Page 8 - National Politics

Katchatheevu conundrum: Can disputed island set tone for campaigning in TN?

Katchatheevu, located northeast of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and southwest of Sri Lanka's Delft island, has been a subject of dispute between the two countries since 1921

Politics for nuclear winter

Opposition parties know better than most what they are up against. Much of the talk among them is more about where they could limit Modi, rather than having him voted out of power

BJP has an ambitious target

To go to 370, it would have to cross 45 per cent of the vote share. The aggregated National Democratic Alliance won 45 per cent of the vote in 2019, and 353 seats

The passing of the technocrat age

The 1990s and 2000s were a golden age for technocrats globally. Government - and not just in India - was, depending upon your point of view, either depoliticised or too highly politicised

People fed up with graft, inflation; want change in regime: Supriya Sule

People want a change in the country as they are fed up with corruption, unemployment and inflation, claimed NCP (SP) leader and MP Supriya Sule on Thursday. Sule, who has been fielded by her party from Baramati Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra's Pune district, accused the present government of being against women and farmers. The three-term parliamentarian and daughter of NCP founder Sharad Pawar is pitted against her sister-in-law and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar. Baramati will go to polls in the third phase on May 7 and votes will be counted on June 4. People want a change in the country as they are fed up with corruption, unemployment and inflation. As this government is against women and farmers, they want a change in the regime, Sule said on the sidelines of a protest organised by her party's city unit against the hike in power rates. Asked about speculations that NCP leader Eknath Khadse might join the BJP, Sule said she could not sa

Election Commission asks Centre to stop Viksit Bharat WhatsApp campaign

After receiving several complaints from citizens and Opposition parties, the ECI directed MeitY to stop the delivery of 'Viksit Bharat' WhatsApp messages since the Model Code of Conduct is in force

Katchatheevu row: Island history, controversy and handover to Sri Lanka

The decades-long Katchatheevu island controversy has erupted again with PM Modi calling the move to cede the island to Sri Lanka by the Congress in 1974, 'callous'

Seems country being run not by govt but criminal gang: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "strangling" democracy and said it seems the country is being run not by a government but by a "criminal gang". Gandhi's attack on the government came a day before the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance's (INDIA) public meeting at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan which the Congress has termed 'Loktantra Bachao Rally'. In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "Narendra Modi wants to strangle democracy and take away the option from the people to choose a government of their choice." "On one hand, the BJP, which is doing 'chande ka dhanda', is running an 'extortion government' in the country, while on the other hand, by freezing the accounts of the main opposition party, putting chief ministers in jail and suppressing every independent voice, it is not allowing opposition to contest the polls in a fair manner," Gandhi said. "Whoever is not with BJP - jail him. Whoever donates to BJP - bail him out. With th

Pawar vs Pawar: NCP fields Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra against Supriya Sule

The Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday declared the candidature of Sunetra Pawar, wife of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, from Baramati Lok Sabha seat, pitting her against sister-in-law and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule from the home turf of Pawars. In her first reaction, Sunetra Pawar said this was a lucky day for her. The announcement of her candidature was made by Maharashtra NCP unit president Sunil Tatkare, hours after the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) declared its first list of five candidates for Lok Sabha elections from Maharashtra. The NCP(SP) retained Supriya Sule from Baramati and fielded Nilesh Lanke, who switched sides from the Ajit Pawar camp, from the Ahmednagar constituency. Tatkare said the battle in Baramati is of ideology and principles, and not a family one. "This is a lucky day for me. I thank Narendra Modiji, Amit Shah, and all leaders of Mahayuti (Shiv Sena, BJP, and NCP) for considering me capable of fighting the election," Sunetra Pawa

Hyderabad Mayor Vijaya Laxmi joins Congress to help party in LS polls

In a shot in the arm for the Congress in Telangana, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Mayor Vijaya Laxmi R Gadwal joined the party here on Saturday. Vijaya Laxmi joined Congress in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, AICC incharge of party affairs in Telangana Deepa Dasmunsi and other leaders. Vijaya Laxmi joining Congress is expected to help the party in the GHMC limits in the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress did not win any of the 24 seats that fall under the limits of GHMC in the recent Assembly polls, though it won a majority. Vijaya Laxmi's father and BRS Rajya Sabha member K Keshav Rao, who had served as PCC president earlier, said on Friday that he would return to the Congress fold. Keshav Rao met the CM and state Congress chief Revanth Reddy on Friday. Noting that he worked in the grand old party for 55 years, the 85-year-old leader said he would do 'ghar vapsi' (returning to home). Asked if he is quitting BRS due to any differences with the region

Best of BS Opinion: May 25: Before and after, The lunar challenges & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

May 25: Before and after

For someone who is such an indefatigable litigant, what is stopping Mr Saxena from using the law to depose Mr Kejriwal?

Congress gets fresh Income-Tax notice, complains of 'tax terrorism'

Party asked to pay Rs 1,823 cr; CPI claims to have received notice; BJP asks Cong to follow rules

Rahul, Kharge, Pawar, Akhilesh among INDIA bloc leaders to join AAP rally

Top INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav among others will attend a 'maharally' to be held by the AAP at the Ramlila Maidan on March 31, senior party leader Gopal Rai said on Friday. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has received the permission of the authorities concerned to hold the rally for an attendance of more than 20,000 people. It is being held in the backdrop of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, he said. The call on whether Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal will address the 'Maharally' will be taken later, Rai said. Other prominent political leaders and members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) like TMC's Derek O'Brien, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, NC's Farooq Abdullah and Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren of JMM will also attend the rally, he said. Kalpana Soren, the wife of former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, who is currently in jail,

LS elections: Congress invites Varun Gandhi to join the party post-BJP snub

In its fifth list of candidates released on Monday, the BJP replaced the sitting Pilibhit MP with ex-Congress MP Jitin Prasad for the upcoming elections

Lok Sabha polls 2024: ECI issues advisory for voter safety against heatwave

Following the heatwave alert issued by the IMD, the Election Commission has asked officials to take precautionary measures to tackle the heat wave impact during polls

LS elections: Kangana to Varun Gandhi, key highlights of BJP's 5th list

Popular Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut and famous TV personality Arun Govil were the surprise names among the nominations, while the BJP did not give Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi the ticket

Delhi excise policy case: Court extends K Kavitha's custody by three days

The Enforcement Directorate informed the court that it was conducting raids at the residence of the BRS leader's nephew in Hyderabad on Saturday

Delhi excise policy case: AAP demands clarity on money trail from ED

AAP leaders have also raised questions about the links between the approver Sarath Chandra Reddy and the BJP, highlighting large donations made by the head of Aurobindo Pharma via electoral bonds

The idea of Kejriwal

The 'idea' Kejriwal's politics grew around was a no-holds-barred fight against corruption. That is the reason the Modi govt has now tarred him and his entire party with the same paint