Politics

'Flawed and predetermined': Congress objects NHRC chairperson appointment

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the appointment process for the chairperson and members of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is 'flawed'

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's call for unity: A shift in Hindutva discourse?

The calling for halt to rash of 'masjids built over mandirs' claims could stem from realisation that it will be impossible for BJP government to maintain order if the issue spirals out of control

Rise in districts: Is political demand overshadowing administrative need?

New districts are being announced more because of demands by influential groups than empirical studies, usually in the buildup to elections

Pranab Mukherjee should have been made PM in 2012: Mani Shankar Aiyar

'By doing this, the Congress would have still lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, but not sunk to 44 seats, and could have won 140 seats'

Canada PM Trudeau reflecting on criticism amid leadership crisis, says ally

Freeland resigned on Monday amid a policy clash and released a letter savaging Trudeau's leadership, prompting one of the worst crises since he took office in 2015

The year we reflected on institutions and their role in political economy

If there is a lesson to takeaway from the institutional turn in political economy, combined with the political currents of populism, it is this: Institutional strength is both vital and fragile

Former Puducherry CM Ramachandran dies at 90 due to age-related ailments

Senior politician and former Chief Minister of Puducherry M D R Ramachandran died on Sunday evening at his residence here due to age-related ailments, Congress party sources said. He was 90. Ramachandran was a two-time chief minister of the union territory when he was with DMK. He first served as chief minister in 1980 and headed the then DMK-Congress coalition ministry which lasted in office for three years. He again became chief minister in 1990 and headed a short-lived DMK-Janata Dal coalition ministry for a year. Ramachandran quit the DMK and joined the Congress in 2000 and became the Speaker of the territorial Assembly in 2001 when the Congress formed the ministry under the leadership of N Rangasamy. He then became the vice-president of the Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee. He promoted the cooperative movement in the union territory. Puducherry PCC president and Lok Sabha member V Vaithilingam expressed deep sorrow and grief over the demise of Ramachandran. Vaithilinga

Educated youth must engage in politics to drive change: Delhi CM Atishi

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Saturday urged students to actively participate in politics, cautioning against leaving critical decisions to the "worst kind of people". Speaking at the Founder's Day celebration of St. Stephen's College here, Atishi recounted her time as a student there and how politics was once dismissed as a "dirty business" and an unlikely career choice. "It was more than two decades ago that I was a student here, at that time, the idea of effecting change was limited to charity work or social causes. Politics seemed inaccessible," she said, according to a statement. She explained that disengaging in politics leaves crucial decisions about education, healthcare, and safety in the hands of others, the statement said. "When educated, well-meaning young people stay away from politics, we allow the most important decisions of our lives to be made by the wrong people," she asserted. The chief minister highlighted the transformative work of the AAP government giving .

CM Soren distributes portfolios to ministers, keeps Home to himself

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday distributed portfolios among the new ministers, keeping Home (including prison), Cabinet Secretariat and several other departments to himself, according to a government notification. Radhakrishna Kishore, a Congress MLA, got finance while JMM's Chamra Linda was allotted the department of Schedule Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and Minorities. RJD's Sanjay Prasad Yadav was given the Department of Labour, Employment and Training, while Irfan Ansari of the Congress got Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare Department. The chief minister also kept to himself the departments of Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Official Language, Road Construction, Building Construction, and those yet to be distributed to anyone. A total of 11 MLAs took oath as ministers in the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand on Thursday. Soren himself was sworn in as the CM on November 28.

Sonia kept me waiting for an hour when I called from Berlin, writes Najma

After being elected president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in 1999, Najma Heptulla rang up the then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi from Berlin to convey the news but had to hold the phone line for an hour as a staff told her that "Madam is busy". The former deputy chairperson of Rajya Sabha, who had left the Congress after reported differences with Gandhi and joined the BJP in 2004, mentions this incident in her just-released autobiography "In Pursuit of Democracy: Beyond Party Lines". Heptulla says the IPU presidency was a "historic first and a great honour, marking the pinnacle of my journey from the Indian parliament to the world parliamentary stage". First, she telephoned Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from Berlin and he received her call instantly. "When he heard the news, he was delighted, first because the honour had come to India, and second, it had come to an Indian Muslim woman. He said, 'You come back and we will celebrate.' I could also connect to the ...

Post-independence narratives manipulated to credit select people: Dhankhar

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday lamented that India's history books have done injustice to some heroes of the freedom struggle as post-independence narratives were "manipulated" to credit only select individuals. He said that it was imperative to present "unvarnished" historical accounts to ignite patriotic fervour in future generations. The Vice President also called on farmers to work for the resolution of problems through dialogue and understanding. Addressing an event here to mark the 138th birth anniversary celebration of Raja Mahendra Pratap, he said the country cannot nurture its history by bestowing "indulgent, sycophant, credit rating to those who played a role, of course, but not the role which others played. We cannot allow our heroes to be downsized." Referring to farmers, Vice President Dhankhar said, "We have to remember that we don't fight with our own people". "How can one sleep when the problems of farmers are not being resolved promptly?" he said. He .

Ladli Bahan scheme not aimed at getting votes, says Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said the "Ladli Bahan' scheme launched during his tenure as the Madhya Pradesh chief minister is aimed at empowering women and not at getting votes, as he launched the third edition of a national campaign against gender-based violence. Speaking at an event here to launch the third edition of "Nayi Chetna -- Pahal Badlaav Ki", a national campaign against gender-based violence, Chouhan talked about the women-centric schemes launched during his tenure as the Madhya Pradesh chief minister, including the direct-benefit-transfer scheme "Ladli Bahan", which was a game-changer that helped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win another term in power in the state. Similar schemes launched in Maharashtra and Jharkhand recently were also a major factor behind the incumbent regimes retaining power in those states. Chouhan, however, said the scheme is not intended at getting votes. "The Ladli Bahan yojana was not brought to get votes. I ..

Jairam Mahato's JKLM shakes up Jharkhand elections with Dumri victory

Jharkhand Assembly elections: 30-year-old 'Tiger' Jairam Mahato registered his party Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JKLM) just three months ago

Maharashtra poll results: Tracing five years of political twists and turns

Maharashtra elections results 2024: With the past five years witnessing two alliances and a split, Maharashtra's political landscape has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride

Maharashtra, Jharkhand results to set tone for Parliament's winter session

Counting of votes is set to take place on Saturday and this could set the tone for Parliament's winter session, which begins on Monday and is scheduled to end on December 20

No place for violence in democracy: Kejriwal reacts to Deshmukh's attack

The Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) leader and former Maharashtra minister was reportedly injured when his car was attacked with stones on the Katol-Jalalkheda Road in the Katol Assembly constituency

'Super year for elections' turns tumultuous for those currently in power

2024 saw a string of elections globally, with incumbents struggling, historic shifts in Africa and Europe, and firsts for women in leadership, writes Archis Mohan

The truth behind the rhetoric: India still holds influence, allies nearby

Of course, the elephant in the South Asia room continues to be China. But a strategy of containment that goes beyond banning apps is in place in the neighbourhood

Lower import tariffs to diversify IT exports: 6 steps to navigate Trump 2.0

India must avoid being caught off guard on trade, tariffs, outsourcing, and data policies, and engage with the US as an equal partner

South Korea's president Yoon Suk Yeol denies wrongdoing in growing scandal

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol denied wrongdoing Thursday in a burgeoning influence-peddling scandal involving him and his wife that's severely hurting his approval ratings and providing political munition to his rivals. The political firestorm coincides with South Korea facing a slew of critical foreign policy issues, such as Donald Trump's election win to become the next president of the United States and North Korea's reported entry into the Russia-Ukraine war. The scandal centers around allegations that Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee exerted inappropriate influence on the ruling People Power Party to pick a certain candidate to run for a parliamentary by-election in 2022 at the request of Myung Tae-kyun, an election broker and founder of a polling agency who conducted free opinion surveys for Yoon before he became president. For weeks, the scandal has been making headlines in South Korea as Myung's leaked phone conversations show he boasted of his influence over the ...