Muzzling NGOs is unbecoming of a democracy. Self-confident democracies encourage, indeed applaud, the involvement of citizens' associations, including NGOs, in social and political decision-making and development planning. Instead, our paranoid government bullies and terrorises them, says Praful Bidwai.
'A fierce crusader against communalism, George joined hands with majoritarian forces, never to revisit or re-assess his saffron association.' 'He was a Union minister in 1998-2004, a time when people like Graham Staines were lynched in Orissa.' 'On the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, George went on to kind of justify the slashing of pregnant women, by saying in the Lok Sabha that this was nothing new for India.' 'Thus, he was in sharp contrast to what he had himself stood for in the heyday of his political career in the 1970s and 1980s, says Mohammad Sajjad.
Performance counts more than populist slogans when you are in power, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
A combative Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday mounted a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of running a government "of some people, by one person for a select few" and said he has not much to showcase even as the government completes one year.
Today, with the 'Cauvery row' in full flow, the DMK has managed to wrest the 'pan-Tamil initiative' for the Dravidian polity as a whole. What more, the DMK has also stolen much of the 'Tamil thunder' that had belonged to peripheral pan-Tamil groups over the Jallikattu protests in January 2017, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Once again an Indian prime minister has realised that with Pakistan and China, things will not move as he wishes.
'...because we are truer to the spirit of the Hindu faith.' 'There is absolutely no question that the Hinduism of the mob lynchers, the people who have killed others because of what they are eating or how they are worshipping or the faith they belong to or what they're doing professionally, those are, to my mind, not Hindus at all.'
"Only the Congress and the JD-S are celebrating, people of Karnataka are not," he told reporters.
'We need to put aside our anxieties about the Budget for now and possibly for long, and carry on as best as we can,' advises Shreekant Sambrani.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday launched a scathing attack on Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar, accusing him of breaking ties with it to pursue his 'personal ambition' of becoming prime minister even as it asserted that its 'Vijay Rath' would roll in Bihar when Assembly polls are held there later this year.
Contentious issues such as the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, abrogation of Art 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir and enactment of Uniform Civil Code have been included in the Bharatiya Janata Party's election manifesto with the party making promises on them.
By removing Avinash Chander last week, the government has chosen to sacrifice the organisation's most potent symbol of success
Do Modi's foreign visits actually serve India or they nothing more than expensive tools for domestic positioning and image-building, asks Shehzad Poonawalla.
'Nobody is killing you in Kerala because you are Hindu unlike in North India where Muslims have been killed only because they are Muslims and were carrying some meat.'
Nitish Kumar's unanimous election to the top post at the party's National Executive meeting brought an end to the decade-old tenure of Sharad Yadav, who had ruled himself out for a fourth term.
Narendra Modi has a once in a lifetime chance to change and take the RSS-BJP-VHP to a new level. Varanasi is the right place to turn the page on saffron history. By surrendering to the spirit of mystical Varanasi, Modi and his party can change the trajectory of their political journey.
In conversation with Karan Thapar, former Vice President Hamid Ansari takes on one of the most sensitive issues of our times.
'There is a communication gap between the Modi government and the allies. During the last one year, the NDA has met only once and that was two hours before the land bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha.' 'When Vajpayee was prime minister if any NDA chief minister asked for time , he was given it the next day. Modi is not doing it.' 'If there is tension on the streets, if there is insecurity amongst the minorities, then Make in India will remain a pipe dream.'
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said measures should be taken to strengthen the Constitution and ensure that democracy is not subverted again.
'We had never imagined that the prime minister could use such language to win votes.' 'I was under the impression that the prime minister is a very knowledgeable man, but I was amazed to find that he doesn't know that India's Constitution.'
'Muslims are depressed and disillusioned.' 'The safety valve is that we still have a multicultural mosaic in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.'
The full transcript of the exclusive interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
What is the road ahead for Rahul Gandhi? Shehzad Poonawalla offers a blueprint.
'The partnership of Amit Shah and Narendra Modi has made their biggest mistake. They have been very successful for their party in the last two years, but this batting pair has made the biggest political mistake of their life so far, which is calling Kejriwal a chor. It will backfire on them.'
