Prime Minister Narendra Modi is accused of making the 2019 general election a presidential race centred on his formidable personality and powerful oratory, thus ensuring the landslide victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (303; NDA 353). However, his principal challenger, Rahul Gandhi, made the contest monarchical with his family-driven rhetoric … Read More
It is unproductive to speculate why, but a vocal section of the Western commentariat is showing an increasing intolerance towards strong and nation-centric leaders in the rest of the world. Three notable examples are Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Narendra Modi. Putin won in May 2018, Xi Jinping can’t be … Read More
In the rough and tumble of the country’s longest election season, politicians often make statements for political mileage. Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s exaggerated claims of benefits accruing to industrialist Anil Ambani from the Rafale deal, his inability to stick to one figure for the corporate loans allegedly written off by … Read More
केंद्रीय मंत्री स्मृति ईरानी ने 2014 में जबसे अमेठी के सांसद राहुल गांधी को कड़ी टक्कर देते हुए उनकी जीत का अंतर घटा दिया तभी से वह कांग्रेसी नेताओं और उनके वफादारों को कांटे की तरह चुभ रही हैं। इस संसदीय क्षेत्र की जरूरतें पूरी करने की दिशा में पिछले … Read More
One of the most remarkable features of this year’s general elections is the failure of the opposition parties to stitch a “grand alliance” to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)–National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Even more inexplicable is the Congress Party’s sudden dysfunction, when it should have been upbeat after staving … Read More
Declining to release Kuldip Nayar’s posthumously published On Leaders and Icons: from Jinnah to Modi, Manmohan Singh informed the veteran journalist’s wife that on perusing the book, “I found a reference on page 172 that during my Prime Ministership, government files will go to Sonia Gandhi’s house. This statement is … Read More
Opposition parties and their choirboys are understandably unenthusiastic about post-Pulwama developments, especially the prompt return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, because a regime that seemed doomed in the forthcoming general elections will now enjoy the incumbent’s advantage. While it would be premature to state that the Bharatiya Janata Party under … Read More
As Government unravels the conspiracy behind the horrendous car bomb attack on February 14, 2019, that has taken the lives of 49 Central Reserve Police Force jawans, it must consider civilian supporters of terrorists, especially stone pelters who hurt the Forces, as accomplices. Pulwama has shaken India’s soul; we can … Read More
Prime Minister Narendra Modi largely stuck to his developmental agenda on his visit to Jammu, Srinagar and Leh on February 3, 2019, inaugurating projects worth Rs 44,000 crore, but disappointing the faithful in Ladakh and Jammu by failing to address their core anxieties. Ladakh was expecting grant of Divisional status … Read More
The anger in Assam and northeastern States over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 is understandable, but not justified. All these States must appreciate that Indian citizenship is a continuum of their civilisational heritage within the Indian Republic. Their leaders and intellectuals must rise above partisan considerations and accept that Hindus, … Read More
