This election will be remembered for being the first election where the Election Commission failed to take action on gross violations involving the ruling party that repeatedly used religion, communal slurs, lies and undocumented allegations, observes Ramesh Menon.
'Based upon the circumstances, the Board decided with heavy heart that it is not advisable to hold and conduct this year's Shri Amarnathji Yatra and expressed its regret to announce the cancellation of Yatra 2020,' the SASB said in a statement.
The move was "per se illegal for violating the concept of freedom of speech and expression enumerated in Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and the right to freedom of religion guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution", it said.
After Pakistani Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the "blasphemous caricatures" published in French weekly satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, dozens marched against the publication in Lahore.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas was shown black flags by a group of people, who were protesting against his purported remarks on a religious event, while he was heading to address a rally in Amethi, Rahul Gandhi's constituency.
Struggling to gain political traction on issues of corruption, the West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party is shifting its focus to emotive topics such as the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in a bid to achieve its target of securing 35 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats from the state.
Chhattisgarh Police arrested Hindu religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh on Thursday over his alleged derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi, following which a court here sent him to police remand for two days, an official said.
The BJP enters challenging times where it has been given a task to hold onto the values of Ram in running the country as defined by Narendra Modi in Ayodhya, notes Sheela Bhatt.
More Muslim organisations on Wednesday slammed former UP Shia Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi, while his family members appeared to shun him for his PIL in the Supreme Court seeking the removal of some Quranic verses.
Acting on a specific input, the Raipur police apprehended the seer from a rented room near Bageshwar Dham, located around 25 km from Khajuraho town in MP, Raipur Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal said.
The decision to repeal the Act was taken at a late-night cabinet meeting on Friday as it is an obsolete pre-Independence Act of the British for the then province of Assam, the CM said.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana noted that the sole ground on which bail has been granted by the high court is the delay on the part of the appellant/complainant in lodging the FIR, without offering any plausible explanation for the same.
Modi believes that the Congress leadership does not have the political sagacity to undertake a course correction because of its preoccupation about not losing its current gains in the voter base, observes Shekhar Iyer.
BJP sources suggest that the upcoming elections will likely revolve around the renewed enthusiasm for the temple unless another theme with religious and nationalist undertones emerges.
Sources in the AAP claimed that the chief minister was 'extremely displeased' with Gautam.
Ambassador of India to the UAE Pavan Kapoor quoted a tweet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said that COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or borders before striking.
The BJP sees investments, both foreign and domestic, as their pathways to political power and not the construction of the Ram temple or a nationwide ban on beef. It will have no option but to let commerce prevail over religious sentiments, says Amulya Ganguli.
In a major relief for Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed the criminal proceedings against him in his case of allegedly 'denigrating' a Hindu god by posing as Lord Vishnu on the cover page of a magazine. Dhoni has also sought the transfer of the case against him from Anantapur to Bengaluru and the apex court has issued a notice on the same. The interim relief comes after a court in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh had issued a non-bailable warrant against the cricketer. In September last year, the Supreme Court had stayed the criminal proceedings against Dhoni and also issued notice to social activist Jayakumar Hiremath, who had filed the case against the cricketer.
Days after the controversial arrest of comedian Kiku Sharda for imitating Gurmeet Ram Rahim on a television show, the All India Hindu Federation has filed a complaint against the self-proclaimed godman for dressing up as Lord Vishnu in a video.
The Assam assembly on Friday passed a bill to regulate the slaughter, consumption and transportation of cattle, notwithstanding the walkout staged by the opposition parties in protest against the government's refusal to forward the legislation to a select committee.
Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com decodes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech after the Pran Prathistha ceremony at Ram Temple in Ayodha.
Pakistan has temporarily banned two private television channels, including one of the Geo TV network, and imposed a hefty fine of Rs 10 million on them for airing blasphemous content and ridiculing the judiciary.
Awful religious practices need to be abolished. But through social and political reformers, not by courts, argues Shekhar Gupta.
Sawant had failed to appear before the court during the last hearing of the case on March 9.
Authorities asserted that lunch is served to students of any religion 'on demand' during the holy month.
It is early to make out which way the wind is blowing, but there is no denying that challenges for the BJP, far outweigh the advantages in this region, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
In a letter to Murmu, Stalin said that Ravi has violated the oath of office he took under Article 159 of the Constitution, the government said in an official release.
RJD-JD-U leaders believe Dhirendra Krishna Shastri's visit is part of the BJP's 2024 poll strategy.
The 51-year-old televangelist, who is currently abroad, is being probed under terror and money-laundering charges by the NIA.
At least nine separatist organisations supporting terror groups have their bases in Canada and despite multiple deportation requests Ottawa has taken no action against those involved in heinous crimes, including the killing of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, officials in New Delhi said on Tuesday.
Hundreds of Muslim women on Friday protested against the Sena mouthpiece.
While the brand was accused of 'defacing' the Hindu festival of Diwali by naming its festive collection as Jashn-e-Riwaaz (celebration of tradition), the company insisted that it is not a Diwali collection, which will be soon launched under 'Jhilmil si Diwali' promo.
Anger cannot be an end in itself to Rahul Gandhi's politics -- it must instead catalyse a new political strategy, argues Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Assam government released full-page advertisements in newspapers claiming Bhimashankar as one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in the state, Mahesh Pathak, president of All India Tirth Purohit Mahasabha, told reporters in Mathura.
The new sackings and suspensions come days after both the former and current Indian Ambassadors to the UAE cautioned their countrymen about the UAE's strict hate speech laws.
The court of additional sessions judge R M Asodiya reserved its order on Hindustani's bail plea for April 13, additional public prosecutor Moham Gohel said.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas on Monday tendered apology after Janata Dal-United leader Shoaib Iqbal threatened to withdraw support to the AAP in Delhi over the former's remarks on Muharram.
Asserting that hijab is the "identity" of Muslims, senior advocate Dushyant Dave told the Supreme Court on Monday that various acts of omission and commission like Karnataka's headscarf controversy showed a "pattern to marginalise the minority community".
The Art of Living said on Tuesday its faculty members and volunteers in Pakistan have been receiving threat letters and calls from the Taliban for over two months, accusing them of "conspiring against Islam".
