. Leaders from across the political spectrum paid their respects to the departed leader, highlighting his contributions to the nation.
'The demise of #ManmohanSingh ji who (looking back) presided over India's actual 'Acchey Din' feels like the end of an era when India was actually (more) democratic, when Indians were free(er) of fear & intolerance and when Indian public discourse had more decency.'
Many were hoping that with Vajpayee's NDA gone, there would be a return to the Congress normal. Nobody was prepared for the opposite. Sonia Gandhi was sceptical. This became the only issue over which Manmohan Singh took on his party bosses and risked his government. Politically, it was riskier than the 1991 reform, recalls Shekhar Gupta.
The Congress on Saturday accused the Centre of insulting Dr Manmohan Singh, the country's first Sikh prime minister, by carrying out his last rites at the Nigambodh Ghat instead of a designated spot that could later become his memorial.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday made serious allegations against the Congress and said the grand old party has in its election manifesto expressed its intention to implement the 'Sharia law' in the country and redistribute people's property.
Then prime minister Manmohan Singh's brief to his new information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari on what should be the government's approach to the media was simple -- it should be an essay in persuasion, not coercion.
'The sense of Constitutional propriety and political morality seems to be vanishing fast.' 'There are many things in today's politics of governance which Manmohan Singh would have never dreamt of saying or doing.'
Join India in wishing Dr Singh a quick recovery.
The nomination is an indication that the veteran Congress leader is not sure of victory from Raebareli, the Lok Sabha constituency she has represented for five terms.
'Never, not even once, has Kamala Harris said that she is Indian American. I know why.' 'From the Indian American community she can get maybe 1% percent votes. But if she says she's African American she gains about 20% votes.'
24 hours before campaigning ends in Thiruvanathapuram, Archana Masih/Rediff.com discovers Shashi Tharoor and his BJP rival Rajeev Chandrasekhar are busy getting their message across to voters.
'We were not protesting for a wage hike or provident fund. We were protesting for the safety of the larger population. There is no personal gain.'
Although the credit for acquiring the technological skill must be given to India's outstanding nuclear scientists, the decision to go nuclear was a political one that entailed clarity of vision, courage and resolve, points out Rup Narayan Das.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to Congress stalwart and former prime minister Manmohan Singh thanking him for his 'sheer presence' in Rajya Sabha despite his poor health to vote against the Delhi services bill.
The BJP holds 28 of the 59 Rajya Sabha seats that will soon face election.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi can get reprieve from being disqualified as a member of Parliament under The Representation of People's Act until his appeal comes to a higher court in Gujarat.
In 2017, a retired R&AW officer conveyed that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was keen to get monarchy restored in Nepal and suggested that I support these efforts.
A non-Gandhi is set to become the Congress president after 24 years.
'One is happy. The moment one starts criticising the BJP, ED, IT and CBI comes to one's house.'
While Narendra Modi spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor -- 275 days versus Dr Singh's 306 - he has travelled more widely than any other Indian PM.
Deepa Gahlot lists Hindi biopics about Indian political leaders: Some worked, some did not, but they managed to avoid controversy.
False and acrimonious debates such as Modi versus Manmohan might allow for victories that are political and partisan. But the real loser is the nation, India and Bharat, notes Arvind Subramanian, former chief economic advisor to the Modi government in its first term.
'What should surprise BJP supporters is Modi's call for 'stability' at the manifesto launch, a theme that he and his team members had not touched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.' 'The last time the party called for 'stability at the Centre' was in 1998 and 1999,' recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
Kishida Fumio, who served as Japan's foreign minister from 2012 to 2017, visited India multiple times in that role and interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi both in New Delhi and in Tokyo, and with Dr Manmohan Singh, when the then prime minister, visited Japan in 2013.
How would P V Narasimha Rao, who brought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to politics, have dealt with the crises confronting the UPA government? Veteran political commentator Kalyani Shankar assesses Narasimha Rao's likely responses.
Taking a serious note of the threat posed by the anti-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam to disrupt the visit of the Prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Guwahati on April 20, the Northeast Frontier Railway has cancelled eleven local trains and rescheduled four others till April 20.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had promised an expansive ministerial reshuffle, but Tuesday's exercise gave an impression that either the United Progressive Alliance is paralysed or unwilling to go for a fundamental reform.
With the Central Bureau of Investigation seeking revocation of his close aide Balkrishna's passport, yoga guru Ramdev on Monday targeted Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram demanding action against them following former telecom minister A Raja's statement in court that 2G allocation was done with their consent.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's low-key visit to Kabul on Thursday is a visit for "reassurance", said a diplomat who is one of the most well informed officials on Afghanistan in New Delhi. "When PM Singh will meet Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai he is likely to say that India is a friend of Afghanistan and Indians are standing shoulder-to-shoulder in Afghan's endeavour for peace and development."
Prasanna D Zore and Uttam Ghosh travel to Tembhali village, in Maharashtra's Nandurbar district, where Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi initiated the process of distributing the much talked about Unique Identification Number to villagers.
Under criticism for being mum on a number of issues plaguing the nation, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is setting in motion regular interactions with senior journalists, beginning on Wednesday. But senior analysts B Raman feels the PM needs to relook at his media strategy and set up a body of mediapersons on the lines of the White House Press Corps.
'However, to establish a quid pro quo, one can potentially see several things, like whether they got any benefits from the party that they gave money to. That is something that people (of India) will gauge. But to finally establish that there was money paid as consideration, it would require an investigation, a proper investigation, to be able to come up with such conclusions.'
The Chinese inference is that if the Chinese visa is embossed on an Indian passport, held by Indian citizens from Arunachal Pradesh, it may be tantamount to recognising Indian sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh, states Rup Narayan Das.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is heading for the most crucial time of his political career. On Tuesday, no less than the Supreme Court dragged Prime Minister's Office in the massive telecom scam and that gives the hint of forming of the political storm which has the potential to damage PM Dr Singh.
Pranab's earlier fear of Sonia relying too heavily on a coterie due to her lack of experience turned out to be unfounded. As per Pranab, Sonia had her close advisers but she did not follow anyone's advice blindly. A fascinating excerpt from Sharmistha Mukherjee's Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers.
'The group commands 85 per cent of the global GDP, and if you are able to convey your point of view effectively to this group then you have reached more or less all the important players that matter.'
Manmohan Singh and Musharraf felt that what they were embarking upon, if successful, could lead to a future of boundless potential for the two countries and for the relationship that was hard to foresee from the prism of the existing situation and the historical position and orthodox ideas on both sides.
'They are fighting it out, but they have deeply traumatised; they are alive and they are carrying on in life.'
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