'The political fallout of the verdict on national politics is pregnant with incredible opportunities.' 'Post-judgment politics can change the ground rules of election campaigning in the coming decades,' says Sheela Bhatt
In a sudden development, S Jaishankar, India's Ambassador to the United States, was on Wednesday night appointed Foreign Secretary, replacing Sujatha Singh whose tenure has been abruptly 'curtailed" by nearly 8 months.
For one, the prime minister's residence will go vegetarian for the first time; Amitabh Bachchan, deservingly, will be conferred the Bharat Ratna; and the people can expect a lot of emotion-loaded communication from the prime minister, feels Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
From Kutch to Itanagar, Kashmir to Kanyakumari, there is only one emotion, it seems. Fear. Of coronavirus.
'It is my job to resolve the issue, and we are looking at all options,' Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid tells Sheela Bhatt.
On Friday, during his interaction with the media, the prime minister is expected to present his aggressive and confident face. Sheela Bhatt reports
On Election 2014: 'So far it looks like a one horse race. The difference between the first and the second challenger is so large that if the first one looks back in the last round, he'll probably not see the second one anywhere.' On the AAP prospects: 'They should be happy if they're able to open their account.' On Rahul Gandhi: 'He has a confused message. His campaign is in the abstract. And his campaign has nothing to offer.' Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley in a free and frank conversation with Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
It's possible that to counter the onslaught of the saffron aggression in the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra, both Congress and NCP will checkmate Narendra Modi by pitting Sharad Pawar as the chief ministerial candidate. However, the Congress wants the NCP to merge first, and only then it will be ready to nominate Pawar. Sheela Bhatt reports.
'The lockdown was for both: To flatten the curve or more correctly, delay the rapid spread of COVID outbreak, and to create healthcare infrastructure.'
I well remember the article you have published because prior to sending it to you, he had shown it to me and I can vouch for its contents in the form in which you have published it. That was why I gave the permission to Rediff.com for publishing it,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished retired IAS officer who himself handled intelligence matters for nine years.
Pakistan made a tactical error in not investing enough in L K Advani, former R&AW chief A S Dulat tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Lalitgate is so much like the Bofors arms scandal that eventually brought down the Rajiv Gandhi government despite his humongous parliamentary majority, Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
'Why has the peace been kept?' 'Basically because there is a balance.' 'Maybe they think that balance has changed.' 'People can make mistakes. People can miscalculate.' 'If that is the cause, then I think what we have done, matching their build-up, etc, it is giving a good account of ourselves in the face-offs.'
Everybody seems to be expressing regret about the smog to everybody else in Beijing, observes Sheela Bhatt
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cleanliness drive should be about Indians keeping themselves and their surroundings clean. It cannot be a day-long or time-bound campaign, Sulabh founder Bindeshwar Pathak tells Upasna Pandey.
Mahesh Rangarajan, director of the historic Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi, tells Sheela Bhatt how the first prime minister will always remain relevant, and the efforts being made to keep his legacy alive.
Narendra Modi will turn 64, playing host to the visiting Chinese leader in Ahmedabad on Wednesday
Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt analyses the three takeaways from Dr Singh's interaction
Remnants of the Khalistan movement in Vancouver may stage a protest against Prime Minister Modi
When Prime Minister Modi travelled to the US last year Home Minister Rajnath Singh was officially put in charge of the government. But the BJP's national executive in Bengaluru made it clear who now matters in the party and in what order. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reports
As Melania Trump arrives in Ahmedabad, Sheela Bhatt offers the First Lady Of The United States a primer on one of India's oldest, and historic, cities.
Dr C P Joshi, the rising star in the Congress party, explains his strategy for the Rajasthan poll.
If Kejriwal wins the Delhi election, then most regional parties will copy Kejriwal's do's and don'ts of jugaad to win an election against the Modi-Shah juggernaut, reports Sheela Bhatt.
'There are reports of political dissent mounting on Xi Jinping's handling of the Wuhan fallout.'
'...Where there is clearly no evidence of community transmission, letting life return to normal in those districts while continuing to rigorously control the spread of the infection.'
In this conversation with Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, former Army Chief V K Singh refutes the allegations made in the Indian Army's Secret Board of Officers Inquiry report, which accuses him of misusing of his position
'This Chinese behaviour we have not seen for a very long time.' 'This sort of build up on the border, this pattern in Chinese behaviour, and especially the aggression and brutality with which our people were attacked on the 15th of June, this is not something we have seen before.'
'Hopefully, people will understand that, beyond medical vaccination plans, in the future we will also need to implement some 'social inoculation' plans.'
''We want to make Vibrant Gujarat the global business hub,' says Gujarat Minister Saurabh Patel.
Last week, the RSS informed the party president Rajnath Singh and other leaders that all leaders above 75 should not be given any "pad" (position), meaning just not Cabinet position but even as chairman of the National Democratic Alliance or as Lok Sabha Speaker. That put to rest claims by old and veteran leaders like L K Advani, M M Joshi, Shanta Kumar and Karia Munda, reports Sheela Bhatt.
The Modi government is learning to deal with the reality that it does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha.
With the lengthy battle over his appointment finally settled by the apex court, the ball is now in Justice Mehta's court. He has been non-committal over his appointment as the state legal ombudsman. All eyes are now on his return from abroad on August 5. Sheela Bhatt reports.
'On January 17, we had our first meeting with the Cabinet secretary.' 'Different secretaries belonging to different departments attended it.' 'It was only two weeks when China had said there is a new disease.' 'So, we gave the quickest response.'
'The fight against COVID-19 is not a hospital fight.' 'It's a community level fight. 'If your community level measures are good, you can decrease the number of people coming to hospitals, or flatten it.'
There is nobody like Jaipal Reddy in Congress party. He is slotted to be the first Congress chief minister of Telangana if and when the Congress gets hold of the reins of power. Ten minutes after the Lok Sabha passed the Bill Reddy spoke exclusively to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt in the corridors of Parliament.
'It is the moment where compassion and empathy must supersede our identity, politics, or our ambitions.'
'The stimulus packages, sector reliefs, loans etc are coming to industry, but state governments have not got any money from GST, no money from excise, no money from any income source.'
Despite the administration's best efforts, all the maladies of small towns can't be wished away overnight, not even for the president of China, reports Sheela Bhatt from Ahmedabad.
He is the architect of the BJP's incredible show in Uttar Pradesh, but on the election results day he was a picture of relaxed confidence, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
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