<p>The chief minister of India&#39;s northern state Haryana, Manohalal Khattar, today ruled out&nbsp;his resignation saying he was satisfied with his government&#39;s handling of the Dera Sacha Sauda violence.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Khattar&#39;s statement comes after he met BJP chief Amit Shah today when he submitted a report on the violence that erupted&nbsp;after the conviction of Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.</p>

<p>He said that his government had acted with &quot;restraint&quot; adding that their first priority was to get the Dera chief to appear before the court in Panchkula, Haryana.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;We acted with restraint. We achieved our aim,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>Khattar also said that there will not be any change in the party leadership.</p>

<p>&quot;Anybody can say anything... We are satisfied with our work. Whatever we did was right. There will be no change.&quot;</p>

<p>Khattar had been accused by the opposition of mishandling the Dera protest which claimed at least <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/special-cbi-court-convicts-gurmeet-ram-rahim-singh-in-rape-case-19498">38 lives in the violence that broke out after the Special CBI Court pronounced him guilty for the rapes of two </a><em><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/special-cbi-court-convicts-gurmeet-ram-rahim-singh-in-rape-case-19498">sadhvis</a></em><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/special-cbi-court-convicts-gurmeet-ram-rahim-singh-in-rape-case-19498"><em>&nbsp;</em>(spiritual practitioners)</a> from his Dera.</p>

<p>After the violence, it was speculated that Khattar might be replaced.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Khattar justified the government&#39;s actions by saying that if something had happened before August 25 when Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh appeared before the Special CBI Court, he would have used it as an &quot;excuse&quot; for not turning up in court.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The chief minister also rejected claims of providing exceptional treatment to the Dera head saying that he was <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/post-conviction-ram-rahim-was-kept-at-this-lavish-so-called-jail-19679">temporarily put up&nbsp;in a guest house</a> till arrangements were being made in the jail</p>

<p>Ram Rahim Singh has been sentenced to <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/dera-sacha-sauda-chief-sentenced-to-20-years-in-jail-for-rape-19583">20 years in jail in the two rape cases</a>. A case of murder is also pending against him in the same court for allegedly ordering the killing of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chandra Chhatrapati in 2002 after his <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/he-exposed-dera-sacha-saudas-truth-in-2002-was-shot-down-anshul-slain-journalists-son-19602">newspaper &#39;Poora Sach&#39;</a> published an anonymous letter detailing the nefarious activities going on inside the Dera including the sexual abuse of female followers.&nbsp;</p>


Khattar's statement comes after he met BJP chief Amit Shah today. He submitted a report on the violence that erupted?after the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief

The chief minister of India's northern state Haryana, Manohalal Khattar, today ruled out his resignation saying he was satisfied with his government's handling of the Dera Sacha Sauda violence. Khattar's statement comes after he met BJP chief Amit Shah today when he submitted a report on the violence that erupted after the conviction of Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. He said that his government had acted with "restraint" adding that their first priority was to get the Dera chief to appear before the court in Panchkula, Haryana. "We acted with restraint. We achieved our aim," he said. Khattar also said that there will not be any change in the party leadership. "Anybody can say anything... We are satisfied with our work. Whatever we did was right. There will be no change." Khattar had been accused by the opposition of mishandling the Dera protest which claimed at least 38 lives in the violence that broke out after the Special CBI Court pronounced him guilty for the rapes of two sadhvis (spiritual practitioners) from his Dera. After the violence, it was speculated that Khattar might be replaced. Khattar justified the government's actions by saying that if something had happened before August 25 when Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh appeared before the Special CBI Court, he would have used it as an "excuse" for not turning up in court. The chief minister also rejected claims of providing exceptional treatment to the Dera head saying that he was temporarily put up in a guest house till arrangements were being made in the jail Ram Rahim Singh has been sentenced to 20 years in jail in the two rape cases. A case of murder is also pending against him in the same court for allegedly ordering the killing of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chandra Chhatrapati in 2002 after his newspaper 'Poora Sach' published an anonymous letter detailing the nefarious activities going on inside the Dera including the sexual abuse of female followers.

Haryana chief minister Khattar satisfied with handling of Dera Sacha Sauda protest, will not resign

<p>After organising the &quot;save composite culture&quot; meet on August 17 at a national level, Rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav is all set to hold a similar meet in Indore.</p>

<p>The &quot;save composite culture&quot; meeting that is scheduled for tomorrow will campaign against the ruling BJP government in the state.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Opposition leaders from different parties including Digvijay Singh, Anand Sharma of the Congress, Sitaram Yechury of the CPI-M and Tariq Anwar of the NCP are expected to join Yadav in the meeting.&nbsp;</p>

<p>BJP has been ruling Madhya Pradesh for the past 14 years. The state will hold assembly elections at the end of 2018.</p>

<p>The meeting that aims to campaign against the ruling&nbsp;BJP government will&nbsp;track the party&#39;s handling of the&nbsp;recent&nbsp;farmer&#39;s protest that happened&nbsp;in&nbsp;Madhya&nbsp;Pradesh.</p>

<p>Sharad Yadav also added that he will take up similar campaign against BJP in two other states, Gujarat and Rajasthan.</p>

<p>Rajasthan,&nbsp;Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are ready to face assembly elections by the end of next year.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The "save composite culture" meeting that is scheduled for tomorrow will campaign against the ruling BJP government in the state

After organising the "save composite culture" meet on August 17 at a national level, Rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav is all set to hold a similar meet in Indore. The "save composite culture" meeting that is scheduled for tomorrow will campaign against the ruling BJP government in the state. Opposition leaders from different parties including Digvijay Singh, Anand Sharma of the Congress, Sitaram Yechury of the CPI-M and Tariq Anwar of the NCP are expected to join Yadav in the meeting. BJP has been ruling Madhya Pradesh for the past 14 years. The state will hold assembly elections at the end of 2018. The meeting that aims to campaign against the ruling BJP government will track the party's handling of the recent farmer's protest that happened in Madhya Pradesh. Sharad Yadav also added that he will take up similar campaign against BJP in two other states, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are ready to face assembly elections by the end of next year.

Sharad Yadav to hold  'save composite culture' meeting in Indore

<p>BJP president Amit Shah today took oath as the member of the Rajya Sabha, making his debut in Parliament.<br />
His party colleague, Union minister Smriti Iran, also took oath as the member of the Upper House.<br />
While Shah took his pledge in Hindi, Irani took hers in Sanskrit.<br />
Both the leaders, accompanied by their spouses, were administered the oath in Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu&#39;s chamber.<br />
The two leaders, who were elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat earlier this month, were accompanied by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad among others.<br />
Shah sat for a few minutes with his party colleagues in the BJP office in Parliament.<br />
After the oath, he and his wife called on BJP veteran leader L K Advani at his residence to seek his blessings, party leaders said.</p>


Both the leaders, accompanied by their spouses, were administered the oath in Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu's chamber

BJP president Amit Shah today took oath as the member of the Rajya Sabha, making his debut in Parliament. His party colleague, Union minister Smriti Iran, also took oath as the member of the Upper House. While Shah took his pledge in Hindi, Irani took hers in Sanskrit. Both the leaders, accompanied by their spouses, were administered the oath in Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu's chamber. The two leaders, who were elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat earlier this month, were accompanied by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad among others. Shah sat for a few minutes with his party colleagues in the BJP office in Parliament. After the oath, he and his wife called on BJP veteran leader L K Advani at his residence to seek his blessings, party leaders said.

Amit Shah and Smriti Irani took oath as the member of Rajya Sabha

<p>The Trinamool Congress swept today the municipal polls in West Bengal capturing all the seven civic bodies while the BJP finished second in most places relegating the Left to the third position.<br />
<br />
The BJP won six seats in three municipalities which included four in Dhupguri in north Bengal and one each in Buniyadpur (north Bengal) and Panskura in south Bengal, according to the results of the August 13 civic elections.<br />
<br />
The TMC bagged also seats in Panskura and Haldia in East Midnapore district, Nalhati in Birbhum, Buniyadpur in South Dinajpur and Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri districts.<br />
<br />
The party also registered a massive victory in Durgapur Municipal Corporation in Burdwan West district capturing all the 43 wards, besides Cooper&#39;s Camp where it won all the 12 seats.<br />
<br />
In Haldia municipality also, the TMC got elected in all the 29 seats, according to the results declared today.<br />
<br />
The election results were indicative of a paradigm shift in the state politics with the BJP emerging as the main challenger to the TMC, according to poll watchers.<br />
<br />
The Left put up a poor show with the Forward Bloc, a front partner, winning a seat in Nalhati municipality.<br />
<br />
The Congress failed to win even a single seat in the polls.<br />
<br />
In Haldia municipality, once considered as a Left bastion, the TMC won all the 29 wards securing more than 50 per cent of the total votes polled.<br />
<br />
Of the 16 seats in Dhupguri municipality in north Bengal, the TMC won 12 seats while the BJP captured four.<br />
<br />
Out of the 14 wards in Buniyadpur, also in north Bengal, the TMC won 13 wards and the BJP bagged one seat.<br />
<br />
In Nalhati municipality, the TMC won 14 of the 16 wards, while the Left Front and an independent candidate won one ward each.<br />
<br />
In 18-member Panskura municipality, the TMC won 17 wards and the BJP managed to secure one ward.<br />
<br />
The TMC also won the by-election in a ward in Jhargram municipality.<br />
<br />
&quot;The results are a reflection of people&#39;s faith in the TMC government and a befitting reply to the canards spread against us,&quot; TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said, reacting to the outcome of the civic polls.<br />
<br />
On the BJP&#39;s performance, senior TMC leader Gautam Deb said, &quot;The Left Front has shifted its vote to the BJP. The vote share of the TMC is intact, rather we have increased our vote share. I<br />
<br />
&quot;It is the Left which is having a tacit understanding with the BJP,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh, however, said, &quot;We all know that the TMC used money and muscle power to win the elections. We have seen how democracy was subverted by the TMC.<br />
<br />
&quot;In spite of a reign of terror, we have managed to win seats and come up to the second position,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
The opposition called the civic election results a &quot;farce&quot;, with the Congress and the Left stressing that it was &quot;not a real reflection&quot; of the people&#39;s mandate.</p>

<p>State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said the TMC was ruling was &quot;autocratically&quot;.</p>

<p>&quot;What is the use of conducting elections in Bengal? The TMC doesn&#39;t allow free and fair elections. If an opposition candidate manages to win, they poach on him,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
&quot;We feel these results are not the reflection of people&#39;s mandate. After the elections were held, we had demanded cancellation of the entire elections as it was not free and fair,&quot; senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said.</p>


The TMC bagged also seats in Panskura and Haldia in East Midnapore district, Nalhati in Birbhum, Buniyadpur in South Dinajpur and Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri districts

The Trinamool Congress swept today the municipal polls in West Bengal capturing all the seven civic bodies while the BJP finished second in most places relegating the Left to the third position. The BJP won six seats in three municipalities which included four in Dhupguri in north Bengal and one each in Buniyadpur (north Bengal) and Panskura in south Bengal, according to the results of the August 13 civic elections. The TMC bagged also seats in Panskura and Haldia in East Midnapore district, Nalhati in Birbhum, Buniyadpur in South Dinajpur and Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri districts. The party also registered a massive victory in Durgapur Municipal Corporation in Burdwan West district capturing all the 43 wards, besides Cooper's Camp where it won all the 12 seats. In Haldia municipality also, the TMC got elected in all the 29 seats, according to the results declared today. The election results were indicative of a paradigm shift in the state politics with the BJP emerging as the main challenger to the TMC, according to poll watchers. The Left put up a poor show with the Forward Bloc, a front partner, winning a seat in Nalhati municipality. The Congress failed to win even a single seat in the polls. In Haldia municipality, once considered as a Left bastion, the TMC won all the 29 wards securing more than 50 per cent of the total votes polled. Of the 16 seats in Dhupguri municipality in north Bengal, the TMC won 12 seats while the BJP captured four. Out of the 14 wards in Buniyadpur, also in north Bengal, the TMC won 13 wards and the BJP bagged one seat. In Nalhati municipality, the TMC won 14 of the 16 wards, while the Left Front and an independent candidate won one ward each. In 18-member Panskura municipality, the TMC won 17 wards and the BJP managed to secure one ward. The TMC also won the by-election in a ward in Jhargram municipality. "The results are a reflection of people's faith in the TMC government and a befitting reply to the canards spread against us," TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said, reacting to the outcome of the civic polls. On the BJP's performance, senior TMC leader Gautam Deb said, "The Left Front has shifted its vote to the BJP. The vote share of the TMC is intact, rather we have increased our vote share. I "It is the Left which is having a tacit understanding with the BJP," he said. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh, however, said, "We all know that the TMC used money and muscle power to win the elections. We have seen how democracy was subverted by the TMC. "In spite of a reign of terror, we have managed to win seats and come up to the second position," he said. The opposition called the civic election results a "farce", with the Congress and the Left stressing that it was "not a real reflection" of the people's mandate. State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said the TMC was ruling was "autocratically". "What is the use of conducting elections in Bengal? The TMC doesn't allow free and fair elections. If an opposition candidate manages to win, they poach on him," he said. "We feel these results are not the reflection of people's mandate. After the elections were held, we had demanded cancellation of the entire elections as it was not free and fair," senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said.

TMC sweeps civic polls in West Bengal, BJP emerges as main challenger

<p>Rajasthan&#39;s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today arrested the 31-year-old grandson of a former MLA &nbsp;and BJP from Sriganganagar for allegedly extorting money by making spoof calls, police said.</p>

<p>Posing as an ACB officer, Sahil Rajpal, grandson of former MLA Radheshyam, had demanded Rs 10 lakh from Public Health Engineering Department engineers for settling a fraud case in which they were allegedly involved, senior officials said.</p>

<p>&quot;He had also allegedly taken Rs 1.5 lakh from the complainant,&quot; said Inspector General, ACB, Sachin Mittal.</p>

<p>IG Mittal said this is perhaps the first case in Rajasthan where &quot;spoof calls&quot; were made using international gateway internet calling.</p>

<p>&quot;We were chasing the accused since February and had contacted telecom companies of nine countries to nab him,&quot; Mittal said.</p>

<p>Superintendent of Police, ACB, Tejaswini Gautam said the accused is an English (Honours) graduate and was arrested from the MLA quarters in Jaipur.</p>

<p>She said Rajpal is being interrogated for his role in similar crimes committed in past and others involved in the activities.</p>

<p>Rajpal will be produced before the court tomorrow, she said.</p>

<p>ACB sleuths said that the accused had made calls to SPML Company, a complaint of which was lodged with CBI.</p>

<p>In the much-talked about SPML Company fraud case, names of PHED engineers and senior officers of the company had cropped up.</p>

<p>The case was investigated by ACB officer Shankar Dutt Sharma. Rajpal, posing as Sharma, had called PHED engineers and SPML officers, the police said.</p>


Posing as an ACB officer, Sahil Rajpal, grandson of former MLA Radheshyam, had demanded Rs 10 lakh from Public Health Engineering Department engineers for settling a fraud case in which they were allegedly involved

Rajasthan's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today arrested the 31-year-old grandson of a former MLA and BJP from Sriganganagar for allegedly extorting money by making spoof calls, police said. Posing as an ACB officer, Sahil Rajpal, grandson of former MLA Radheshyam, had demanded Rs 10 lakh from Public Health Engineering Department engineers for settling a fraud case in which they were allegedly involved, senior officials said. "He had also allegedly taken Rs 1.5 lakh from the complainant," said Inspector General, ACB, Sachin Mittal. IG Mittal said this is perhaps the first case in Rajasthan where "spoof calls" were made using international gateway internet calling. "We were chasing the accused since February and had contacted telecom companies of nine countries to nab him," Mittal said. Superintendent of Police, ACB, Tejaswini Gautam said the accused is an English (Honours) graduate and was arrested from the MLA quarters in Jaipur. She said Rajpal is being interrogated for his role in similar crimes committed in past and others involved in the activities. Rajpal will be produced before the court tomorrow, she said. ACB sleuths said that the accused had made calls to SPML Company, a complaint of which was lodged with CBI. In the much-talked about SPML Company fraud case, names of PHED engineers and senior officers of the company had cropped up. The case was investigated by ACB officer Shankar Dutt Sharma. Rajpal, posing as Sharma, had called PHED engineers and SPML officers, the police said.

India: Rajasthan BJP leader's grandson arrested for extortion, fraud

<p>Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seems to be hitting right chords over the past three months by pushing BJP to a corner in the state. It would be safe to say that Karnataka is the only state where BJP is facing a resurgent Congress under&nbsp;Siddaramaiah, who after 3 years of bad press has turned the table around and pushed BJP to the corner on issues central to the people of the state.<strong> </strong>In every other state but Karnataka, BJP has successfully used corruption, dynasty and disunity themes to marginalise the Congress. It is only&nbsp;in Karnataka that the state&#39;s chief minister has successfully played the &lsquo;son of the soil&rsquo; card to push back an aggressive BJP.</p>

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<h5>It is only&nbsp;in Karnataka that the state&#39;s chief minister has successfully played the &lsquo;son of the soil&rsquo; card to push back an aggressive BJP.</h5>
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<p>Whether it his position on the language or the flag, the sentiments which the CM has evoked is that of a person who cares intensely about the cultural landscape of the state. He has also shown an inclination to implement a new cultural policy which would be dedicated to promoting local cinema and literature. The policy is also inclusive. It also entails local harmony cells. It also intends to curb moral policing which has become a scourge in some of the state ruled by BJP where the male aggressor is always imagined as a minority. The state also intends to set aside a sum of money to promote local artists. People may dismiss it as populist or superficial, but for a state with the rich history of literary culture and modern aspiration, Siddaramaiah has taken the right step.<br />
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
Many can still accuse Siddaramaiah of pushing state level chauvinism but if you look all across India, successful chief ministers have been the ambassadors of the state pride and have successfully positioned themselves as the custodian of culture and political pride of their respective regions as opposed to the Centre. Whether it is a resurgence of TDP in united Andhra or TRS of Telangana or BJD of Orissa, all of them represent&nbsp;unique political aspirations of the state within the Indian democratic setup.</p>

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<h5>The concept of undivided Hindi vote is an accepted academic and political jargon then exceptional Kannadiga linguistic pride too shouldn&rsquo;t bother the Indian right.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

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<p>Nitish Kumar, when opposed to the BJP, won Bihar on the issue of Bihari asmita. For Mamata, it was &#39;Ma Maati and Maanush&#39;. Similarly, the Karnataka chief minister has very successfully deployed the son of the soil culture card, which is laced with the sensitivity attached to the language.</p>

<p>Though polishing off Hindi names from metro and railway station is extreme but if seen through the prism of sending a message to the electorate then the job has been done. It is like saying that if the concept of undivided Hindi vote is an accepted academic and political jargon then exceptional Kannadiga linguistic pride too shouldn&rsquo;t bother the Indian right. It is expected of them to oppose it from the position of nationalism but they understand that such politics is replete with danger. It can get TV eye balls in Delhi, but will definitely cut votes in Karnataka.</p>

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<h5>For BJP&nbsp;to win it, will have to come down from the issue of corruption as Siddaramaiah has changed the rule of the game.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

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<p>If BJP wants to fight the elections against Siddaramaiah then it will have to intelligently focus on meatier issues rather than using the department of income tax and Central Bureau of Investigation liberally. For BJP&nbsp;to win, it will have to come down from the issue of corruption as Siddaramaiah has changed the rule of the game. Karnataka, this time too, might keep up with its reputation of voting against the national trend. It will also reaffirm how important prominent regional faces are which Congress today finds bereft of. A lot of people might not like Karnataka CM in Delhi, but he is the only one who can take the might of an aggressive BJP in the country.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
Siddaramaiah might have lost the earlier rounds by generating bad press in Bengaluru, but the canny old politician seems to have learned his lesson well, namely, publically associating with issues which are central to the Kannadiga pride and making other issues irrelevant. Lastly, he has an added advantage in Karnataka: he neither has the baggage of a Laloo type of a politician nor internal bickering which is jeopardising BJP&#39;s prospect in the state.</p>


BJP is finding the charges of corruption, dynasty and disunity themes irrelevant to corner the Congress party in Karnataka

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seems to be hitting right chords over the past three months by pushing BJP to a corner in the state. It would be safe to say that Karnataka is the only state where BJP is facing a resurgent Congress under Siddaramaiah, who after 3 years of bad press has turned the table around and pushed BJP to the corner on issues central to the people of the state. In every other state but Karnataka, BJP has successfully used corruption, dynasty and disunity themes to marginalise the Congress. It is only in Karnataka that the state's chief minister has successfully played the ‘son of the soil’ card to push back an aggressive BJP. It is only in Karnataka that the state's chief minister has successfully played the ‘son of the soil’ card to push back an aggressive BJP. × Whether it his position on the language or the flag, the sentiments which the CM has evoked is that of a person who cares intensely about the cultural landscape of the state. He has also shown an inclination to implement a new cultural policy which would be dedicated to promoting local cinema and literature. The policy is also inclusive. It also entails local harmony cells. It also intends to curb moral policing which has become a scourge in some of the state ruled by BJP where the male aggressor is always imagined as a minority. The state also intends to set aside a sum of money to promote local artists. People may dismiss it as populist or superficial, but for a state with the rich history of literary culture and modern aspiration, Siddaramaiah has taken the right step. Many can still accuse Siddaramaiah of pushing state level chauvinism but if you look all across India, successful chief ministers have been the ambassadors of the state pride and have successfully positioned themselves as the custodian of culture and political pride of their respective regions as opposed to the Centre. Whether it is a resurgence of TDP in united Andhra or TRS of Telangana or BJD of Orissa, all of them represent unique political aspirations of the state within the Indian democratic setup. The concept of undivided Hindi vote is an accepted academic and political jargon then exceptional Kannadiga linguistic pride too shouldn’t bother the Indian right. × Nitish Kumar, when opposed to the BJP, won Bihar on the issue of Bihari asmita. For Mamata, it was 'Ma Maati and Maanush'. Similarly, the Karnataka chief minister has very successfully deployed the son of the soil culture card, which is laced with the sensitivity attached to the language. Though polishing off Hindi names from metro and railway station is extreme but if seen through the prism of sending a message to the electorate then the job has been done. It is like saying that if the concept of undivided Hindi vote is an accepted academic and political jargon then exceptional Kannadiga linguistic pride too shouldn’t bother the Indian right. It is expected of them to oppose it from the position of nationalism but they understand that such politics is replete with danger. It can get TV eye balls in Delhi, but will definitely cut votes in Karnataka. For BJP to win it, will have to come down from the issue of corruption as Siddaramaiah has changed the rule of the game. × If BJP wants to fight the elections against Siddaramaiah then it will have to intelligently focus on meatier issues rather than using the department of income tax and Central Bureau of Investigation liberally. For BJP to win, it will have to come down from the issue of corruption as Siddaramaiah has changed the rule of the game. Karnataka, this time too, might keep up with its reputation of voting against the national trend. It will also reaffirm how important prominent regional faces are which Congress today finds bereft of. A lot of people might not like Karnataka CM in Delhi, but he is the only one who can take the might of an aggressive BJP in the country. Siddaramaiah might have lost the earlier rounds by generating bad press in Bengaluru, but the canny old politician seems to have learned his lesson well, namely, publically associating with issues which are central to the Kannadiga pride and making other issues irrelevant. Lastly, he has an added advantage in Karnataka: he neither has the baggage of a Laloo type of a politician nor internal bickering which is jeopardising BJP's prospect in the state.

Karnataka CM plays 'son of the soil' card to corner BJP in the state

<p>One person has been detained in for allegedly throwing a stone at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi&#39;s car while he was on a visit to the flood-hit Banaskantha in Gujarat.</p>

<p>A top police official from Banaskantha confirmed to PTI that the accused, Jayesh Darji alias Anil Rathod,&nbsp;has been detained by the police over the attack on Rahul Gandhi&#39;s convoy in Dhanera yesterday.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He said the accused had been arrested after Congress workers gave his name during investigations.</p>

<p>&quot;We have arrested one person named Jayesh Darji alias Anil Rathod for allegedly throwing a stone at the vehicle in which Gandhi was travelling,&quot; Banaskantha &nbsp;Superintendent of Police Niraj Badgujar told PTI.<br />
<br />
&quot;We arrested Darji after his name was given by Congress members during the course of investigation,&quot; Badgujar said.</p>

<p>The Congress claimed that Darji was a BJP worker and was behind yesterday&#39;s incident.<br />
<br />
&quot;Jayesh Darji is the secretary of Banaskantha district BJP Yuva Morcha. He is the man who threw the stone at Rahul Gandhi. We have also submitted names of three more persons who conspired along with Darji to throw the stone at Gandhi&#39;s vehicle,&quot; said district Congress general secretary, Prithviraj Kathwadia.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Gujarat: BJP worker Jayesh Darji detained by Police in Dhanera over attack on Rahul Gandhi&#39;s convoy, yesterday.</p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/893764563929255936">August 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Rahul Gandhi has asked Congress workers to call off protests being staged by them to protest the attack on him. He asked them to &quot;divert&nbsp;their energy in helping the people affected by floods in the state&quot;.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Respect the sentiments of Congress workers in Gujarat protesting against the administration not filing an FIR against the stone pelting(1/2)</p>
&mdash; Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficeOfRG/status/893747610560806912">August 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">but I urge them to divert their energy in helping the people affected by floods in the state</p>
&mdash; Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficeOfRG/status/893747678214893569">August 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Congress workers staged protests across the nation today including in Gujarat capital Ahmedabad, Punjab capital Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh&nbsp;capital Bhopal and Maharashtra&nbsp;capital Mumbai.</p>

<p>In Ghatkopar, the Mumbai Youth Congress workers threw flowers inside the BJP office and shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.</p>

<p>Earlier in the day, Rahul cornered Prime Minister Modi, calling the incident the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) way of politics.</p>

<p>&quot;In yesterday&#39;s incident, BJP workers threw a stone at me which hit my personal security officer (PSO). This is Prime Minister Modi and BJP- RSS &#39;s way of politics. What can I say?&quot; Rahul told the press.</p>

<p>Indirectly referring to the prime minister, Rahul Gandhi said, &quot;Why the one, who has done this, would condemn the incident?&quot;</p>

<p>The Congress said the &quot;murderous&quot;&nbsp;attack on Rahul Gandhi was orchestrated the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and that both parties believed in violence, intimidation and physical assaults on political opponents or leaders.</p>

<p>Senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told the media during the press conference, &quot;I termed such an attempt&nbsp;a murderous attack by the BJP and RSS on Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. The Central Government and the state government are answerable to this.They are responsible for Rahul Gandhi&#39;s security in upcoming election campaigning. Rahul Gandhi was under SPG protectee when he was attacked by a&nbsp;boulder.&quot;</p>

<p>Senior party leader Anand Sharma said such attacks not only deserved serious condemnation but also the exposure of the intent, ideology, characteristic of the BJP and the RSS.</p>

<p>&quot;Whatever happened is unacceptable in Indian democracy. Not only does it deserve serious condemnation but also the exposure of the intent, ideology, characteristic of the BJP and the RSS which believe&nbsp;in violence, intimidation and physical assaults on political opponents or leaders. We will fight against the BJP and the RSS agenda,&quot; Anand Sharma said.</p>

<p>Rahul&#39;s car was attacked on Friday when he was on his way to the helipad after visiting the flood-hit areas in Gujarat.</p>

<p>After the attack, Rahul wrote on Twitter: Narendra Modi <em>ji</em>&#39;s slogans, black flags and stones will not stop us.... We will put in all our might into the service of people.</p>

<p>Condemning the incident, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that a senior officer has been appointed to investigate&nbsp;the incident and assured that a strict action will be taken against the guilty.</p>

<p>He tweeted: I condemn the unfortunate attack on Rahul Gandhi&#39;s convoy. I have instructed officers to take strict action against those responsible. Govt has appointed Add DG rank officer to investigate in detail and will take&nbsp;strict action against those found responsible.</p>

<p>Banaskantha is represented by six Congress legislators who have been flown by the Congress to a resort in Bengaluru to protect them from being poached before the Rajya Sabha polls.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


A top police official from Banaskantha confirmed that the accused, Jayesh Darji,?has been detained by the police

One person has been detained in for allegedly throwing a stone at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's car while he was on a visit to the flood-hit Banaskantha in Gujarat. A top police official from Banaskantha confirmed to PTI that the accused, Jayesh Darji alias Anil Rathod, has been detained by the police over the attack on Rahul Gandhi's convoy in Dhanera yesterday. He said the accused had been arrested after Congress workers gave his name during investigations. "We have arrested one person named Jayesh Darji alias Anil Rathod for allegedly throwing a stone at the vehicle in which Gandhi was travelling," Banaskantha Superintendent of Police Niraj Badgujar told PTI. "We arrested Darji after his name was given by Congress members during the course of investigation," Badgujar said. The Congress claimed that Darji was a BJP worker and was behind yesterday's incident. "Jayesh Darji is the secretary of Banaskantha district BJP Yuva Morcha. He is the man who threw the stone at Rahul Gandhi. We have also submitted names of three more persons who conspired along with Darji to throw the stone at Gandhi's vehicle," said district Congress general secretary, Prithviraj Kathwadia. Gujarat: BJP worker Jayesh Darji detained by Police in Dhanera over attack on Rahul Gandhi's convoy, yesterday. — ANI (@ANI_news) August 5, 2017 × Rahul Gandhi has asked Congress workers to call off protests being staged by them to protest the attack on him. He asked them to "divert their energy in helping the people affected by floods in the state". Respect the sentiments of Congress workers in Gujarat protesting against the administration not filing an FIR against the stone pelting(1/2) — Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) August 5, 2017 × but I urge them to divert their energy in helping the people affected by floods in the state — Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) August 5, 2017 × Congress workers staged protests across the nation today including in Gujarat capital Ahmedabad, Punjab capital Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal and Maharashtra capital Mumbai. In Ghatkopar, the Mumbai Youth Congress workers threw flowers inside the BJP office and shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. Earlier in the day, Rahul cornered Prime Minister Modi, calling the incident the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) way of politics. "In yesterday's incident, BJP workers threw a stone at me which hit my personal security officer (PSO). This is Prime Minister Modi and BJP- RSS 's way of politics. What can I say?" Rahul told the press. Indirectly referring to the prime minister, Rahul Gandhi said, "Why the one, who has done this, would condemn the incident?" The Congress said the "murderous" attack on Rahul Gandhi was orchestrated the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and that both parties believed in violence, intimidation and physical assaults on political opponents or leaders. Senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told the media during the press conference, "I termed such an attempt a murderous attack by the BJP and RSS on Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. The Central Government and the state government are answerable to this.They are responsible for Rahul Gandhi's security in upcoming election campaigning. Rahul Gandhi was under SPG protectee when he was attacked by a boulder." Senior party leader Anand Sharma said such attacks not only deserved serious condemnation but also the exposure of the intent, ideology, characteristic of the BJP and the RSS. "Whatever happened is unacceptable in Indian democracy. Not only does it deserve serious condemnation but also the exposure of the intent, ideology, characteristic of the BJP and the RSS which believe in violence, intimidation and physical assaults on political opponents or leaders. We will fight against the BJP and the RSS agenda," Anand Sharma said. Rahul's car was attacked on Friday when he was on his way to the helipad after visiting the flood-hit areas in Gujarat. After the attack, Rahul wrote on Twitter: Narendra Modi ji's slogans, black flags and stones will not stop us.... We will put in all our might into the service of people. Condemning the incident, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that a senior officer has been appointed to investigate the incident and assured that a strict action will be taken against the guilty. He tweeted: I condemn the unfortunate attack on Rahul Gandhi's convoy. I have instructed officers to take strict action against those responsible. Govt has appointed Add DG rank officer to investigate in detail and will take strict action against those found responsible. Banaskantha is represented by six Congress legislators who have been flown by the Congress to a resort in Bengaluru to protect them from being poached before the Rajya Sabha polls.

Attack on Rahul Gandhi: One person detained

<p>The BJP on Thursday overtook Congress to become the largest political party in the Rajya Sabha, where it now has 58 members against 57 of the main opposition party</p>

<p>BJP MP Sampatiya Uikey, who was elected to the Upper House following a bypoll in Madhya Pradesh took oath on Thursday</p>

<p>His election was necessitated by the death of Union Minster, Anil Madhav Dave</p>

<p>This is the first time that the saffron party has become the number one formation in the RS after the Narendra Modi government came to power in May 2014</p>

<p>The BJP-led NDA, however, is still short of a decisive majority in the house but the joining of JD(U) to the ruling block has further boosted its numbers.</p>


This is the first time that the saffron party has become the number one formation in the RS after the Narendra Modi government came to power in May 2014

The BJP on Thursday overtook Congress to become the largest political party in the Rajya Sabha, where it now has 58 members against 57 of the main opposition party BJP MP Sampatiya Uikey, who was elected to the Upper House following a bypoll in Madhya Pradesh took oath on Thursday His election was necessitated by the death of Union Minster, Anil Madhav Dave This is the first time that the saffron party has become the number one formation in the RS after the Narendra Modi government came to power in May 2014 The BJP-led NDA, however, is still short of a decisive majority in the house but the joining of JD(U) to the ruling block has further boosted its numbers.

BJP overtakes Congress to become largest party in Rajya Sabha

<p>The commentators and the politically influential people in this country have started writing the epitaph of the Congress party.</p>

<p>They have all the right to believe so because, since past three years or so, the electoral fortunes of the party have seriously dithered, particularly after the miserable defeat of 2014.Their intense speculation about the future of the Grand Old Party is something which passionate flag bearers like me cannot discount, but are profoundly anguished with. The Liberals are angry at us. But we need to convert that anger into love. I am a Congressman and will remain a Congress party admirer even if I am the last man standing, although I shall do everything within my means to prevent that &lsquo;last man&rsquo; scenario.</p>

<p>I know I may be painting a pessimistic picture, and some of you who will read this will definitely not agree with my assessment. Some of you may also question my locus-standi for writing this- since I am also part of that very system, albeit a very small part in which the Congress system works, I am responsible too. But, considering that I am an eternal optimist, I shall always yearn that such an eventuality shall never come.</p>

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<h5>Congress will remain strong and&nbsp;will&nbsp;overcome its present problems. We shall again redeem India and will not let it slip into the darkness.</h5>
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<p>Congress will remain strong and&nbsp;will&nbsp;overcome its present problems. We shall again redeem India and will not let it slip into the darkness. <a href="http://countryawake.blogspot.in/2015/01/the-idea-of-congress.html">Our ideals and ideology</a> are rock solid and our commitment to secularism is unflinching. Compassion, brotherhood, love and respect are the pillars on which the Congress party stands.There are lots of inherent flaws with which our inner party system works, but there are innumerable positive aspects too.</p>

<p>In the initial years of the Modi Government, the Congress party believed that as the BJP lacks the ability to solidly govern and administer, it will never be able to live up to the expectations of people. This has actually led to the former&#39;s complacency that has turned it into a reactive force. &ldquo;Jab yeh galitiya karenge, abhi nahi toh 5-10 saal baad humara waqt aayega&rdquo; (When they will make mistakes, not today, but eventually after 5-10 years we will be back in power) was the drawing room chatter of every Congressman.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>Both critics and admirers would agree that the single biggest mistake which the Congress party made in the UPA era was not to build its cadre, especially in states where it was organisationally weak.</h5>
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<p>Then came a period during which failures&nbsp;after failures marred BJP&#39;s image but the Congress merely acted as a reactionary force, failing to capitalise the blunders of the ruling party. Both critics and admirers would agree that the single biggest mistake which the Congress party made in the UPA era was not to build its cadre, especially in states where it was organisationally weak. An Opposition needs a rank of robust and committed workers to carry on its political work. The Congress is a mass-based party and not a cadre based one, yet it has certain unique organisational strengths, which could have been tapped into. The party&#39;s frontals are more or less defunct and, at the most, have become extremely sycophantic in nature- with almost no vision or plan of action.</p>

<p>After three years&nbsp;into the Modi Government, where the BJP is using every trick in the political book to expand its bases, the Congress is making last ditch attempts to somehow foster unity among the Opposition, without much success. The Nitish Kumar fiasco may have its opportunistic and political strokes, and broad ones indeed, yet the Congress has to somehow take its share of the blame too. I know, I will again be accused of crossing the Lakshman Rekha (Red Line) while I try to objectively put forth this assessment, but acceptance of failures is the first stepping stone to success.</p>

<p>I have been hinting and posting on social media, <a href="http://countryawake.blogspot.in/2014/05/humbled-by-mandate-thoughts-unlimited.html">since long</a>, that the Congress needs a positive agenda. A solid, implementable narrative and a new vision to take along those committed liberal voters who still believe in those ideals on which the edifice of our Constitution was laid. Time and again, I have come to the conclusion that only a positive narrative can resurrect the Congress.</p>

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<h5>Time and again, I have come to the conclusion that only a positive narrative can resurrect the Congress.</h5>
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<p>For starters, we should look at our own 2014 Manifesto. This 45-page document should be our Magna Carta to attack and question the BJP. It will give us more credibility because we shall not be merely criticising the policies, but also put forth a positive policy solution, for instance, we would go to the people of the country pointing out, &ldquo;Had the Congress been in power, there were the 5 steps it would have taken to solve agrarian distress&rdquo; and &ldquo;These are the steps that the Congress party would have taken to create more jobs&rdquo;.</p>

<p>It is not that the Congress party is not taking steps to revamp its organisational structure. The election process will be completed this year and a new team is slowly and steadily been set up. New General Secretary in-charge of the states are being appointed. The Communications department of the party is seeing new faces and a newer strategy for the same is in place now. Research and Social Media wings have also been refurbished and are working with a new vigour. Yes, we lack in media management, and that needs to be proactively dealt with. The voter connect is only possible when you gather small constituencies of groups together and focus on the liberal supporters. Laziness, complacency and arrogance should be done away with. A strong ideological resolve is needed so as solidify our support base. We all know what ails the Congress party, we should&nbsp;have solutions for the same.&nbsp;</p>

<p>No political party that has a closed system and is secretive in nature can function in a vibrant democracy. We have to open the doors for the converts as well as for the swing ones.</p>

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<h5>A large section of media has become the mouthpiece for the BJP, and the Congress needs to find an alternate for the same.</h5>
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<p>The Congress should aim to unite with other opposition parties, but that does not mean that it can tie up with any political party which is ideologically not on the same page as it is. At the end of the day, such an alliance falls through as we have seen in West Bengal and in Uttar Pradesh. Let us not repeat that. The Congress should try and build consensus, but if that is not possible, just leave these regional parties to fend for themselves. We should stop pandering to them. Let us built our own identity, we were successful because we had one. We should not leave it. Opposition unity is good for short term goals, but in the long term, we should strive for our own national space. In states, where we are dependent on regional satraps, we have only declined. Even if we win one seat, it should be on our own.</p>

<p>If we do not implement a positive agenda and restructure ourselves, then even our forefathers, who so painstakingly built this country, will not forgive us for sending India to the dark ages.</p>

<p>(All the views expressed in the article by the author are strictly personal.)</p>


The Liberals are angry at Congress. But Congress needs to convert that anger into love.

The commentators and the politically influential people in this country have started writing the epitaph of the Congress party. They have all the right to believe so because, since past three years or so, the electoral fortunes of the party have seriously dithered, particularly after the miserable defeat of 2014.Their intense speculation about the future of the Grand Old Party is something which passionate flag bearers like me cannot discount, but are profoundly anguished with. The Liberals are angry at us. But we need to convert that anger into love. I am a Congressman and will remain a Congress party admirer even if I am the last man standing, although I shall do everything within my means to prevent that ‘last man’ scenario. I know I may be painting a pessimistic picture, and some of you who will read this will definitely not agree with my assessment. Some of you may also question my locus-standi for writing this- since I am also part of that very system, albeit a very small part in which the Congress system works, I am responsible too. But, considering that I am an eternal optimist, I shall always yearn that such an eventuality shall never come. Congress will remain strong and will overcome its present problems. We shall again redeem India and will not let it slip into the darkness. × Congress will remain strong and will overcome its present problems. We shall again redeem India and will not let it slip into the darkness. Our ideals and ideology are rock solid and our commitment to secularism is unflinching. Compassion, brotherhood, love and respect are the pillars on which the Congress party stands.There are lots of inherent flaws with which our inner party system works, but there are innumerable positive aspects too. In the initial years of the Modi Government, the Congress party believed that as the BJP lacks the ability to solidly govern and administer, it will never be able to live up to the expectations of people. This has actually led to the former's complacency that has turned it into a reactive force. “Jab yeh galitiya karenge, abhi nahi toh 5-10 saal baad humara waqt aayega” (When they will make mistakes, not today, but eventually after 5-10 years we will be back in power) was the drawing room chatter of every Congressman. Both critics and admirers would agree that the single biggest mistake which the Congress party made in the UPA era was not to build its cadre, especially in states where it was organisationally weak. × Then came a period during which failures after failures marred BJP's image but the Congress merely acted as a reactionary force, failing to capitalise the blunders of the ruling party. Both critics and admirers would agree that the single biggest mistake which the Congress party made in the UPA era was not to build its cadre, especially in states where it was organisationally weak. An Opposition needs a rank of robust and committed workers to carry on its political work. The Congress is a mass-based party and not a cadre based one, yet it has certain unique organisational strengths, which could have been tapped into. The party's frontals are more or less defunct and, at the most, have become extremely sycophantic in nature- with almost no vision or plan of action. After three years into the Modi Government, where the BJP is using every trick in the political book to expand its bases, the Congress is making last ditch attempts to somehow foster unity among the Opposition, without much success. The Nitish Kumar fiasco may have its opportunistic and political strokes, and broad ones indeed, yet the Congress has to somehow take its share of the blame too. I know, I will again be accused of crossing the Lakshman Rekha (Red Line) while I try to objectively put forth this assessment, but acceptance of failures is the first stepping stone to success. I have been hinting and posting on social media, since long, that the Congress needs a positive agenda. A solid, implementable narrative and a new vision to take along those committed liberal voters who still believe in those ideals on which the edifice of our Constitution was laid. Time and again, I have come to the conclusion that only a positive narrative can resurrect the Congress. Time and again, I have come to the conclusion that only a positive narrative can resurrect the Congress. × For starters, we should look at our own 2014 Manifesto. This 45-page document should be our Magna Carta to attack and question the BJP. It will give us more credibility because we shall not be merely criticising the policies, but also put forth a positive policy solution, for instance, we would go to the people of the country pointing out, “Had the Congress been in power, there were the 5 steps it would have taken to solve agrarian distress” and “These are the steps that the Congress party would have taken to create more jobs”. It is not that the Congress party is not taking steps to revamp its organisational structure. The election process will be completed this year and a new team is slowly and steadily been set up. New General Secretary in-charge of the states are being appointed. The Communications department of the party is seeing new faces and a newer strategy for the same is in place now. Research and Social Media wings have also been refurbished and are working with a new vigour. Yes, we lack in media management, and that needs to be proactively dealt with. The voter connect is only possible when you gather small constituencies of groups together and focus on the liberal supporters. Laziness, complacency and arrogance should be done away with. A strong ideological resolve is needed so as solidify our support base. We all know what ails the Congress party, we should have solutions for the same. No political party that has a closed system and is secretive in nature can function in a vibrant democracy. We have to open the doors for the converts as well as for the swing ones. A large section of media has become the mouthpiece for the BJP, and the Congress needs to find an alternate for the same. × The Congress should aim to unite with other opposition parties, but that does not mean that it can tie up with any political party which is ideologically not on the same page as it is. At the end of the day, such an alliance falls through as we have seen in West Bengal and in Uttar Pradesh. Let us not repeat that. The Congress should try and build consensus, but if that is not possible, just leave these regional parties to fend for themselves. We should stop pandering to them. Let us built our own identity, we were successful because we had one. We should not leave it. Opposition unity is good for short term goals, but in the long term, we should strive for our own national space. In states, where we are dependent on regional satraps, we have only declined. Even if we win one seat, it should be on our own. If we do not implement a positive agenda and restructure ourselves, then even our forefathers, who so painstakingly built this country, will not forgive us for sending India to the dark ages. (All the views expressed in the article by the author are strictly personal.)

How the Congress party can be revived in India

<p>The Lalu Prasad-led RJD moved the Patna High Court on Friday challenging Nitish Kumar&#39;s appointment as chief minister, a day after he resigned in a sudden move and joined hands with the BJP.</p>

<p>The court admitted the petition but refused to stay today&#39;s trust vote - won by Nitish Kumar - and said it will hear the case on Monday.</p>

<p>The RJD said yesterday that it moving court to appeal the Bihar governor&#39;s invitation to the JD(U) and the NDA to form a government in the state, which it called a &quot;blatant violation&quot; of a Supreme Court judgement.</p>

<p>&quot;The governor&#39;s decision amounts to the murder of the spirit of the SR Bommai judgement,&quot; RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha told the press outside the residence of Lalu Prasad Yadav&#39;s wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi.</p>

<p>&quot;According to the S R Bommai case judgement it is mandatory to call the single largest party or electoral block first to explore the formation of a government,&quot; he said on Thursday.</p>


The court admitted the petition but refused to stay today's trust vote - won by Nitish Kumar - and said it will hear the case on Monday

The Lalu Prasad-led RJD moved the Patna High Court on Friday challenging Nitish Kumar's appointment as chief minister, a day after he resigned in a sudden move and joined hands with the BJP. The court admitted the petition but refused to stay today's trust vote - won by Nitish Kumar - and said it will hear the case on Monday. The RJD said yesterday that it moving court to appeal the Bihar governor's invitation to the JD(U) and the NDA to form a government in the state, which it called a "blatant violation" of a Supreme Court judgement. "The governor's decision amounts to the murder of the spirit of the SR Bommai judgement," RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha told the press outside the residence of Lalu Prasad Yadav's wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi. "According to the S R Bommai case judgement it is mandatory to call the single largest party or electoral block first to explore the formation of a government," he said on Thursday.

Lalu's RJD moves court against Nitish's appointment as chief minister

<p>End of Mahagathbandhan was expected but not the sudden exit of Nitish Kumar who took a moral high ground on the issue of corruption. His act of resignation on the principle of probity not only helps him to set aside the charge of having struck a deal with tainted Laloo, but also revives the issue of corruption against the Opposition. Patna will see new power partnering with JDU but the revival of the issue of corruption will take the breath away from the Opposition for the time.</p>

<p>This development was accompanied by Prime Minister Modi tweeting and congratulating the Bihar Chief Minister for taking a stand against corruption. This is a signal that the PM intends to revive the issue again closer to the election times, using it effectively against prominent Opposition faces in different parties. It will help to blunt the Opposition&rsquo;s campaign against Modi on several fronts. This development will also bring to a grind Congress&#39;s grand plan of building a grand alliance against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It also brings BJP and JDU together, putting a spanner in the Opposition&rsquo;s plan to counter BJP in the Hindi heartland during national elections. The thinking was that BJP will not be able to repeat its performance again but with Nitish, the BJP&rsquo;s vote will consolidate further.</p>

<p>Many would say that Nitish Kumar is a political shapeshifter, and he is being opportunistic.&nbsp; However, in politics, there are no permanent enemies or friends. It also reflects the reduced strength of the Congress to influence decision-making at the regional level. The decision would put further pressure on the Congress to explain its position on the issues of corruption that are plaguing the political system.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It is not without reason that Nitish Kumar mentioned Rahul Gandhi&rsquo;s name in the press conference. Rahul Gandhi tore the ordinance before the Lok Sabha elections, embarrassing then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue of corruption. It ended Laloo&rsquo;s political career but on the issue of Bihar&rsquo;s deputy chief minister and Laloo&rsquo;s son Tejashwi Yadav, he came across taking a different political stand. One will have to wait and see as to how many Congress MLAs would remain with the party at the state level. Chances are high that the numerical strength of the Congress party will be further eroded in the legislature.</p>

<p>For Laloo, it is going to be a lonely walk in the national politics. He might receive support from other political parties but in the long run, he may run out of support as corruption will again become a dominant narrative as opposed to lynching and economic issues. But the biggest worry for the Opposition should be that they will not have a Prime Ministerial face in 2019. Nitish was being touted as a political face who could have united various regional satraps. Under the circumstances, however, the only option for the regional parties would be to push Rahul Gandhi on the Centre stage which in today&rsquo;s scenario is not a viable option as the party might not be able to create a consensus around his name.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The net gainer in the current scenario remains Nitish Kumar. He has not only dumped the incumbency of his tenure on the RJD but has also come out unscathed and reinvented himself by taking a position on the issue of corruption. RJD will only have the option of launching a personal attack against Nitish. But all such attacks usually have a limited time span.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Lastly, the current development should also be food for thought for the Congress Party. Congress has been after alliance building from state to state. For instance, in Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. The sole motive of these alliances is to defeat Bhartiya Janta Party. So far, it has been unsuccessful to reap political benefits of the alliance except in Bihar. The Congress, therefore, needs to introspect about its shrinking strength and BJP&rsquo;s ability to sideline the grand old party through maneuvering political developments in the states. Rather than finding purpose in defeating BJP, the Congress needs to rebuild itself. The wait can be long but the return would be meaningful and lasting.</p>


The revival of the issue of corruption -- that is why Nitish resigned, ostensibly -- will take the breath out of the Opposition for the time being

End of Mahagathbandhan was expected but not the sudden exit of Nitish Kumar who took a moral high ground on the issue of corruption. His act of resignation on the principle of probity not only helps him to set aside the charge of having struck a deal with tainted Laloo, but also revives the issue of corruption against the Opposition. Patna will see new power partnering with JDU but the revival of the issue of corruption will take the breath away from the Opposition for the time. This development was accompanied by Prime Minister Modi tweeting and congratulating the Bihar Chief Minister for taking a stand against corruption. This is a signal that the PM intends to revive the issue again closer to the election times, using it effectively against prominent Opposition faces in different parties. It will help to blunt the Opposition’s campaign against Modi on several fronts. This development will also bring to a grind Congress's grand plan of building a grand alliance against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It also brings BJP and JDU together, putting a spanner in the Opposition’s plan to counter BJP in the Hindi heartland during national elections. The thinking was that BJP will not be able to repeat its performance again but with Nitish, the BJP’s vote will consolidate further. Many would say that Nitish Kumar is a political shapeshifter, and he is being opportunistic. However, in politics, there are no permanent enemies or friends. It also reflects the reduced strength of the Congress to influence decision-making at the regional level. The decision would put further pressure on the Congress to explain its position on the issues of corruption that are plaguing the political system. It is not without reason that Nitish Kumar mentioned Rahul Gandhi’s name in the press conference. Rahul Gandhi tore the ordinance before the Lok Sabha elections, embarrassing then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue of corruption. It ended Laloo’s political career but on the issue of Bihar’s deputy chief minister and Laloo’s son Tejashwi Yadav, he came across taking a different political stand. One will have to wait and see as to how many Congress MLAs would remain with the party at the state level. Chances are high that the numerical strength of the Congress party will be further eroded in the legislature. For Laloo, it is going to be a lonely walk in the national politics. He might receive support from other political parties but in the long run, he may run out of support as corruption will again become a dominant narrative as opposed to lynching and economic issues. But the biggest worry for the Opposition should be that they will not have a Prime Ministerial face in 2019. Nitish was being touted as a political face who could have united various regional satraps. Under the circumstances, however, the only option for the regional parties would be to push Rahul Gandhi on the Centre stage which in today’s scenario is not a viable option as the party might not be able to create a consensus around his name. The net gainer in the current scenario remains Nitish Kumar. He has not only dumped the incumbency of his tenure on the RJD but has also come out unscathed and reinvented himself by taking a position on the issue of corruption. RJD will only have the option of launching a personal attack against Nitish. But all such attacks usually have a limited time span. Lastly, the current development should also be food for thought for the Congress Party. Congress has been after alliance building from state to state. For instance, in Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. The sole motive of these alliances is to defeat Bhartiya Janta Party. So far, it has been unsuccessful to reap political benefits of the alliance except in Bihar. The Congress, therefore, needs to introspect about its shrinking strength and BJP’s ability to sideline the grand old party through maneuvering political developments in the states. Rather than finding purpose in defeating BJP, the Congress needs to rebuild itself. The wait can be long but the return would be meaningful and lasting.

As 'mahagathbandan' ends in Bihar, corruption comes back to haunt Opposition

<p>Rahul Gandhi has said they had known for three to four months that this -- Nitish leaving his alliance with the RJD and Congress and joining hands with the BJP -- was being planned.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;3-4 mahine se humein pata tha ye planning chal rahi hai. Apne swaarth ke liye vyakti kuch bhi kar jata hai,&quot; ANI reported him as saying.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="hi">Satta ke liye vyakti kuch bhi kar jaata hai, koi neeyam, credibility nahin hai: Rahul Gandhi on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NitishKumar?src=hash">#NitishKumar</a> <a href="https://t.co/8eRvp6hdvV">pic.twitter.com/8eRvp6hdvV</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/890439767019487232">July 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;Mandate was given to Nitish ji for the anti-communal fight but now he has joined hands with them for his personal politics,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Rahul added that for political power, a man can do anything. &nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Satta ke liye vyakti kuch bhi kar jaata hai, koi neeyam, credibility nahin hai,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</p>


'Mandate was given to Nitish ji for the anti-communal fight but now he has joined hands with them for his personal politics,' Rahul said

Rahul Gandhi has said they had known for three to four months that this -- Nitish leaving his alliance with the RJD and Congress and joining hands with the BJP -- was being planned. "3-4 mahine se humein pata tha ye planning chal rahi hai. Apne swaarth ke liye vyakti kuch bhi kar jata hai," ANI reported him as saying. Satta ke liye vyakti kuch bhi kar jaata hai, koi neeyam, credibility nahin hai: Rahul Gandhi on #NitishKumar pic.twitter.com/8eRvp6hdvV — ANI (@ANI_news) July 27, 2017 × "Mandate was given to Nitish ji for the anti-communal fight but now he has joined hands with them for his personal politics," he said. Rahul added that for political power, a man can do anything. "Satta ke liye vyakti kuch bhi kar jaata hai, koi neeyam, credibility nahin hai," he said.

Rahul on Nitish: Knew for 3-4 months this was being planned

<p>Nitish Kumar has been sworn in as the chief minister of Bihar.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The BJP&#39;s Sushil Modi&nbsp;will be deputy chief minister.</p>

<p>Nitish had unexpectedly resigned on Wednesday dumping his former alliance partners the RJD and Congress, only to return a few hours later partnering this time with the BJP. &nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="in"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash">#WATCH</a> Nitish Kumar&#39;s swearing-in ceremony as Bihar CM at Raj Bhawan in Patna <a href="https://t.co/kHgjRs8gjD">https://t.co/kHgjRs8gjD</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/890426442776838144">July 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>


The BJP's Sushil Modi was sworn in as deputy chief minister

Nitish Kumar has been sworn in as the chief minister of Bihar. The BJP's Sushil Modi will be deputy chief minister. Nitish had unexpectedly resigned on Wednesday dumping his former alliance partners the RJD and Congress, only to return a few hours later partnering this time with the BJP. #WATCH Nitish Kumar's swearing-in ceremony as Bihar CM at Raj Bhawan in Patna https://t.co/kHgjRs8gjD — ANI (@ANI_news) July 27, 2017 ×

WATCH LIVE: Nitish Kumar's swearing in

<p>Union textile minister and now the Information and Broadcasting minister, Smriti Irani, is back, taking jibes at opposition leaders.</p>

<p>A day after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi targeted the Centre by raking&nbsp;up issues like the Rohith Vemula suicide case, the Dadri lynching and demonetisation, Irani mocked him for &ldquo;all that he does&rdquo;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Irani tweeted, &quot;However, thank you @officeofRG for all that you do. Sincerely from the BJP!????&quot;, showing off her sarcasm&nbsp;after a long time.</p>

<p>Rahul Gandhi said yesterday that Vemula didn&rsquo;t commit suicide but was murdered for being a Dalit.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;I don&#39;t call it suicide; I call it murder. Rohith (Vemula) was crushed and murdered by the indignities he suffered,&quot; said Gandhi while speaking at a conference.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Congress vice-president also slammed the Centre by raising the Dadri lynching case.</p>

<p>&quot;Mohammad Akhlaq was butchered because they say he stole a calf. It was a lie. Instead of questioning his (Akhlaq) brutal killing they asked whether the meat in the fridge was mutton or beef,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Before being shunted from the post of minister for Human Resource Development, Irani had made headlines for her verbal spats with opposition leaders. The most famous being the one with Mayawati just after Vemula&rsquo;s suicide.&nbsp;</p>

<p>She had left members of the Rajya Sabha stunned with her response to Mayawati after the Dalit leader accused the BJP-led government of not taking action against those who &ldquo;pushed&rdquo; Vemula to commit suicide.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&ldquo;Who uses a child to play their political strategy, sir? Not just in this House but across the nation&rdquo;, Irani had said.<br />
<br />
&quot;There was a Dalit in the committee formed, why are you ignoring that Mayawati ji?&quot;</p>

<p>And then came the final dramatic jibe that shocked the floor.</p>

<p>&quot;Agar mere uttar se aap santusht na ho to main apna sar kalam karke aapke charnoon main chhod doongi.&quot; (if you are not satisfied with my response, I will cut of my head and place it at your feet).</p>

<p>Irani was given the additional charge of the I&amp;B ministry after Venkaiah Naidu stepped down to run for the vice-presidential election.&nbsp;</p>


Smriti Irani took to Twitter to respond to Rahul Gandhi's attack on the Centre over the Rohit Vemula suicide, the Dadri lynching, and demonetisation

Union textile minister and now the Information and Broadcasting minister, Smriti Irani, is back, taking jibes at opposition leaders. A day after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi targeted the Centre by raking up issues like the Rohith Vemula suicide case, the Dadri lynching and demonetisation, Irani mocked him for “all that he does”. Irani tweeted, "However, thank you @officeofRG for all that you do. Sincerely from the BJP!????", showing off her sarcasm after a long time. Rahul Gandhi said yesterday that Vemula didn’t commit suicide but was murdered for being a Dalit. "I don't call it suicide; I call it murder. Rohith (Vemula) was crushed and murdered by the indignities he suffered," said Gandhi while speaking at a conference. The Congress vice-president also slammed the Centre by raising the Dadri lynching case. "Mohammad Akhlaq was butchered because they say he stole a calf. It was a lie. Instead of questioning his (Akhlaq) brutal killing they asked whether the meat in the fridge was mutton or beef," he said. Before being shunted from the post of minister for Human Resource Development, Irani had made headlines for her verbal spats with opposition leaders. The most famous being the one with Mayawati just after Vemula’s suicide. She had left members of the Rajya Sabha stunned with her response to Mayawati after the Dalit leader accused the BJP-led government of not taking action against those who “pushed” Vemula to commit suicide. “Who uses a child to play their political strategy, sir? Not just in this House but across the nation”, Irani had said. "There was a Dalit in the committee formed, why are you ignoring that Mayawati ji?" And then came the final dramatic jibe that shocked the floor. "Agar mere uttar se aap santusht na ho to main apna sar kalam karke aapke charnoon main chhod doongi." (if you are not satisfied with my response, I will cut of my head and place it at your feet). Irani was given the additional charge of the I&B ministry after Venkaiah Naidu stepped down to run for the vice-presidential election.

Smriti Irani returns, with a bang and a tweet

<p>A section of the CPM in West Bengal is not happy with the central leadership for backing combined Opposition vice-presidential candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who had criticised the role of the party during the height of Singur and Nandigram stir when he was the governor.</p>

<p>The decision to support Gandhi&#39;s candidature has not gone down well with a large section of state committee members and grassroot leaders, some of whom have expressed their anger in the party forum and some have taken to the social media to express displeasure.</p>

<p>The disgruntled leaders referred to Gandhi&#39;s opposition to &quot;forcible&quot;&nbsp;land acquisition in Singur in Hooghly district for setting up a Tata Motors small car factory and Nandigram anti-land acquisition movement.</p>

<p>They even went to the extent of describing him as &quot;partisan to Trinamool Congress&quot;.</p>

<p>&quot;We really have no idea what our party leadership is upto. First, they decided to forge an alliance with the Congress and now they decide to support Gandhi,&quot; a CPM state committee leader told PTI on condition of anonymity.</p>

<p>&quot;How can the party forget the partisan role played by Gandhi between 2006 and 2009? This is absolute madness in the name of stopping the BJP. The party is digging its own grave,&quot; the leader felt.</p>

<p>Another senior CPM state committee leader, who had vehemently opposed the alliance with the Congress in the last Assembly polls, said, &quot;Last year our party leadership told us to forget about the neo-liberal policies and atrocities committed during Emergency by the Congress and instead align with it to stop the TMC and the BJP.&quot;</p>

<p>&quot;Now we have decided to forgive Gandhi in order to stop the BJP. Next year the party might even ask us to forgive the TMC and align with it to stop the BJP,&quot; he said with his tongue firmly in cheek.</p>

<p>Defending the decision of his party&#39;s top brass, CPM&nbsp;politburo member Hannan Mollah told PTI that certain decisions were taken with an &quot;eye on a bigger perspective&quot; irrespective of the anger and heartburn that they might generate.</p>

<p>&quot;There might be anger or reservations about the decision. But these are collective decisions taken in our central committee and politburo. At times it is not about forgiving someone, but about taking a decision with an eye on a bigger perspective. Now the biggest enemy of the country is the RSS and the BJP, so in order to stop them we had to support him (Gandhi),&quot; Mollah told PTI.</p>

<p>Similarly, CPM state secretariat member Nepaldeb Bhattacharya said, &quot;Those who are criticising the party&#39;s decision are doing that keeping in mind the Bengal perspective. They may be right from their point of view. But if you think about a pan-India perspective, you will come to see that the party has taken the right decision.&quot;</p>

<p>Gopalkrishna Gandhi was the governor of West Bengal from December 2004 to December 2009. The relation between the governor and then CPM led Left Front government started deteriorating after Gandhi criticised the state government for &#39;forcible&#39; land acquisition in Singur and police firing in Nandigram that led to the death of 14 persons in 2007.</p>

<p>During Nandigram agitation in November, 2007 when alleged armed CPM supporters had violently taken over the area, he had said, &quot;Darkness descended during Deepavali in Nandigram.&quot;</p>

<p>The infuriated CPM top brass had then questioned his jurisdiction for commenting on Nandigram. Senior CPI-M leaders Biman Bose and Binoy Konar had criticised Gandhi accusing him of being partial towards the Trinamool Congress.</p>

<p>&quot;Go and pick up a Trinamool flag but have the decorum to get out of the Raj Bhavan and leave for good,&quot;&nbsp;party leaders had then told a public rally.&nbsp;</p>


Gandhi's opposition to 'forcible' land acquisition in Singur to set up a Tata Motors small car factory led to some calling him a 'partisan to Trinamool Congress'

A section of the CPM in West Bengal is not happy with the central leadership for backing combined Opposition vice-presidential candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who had criticised the role of the party during the height of Singur and Nandigram stir when he was the governor. The decision to support Gandhi's candidature has not gone down well with a large section of state committee members and grassroot leaders, some of whom have expressed their anger in the party forum and some have taken to the social media to express displeasure. The disgruntled leaders referred to Gandhi's opposition to "forcible" land acquisition in Singur in Hooghly district for setting up a Tata Motors small car factory and Nandigram anti-land acquisition movement. They even went to the extent of describing him as "partisan to Trinamool Congress". "We really have no idea what our party leadership is upto. First, they decided to forge an alliance with the Congress and now they decide to support Gandhi," a CPM state committee leader told PTI on condition of anonymity. "How can the party forget the partisan role played by Gandhi between 2006 and 2009? This is absolute madness in the name of stopping the BJP. The party is digging its own grave," the leader felt. Another senior CPM state committee leader, who had vehemently opposed the alliance with the Congress in the last Assembly polls, said, "Last year our party leadership told us to forget about the neo-liberal policies and atrocities committed during Emergency by the Congress and instead align with it to stop the TMC and the BJP." "Now we have decided to forgive Gandhi in order to stop the BJP. Next year the party might even ask us to forgive the TMC and align with it to stop the BJP," he said with his tongue firmly in cheek. Defending the decision of his party's top brass, CPM politburo member Hannan Mollah told PTI that certain decisions were taken with an "eye on a bigger perspective" irrespective of the anger and heartburn that they might generate. "There might be anger or reservations about the decision. But these are collective decisions taken in our central committee and politburo. At times it is not about forgiving someone, but about taking a decision with an eye on a bigger perspective. Now the biggest enemy of the country is the RSS and the BJP, so in order to stop them we had to support him (Gandhi)," Mollah told PTI. Similarly, CPM state secretariat member Nepaldeb Bhattacharya said, "Those who are criticising the party's decision are doing that keeping in mind the Bengal perspective. They may be right from their point of view. But if you think about a pan-India perspective, you will come to see that the party has taken the right decision." Gopalkrishna Gandhi was the governor of West Bengal from December 2004 to December 2009. The relation between the governor and then CPM led Left Front government started deteriorating after Gandhi criticised the state government for 'forcible' land acquisition in Singur and police firing in Nandigram that led to the death of 14 persons in 2007. During Nandigram agitation in November, 2007 when alleged armed CPM supporters had violently taken over the area, he had said, "Darkness descended during Deepavali in Nandigram." The infuriated CPM top brass had then questioned his jurisdiction for commenting on Nandigram. Senior CPI-M leaders Biman Bose and Binoy Konar had criticised Gandhi accusing him of being partial towards the Trinamool Congress. "Go and pick up a Trinamool flag but have the decorum to get out of the Raj Bhavan and leave for good," party leaders had then told a public rally.

President post: Section of Bengal CPM not happy with support for Gopalkrishna Gandhi

<p>National Democratic Alliance (NDA) vice-presidential nominee M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said his endeavour will be to further strengthen Parliamentary democratic system, which is India&#39;s strength and beauty.</p>

<p>Earlier in the day, Naidu filed his nomination for the upcoming vice-presidential election in the Parliament.</p>

<p>Being honoured to be a candidate for the vice-president of India, Naidu said he has been actively engaged in public life for over four decades.</p>

<p>&quot;On being elected I will uphold traditions, standards set by the worthy predecessors and maintain dignity of office,&quot; Naidu said.</p>

<p>&quot;Office of vice president is a different profile, has its functional norms. I hope I will be able to do justice,&quot; he added.</p>

<p>Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, Naidu said he has always treated the party as his mother who brought him to this level, as he lost his own mother at a very young age.</p>

<p>An emotional Naidu said that destiny had stored something else for him, due to which he has to withdraw from the party.</p>

<p>&quot;I had told my colleagues that I want to see Prime Minister Modi come back again in 2019 and then I will call it off and join social service. But destiny decided otherwise. Finally after discussion, I have agreed. I have withdrawn myself from party, do not belong to BJP now,&quot; Naidu said.</p>

<p>Naidu will face Opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi in the race to become the next vice-president of India.</p>

<p>As prominent leader of the BJP, Naidu has also served as its national president from 2002 to 2004.</p>

<p>Both as a student leader and political figure, Naidu gained prominence as a brilliant orator, who vigorously championed the cause of the farmers and the development of backward areas.</p>

<p>His oratory skills and political activism propelled his political career and he was elected as an MLA to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly twice from Udayagiri constituency in Nellore district in 1978 and 1983. He rose to become one of the most popular leaders of the BJP in Andhra Pradesh.</p>

<p>After having served in various organisational posts of the BJP at the state and national level, he was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka in 1998.</p>

<p>He has since been re-elected twice in 2004 and 2010 from Karnataka.</p>

<p>The Vice-Presidential election will be held on August 5.&nbsp;</p>


Naidu will face Opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi in the race to become the next Vice-President of India

National Democratic Alliance (NDA) vice-presidential nominee M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said his endeavour will be to further strengthen Parliamentary democratic system, which is India's strength and beauty. Earlier in the day, Naidu filed his nomination for the upcoming vice-presidential election in the Parliament. Being honoured to be a candidate for the vice-president of India, Naidu said he has been actively engaged in public life for over four decades. "On being elected I will uphold traditions, standards set by the worthy predecessors and maintain dignity of office," Naidu said. "Office of vice president is a different profile, has its functional norms. I hope I will be able to do justice," he added. Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, Naidu said he has always treated the party as his mother who brought him to this level, as he lost his own mother at a very young age. An emotional Naidu said that destiny had stored something else for him, due to which he has to withdraw from the party. "I had told my colleagues that I want to see Prime Minister Modi come back again in 2019 and then I will call it off and join social service. But destiny decided otherwise. Finally after discussion, I have agreed. I have withdrawn myself from party, do not belong to BJP now," Naidu said. Naidu will face Opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi in the race to become the next vice-president of India. As prominent leader of the BJP, Naidu has also served as its national president from 2002 to 2004. Both as a student leader and political figure, Naidu gained prominence as a brilliant orator, who vigorously championed the cause of the farmers and the development of backward areas. His oratory skills and political activism propelled his political career and he was elected as an MLA to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly twice from Udayagiri constituency in Nellore district in 1978 and 1983. He rose to become one of the most popular leaders of the BJP in Andhra Pradesh. After having served in various organisational posts of the BJP at the state and national level, he was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka in 1998. He has since been re-elected twice in 2004 and 2010 from Karnataka. The Vice-Presidential election will be held on August 5.

Venkaiah Naidu files nomination for vice-presidential election, bids adieu to BJP

<p>The voting process to elect India&#39;s next President has ended.</p>

<p>The verdict will be out on July 20.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Voting began today to elect India&#39;s 14th President at Parliament House in the Indian capital, New Delhi, and all state legislative assembly secretariats.</p>

<p>The two<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/presidential-election-numbers-favour-nda-candidate-ram-nath-kovind-17974"> contenders for the presidential race </a>are the ruling NDA&#39;s Ram Nath Kovind and Opposition nominee Meira Kumar.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah cast their votes at 10 am in Parliament.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">PM <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi">@narendramodi</a> casting his vote to elect the next <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/President?src=hash">#President</a> of India. <a href="https://t.co/Mrx6n4VPi7">pic.twitter.com/Mrx6n4VPi7</a></p>
&mdash; Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) <a href="https://twitter.com/PTI_News/status/886822031739584513">July 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">BJP President Amit Shah cast his vote at the Parliament for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PresidentialPoll2017?src=hash">#PresidentialPoll2017</a> <a href="https://t.co/kUexuWCaDm">pic.twitter.com/kUexuWCaDm</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/886812921346392064">July 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>The numbers, however, are reported to be in Kovind&#39;s&nbsp;favour. The NDA has 537,683 votes, including the Shiv Sena, and the shortage is about 12,000 votes.</p>

<p>On Monday, members queued up in&nbsp;State Legislative Assembly Secretariats across the country to exercise their vote.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Delhi: Members of Parliament line up to cast their votes for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PresidentialPoll2017?src=hash">#PresidentialPoll2017</a> <a href="https://t.co/leXCBWvfpH">pic.twitter.com/leXCBWvfpH</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/886810147607150592">July 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Presidential Election 2017: MLAs queue up at Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly to cast their votes <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PresidentialPoll2017?src=hash">#PresidentialPoll2017</a> <a href="https://t.co/vUVBAEthNA">pic.twitter.com/vUVBAEthNA</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/886810240280342528">July 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Guwahati: Voting for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PresidentialPoll2017?src=hash">#PresidentialPoll2017</a> underway at Assam Legislative Assembly; CM Sarbananda Sonowal also cast his vote. <a href="https://t.co/33x7Xn5KGS">pic.twitter.com/33x7Xn5KGS</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/886817684209385473">July 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>DMK&#39;s MK Stalin also cast his vote at the Tamil Nadu Assembly in the morning.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">DMK working president MK Stalin casts his vote at Tamil Nadu Assembly for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PresidentialPoll2017?src=hash">#PresidentialPoll2017</a> <a href="https://t.co/bVqKnVUkYN">pic.twitter.com/bVqKnVUkYN</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/886816270649307136">July 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan arrives at MP Assembly to cast his vote for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PresidentialPoll2017?src=hash">#PresidentialPoll2017</a> <a href="https://t.co/JAcN6CmsXd">pic.twitter.com/JAcN6CmsXd</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/886820109012152320">July 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, chief of the ruling BJP, have cast their votes

The voting process to elect India's next President has ended. The verdict will be out on July 20. Voting began today to elect India's 14th President at Parliament House in the Indian capital, New Delhi, and all state legislative assembly secretariats. The two contenders for the presidential race are the ruling NDA's Ram Nath Kovind and Opposition nominee Meira Kumar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah cast their votes at 10 am in Parliament. PM @narendramodi casting his vote to elect the next #President of India. pic.twitter.com/Mrx6n4VPi7 — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 17, 2017 × BJP President Amit Shah cast his vote at the Parliament for #PresidentialPoll2017 pic.twitter.com/kUexuWCaDm — ANI (@ANI_news) July 17, 2017 × The numbers, however, are reported to be in Kovind's favour. The NDA has 537,683 votes, including the Shiv Sena, and the shortage is about 12,000 votes. On Monday, members queued up in State Legislative Assembly Secretariats across the country to exercise their vote. Delhi: Members of Parliament line up to cast their votes for #PresidentialPoll2017 pic.twitter.com/leXCBWvfpH — ANI (@ANI_news) July 17, 2017 × Presidential Election 2017: MLAs queue up at Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly to cast their votes #PresidentialPoll2017 pic.twitter.com/vUVBAEthNA — ANI (@ANI_news) July 17, 2017 × Guwahati: Voting for #PresidentialPoll2017 underway at Assam Legislative Assembly; CM Sarbananda Sonowal also cast his vote. pic.twitter.com/33x7Xn5KGS — ANI (@ANI_news) July 17, 2017 × DMK's MK Stalin also cast his vote at the Tamil Nadu Assembly in the morning. DMK working president MK Stalin casts his vote at Tamil Nadu Assembly for #PresidentialPoll2017 pic.twitter.com/bVqKnVUkYN — ANI (@ANI_news) July 17, 2017 × Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan arrives at MP Assembly to cast his vote for #PresidentialPoll2017 pic.twitter.com/JAcN6CmsXd — ANI (@ANI_news) July 17, 2017 ×

India Presidential election: Voting ends, results on July 20

<p>Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav on Monday dismissed questions about the growing chorus for his resignation as media speculation.<br />
<br />
The BJP maintained that he has only two options -&nbsp;resign or get sacked.<br />
<br />
Responding to a question on the demand for his resignation,&nbsp;Tejashwi told reporters outside the Assembly,&nbsp;&quot;It (resignation demand) is only in the media.&quot;<br />
<br />
Tejashwi had skipped an official function on July 15,&nbsp;where he was to share the dais with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, triggering speculation that the festering acrimony between the JD(U) and the RJD had reached a flash point in the wake of an FIR being registered by the CBI against the deputy chief minister in the land-for-hotels case.<br />
<br />
RJD president Lalu Prasad has also ruled out the resignation of his son Tejashwi.<br />
<br />
While Tejaswi appeared to have decided to dig in his heels, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said, &quot;He has only two options - either tender resignation or get sacked.&quot;<br />
<br />
Modi, who is the state BJP Parliamentary Party chief, urged Nitish Kumar to &quot;stand firm on his ground (in seeking Tejashwi&#39;s resignation)... The BJP will be standing with him on his decision on this issue&quot;.<br />
<br />
Though none of the JD(U) spokespersons&nbsp;made any statement on the issue today (Monday), party MLA Shyam Bahadur Singh said, &quot;It&#39;s better if the alliance breaks today... We love to work with the BJP.&quot;<br />
<br />
Congress MLA Shakil Ahmad Khan and MLC Dilip Chaudhary suggested senior leaders of the three coalition partners&nbsp;talk among themselves to hammer out a solution.<br />
<br />
Nitish Kumar heads a three-party coalition government which also includes the Congress.<br />
<br />
Amid reports of the BJP going soft on Nitish Kumar after the Tejashwi episode,&nbsp;Modi thanked the chief minister&nbsp;for his support to the NDA&#39;s presidential pick Ram Nath Kovind.<br />
<br />
&quot;Nitish Kumar&#39;s support to the NDA nominee holds a lot of significance for which we thank him,&quot; he said, claiming that along with NDA and JD(U) MLAs, four Independents also voted for Kovind.<br />
<br />
Tejashwi, who was accompanied by RJD chief whip in the Assembly Lalit Yadav, also claimed 100 per cent voting by the RJD and Congress MLAs in favour of the UPA&nbsp;presidential nominee&nbsp;Meira Kumar.<br />
<br />
Three CPI(ML) MLAs have also voted for Meira Kumar.</p>


The BJP maintained that the Bihar deputy chief minister has only two options -?resign or get sacked

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav on Monday dismissed questions about the growing chorus for his resignation as media speculation. The BJP maintained that he has only two options - resign or get sacked. Responding to a question on the demand for his resignation, Tejashwi told reporters outside the Assembly, "It (resignation demand) is only in the media." Tejashwi had skipped an official function on July 15, where he was to share the dais with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, triggering speculation that the festering acrimony between the JD(U) and the RJD had reached a flash point in the wake of an FIR being registered by the CBI against the deputy chief minister in the land-for-hotels case. RJD president Lalu Prasad has also ruled out the resignation of his son Tejashwi. While Tejaswi appeared to have decided to dig in his heels, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said, "He has only two options - either tender resignation or get sacked." Modi, who is the state BJP Parliamentary Party chief, urged Nitish Kumar to "stand firm on his ground (in seeking Tejashwi's resignation)... The BJP will be standing with him on his decision on this issue". Though none of the JD(U) spokespersons made any statement on the issue today (Monday), party MLA Shyam Bahadur Singh said, "It's better if the alliance breaks today... We love to work with the BJP." Congress MLA Shakil Ahmad Khan and MLC Dilip Chaudhary suggested senior leaders of the three coalition partners talk among themselves to hammer out a solution. Nitish Kumar heads a three-party coalition government which also includes the Congress. Amid reports of the BJP going soft on Nitish Kumar after the Tejashwi episode, Modi thanked the chief minister for his support to the NDA's presidential pick Ram Nath Kovind. "Nitish Kumar's support to the NDA nominee holds a lot of significance for which we thank him," he said, claiming that along with NDA and JD(U) MLAs, four Independents also voted for Kovind. Tejashwi, who was accompanied by RJD chief whip in the Assembly Lalit Yadav, also claimed 100 per cent voting by the RJD and Congress MLAs in favour of the UPA presidential nominee Meira Kumar. Three CPI(ML) MLAs have also voted for Meira Kumar.

Tejashwi Yadav dismisses BJP's calls for resignation

<p>Union Minister&nbsp;Kiren Rijiju had to make an emergency helicopter landing in Itanagar due to inclement weather, but is safe on the ground, ANI reports.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash">#WATCH</a> MoS Home Kiren Rijiju&#39;s chopper made preventive landing in Itanagar, due to bad weather. <a href="https://t.co/b4SkcIN8mm">pic.twitter.com/b4SkcIN8mm</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/882211031220576257">July 4, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>The helicopter carrying Rijiju and seven other passengers and crew was heading to Arunachal Pradesh&#39;s Ziro from Guwahati when heavy rains and fog forced it to touch down, NDTV reports.</p>

<p>The pilots, members of the Border Security Force, manouevred for about ten minutes, before making an emergency landing on a small field.</p>

<p>&quot;I was lucky enough to be landed safely, thanks to the BSF pilots who are very experienced,&quot; Kiren Rijiju said to the Press Trust of India.</p>

<p>Rijiju was travelling to Ziro to attend the Dree harvest festival.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Heavy rains and fog forced the helicopter carrying the union minister of state for home and seven others to land in a field in Itanagar

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju had to make an emergency helicopter landing in Itanagar due to inclement weather, but is safe on the ground, ANI reports. #WATCH MoS Home Kiren Rijiju's chopper made preventive landing in Itanagar, due to bad weather. pic.twitter.com/b4SkcIN8mm — ANI (@ANI_news) July 4, 2017 × The helicopter carrying Rijiju and seven other passengers and crew was heading to Arunachal Pradesh's Ziro from Guwahati when heavy rains and fog forced it to touch down, NDTV reports. The pilots, members of the Border Security Force, manouevred for about ten minutes, before making an emergency landing on a small field. "I was lucky enough to be landed safely, thanks to the BSF pilots who are very experienced," Kiren Rijiju said to the Press Trust of India. Rijiju was travelling to Ziro to attend the Dree harvest festival.

Watch: Indian minister Rijiju's chopper makes emergency landing in Arunachal

<p>The Centre on Friday questioned the Congress Party and the Trinamool Congress&#39;s (TMC) over its U-turn on the Goods and Service Tax (GST) and asked why they weren&#39;t supporting the government now when they backed the uniform tax regime in the Parliament.</p>

<p>Opposition parties, led by the Congress, have dismissed the event as a &quot;publicity gimmick&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The exceptions are the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party and former PM HD Dewe Gowda&#39;s Janata Dal Secular, who have said they will attend the event, which will also be attended by celebrities including actor Amitabh Bachchan and industrialist Ratan Tata.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">India deserves a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GST?src=hash">#GST</a> rollout that does not put crores of its ordinary citizens, small businesses &amp; traders through tremendous pain &amp;anxiety</p>
&mdash; Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficeOfRG/status/880718731340591104">June 30, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;GST is the most important economic change after India&#39;s Independence. It is a historic day and after the rolling out of GST it will be easy to do business. Through this people will gain from the indirect benefits. In Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Congress and TMC supported this. They should support in even now,&quot; Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said.</p>

<p>The minister was reiterating Finance Minister Arun Jaitley&#39;s statement yesterday that the GST had been formed with the consensus of the states and a consideration of their suggestions.</p>

<p>Minister of State (Development Ministry) Jitendra Singh said GST would be a &quot;gamechanger in India&#39;s economic road map for the future.&quot;</p>

<p>&quot;It is not a mere economic reform, but it is a game changer in India&#39;s economic road map for the future. But at the same time it is also going to be a new values addition to the character of India Republic. It is an occasion of celebration and rededicating ourselves to the service of nation by each and every citizen of India,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>Earlier on Friday, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu urged the Congress Party to &quot;realise and rethink&quot; their stand and join the government for the midnight Parliament session.</p>

<p>&quot;It&#39;s really unfortunate because they are distancing themselves from the process of reformation in the country. I hope they (Congress) realise by evening and re-think and join us in the Central Hall,&quot; Naidu said.</p>

<p>&quot;I still appeal to the Congress and other parties boycotting GST event to reconsider. It&#39;s not a party function,&quot; he added.</p>

<p>The Congress Party yesterday said that it would boycott the midnight meeting on the GST roll-out, dismissing it as a publicity stunt.</p>

<p>Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge pointed out that previous governments had not celebrated landmark the passing of landmark reforms in Parliament including the Right to Information Act, the Food Security Act and the MNREGA.</p>

<p>&quot;We are boycotting this midnight celebration. In UPA government; Right to Information (RTI) Act, Food Security Act, MNREGA, Right to Education laws were passed which were beneficial for people. But, we never made celebration for such things in central hall. The BJP is doing publicity only in which they are master,&quot; Mallikarjun Kharge said.</p>

<p>Apart from the Congress, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party, the Left, and the DMK have also decided to boycott&nbsp;a special sitting of the two parliament chambers -- to be held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the tax takes effect at midnight on Friday.</p>

<p>Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will not attend the event. State minister Vijendra Yadav will represent the Janata Dal (United) on his behalf.</p>

<p>The GST, which rolls out at midnight today, will bring the Indian economy under a single tax bracket.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There have only been three previous midnight sittings in India&#39;s history, to mark India&#39;s independence in 1947 and the 25th and 50th anniversaries.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Congress said the nationalist government was &quot;insulting the very memory of India&#39;s freedom struggle and the sacrifices associated with it&quot;.</p>

<p>Rashtriya Janata Dal party spokesman Manoj Kumar Jha said the party would &quot;boycott this mega spectacle of optical illusion&quot;.</p>

<p>&quot;Though we have been in favour of GST, we believe there are pressing concerns, particularly among the small- and medium-level traders and manufacturing units, which remain unaddressed,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday backed the GST and questioned, why political parties were creating a fuss over its launch when they unanimously passed the tax reform in the Parliament.<br />
<br />
The GST is to be rolled out Saturday even as businesses complain they are ill-prepared for the massive changes about to ripple through India&#39;s unwieldy economy.</p>

<p>Watch WION&#39;s Kartikeya Sharma on GST rollout:&nbsp;</p>

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="400" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWIONews%2Fvideos%2F679071652303473%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=300" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="300"></iframe></p>

<p><br />
&nbsp;</p>


Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu urged the Congress Party to 'realise and rethink' their stand and join the government for the midnight Parliament session

The Centre on Friday questioned the Congress Party and the Trinamool Congress's (TMC) over its U-turn on the Goods and Service Tax (GST) and asked why they weren't supporting the government now when they backed the uniform tax regime in the Parliament. Opposition parties, led by the Congress, have dismissed the event as a "publicity gimmick". The exceptions are the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party and former PM HD Dewe Gowda's Janata Dal Secular, who have said they will attend the event, which will also be attended by celebrities including actor Amitabh Bachchan and industrialist Ratan Tata. India deserves a #GST rollout that does not put crores of its ordinary citizens, small businesses & traders through tremendous pain &anxiety — Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 30, 2017 × "GST is the most important economic change after India's Independence. It is a historic day and after the rolling out of GST it will be easy to do business. Through this people will gain from the indirect benefits. In Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Congress and TMC supported this. They should support in even now," Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said. The minister was reiterating Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement yesterday that the GST had been formed with the consensus of the states and a consideration of their suggestions. Minister of State (Development Ministry) Jitendra Singh said GST would be a "gamechanger in India's economic road map for the future." "It is not a mere economic reform, but it is a game changer in India's economic road map for the future. But at the same time it is also going to be a new values addition to the character of India Republic. It is an occasion of celebration and rededicating ourselves to the service of nation by each and every citizen of India," he said. Earlier on Friday, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu urged the Congress Party to "realise and rethink" their stand and join the government for the midnight Parliament session. "It's really unfortunate because they are distancing themselves from the process of reformation in the country. I hope they (Congress) realise by evening and re-think and join us in the Central Hall," Naidu said. "I still appeal to the Congress and other parties boycotting GST event to reconsider. It's not a party function," he added. The Congress Party yesterday said that it would boycott the midnight meeting on the GST roll-out, dismissing it as a publicity stunt. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge pointed out that previous governments had not celebrated landmark the passing of landmark reforms in Parliament including the Right to Information Act, the Food Security Act and the MNREGA. "We are boycotting this midnight celebration. In UPA government; Right to Information (RTI) Act, Food Security Act, MNREGA, Right to Education laws were passed which were beneficial for people. But, we never made celebration for such things in central hall. The BJP is doing publicity only in which they are master," Mallikarjun Kharge said. Apart from the Congress, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party, the Left, and the DMK have also decided to boycott a special sitting of the two parliament chambers -- to be held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the tax takes effect at midnight on Friday. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will not attend the event. State minister Vijendra Yadav will represent the Janata Dal (United) on his behalf. The GST, which rolls out at midnight today, will bring the Indian economy under a single tax bracket. There have only been three previous midnight sittings in India's history, to mark India's independence in 1947 and the 25th and 50th anniversaries. Congress said the nationalist government was "insulting the very memory of India's freedom struggle and the sacrifices associated with it". Rashtriya Janata Dal party spokesman Manoj Kumar Jha said the party would "boycott this mega spectacle of optical illusion". "Though we have been in favour of GST, we believe there are pressing concerns, particularly among the small- and medium-level traders and manufacturing units, which remain unaddressed," he said. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday backed the GST and questioned, why political parties were creating a fuss over its launch when they unanimously passed the tax reform in the Parliament. The GST is to be rolled out Saturday even as businesses complain they are ill-prepared for the massive changes about to ripple through India's unwieldy economy. Watch WION's Kartikeya Sharma on GST rollout:

As midnight launch boycotts increase, government questions U-turn on GST

<p>With Ram Nath Kovind&rsquo;s announcement as NDA&rsquo;s presidential candidate, the bar has been raised for the Opposition. The Opposition&rsquo;s candidate will need to create a far powerful imagination of presidency knowing that he or she doesn&rsquo;t have the numbers to make it to the office of the President. But the crisis does sow the seeds of opportunity. When Ambedkar&rsquo;s grandson, Prakash Ambedkar says that an Adivasi should be selected to fight the official candidate, it shouldn&rsquo;t be brushed aside as light comment from a political outsider. Instead of making it a Dalit vs Dalit fight, the Congress party can pick its own symbol of oppressed people, and deploy a face whose credibility matches or exceeds that of the official candidate.</p>

<p>Today, tribals represent the most exploited and least politically empowered segments in the Indian political structure.</p>

<p>Last time around, PA Sangma floated this idea and contested the elections on this very plank but lost. He was an accomplished parliamentarian but his opponent was formidable Pranab Mukherji. So neither the idea had cut any ice nor could he create a counter-narrative which would put Pranab Mukherji at a disadvantage despite having the numbers by his side.</p>

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<h5>India&rsquo;s tribal communities also suffer from the absence of political platforms, which both Muslims and Dalits enjoy.</h5>
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<p>Tribals in this country are the most oppressed people in India. They are far more marginalised than Dalits, both socially and politically. In popular literature and politics, Dalits have their icons but tribals have none. Even Muslims and other minorities received support from various quarters and help from mainstream parties but not the members of the tribal communities. It is also because tribals are far removed from the cities; their voices are too remote to be captured by the media. India&rsquo;s tribal communities also suffer from the absence of political platforms, which both Muslims and Dalits enjoy. The original sons of the soil also continue to be violently oppressed by the state, industrialists, Naxalites and missionaries.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Tribals of India don&rsquo;t have their Ambedkar or Gandhi.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, which were created on the plank of tribal homeland have non-tribal as their chief ministers today.</h5>
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<p>Worst is the representation rate of the tribals in the state as it continues to be very low. India has never had a tribal in any of the top four ministerial portfolios. Neither the service chiefs nor the head of bureaucracy has come from any of the tribal communities, leave alone the positions of prime minister and the president. Though tribals have gone on to become the chief ministers but such is the nature of politics that states, such as Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, which were created on the plank of tribal homeland have non-tribal as their chief ministers today. Tribals neither control the rich natural resources nor have a say in the pattern of development. All they have received is displacement in the name of development.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Many would argue that pitching a tribal president would be a symbolic affair but politics is about creating symbols. It imparts larger meaning to public discourse. Even Pratibha Patil was projected as a woman by the Congress when she was nominated as India&rsquo;s first female president. So, what should the Congress do now when multiple alliance partners are on verge of leaving them for BJP?&nbsp;</p>

<p>Congress can make a strong pitch for a tribal as the President. Otherwise, they would either have to pitch the former Lok Sabha Speaker Meera Kumar or else they would have to go for a Gandhian who in popular imagery could transcend the politics of caste. And both the categories would look stale and ordinary.</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


Many would argue that pitching a tribal president would be a symbolic affair but politics is about creating symbols

With Ram Nath Kovind’s announcement as NDA’s presidential candidate, the bar has been raised for the Opposition. The Opposition’s candidate will need to create a far powerful imagination of presidency knowing that he or she doesn’t have the numbers to make it to the office of the President. But the crisis does sow the seeds of opportunity. When Ambedkar’s grandson, Prakash Ambedkar says that an Adivasi should be selected to fight the official candidate, it shouldn’t be brushed aside as light comment from a political outsider. Instead of making it a Dalit vs Dalit fight, the Congress party can pick its own symbol of oppressed people, and deploy a face whose credibility matches or exceeds that of the official candidate. Today, tribals represent the most exploited and least politically empowered segments in the Indian political structure. Last time around, PA Sangma floated this idea and contested the elections on this very plank but lost. He was an accomplished parliamentarian but his opponent was formidable Pranab Mukherji. So neither the idea had cut any ice nor could he create a counter-narrative which would put Pranab Mukherji at a disadvantage despite having the numbers by his side. India’s tribal communities also suffer from the absence of political platforms, which both Muslims and Dalits enjoy. × Tribals in this country are the most oppressed people in India. They are far more marginalised than Dalits, both socially and politically. In popular literature and politics, Dalits have their icons but tribals have none. Even Muslims and other minorities received support from various quarters and help from mainstream parties but not the members of the tribal communities. It is also because tribals are far removed from the cities; their voices are too remote to be captured by the media. India’s tribal communities also suffer from the absence of political platforms, which both Muslims and Dalits enjoy. The original sons of the soil also continue to be violently oppressed by the state, industrialists, Naxalites and missionaries. Tribals of India don’t have their Ambedkar or Gandhi. Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, which were created on the plank of tribal homeland have non-tribal as their chief ministers today. × Worst is the representation rate of the tribals in the state as it continues to be very low. India has never had a tribal in any of the top four ministerial portfolios. Neither the service chiefs nor the head of bureaucracy has come from any of the tribal communities, leave alone the positions of prime minister and the president. Though tribals have gone on to become the chief ministers but such is the nature of politics that states, such as Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, which were created on the plank of tribal homeland have non-tribal as their chief ministers today. Tribals neither control the rich natural resources nor have a say in the pattern of development. All they have received is displacement in the name of development. Many would argue that pitching a tribal president would be a symbolic affair but politics is about creating symbols. It imparts larger meaning to public discourse. Even Pratibha Patil was projected as a woman by the Congress when she was nominated as India’s first female president. So, what should the Congress do now when multiple alliance partners are on verge of leaving them for BJP? Congress can make a strong pitch for a tribal as the President. Otherwise, they would either have to pitch the former Lok Sabha Speaker Meera Kumar or else they would have to go for a Gandhian who in popular imagery could transcend the politics of caste. And both the categories would look stale and ordinary. (WION)

Should Congress propose an Adivasi as the presidential candidate?

<p>The Dalit outreach of BJP has become evident with its choice of elevating Governor of Bihar Ram Nath Kovind as the next president of India. There is no doubt that Mr. Kovind on his own is a qualified lawyer and was nominated to Rajya Sabha twice by the party. He not only served on important parliamentary panels but also worked for the organisation. But for good or bad, his Dalit identity would remain the prism through which his election to the high office would be observed because Mr. Kovind belongs to the Kori community within Dalit umbrella. They belong to a less privileged section within Dalits which, in general parlance, are described as non-Jatavs. Post-independence, the Jatavs continue to dominate leadership position within Dalits but Mr. Kovind&rsquo;s candidature might change the game in favour of the non-Jatavs.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
It is well-known that BJP over the past three years has been the target of stringent criticism from the Congress and other Opposition parties on the larger Dalit issue. Despite getting a good portion of the non-Jatav vote in various assembly elections, various episodes were placing the ruling party in discomfiture. For instance, the BJP had come under considerable attack from the Congress after Rohith Vemula episode. Then came the elections in Bihar and much-contested statement of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on reservations. BJP tried its best during assembly election to damage control but the statement had cost BJP the Bihar elections.</p>

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<h5>Post-independence, the Jatavs continue to dominate leadership position within Dalits but Mr. Kovind&rsquo;s candidature might change the game in favour of the non-Jatavs</h5>
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<p>BJP&rsquo;s problem further got complicated because of the rise of cow vigilantes and violence they perpetrated. Social media has been flooded with the so-called cow rakshaks mercilessly beating up Dalits who have a considerable presence in the skinning business. Many academicians also argued that by depriving beef to Dalits, the ruling class has ended up depriving cheap source of protein to the most oppressed section of the Indian state. This recurrent theme got married to the issues Congress picked up related to the farming sector through first three years.</p>

<p>On the surface, BJP remained dismissive about the criticism but the party leadership did understand that the debate over the Dalit cause held the potential to paint BJP as anti-Dalit and pro-industrialists in front of the electorate.</p>

<p>By selecting Kovind, BJP wants to rest the debate on Dalit issue. The aim is not to create a consensus on the name but to push a candidate who can send a strong signal to the Dalit community that this choice was made with a purpose.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The message being that BJP remains committed to the Dalit cause. This is the reason why that BJP President Amit Shah continues to break bread with Dalits all through the expansion programme of BJP in India.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Congress may accuse BJP of symbolism but it also took the credit for making KR Narayanan as the first Dalit President of the Indian Republic. It is also not without reason that Mallikarjun Kharge is the leader of the Congress Party in Lok Sabha and Gulam Nabi Azad in Rajya Sabha. Former is a senior politician from Karnataka and a Dalit and latter hails from Jammu and a Muslim. The Gandhi-Nehru family members position themselves as Pandits from Kashmir, and through every important appointment, they try to recreate the triad of Muslim, Dalit and Brahmin. This community alliance building is something which former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi excelled at through her career.</p>

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<h5>The Gandhi-Nehru family members position themselves as Pandits from Kashmir, and through every important appointment, they try to recreate the triad of Muslim, Dalit and Brahmin</h5>
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<p>Another reason for this decision is that today BJP might have strong upper caste and OBC faces through India but doesn&rsquo;t have a pan-Indian Dalit leader in its stable. For that matter, even Congress doesn&rsquo;t have a Dalit leader to use as a poster boy but the party, at least, have a history of Dalit leadership, starting from non-other than the Father of the Indian Constitution Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Other Dalit leaders belonging to non-Congress fold like Mayawati remain rooted to state politics.</p>

<p>By elevating Mr. Kovind through a non-electoral and non- organisational process, BJP is making the benchmark for Dalit politics tougher for the UPA. The Opposition will need to be creative in fielding a candidate against Ram Nath Kovind. It will need to portray a face which either outshines the imagination around Mr. Kovind or be able to replace the very discourse on which his selection has taken place.</p>

<p>Through the first three years, the Opposition had the upper hand on the narrative on Dalit politics. This is BJP&rsquo;s fitting answer to it. However, one will have to wait to see whether this act, in the long run, alter the electoral arithmetic for BJP or just dies after creating a noise on the mainstream and social media.</p>


With Kovind as the presidential candidate, BJP sends out the message of its commitment to the Dalit cause, particularly to the non-Jatavs

The Dalit outreach of BJP has become evident with its choice of elevating Governor of Bihar Ram Nath Kovind as the next president of India. There is no doubt that Mr. Kovind on his own is a qualified lawyer and was nominated to Rajya Sabha twice by the party. He not only served on important parliamentary panels but also worked for the organisation. But for good or bad, his Dalit identity would remain the prism through which his election to the high office would be observed because Mr. Kovind belongs to the Kori community within Dalit umbrella. They belong to a less privileged section within Dalits which, in general parlance, are described as non-Jatavs. Post-independence, the Jatavs continue to dominate leadership position within Dalits but Mr. Kovind’s candidature might change the game in favour of the non-Jatavs. It is well-known that BJP over the past three years has been the target of stringent criticism from the Congress and other Opposition parties on the larger Dalit issue. Despite getting a good portion of the non-Jatav vote in various assembly elections, various episodes were placing the ruling party in discomfiture. For instance, the BJP had come under considerable attack from the Congress after Rohith Vemula episode. Then came the elections in Bihar and much-contested statement of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on reservations. BJP tried its best during assembly election to damage control but the statement had cost BJP the Bihar elections. Post-independence, the Jatavs continue to dominate leadership position within Dalits but Mr. Kovind’s candidature might change the game in favour of the non-Jatavs × BJP’s problem further got complicated because of the rise of cow vigilantes and violence they perpetrated. Social media has been flooded with the so-called cow rakshaks mercilessly beating up Dalits who have a considerable presence in the skinning business. Many academicians also argued that by depriving beef to Dalits, the ruling class has ended up depriving cheap source of protein to the most oppressed section of the Indian state. This recurrent theme got married to the issues Congress picked up related to the farming sector through first three years. On the surface, BJP remained dismissive about the criticism but the party leadership did understand that the debate over the Dalit cause held the potential to paint BJP as anti-Dalit and pro-industrialists in front of the electorate. By selecting Kovind, BJP wants to rest the debate on Dalit issue. The aim is not to create a consensus on the name but to push a candidate who can send a strong signal to the Dalit community that this choice was made with a purpose. The message being that BJP remains committed to the Dalit cause. This is the reason why that BJP President Amit Shah continues to break bread with Dalits all through the expansion programme of BJP in India. Congress may accuse BJP of symbolism but it also took the credit for making KR Narayanan as the first Dalit President of the Indian Republic. It is also not without reason that Mallikarjun Kharge is the leader of the Congress Party in Lok Sabha and Gulam Nabi Azad in Rajya Sabha. Former is a senior politician from Karnataka and a Dalit and latter hails from Jammu and a Muslim. The Gandhi-Nehru family members position themselves as Pandits from Kashmir, and through every important appointment, they try to recreate the triad of Muslim, Dalit and Brahmin. This community alliance building is something which former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi excelled at through her career. The Gandhi-Nehru family members position themselves as Pandits from Kashmir, and through every important appointment, they try to recreate the triad of Muslim, Dalit and Brahmin × Another reason for this decision is that today BJP might have strong upper caste and OBC faces through India but doesn’t have a pan-Indian Dalit leader in its stable. For that matter, even Congress doesn’t have a Dalit leader to use as a poster boy but the party, at least, have a history of Dalit leadership, starting from non-other than the Father of the Indian Constitution Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Other Dalit leaders belonging to non-Congress fold like Mayawati remain rooted to state politics. By elevating Mr. Kovind through a non-electoral and non- organisational process, BJP is making the benchmark for Dalit politics tougher for the UPA. The Opposition will need to be creative in fielding a candidate against Ram Nath Kovind. It will need to portray a face which either outshines the imagination around Mr. Kovind or be able to replace the very discourse on which his selection has taken place. Through the first three years, the Opposition had the upper hand on the narrative on Dalit politics. This is BJP’s fitting answer to it. However, one will have to wait to see whether this act, in the long run, alter the electoral arithmetic for BJP or just dies after creating a noise on the mainstream and social media.

Ram Nath Kovind and BJP's grant Dalit outreach

<p>BJP is in the striking distance of getting a president elected who will hail completely from a non-Congress stock. For the first time in post-independent India, BJP will be electing a president without any help from parties who are ideologically opposed to it.&nbsp;</p>

<p>So, it brings us to the question as what the presidential candidate would look like? The history proves that largely, presidential candidates bore the will of the prime minister or the one who controlled the lever of power, which in the case of the UPA government in both its phases was Congress President Sonia Gandhi.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The early years of the republic saw the office of the president being occupied by those who led India&#39;s freedom struggle; they were held in high esteem by the Congress party.</p>

<p>The list of the &lsquo;firsts&rsquo; includes Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Dr. Zakir Hussain. Dr. Prasad was a volunteer with Gandhi during Champaran movement in 1916. Despite differences of opinion between Nehru and Rajendra Babu, representing the Left and Right ideas respectively, the two leaders co-existed. Their mutual respect was born out of their shared struggle. Each acknowledged the significance and contribution of the other.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Radhakrishnan who went on to become the president in 1962 was an educationist and a politician in shadows. He became vice president of the country in 1952 but wasn&rsquo;t overtly part of the freedom struggle or the Congress Party. He was an educationist whose birthday is celebrated as Teacher&rsquo;s day in India. Dr. Zakir Hussain too was an educationist and co-founder of the Jamia Millia Islamia University. He served as the second vice president of India. Their election, more than anything else, reflects a Congress party increasingly being dominated by Nehru in the post-1950s.</p>

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<h5>Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad shamed the country by signing the proclamation of the emergency, demonstrating his commitment towards an individual rather than the Indian republic.</h5>
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<p>Rajendra Prasad, Radhakrishnan, &nbsp;Zakir Hussain constituted the compatriots, achievers, authors and visionaries of the new Indian republic. They were first amongst the equals.</p>

<p>Post-1969 all the presidents, including KR Narayanan came from active Congress stable. Most of them had the opportunity to interact with MK Gandhi, and subsequently, make a smooth transition to various spheres of government at the centre and states after 1952.&nbsp;</p>

<p>All of them were minted in the Congress tradition and were aware of the rise of Indira Gandhi in the political ecosystem. Also, they were insiders who served as the Members of Parliament, ministers and chief ministers under Nehru, Shastri and Indira Gandhi when they were the prime minister. But for the selection to high office, loyalty became an important parameter.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
VV Giri became the president, defeating the official candidate of the Congress, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy when Indira Gandhi called for a conscience vote opposed to the &quot;syndicate&quot; in the party.&nbsp;</p>

<p>All the former presidents, including Shankar Dayal Sharma were dyed-in-the-wool Congressmen. Even KR Narayanan, a Foreign Service officer got his break from India&rsquo;s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on Harold Laski&rsquo;s letter. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad shamed the country by signing the proclamation of the emergency, demonstrating his commitment towards an individual rather than the Indian republic. Zail Singh openly sang peons for Indira Gandhi, though Singh eventually fell out with her son Rajiv Gandhi. Both of them, however, professed loyalty towards Indira Gandhi.</p>

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<h5>Vipakash kee Sarkar mein bhi Congress ka hee raj hota hai.</h5>
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<p>Congressmen became the Union president even when the power in the center happened to be in the hands of non-Congress parties.<br />
For instance, when Janata Party came to power in 1977, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was elected unopposed as the president. Morarji Desai was the prime minister and, ironically, both were ex-Congressmen. &nbsp;It led to the famous saying: &quot;Vipakash kee Sarkar mein bhi Congress ka hee raj hota hai.&rdquo;</p>

<p>It didn&rsquo;t matter much in 1977 but did become an issue in 2002 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was interested in getting a prominent Congress man Krishan Kant elected as the president but couldn&rsquo;t owing to the opposition from hardliners in his party.</p>

<p>It is in this backdrop Prime Minister Narendra Modi will nominate BJP&rsquo;s candidate who will truly belong to his ecosystem. An emaciated Congress in 1991 was able to elect Shankar Dayal Sharma as the president who Sonia Gandhi wanted to become the prime minister after Rajiv Gandhi&rsquo;s assassination. He declined, and PV Narasimha Rao got the opportunity to become one. A year later Sharma went on to become the president.</p>

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<h5>Pratibha Patil was a result of a larger alliance built by Congress to push a non-controversial Congress candidate on the basis of loyalty and gender.</h5>
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<p>Lastly, APJ Kalam went on to become the president though BJP did not have the number in the electoral college but succeeded because of the Congress support. The Congress High Command supported Kalam because it didn&rsquo;t want to go with the Left-supported candidature of Captain Lakshmi Sehgal. On the other hand, Pratibha Patil was a result of a larger alliance built by Congress to push a non-controversial Congress candidate on the basis of loyalty and gender. It would be noteworthy that even Left had its say in the election of the vice president when Hamid Ansari occupied the office.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The last of them is current president Dr Pranab Mukherji who became the president out of his will and his ability to influence players across the political spectrum.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This brings us back again to the question on the type of person Narendra Modi would like to ascend to Raisina Hill? To put it simply, he will be a person of complete non-Congress stock. He or she would have either worked with or through the ranks of the RSS. The person&rsquo;s ideological loyalty to the RSS-BJP will be unquestioned. Such a president would showcase the autonomy of the government in electing their own man.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Despite short of numbers, the Congress lately was able to elect presidents of its choosing because it dominated the ideological ecosystem of the country. The only compromise that the Congress party made was that for the position of the vice president because it required the support of the Left to survive in 2007.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The issue is whether BJP would fall into the trap of sectional representation like South, tribal, gender or Dalit categories? Though the Congress never overtly acknowledged but partook the claim to have nominated the first Dalit as the President in KR Narayanan. Sonia Gandhi got lackluster Pratibha Patel as the president for the reason she is a woman. Vajpayee had to make do with Kalam because Congress couldn&rsquo;t say no to a candidate of minority dispensation. His name was suggested by Mulayam Singh Yadav and brokered by V. Naidu.</p>

<p>In 2017, none of the above-mentioned constraints exist for BJP. Once the party is done deliberating with other political parties, it is expected to announce one of their own as the presidential candidate. The BJP-nominated candidate would share the party&#39;s cultural and ideological ecosystem in complete opposition to the Left-Congress imagination of the Indian landscape. Whether it comes in the shape of Sushma Swaraj, Sumitra Mahajan, Draupadi Murmu, the person will owe his nomination to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He will bear Prime Minister Narendra Modi&rsquo;s signature who in Vajpayee&rsquo;s absence has become the &lsquo;pratham purush&rsquo; or the first man of the government, party and ideology.&nbsp;</p>

<p>So, let&rsquo;s wait for the name.</p>


BJP's presidential candidate will bear Prime Minister Modi's ideological signature.

BJP is in the striking distance of getting a president elected who will hail completely from a non-Congress stock. For the first time in post-independent India, BJP will be electing a president without any help from parties who are ideologically opposed to it. So, it brings us to the question as what the presidential candidate would look like? The history proves that largely, presidential candidates bore the will of the prime minister or the one who controlled the lever of power, which in the case of the UPA government in both its phases was Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The early years of the republic saw the office of the president being occupied by those who led India's freedom struggle; they were held in high esteem by the Congress party. The list of the ‘firsts’ includes Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Dr. Zakir Hussain. Dr. Prasad was a volunteer with Gandhi during Champaran movement in 1916. Despite differences of opinion between Nehru and Rajendra Babu, representing the Left and Right ideas respectively, the two leaders co-existed. Their mutual respect was born out of their shared struggle. Each acknowledged the significance and contribution of the other. Radhakrishnan who went on to become the president in 1962 was an educationist and a politician in shadows. He became vice president of the country in 1952 but wasn’t overtly part of the freedom struggle or the Congress Party. He was an educationist whose birthday is celebrated as Teacher’s day in India. Dr. Zakir Hussain too was an educationist and co-founder of the Jamia Millia Islamia University. He served as the second vice president of India. Their election, more than anything else, reflects a Congress party increasingly being dominated by Nehru in the post-1950s. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad shamed the country by signing the proclamation of the emergency, demonstrating his commitment towards an individual rather than the Indian republic. × Rajendra Prasad, Radhakrishnan, Zakir Hussain constituted the compatriots, achievers, authors and visionaries of the new Indian republic. They were first amongst the equals. Post-1969 all the presidents, including KR Narayanan came from active Congress stable. Most of them had the opportunity to interact with MK Gandhi, and subsequently, make a smooth transition to various spheres of government at the centre and states after 1952. All of them were minted in the Congress tradition and were aware of the rise of Indira Gandhi in the political ecosystem. Also, they were insiders who served as the Members of Parliament, ministers and chief ministers under Nehru, Shastri and Indira Gandhi when they were the prime minister. But for the selection to high office, loyalty became an important parameter. VV Giri became the president, defeating the official candidate of the Congress, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy when Indira Gandhi called for a conscience vote opposed to the "syndicate" in the party. All the former presidents, including Shankar Dayal Sharma were dyed-in-the-wool Congressmen. Even KR Narayanan, a Foreign Service officer got his break from India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on Harold Laski’s letter. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad shamed the country by signing the proclamation of the emergency, demonstrating his commitment towards an individual rather than the Indian republic. Zail Singh openly sang peons for Indira Gandhi, though Singh eventually fell out with her son Rajiv Gandhi. Both of them, however, professed loyalty towards Indira Gandhi. Vipakash kee Sarkar mein bhi Congress ka hee raj hota hai. × Congressmen became the Union president even when the power in the center happened to be in the hands of non-Congress parties. For instance, when Janata Party came to power in 1977, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was elected unopposed as the president. Morarji Desai was the prime minister and, ironically, both were ex-Congressmen. It led to the famous saying: "Vipakash kee Sarkar mein bhi Congress ka hee raj hota hai.” It didn’t matter much in 1977 but did become an issue in 2002 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was interested in getting a prominent Congress man Krishan Kant elected as the president but couldn’t owing to the opposition from hardliners in his party. It is in this backdrop Prime Minister Narendra Modi will nominate BJP’s candidate who will truly belong to his ecosystem. An emaciated Congress in 1991 was able to elect Shankar Dayal Sharma as the president who Sonia Gandhi wanted to become the prime minister after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. He declined, and PV Narasimha Rao got the opportunity to become one. A year later Sharma went on to become the president. Pratibha Patil was a result of a larger alliance built by Congress to push a non-controversial Congress candidate on the basis of loyalty and gender. × Lastly, APJ Kalam went on to become the president though BJP did not have the number in the electoral college but succeeded because of the Congress support. The Congress High Command supported Kalam because it didn’t want to go with the Left-supported candidature of Captain Lakshmi Sehgal. On the other hand, Pratibha Patil was a result of a larger alliance built by Congress to push a non-controversial Congress candidate on the basis of loyalty and gender. It would be noteworthy that even Left had its say in the election of the vice president when Hamid Ansari occupied the office. The last of them is current president Dr Pranab Mukherji who became the president out of his will and his ability to influence players across the political spectrum. This brings us back again to the question on the type of person Narendra Modi would like to ascend to Raisina Hill? To put it simply, he will be a person of complete non-Congress stock. He or she would have either worked with or through the ranks of the RSS. The person’s ideological loyalty to the RSS-BJP will be unquestioned. Such a president would showcase the autonomy of the government in electing their own man. Despite short of numbers, the Congress lately was able to elect presidents of its choosing because it dominated the ideological ecosystem of the country. The only compromise that the Congress party made was that for the position of the vice president because it required the support of the Left to survive in 2007. The issue is whether BJP would fall into the trap of sectional representation like South, tribal, gender or Dalit categories? Though the Congress never overtly acknowledged but partook the claim to have nominated the first Dalit as the President in KR Narayanan. Sonia Gandhi got lackluster Pratibha Patel as the president for the reason she is a woman. Vajpayee had to make do with Kalam because Congress couldn’t say no to a candidate of minority dispensation. His name was suggested by Mulayam Singh Yadav and brokered by V. Naidu. In 2017, none of the above-mentioned constraints exist for BJP. Once the party is done deliberating with other political parties, it is expected to announce one of their own as the presidential candidate. The BJP-nominated candidate would share the party's cultural and ideological ecosystem in complete opposition to the Left-Congress imagination of the Indian landscape. Whether it comes in the shape of Sushma Swaraj, Sumitra Mahajan, Draupadi Murmu, the person will owe his nomination to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He will bear Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s signature who in Vajpayee’s absence has become the ‘pratham purush’ or the first man of the government, party and ideology. So, let’s wait for the name.

Who will be India's new president?

<p>The CBI went to Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain&#39;s residence on Monday to quiz his wife in connection with the alleged money laundering case.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Aam Aadmi Party hit back by accusing&nbsp;the federal government of &quot;vendetta politics&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Central government of BJP is misusing CBI for its vendetta politics. After Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, BJP&#39;s CBI raids on Minister,&quot; the party said in a tweet.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="da">&quot;Vendetta Politics Continues&quot;<br />
After CM Arvind Kejriwal and Dy CM Manish Sisodia, BJP&#39;s CBI raids Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/SatyendarJain">@SatyendarJain</a>. <a href="https://t.co/8Q8sT5srQn">pic.twitter.com/8Q8sT5srQn</a></p>
&mdash; AAP (@AamAadmiParty) <a href="https://twitter.com/AamAadmiParty/status/876690752406921216">June 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry&nbsp;against Jain in April. The Delhi minister is alleged to be involved in money laundering to the tune of Rs 4.63 crore while he was a public servant in 2015-16.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Jain has dismissed any wrongdoing after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties linked to him in the matter last month.</p>

<p>A preliminary enquiry is the first step by the CBI to gather information about allegations. If the agency is convinced that there exists prima facie material in the matter, it may register a regular case against the accused.</p>

<p>Allegations against Jain also include purported money laundering to the tune of Rs 11.78 crore during between 2010 and 2012.&nbsp;</p>


AAP has accused Narendra Modi's federal government of 'vendetta politics'

The CBI went to Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain's residence on Monday to quiz his wife in connection with the alleged money laundering case. The Aam Aadmi Party hit back by accusing the federal government of "vendetta politics". "Central government of BJP is misusing CBI for its vendetta politics. After Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, BJP's CBI raids on Minister," the party said in a tweet. "Vendetta Politics Continues" After CM Arvind Kejriwal and Dy CM Manish Sisodia, BJP's CBI raids Minister @SatyendarJain. pic.twitter.com/8Q8sT5srQn — AAP (@AamAadmiParty) June 19, 2017 × CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry against Jain in April. The Delhi minister is alleged to be involved in money laundering to the tune of Rs 4.63 crore while he was a public servant in 2015-16. Jain has dismissed any wrongdoing after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties linked to him in the matter last month. A preliminary enquiry is the first step by the CBI to gather information about allegations. If the agency is convinced that there exists prima facie material in the matter, it may register a regular case against the accused. Allegations against Jain also include purported money laundering to the tune of Rs 11.78 crore during between 2010 and 2012.

CBI questions AAP minister Satyendra Jain's wife over money laundering allegations

<p><strong>By Ankit Saproo</strong></p>

<p>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, surprised everyone when the BJP parliamentary board, in a meeting today, announced the name of Bihar&#39;s Governor Ram Nath Kovind as their pick for the Presidential elections slated to be held next month.</p>

<p>There were speculations&nbsp;that the BJP could choose from&nbsp;probables&nbsp;like external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu as its presidential nominee. But putting all those rumours to rest, the parliamentary board meeting, headed by Prime Minister Modi, stamped its approval on someone who not many may&nbsp;know about but has risen through the party&#39;s rank and also headed BJP&#39;s Dalit Morcha from 1998 to 2002.</p>

<p>Ram Nath Kovind, a&nbsp;Dalit leader (Dalit is a term used for referring to the most marginalised community and figures lowest within the Hindu caste hierarchy), is a farmer&#39;s son and comes from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. He came to Delhi and practised as a lawyer. Before joining the BJP, he worked as the private secretary of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Kovind was twice elected to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament) in 1994 and again in 2000 from Uttar Pradesh.</p>

<p>If elected, Ram Nath Kovind will be the second president of India from a Dalit community&nbsp;after K R Narayanan and&nbsp;would also be the first full-time President from India&#39;s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh. Although&nbsp;Zakir Husain, the third President of India, was a prominent political face from the state of Uttar Pradesh, he was born in Hydearbad.</p>

<p>When Narendra Modi-led BJP government sent him to Bihar in 2015 as the Governor ahead of the assembly elections, the idea was to tap into the Dalit votes which were crucial to win the elections. The elections, however, went in favour of the JD(U) and RJD who cobbled an alliance to form the government in Bihar.</p>

<p>Kovind, whose association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is well known, is being seen as someone who could further boost the BJP-RSS combine&#39;s idea of uniting the wider Hindu Samaj (community). This could help improve BJP&#39;s prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections which are just two years away.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Moreover, it would be difficult for the opposition led by the Congress party to oppose a Dalit face for the country&#39;s top job.&nbsp;</p>

<p>With the support of many regional parties including Telangana Rashtra Samiti and YSR Congress, the BJP is confident of forming a consensus around Ram Nath Kovind as the republic&#39;s next President.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Ram Nath Kovind, who is currently the Governor of Bihar, was chosen as BJP's presidential nominee today

By Ankit Saproo Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, surprised everyone when the BJP parliamentary board, in a meeting today, announced the name of Bihar's Governor Ram Nath Kovind as their pick for the Presidential elections slated to be held next month. There were speculations that the BJP could choose from probables like external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu as its presidential nominee. But putting all those rumours to rest, the parliamentary board meeting, headed by Prime Minister Modi, stamped its approval on someone who not many may know about but has risen through the party's rank and also headed BJP's Dalit Morcha from 1998 to 2002. Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit leader (Dalit is a term used for referring to the most marginalised community and figures lowest within the Hindu caste hierarchy), is a farmer's son and comes from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. He came to Delhi and practised as a lawyer. Before joining the BJP, he worked as the private secretary of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Kovind was twice elected to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament) in 1994 and again in 2000 from Uttar Pradesh. If elected, Ram Nath Kovind will be the second president of India from a Dalit community after K R Narayanan and would also be the first full-time President from India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh. Although Zakir Husain, the third President of India, was a prominent political face from the state of Uttar Pradesh, he was born in Hydearbad. When Narendra Modi-led BJP government sent him to Bihar in 2015 as the Governor ahead of the assembly elections, the idea was to tap into the Dalit votes which were crucial to win the elections. The elections, however, went in favour of the JD(U) and RJD who cobbled an alliance to form the government in Bihar. Kovind, whose association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is well known, is being seen as someone who could further boost the BJP-RSS combine's idea of uniting the wider Hindu Samaj (community). This could help improve BJP's prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections which are just two years away. Moreover, it would be difficult for the opposition led by the Congress party to oppose a Dalit face for the country's top job. With the support of many regional parties including Telangana Rashtra Samiti and YSR Congress, the BJP is confident of forming a consensus around Ram Nath Kovind as the republic's next President.

Ram Nath Kovind: BJP's Dalit face for Presidential polls could be the first UP-born President

<p>The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday backed party president Amit Shah&#39;s statement opposing India&#39;s participation in any bilateral cricket series with Pakistan, while saying the decision came in view of the active support by Islamabad in terror activity.</p>

<p>&quot;This has been the consistent policy after the Pathankot attack on army base. This has been reiterated by Amit Shah. Unless peace is restored and Pakistan stop middling in the internal affairs of India and playing with the internal security by instigating the terrorist and allowing cross border terrorism India should refrain from playing with Pakistan any game,&quot; BJP leader S. Prakash told ANI.</p>

<p>Echoing similar views, BJP leader Rahul Sinha said no matches should be played between India and Pakistan unless Pakistan stops encouraging the terrorists.</p>

<p>&quot;Unless the situation becomes normal and Pakistan stops encouraging the terrorists, no matches should be played between both the countries. I support Amit Shah&#39;s statement,&quot; Sinha told ANI.</p>

<p>Ahead of the much-anticipated face-off between India and Pakistan in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, the BJP chief categorically stated that India and Pakistan will not feature in any bilateral cricket series but would continue to participate in international tournaments.</p>

<p>&quot;India, Pakistan will continue to play at international tournaments but neither India will play in Pakistan nor Pakistan will play in India,&quot; said Shah.</p>

<p>The comment from the BJP president came days after Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel had said cricket series between the two countries was not feasible until cross-border terrorism stops.</p>

<p>&quot;BCCI should come out with a proposal on Pakistan only after consultations with the government. I have already made it clear that any bilateral series with Pakistan is almost impossible because there cannot be sports relations between the two countries until there is terrorism from the Pakistani side,&quot; Goel has said last month in the national capital.</p>

<p>&quot;Sports and terrorism cannot go hand in hand,&quot; he added.</p>

<p>Goel, however, added that there was no control of the government on multilateral games.</p>

<p>The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had earlier last month sent a legal notice to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for failing to honour the MoU signed between the two cricket boards in 2014.</p>

<p>The PCB had also demanded compensation close to USD 60 million from the BCCI for not honouring the MoU signed when N. Srinivasan was at the helm of affairs in the Indian board.</p>

<p>According to the 2014 agreement, India were scheduled to play six series against Pakistan, four of them were going to be Pakistan&#39;s home series, subject to clearance from the Government of India.</p>

<p>The two Asian neighbours have not played a full bilateral series after the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008.</p>

<p>(ANI)</p>


BJP leader Rahul Sinha said no matches should be played between the two nations unless Pakistan stops encouraging the terrorists

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday backed party president Amit Shah's statement opposing India's participation in any bilateral cricket series with Pakistan, while saying the decision came in view of the active support by Islamabad in terror activity. "This has been the consistent policy after the Pathankot attack on army base. This has been reiterated by Amit Shah. Unless peace is restored and Pakistan stop middling in the internal affairs of India and playing with the internal security by instigating the terrorist and allowing cross border terrorism India should refrain from playing with Pakistan any game," BJP leader S. Prakash told ANI. Echoing similar views, BJP leader Rahul Sinha said no matches should be played between India and Pakistan unless Pakistan stops encouraging the terrorists. "Unless the situation becomes normal and Pakistan stops encouraging the terrorists, no matches should be played between both the countries. I support Amit Shah's statement," Sinha told ANI. Ahead of the much-anticipated face-off between India and Pakistan in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, the BJP chief categorically stated that India and Pakistan will not feature in any bilateral cricket series but would continue to participate in international tournaments. "India, Pakistan will continue to play at international tournaments but neither India will play in Pakistan nor Pakistan will play in India," said Shah. The comment from the BJP president came days after Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel had said cricket series between the two countries was not feasible until cross-border terrorism stops. "BCCI should come out with a proposal on Pakistan only after consultations with the government. I have already made it clear that any bilateral series with Pakistan is almost impossible because there cannot be sports relations between the two countries until there is terrorism from the Pakistani side," Goel has said last month in the national capital. "Sports and terrorism cannot go hand in hand," he added. Goel, however, added that there was no control of the government on multilateral games. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had earlier last month sent a legal notice to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for failing to honour the MoU signed between the two cricket boards in 2014. The PCB had also demanded compensation close to USD 60 million from the BCCI for not honouring the MoU signed when N. Srinivasan was at the helm of affairs in the Indian board. According to the 2014 agreement, India were scheduled to play six series against Pakistan, four of them were going to be Pakistan's home series, subject to clearance from the Government of India. The two Asian neighbours have not played a full bilateral series after the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008. (ANI)

BJP backs Amit Shah's statement ruling out Indo-Pak 'bilateral' cricket

<p>First a word on what a &ldquo;gau rakshak&rdquo; is, because while it&rsquo;s a&nbsp;growing phenomenon inside Northern Indian states, like Uttar Pradesh and&nbsp;Haryana, non-Indians will be shocked by it. They may be doubly surprised it is perpetrated by Hindus, often stereotypically associated with gentle things&mdash;vegetarianism, Gandhi pacifism, yoga.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Termed &ldquo;cow protectors&rdquo; or &ldquo;cow vigilantes&rdquo;, gau rakshaks often beat up or murder someone who seems to be either eating beef or working in the cattle trading business. They thrash and lynch. The victims are never upper-caste Hindus, who if they eat beef do so in expensive restaurants. They are Dalits (the lowest caste) or Muslims, and they are poor.&nbsp;</p>

<p>After the inevitable &ldquo;wait, what the hell?&rdquo;, other questions arise. Some of them: Are these just numerous but individual fanatics going rogue? How much public and government support do they have? Is this a problem with &ldquo;lone wolfs&rdquo; or society broadly? Is this a form of terrorism?&nbsp;</p>

<p>Each gau rakshak case can be unique, both in the attack and in the cause. Here is a likely<a href="http://www.firstpost.com/india/una-alwar-and-delhi-cow-vigilantism-a-list-of-gau-rakshak-attacks-since-2015-dadri-lynching-3401302.html" target="_blank"> incomplete list</a> of attacks since 2014, and a brief description of what took place that is broadly characteristic of what happens.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><b>The official&nbsp;response</b></p>

<p>The Muslim-baiting&nbsp;Bharatiya Janata Party, which has lately&nbsp;toned down its incendiary statements&nbsp;now that it is the main political party in the country&nbsp;and no longer&nbsp;limited to its Hindutva base,&nbsp;has condemned gau rakshaks in statements, and police&nbsp;do pursue the attackers,&nbsp;but their heart doesn&rsquo;t seem into it.</p>

<p>One proof is how often government officials and police lay at least partial blame on the victims. Did they have papers to be transporting cattle? Were they in fact eating beef? These questions, notice, are irrelevant or at most very secondary;&nbsp;murder is illegal no matter how they are answered. There is no possible mitigating circumstance that makes assault and murder more OK. Not only are these questions asked by police and politicians, the victims sometimes have charges pressed against them. This is a travesty.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>There is no possible mitigating circumstance that makes assault and murder more OK.</h5>
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<p>There are two parties, one who got beat up and one who did the beating&mdash;Is deciding whose side to take really difficult, or even a question? In India, yes. There is pressure to assign at least split blame. In a culture of strident Hindu nationalism, officials do not like the optics of prosecuting Hindus for defending cows, even if &ldquo;defending cows&rdquo; here really means murdering fellow Indians. So, for example, police will claim the victim had only eight permissions of the ten permissions required.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Case study</strong></p>

<p>The reaction in the high-profile Alwar case is demonstrative. A group of men lynched a Muslim man and attacked four others, and ran away only when police came. As per the <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/jaipur/alwar-attack-police-file-murder-case-announce-reward-for-word-on-cow-vigilantes/story-NFtPds6LR0m3Qg7P1SDi3O.html" target="_blank">Hindustan Times</a> report:</p>

<p>&ldquo;Rajasthan home minister Gulab Chand Kataria justified the attack by &lsquo;gau rakshaks&rsquo; saying that both parties were to be blamed for Pehlu Khan&rsquo;s death. He said illegal transport of cows was banned in the state.</p>

<p>&ldquo;However, the victims claimed that they had valid documents and were legally transporting cattle purchased from a market in Jaipur.&rdquo;</p>

<p>The <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/alwar-gau-rakshaks-killed-a-dairy-farmer-not-cattle-smuggler-4601434/" target="_blank">Indian Express</a> reports&nbsp;that Khan was a dairy farmer who decided to buy a milch cow instead of a milch buffalo, and that&rsquo;s why his killers saw him and some relatives&nbsp;transporting a cow in his pick-up truck. The attackers stopped the truck&nbsp;and for about 20-30 minutes beat them with sticks and belts nearly unconscious until the police came. For good measure, these &ldquo;cow defenders&rdquo; robbed them of 85,000 Rupees, or about $1,700 in Canadian dollars. Pious people indeed.</p>

<p>Now, police can&rsquo;t ignore if people were indeed guilty of breaking the state&rsquo;s laws concerning cattle trading and beef eating. Some states have such laws. But their disproportionate concern for this minor aspect of the law, rather than the assault and murder, betrays their bias. This is about Hindu politics.</p>

<p>That officials are mostly pretending to be only upholding the law is obvious when one remembers the victims are mostly innocent. They often do have permits to trade cattle, or it turns out they weren&rsquo;t even eating beef, they were eating buffalo. Oops! That more effort is made to make the innocent victim seem guilty rather than simply condemn those whose undeniable guilt in the way worse crime says everything.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><b>Hindutva--resurgent Hindu nationalism</b></p>

<p>Whether BJP members carefully direct and enflame gau rakshaks or strategically use an incident they didn&rsquo;t at all cause, the fear gau rakshaks create helps spread Hindutva--the establishment of Hindu hegemony over the state. The Indian government can&rsquo;t legally make a task force dedicated to beating the hell out of Muslims or Dalits, but they don&rsquo;t have to because the gau rakshaks do it anyway. The Sangh Parivar, the loose umbrella group of&nbsp;right-wing Hindu nationalists, including&nbsp;fringe elements, isn&#39;t exactly furious about the beatings.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The government can&rsquo;t explicitly support the gau rakshaks.&nbsp;Indian society is too decorous and attached to the idea of the rule of law for them to embrace breaking it. The violence they condone has to be permitted only tacitly, unspokenly. The government has a choice: Appear pro-law or pro-Hindu customs. They have chosen both.</p>

<p>While there&rsquo;s been a spike in attacks under the BJP government,&nbsp;the previous Congress government&nbsp;also exploited&nbsp;cow politics. Say what you will about the BJP, cows and the gau rakshak phenomenon is larger than them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But Indians must watch the growing violence and feel frightened for two reasons: A) Abstractly, religious dictates are superseding the rule of law in a country which until recently was proud of its constitution and secular character B) In a practical and immediate sense, minorities are getting beaten the hell out of.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Disingenuous</strong></p>

<p>One must ask: If their real interest is protecting cows, is this best served by beating up Muslims and Dalits? Does this protect cows at all? The answer is a resounding &ldquo;no&rdquo;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In a bit of hypocrisy familiar to Indians but perhaps stunning to an outsider, India is actually the world&rsquo;s largest exporter of beef. Countless cattle die because they eat plastic off the street. In cities, the stomachs of dead cows are found with mounds of street garbage. Where are the gau rakshaks cleaning plastic off the street? Where is their public service announcement not to litter, or to have dust bins installed in public, so people can deposit their plastic there instead of, essentially, inside a cow&rsquo;s stomach?&nbsp;</p>

<p>Whether the love is of a pastoral&nbsp;type,&nbsp;religious or something else, the Indian attachment to cows&nbsp;is of course deeply entrenched, understandable and commendable. Obviously caring for&nbsp;the animal&nbsp;isn&rsquo;t inherently bad,&nbsp;but something vicious and dark&nbsp;is taking place under the guise of cow protection.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Even if supposing&nbsp;that the Hindu dictates of cow worship should be enforced in an officially secular country, it is irrational and grotesquely disgusting to take this up via the assault and murder of marginalised people.</p>

<p>As a test, when reading an article on the topic&nbsp;try replacing the word &ldquo;gau rakshak&rdquo; with &ldquo;terrorist&rdquo; and see if there is any loss of meaning.</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


There are parties and people in India who aren't outraged enough by murder because it's connected to cows and religion

First a word on what a “gau rakshak” is, because while it’s a growing phenomenon inside Northern Indian states, like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, non-Indians will be shocked by it. They may be doubly surprised it is perpetrated by Hindus, often stereotypically associated with gentle things—vegetarianism, Gandhi pacifism, yoga. Termed “cow protectors” or “cow vigilantes”, gau rakshaks often beat up or murder someone who seems to be either eating beef or working in the cattle trading business. They thrash and lynch. The victims are never upper-caste Hindus, who if they eat beef do so in expensive restaurants. They are Dalits (the lowest caste) or Muslims, and they are poor. After the inevitable “wait, what the hell?”, other questions arise. Some of them: Are these just numerous but individual fanatics going rogue? How much public and government support do they have? Is this a problem with “lone wolfs” or society broadly? Is this a form of terrorism? Each gau rakshak case can be unique, both in the attack and in the cause. Here is a likely incomplete list of attacks since 2014, and a brief description of what took place that is broadly characteristic of what happens. The official response The Muslim-baiting Bharatiya Janata Party, which has lately toned down its incendiary statements now that it is the main political party in the country and no longer limited to its Hindutva base, has condemned gau rakshaks in statements, and police do pursue the attackers, but their heart doesn’t seem into it. One proof is how often government officials and police lay at least partial blame on the victims. Did they have papers to be transporting cattle? Were they in fact eating beef? These questions, notice, are irrelevant or at most very secondary; murder is illegal no matter how they are answered. There is no possible mitigating circumstance that makes assault and murder more OK. Not only are these questions asked by police and politicians, the victims sometimes have charges pressed against them. This is a travesty. There is no possible mitigating circumstance that makes assault and murder more OK. × There are two parties, one who got beat up and one who did the beating—Is deciding whose side to take really difficult, or even a question? In India, yes. There is pressure to assign at least split blame. In a culture of strident Hindu nationalism, officials do not like the optics of prosecuting Hindus for defending cows, even if “defending cows” here really means murdering fellow Indians. So, for example, police will claim the victim had only eight permissions of the ten permissions required. Case study The reaction in the high-profile Alwar case is demonstrative. A group of men lynched a Muslim man and attacked four others, and ran away only when police came. As per the Hindustan Times report: “Rajasthan home minister Gulab Chand Kataria justified the attack by ‘gau rakshaks’ saying that both parties were to be blamed for Pehlu Khan’s death. He said illegal transport of cows was banned in the state. “However, the victims claimed that they had valid documents and were legally transporting cattle purchased from a market in Jaipur.” The Indian Express reports that Khan was a dairy farmer who decided to buy a milch cow instead of a milch buffalo, and that’s why his killers saw him and some relatives transporting a cow in his pick-up truck. The attackers stopped the truck and for about 20-30 minutes beat them with sticks and belts nearly unconscious until the police came. For good measure, these “cow defenders” robbed them of 85,000 Rupees, or about $1,700 in Canadian dollars. Pious people indeed. Now, police can’t ignore if people were indeed guilty of breaking the state’s laws concerning cattle trading and beef eating. Some states have such laws. But their disproportionate concern for this minor aspect of the law, rather than the assault and murder, betrays their bias. This is about Hindu politics. That officials are mostly pretending to be only upholding the law is obvious when one remembers the victims are mostly innocent. They often do have permits to trade cattle, or it turns out they weren’t even eating beef, they were eating buffalo. Oops! That more effort is made to make the innocent victim seem guilty rather than simply condemn those whose undeniable guilt in the way worse crime says everything. Hindutva--resurgent Hindu nationalism Whether BJP members carefully direct and enflame gau rakshaks or strategically use an incident they didn’t at all cause, the fear gau rakshaks create helps spread Hindutva--the establishment of Hindu hegemony over the state. The Indian government can’t legally make a task force dedicated to beating the hell out of Muslims or Dalits, but they don’t have to because the gau rakshaks do it anyway. The Sangh Parivar, the loose umbrella group of right-wing Hindu nationalists, including fringe elements, isn't exactly furious about the beatings. The government can’t explicitly support the gau rakshaks. Indian society is too decorous and attached to the idea of the rule of law for them to embrace breaking it. The violence they condone has to be permitted only tacitly, unspokenly. The government has a choice: Appear pro-law or pro-Hindu customs. They have chosen both. While there’s been a spike in attacks under the BJP government, the previous Congress government also exploited cow politics. Say what you will about the BJP, cows and the gau rakshak phenomenon is larger than them. But Indians must watch the growing violence and feel frightened for two reasons: A) Abstractly, religious dictates are superseding the rule of law in a country which until recently was proud of its constitution and secular character B) In a practical and immediate sense, minorities are getting beaten the hell out of. Disingenuous One must ask: If their real interest is protecting cows, is this best served by beating up Muslims and Dalits? Does this protect cows at all? The answer is a resounding “no”. In a bit of hypocrisy familiar to Indians but perhaps stunning to an outsider, India is actually the world’s largest exporter of beef. Countless cattle die because they eat plastic off the street. In cities, the stomachs of dead cows are found with mounds of street garbage. Where are the gau rakshaks cleaning plastic off the street? Where is their public service announcement not to litter, or to have dust bins installed in public, so people can deposit their plastic there instead of, essentially, inside a cow’s stomach? Whether the love is of a pastoral type, religious or something else, the Indian attachment to cows is of course deeply entrenched, understandable and commendable. Obviously caring for the animal isn’t inherently bad, but something vicious and dark is taking place under the guise of cow protection. Even if supposing that the Hindu dictates of cow worship should be enforced in an officially secular country, it is irrational and grotesquely disgusting to take this up via the assault and murder of marginalised people. As a test, when reading an article on the topic try replacing the word “gau rakshak” with “terrorist” and see if there is any loss of meaning. (WION)

When gau rakshaks attack: The indefensible violence of 'cow protectors'

<p>Union Cabinet Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi after facing difficulty in breathing was admitted to Pilibhit district hospital&nbsp;in Uttar Pradesh on Friday.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The officials said that she&#39;s been diagnosed with gallbladder stones and will be airlifted to Delhi for further treatment.</p>

<p>The union minister, who represents Pilibhit in the lower house of the Parliament, was admitted to the emergency ward and is being attended by a heart specialist.</p>

<p>Maneka had reached Pilibhit today morning.</p>

<p>(ANI)</p>


According to officials, she has been diagnosed with gallbladder stones

Union Cabinet Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi after facing difficulty in breathing was admitted to Pilibhit district hospital in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. The officials said that she's been diagnosed with gallbladder stones and will be airlifted to Delhi for further treatment. The union minister, who represents Pilibhit in the lower house of the Parliament, was admitted to the emergency ward and is being attended by a heart specialist. Maneka had reached Pilibhit today morning. (ANI)

Maneka Gandhi admitted to hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit

<p>Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis&#39; helicopter crash-landed in Latur on Thursday.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry,&quot; Fadnavis tweeted after the crash.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash">#WATCH</a>: Dramatic visuals of crash-landing of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis&#39;s chopper in Latur, CM and team escaped unhurt. <a href="https://t.co/xTikKyvkhg">pic.twitter.com/xTikKyvkhg</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/867648955856723968">May 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok.<br />
Nothing to worry.</p>
&mdash; Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dev_Fadnavis/status/867631821156233216">May 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Media reports said the chopper crash-landed shortly after take-off.</p>

<p>And that it had developed some sort of technical&nbsp;glitch.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There had been four people in the chopper.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Initial reports said one person in the chopper had been hurt, though not grievously, and that he too was okay now.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


The helicopter came down shortly after take-off

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis' helicopter crash-landed in Latur on Thursday. "Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry," Fadnavis tweeted after the crash. #WATCH: Dramatic visuals of crash-landing of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis's chopper in Latur, CM and team escaped unhurt. pic.twitter.com/xTikKyvkhg — ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2017 × Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry. — Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) May 25, 2017 × Media reports said the chopper crash-landed shortly after take-off. And that it had developed some sort of technical glitch. There had been four people in the chopper. Initial reports said one person in the chopper had been hurt, though not grievously, and that he too was okay now. (WION)

Watch: Maha CM Fadnavis' chopper crash-lands in Latur

<p>Karnataka State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief B S Yeddyurappa is once again&nbsp;amidst a brewing controversy over claims of promoting untouchability, as he had a meal at a Dalit`s home that was allegedly prepared and brought to him from a nearby hotel.</p>

<p>During his visit to Tumakuru district on Friday, the former chief minister who was accompanied by other party members visited the residence of a Dalit family where he allegedly ate `idlis` from a nearby hotel and not the food prepared by the family.</p>

<p>Claiming his act would spark off negativity in the community, a young man from the family lodged a complaint with the police.</p>

<p>Dismissing claims of disrespecting the family, a BJP spokesperson painted the allegations as a political move, adding that those who raised the issue must immediately apologise to the family.</p>

<p>Yeddyurappa received flak over a similar situation earlier in Tumakuru where he was photographed eating &quot;thatte idli&quot; at a Dalit`s house at Gubbi.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(ANI)</p>


A young man from the Dalit family lodged a complaint with the police

Karnataka State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief B S Yeddyurappa is once again amidst a brewing controversy over claims of promoting untouchability, as he had a meal at a Dalit`s home that was allegedly prepared and brought to him from a nearby hotel. During his visit to Tumakuru district on Friday, the former chief minister who was accompanied by other party members visited the residence of a Dalit family where he allegedly ate `idlis` from a nearby hotel and not the food prepared by the family. Claiming his act would spark off negativity in the community, a young man from the family lodged a complaint with the police. Dismissing claims of disrespecting the family, a BJP spokesperson painted the allegations as a political move, adding that those who raised the issue must immediately apologise to the family. Yeddyurappa received flak over a similar situation earlier in Tumakuru where he was photographed eating "thatte idli" at a Dalit`s house at Gubbi. (ANI)

Former Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa visits Dalit home but allegedly orders, eats food from nearby hotel

<p>Standing by the statement of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Kashmir, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said that a serious effort is being carried out by the Government of India in resolving the issue.</p>

<p>BJP leader S&nbsp;Prakash said the separatist elements and forces from across the border, which are fomenting trouble and creating an atmosphere of disturbance, must be put to an end.</p>

<p>&quot;Many efforts are underway to restore normalcy and urge people of the Valley to maintain peace and order which is currently under threat. A serious effort is being carried by the Government of India which the Home Minister has himself confirmed. The peaceful Kashmir Valley will be realised very soon,&quot; Prakash told ANI.</p>

<p>Another BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain submitted the same, saying that Singh only clarified that one should not live in the misconception that they can separate us from Kashmir.</p>

<p>&quot;Our government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have always shown concern for Jammu and Kashmir. The entire nation is united on the opinion that Kashmir is only ours. The same Rajnath Singh has said that they are ready to take out a solution for this problem,&quot; Hussain told ANI.</p>

<p>Assuring complete closure of the Kashmir issue on behalf of the government, Rajnath Singh yesterday made a strong statement that Kashmir, Kashmiris and Kashmiriyat belong to India.</p>

<p>&quot;We understand that Kashmir, Kashmiris and Kashmiriyat are ours. I assure you that we will come up with a permanent solution to end the issue,&quot; he said while addressing a gathering in Pelling, Sikkim.</p>

<p>In the hope of resolving the ongoing friction between India and Pakistan regarding territorial disputes in Kashmir, the Union Home Minister said it is time for Islamabad to mend its ways and come to a consensus on the issue, rather than prolonging the same.</p>

<p>&quot;Pakistan continues to carry out acts of violence in the name of Kashmir, just to destabilise us. It is time for Pakistan to end these and look into resolving the matter and extending cooperation,&quot; said Rajnath.</p>

<p>Developing on the importance of easing tensions along the border, Rajnath while drawing upon the reduction of border transgression with China, said Pakistan was invited to maintain friendly relations and not just bilateral ties.</p>

<p>&quot;There might be perceptional differences, but the border friction with China has declined now. Pakistan Prime Minister was invited to the oath-taking ceremony not just to join hands, but to be cordial hereafter,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(ANI)</p>


'Many efforts are underway to restore normalcy,' BJP leader S Prakash said

Standing by the statement of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Kashmir, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said that a serious effort is being carried out by the Government of India in resolving the issue. BJP leader S Prakash said the separatist elements and forces from across the border, which are fomenting trouble and creating an atmosphere of disturbance, must be put to an end. "Many efforts are underway to restore normalcy and urge people of the Valley to maintain peace and order which is currently under threat. A serious effort is being carried by the Government of India which the Home Minister has himself confirmed. The peaceful Kashmir Valley will be realised very soon," Prakash told ANI. Another BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain submitted the same, saying that Singh only clarified that one should not live in the misconception that they can separate us from Kashmir. "Our government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have always shown concern for Jammu and Kashmir. The entire nation is united on the opinion that Kashmir is only ours. The same Rajnath Singh has said that they are ready to take out a solution for this problem," Hussain told ANI. Assuring complete closure of the Kashmir issue on behalf of the government, Rajnath Singh yesterday made a strong statement that Kashmir, Kashmiris and Kashmiriyat belong to India. "We understand that Kashmir, Kashmiris and Kashmiriyat are ours. I assure you that we will come up with a permanent solution to end the issue," he said while addressing a gathering in Pelling, Sikkim. In the hope of resolving the ongoing friction between India and Pakistan regarding territorial disputes in Kashmir, the Union Home Minister said it is time for Islamabad to mend its ways and come to a consensus on the issue, rather than prolonging the same. "Pakistan continues to carry out acts of violence in the name of Kashmir, just to destabilise us. It is time for Pakistan to end these and look into resolving the matter and extending cooperation," said Rajnath. Developing on the importance of easing tensions along the border, Rajnath while drawing upon the reduction of border transgression with China, said Pakistan was invited to maintain friendly relations and not just bilateral ties. "There might be perceptional differences, but the border friction with China has declined now. Pakistan Prime Minister was invited to the oath-taking ceremony not just to join hands, but to be cordial hereafter," he said. (ANI)

BJP claims 'peaceful Kashmir Valley will be realised very soon'

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