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March 31, 2015

BJP MP: 'Many people who do not smoke also get cancer'

'Have you seen foreign cigarette packets? They only have words warning us about the use of tobacco. While ours have pictures already covering 40 per cent area. I am just saying wait for our study before increasing it.'

'We must understand the plural character of Indian society'

Indian Council of Historical Research Member-Secretary Gopinath Ravindran was heckled last week after he sought to differ from views expressed by David Frawley, an American who stressed on extensive Vedic studies in India at a lecture series in New Delhi.

There's no space for dissent within AAP, says party leader

Dharamvir Gandhi, AAP's member of Parliament from Patiala has spoken out in favour of Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan.

March 30, 2015

Exclusive! Cardinal tells PM: 'Walk the talk'

'The BJP had ruled earlier too, but nothing of this sort happened then... I don't say the government is behind the attacks, but they don't do anything to stop the attacks.'

US envoy: 'Human rights, religious freedom are issues we'll raise'

'We are encouraged by what the prime minister said recently on these issues... We will keep a close eye on these issues. They are very important and as are other elements of our human rights and religious freedom.'

'The govt cannot, should not regulate the Internet'

'What the Supreme Court decision does is encourage more and more young Indians to get involved in citizenship and democracy and do so more fearlessly.'

March 27, 2015

Exclusive! US Ambassador to India Rich Verma speaks to Rediff!

'India is part of our strategic and economic future,' says Richard Rahul Verma, the first Indian American to be appointed US Ambassador to India.

March 26, 2015

Delhi street play row: 'Banning things has become popular'

A Delhi University college play on religious intolerance is caught up in controversy as the ABVP-run students' union runs pillar-to-post to get it banned for reported 'anti-Hindu' content. Watch it once at least before forming an opinion -- that's all that play director Guneet Singh has to say.

March 24, 2015

Meet the litigant whose PIL struck down Sec 66A

'I am ecstatic as I believe this is not my victory but it is a win for the people of the country who have a right to freely express themselves. It is the victory for everyone who uses the internet and social media.'

'Modi is never ever prepared to consider failure as an option'

'He is an extraordinarily focused, determined, full-time politician, who from the moment he wakes up to the moment that he goes to sleep is looking at the job in hand.'

March 23, 2015

'We are only saying don't eat what we consider sacred'

'Muslims and Christians should understand that the cow is sacred to us. It is not good for health. They should eat something else.'

'We have lost 5 to 6 crucial years in nuclear energy'

'There has definitely been a breakthrough in the nuclear logjam. It is good to see nuclear energy back on the rails,' says Dr Anil Kakodkar, former chairman, Atomic Energy Commission.

March 20, 2015

'If Modi lives up to his promises, his past does not matter'

'When you see Modi standing there at the G20, or in New York or at the United Nations, amongst all the leaders, he stands out in the crowd.'

Jnanpith winner: 'Right-wing groups have brought shame to India'

'I stand by what I said. It is understandable that Rushdie got angry and called me names. But it also means it hurt him because there was some truth in what I said.'

March 19, 2015

'Ghar wapsi was motive behind Ranaghat attack'

'If robbery was their motive, they would have run away with the money.'

March 13, 2015

'Bhushan, Yadav can't decide whether to stay or not'

'We don't want anyone to remain in the party who keeps damaging the party.'

March 09, 2015

'If my politics is Leftist, it doesn't mean I am a Maoist'

'Is it a crime to be inspired by the Left ideology? Why can't I read a book on Marxist philosophy? Is it banned in India?'

March 04, 2015

'It's a big bad world out there. You can't trust anyone'

'We need to understand that the perpetrators are right within us; they are not like the terrorists who come from outside.'

'Hindu cultural belligerence will be a key concern for J&K'

'J&K continues to have the highest concentration of military personnel anywhere in the world and the alienation of the Kashmiri has increased in the last ten years than ever before.'

'Bhagwat said when you do social work with a motive, its value is degraded'

'When Rajiv Gandhi was PM, Roman Catholic missionaries were allowed to enter Arunachal Pradesh and they made full use of this. They had the blessings of Sonia Gandhi'

March 03, 2015

'BJP-Sena's honeymoon is over too soon'

'The BJP said they want less government and more governance. But they are doing neither. It is shocking to see them so ineffective.'

'The killing of the last terrorist is most problematic'

'It is a very hard won situation that the army has brought about in J&K in 25 years, we don't want to fritter it away...'

March 02, 2015

Barkha 2.0: The reinvention of Barkha Dutt

One of Indian TV's most famous faces tells Kanika Datta why and how she hopes to reinvent herself in the uncharted territories of multimedia and think tanks

'This is the best formula that can happen in J&K'

'More than anything else, it is pragmatism that is working out in Jammu and Kashmir. It is not a question of convenience, but getting together and understanding that no other better option can work.'

February 27, 2015

'The Mahabharat was fought on the issue of land'

'In North India, brother kills brother for a small piece of land. So if the perception goes that the government has come to snatch away land, then the issue can go to any extent.'

He took on the copying mafia, but...

Uttar Pradesh's anti-copying crusader Surya Pratap Singh tells A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com how the menace is causing long-term damage to students from the state.

February 25, 2015

'I believe in Republican Party's principles of free enterprise and smaller government'

Indian American Raj Shah tells Aziz Haniffa about his plans as the GOP's research director.

Exclusive! 'The Railways are bankrupt'

'The government must understand that the Indian Railways is like a Kamdhenu cow. It can look after your GDP, it can look after the health of the nation. But the Kamdhenu cow also needs nourishment.'

'Islamic State wants to terrorise the world'

'No other terror organisation has valued popular consensus as the Islamic State does -- instead of repressing people, IS wants to gain their support. This is a major innovation in terrorism,' says terrorism expert and author Dr Loretta Napoleoni in an interview to Archana Masih and Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com.

He filed cases against AIB, Salman, SRK

'I am here to point out what is wrong. I bring it to the public's attention. The law has to give justice. I cannot do that.'

February 23, 2015

'Unpardonable sin to build a city on the banks of a river!'

'They are acquiring agricultural land almost free of cost promising an illusory rise which is worse than a chit fund scheme.'

February 20, 2015

'Am I crazy to resign after working 11 years for the BJP?'

'In Assam we have lost 2,358 sq km to erosion by the Brahmaputra river! Do you know how much area is 2,358 sq km is? This is four times the size of Bombay. But who is concerned?'

February 19, 2015

'The Gandhis never influenced environmental clearance for big projects'

'Today, environment has become an issue of political debate. It has become a media issue. I think that is a good development.'

February 18, 2015

Swine flu: 'There is no need for panic or alarm at this time'

Dr Om Shrivastav of Mumbai's Jaslok hospital, who treats swine flu cases, speaks to Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com.

'In today's India, history has come to resemble fiction'

'Assuming our past witnessed bloodshed and mayhem and large-scale destruction of temples, do we turn the clock back, avenge the past, and create the circle of death in the present?'

February 17, 2015

'What we did for the environment has been undone by the new govt'

'This is not a Sanjay Baru or Natwar Singh type of book. It's not a memoir. It's not a book to reveal conversations, real or imaginary. This is not a book to position myself at the centre of the world.'

February 16, 2015

China-Pakistan axis: 'The best may be yet to come'

'Whether it's investments in Kashmir, building naval facilities, or selling top-of-the-range military equipment, Pakistan could well benefit more under Xi's watch.'

February 13, 2015

'AAP used guerrilla and ambush techniques against me'

AAP's campaign against me was unethical and false, says Kiran Bedi

February 12, 2015

'Modi is going to put a major imprint on India's foreign policy'

'If his three priorities are the economy, the economy, the economy, then there is need for a stable region, a stable neighbourhood.'

Tharoor: 'I am not a villain'

'I do not require validation from a hostile media. My conscience is clear.'

Impact of Delhi polls will spread nationally, says JD-U chief

JD-U leader Sharad Yadav speaks about the recent crisis in Bihar

February 11, 2015

The message of the Delhi elections

'If there is one message coming out of Delhi, it is that the country is ready for inclusive, bipartisan politics, not based on caste, community and religion, but based on issues of a modern India.'

February 10, 2015

'If Nitish Kumar loses, he is finished'

'For two months, Jitan Ram Manjhi kept a low profile. Once he was put in a place of power even though he had not acquired it himself, he thought he deserved it. He thought he must promote his own political career. Secondly, all those who were opposed to Nitish Kumar, either within the party or outside, started supporting him,' says Professor Prabhat Ghosh, director of the Asian Development Research Institute in Patna.

February 06, 2015

Rape campaign: 'There are a lot of sick men in my country'

'Our parents are failing in bringing up our sons properly. It has nothing to do with the police, nothing to do with the criminal justice system; it has to do with you and I.'

'There will be social unrest in India'

'Growth is predicated on the misery of large sections of people.'

'These are great times for women to work with the BJP'

'It is not about people who have godfathers, but women with merit who are joining the BJP.'

February 05, 2015

'Delhi election won't be a cakewalk for any party'

The Delhi BJP leadership believes that they can prove the pollsters wrong.

'India is semi-literate and Chetan Bhagat is the best it can do'

'Chetan Bhagat is not great literature. Is that like you write third rate books and people can't do much better than to read those third rate books. Is it really an achievement?'

Church attacks: 'Why is Prime Minister Modi quiet?'

'The rhetoric of the right wing is creating such a situation. They are inspiring youngsters to such action by their speeches.'

February 04, 2015

'Industrialists have a lust for land'

'The so-called economic reforms are for the rich.'

'The idea of Kejriwal is not in conflict with that of Modi'

'The partnership of Amit Shah and Narendra Modi has made their biggest mistake. They have been very successful for their party in the last two years, but this batting pair has made the biggest political mistake of their life so far, which is calling Kejriwal a chor. It will backfire on them.'

'The church attacks have been deliberately planned and carried out'

'We are knocking at the doors of the central government, but nothing is happening.'

February 02, 2015

'It is refreshing to deal with Modi'

'Modi's investment in the relationship with Washington is the biggest deliverable of this visit. He means business and that's fantastic!'

January 30, 2015

'We have meekly surrendered to the US'

'The biggest lacuna in this agreement is it is called 'full civil nuclear cooperation agreement.' Actually, it is anything but full.'

January 28, 2015

Leela Samson: I live the life of a Hindu

'Hinduism is not a religion, but a way of life, a philosophy.'

January 26, 2015

'Politics is all about blah, blah, the day that stops I'll have to retire'

Rediff.com republishes an old interview of the cartoonist on politics

January 25, 2015

'Obama and Modi can build on what Bush and Vajpayee began'

Ashley J Tellis, a leading authority on Indo-US relations, tells Archis Mohan in an emailed interview that it is time Washington and New Delhi agreed on the contours of their 'strategic partnership', and that India's elite could learn from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in how he has put India's interests first and his own sentiments about the Americans second.

January 23, 2015

'Sanskrit had become more a symbol than a language'

'On both sides of our cultural divide, it roused strong emotions that had very little to do with the language and its literature.'

January 22, 2015

'I live in the present, have to correct the past and move to the future'

'Whatever happens in Delhi happens in India,' says Kiran Bedi.

Why India should be worried even though tiger numbers are up

'We are rushing to 'develop' without carefully valuing natural areas.'

January 20, 2015

Revealed: Why this ex-Cabinet minister left the Congress

'I left the Congress because everybody is busy in attending to their individual vested interests,' says former Union minister Krishna Tirath, who joined the BJP on Monday.

'Given who we had in the past, Parrikar is a gem of wisdom'

'It is just that we have our standards so low that anybody looks good now.'

January 19, 2015

The govt is sitting on more land than it requires: Jairam Ramesh

Former rural development minister Jairam Ramesh tells Sanjeeb Mukherjee that the Ordinance to amend the land acquisition Act (2013) opens the door for forcible acquisition and undermines the spirit and the substance of the legislation.

'I don't want ISRO to be elitist'

The new ISRO chief talks bout the road ahead in his first interview after taking charge.

January 16, 2015

The rock 'n' roll kirtanwallah from Long Island, NY

Meet Krishna Das, a chant master, whose rock 'n' roll kirtans are a growing rage in India and who is performing in three Indian cities this week.

'The PM must react now to protect India's secular credentials'

'The prime minister spoke of inclusive growth and being representative of the aspirations of 125 crore people of this country but clearly, he is not being allowed to play that role,' All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Kamal Faruqui tells rediff.com's Upasna Pandey.

January 15, 2015

Indians migrated to America in the 18th century!

'We used to say two things are found everywhere: A potato and a Sikh. I think you can substitute Gujarati for the Sikh because Gujaratis are everywhere.'

January 13, 2015

The government did not allow this lady to travel abroad!

'All we are asking is that the Forest Rights Act be fully implemented. It is there in the Constitution of India. For this we have been regularly called anti-national,' says Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai, who was debarred from flying overseas on Sunday.

January 12, 2015

Don't write off Congress yet, says Sheila Dikshit

Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit may not be contesting the assembly polls, but she is very much in the thick of preparations for the Congress. Dikshit tells Kavita Chowdhury that she is not interested in any post in Delhi politics but does not rule out a role at the national level in the future.

January 09, 2015

'Why do you need a military after a civil war?'

'Sri Lanka has a large military presence in the north and east, where it is very difficult for the war-affected civilian population to move forward.'

'Antibiotics are not used under prescription in India'

How India can defend itself in the war against superbugs.

December 26, 2014

'Abu Salem will be bumped off... by Indian intelligence agencies'

'Even the mafia has certain ethics and follow certain rules, but Abu Salem was so ruthless, so inhuman, there was no ethics at all. He had no basic humanity in him.'

December 24, 2014

'We have become a very powerful force in Jammu and Kashmir'

'We are certainly disappointed by our inability to win a single seat in the valley... We will analyse what led to this kind of dismal -- in terms of seats -- non-performance by the BJP.'

December 23, 2014

'More attacks can be expected in Pakistan'

'What we need from the civilian and military authorities are clear strategies rather than an emotional decision to hang terrorists on death row.'

December 22, 2014

Cabinet minister: No conflict between BJP, RSS on conversions

'When Hindus converted through inducements there was no hue and cry, but when reconversions took place, everyone cried foul. If re-conversions are bad, so are conversions.'

Ruskin Bond: If I can't write, I might as well be dead

'I like the thought that I am competing successfully with writers much younger than me,' says Ruskin Bond.

December 18, 2014

'Don't think massive voter turnout in J&K ends all problems'

'This uniqueness of Jammu and Kashmir has to be respected by New Delhi. If it is not done, then it puts question-mark on the very basis of the relationship,' Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference chairman Sajjad Gani Lone tells Pervez Majeed.

December 17, 2014

'The Taliban is very angry that Malala stood up to them'

'Pakistan should evolve a common narrative. The country should have common position in combating all kinds of terrorism and not fight selectively.'

The most dangerous terrorist in Pakistan

'Omar Khorsani has called repeatedly for the most barbaric of attacks. He is very adept on social media. He is, in other words, eerily similar to the ISIS leader Baghdadi.'

December 15, 2014

35 days in jail for not standing up for the national anthem

'The first thing they ask me and people like me is, are you a Pakistani spy? They don't call you an American or a Chinese spy; they only call you a Pakistani spy.'

December 12, 2014

'If I have saved a child, then it has been worth fighting for'

'It is for the first time the voices of the most deferred, the most neglected, the most ignored, the most abused, the most vulnerable - the children-- has been heard. It is a great moment.'

December 09, 2014

The guilty are innocent: L N Mishra's son's startling revelation

L N Mishra was the first Cabinet minister to be assassinated in Independent India.

Nehru's niece: 'I don't think one family should rule India'

'This term -- "Nehru-Gandhi" family -- is a misnomer. Nehru was not a dynast; he did not even name his successor... The big mistake she made was to push forward Rahul Gandhi who is a dead loss as a leader,' says Nayantara Sahgal, whom Sonia Gandhi calls 'Tara Masi.'

December 08, 2014

United Janata Dal will give a voice to the majority: Sharad Yadav

Sharad Yadav, President of the Janata Dal (United), is one of the architects of the proposed merger of six political parties who trace their roots to the erstwhile Janata Dal. Yadav tells Archis Mohan how the grand alliance with Left parties and even the Congress is the need of the hour.

Exclusive! When the next US defence secretary spoke to Rediff

'We have a common way of looking at the world, a common way of thinking, and a common set of values that predispose us to be partners. And our interests overlap greatly,' Dr Ashton B Carter, America's next defence secretary, told Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com in an exclusive interview.

December 05, 2014

The manufacturing of 'terrorists'

'Counter terrorism does not appear to be good guys fighting the bad ones; it is about people being picked up, detained and charged with crimes they did not commit.'

December 04, 2014

'Common sense is shrinking in India today'

'We saw how vigorous democracy was when it dislodged authoritarianism under Indira Gandhi. We saw its vigour again when it voted Mr Modi out of humble origins as prime minister. It was Nehru who laid that foundation for India and what is worrying today is Modi's rather imperial style of functioning,' says writer Nayantara Sahgal.

'As long as Pakistan exists, we can't say it was a flawed idea'

'Muslims, like people of all other faiths, are quite comfortable with the idea of nationalism and democracy today. But are they following Islam in its spirit? That is a different question.'

December 02, 2014

'Modi is a human being and human beings want to do good'

'Modi has said he has been made the PM of India not to do small things but big things. What bigger thing can there be than to have peace with Pakistan and in the neighbourhood?'

December 01, 2014

'I see the genius of the Indian people'

'Never lose your optimism. Never lose your aspiration and never -- even if India becomes a prosperous consumer society -- never ever lose that shining light in your eyes,' advises Dr Peter McLaughlin, headmaster of the Doon School.

'Muslims in India will learn to live as second class citizens'

'Muslims in India have been suffering in many ways. Yet, they are proud Indians and love India as much as any other Indian community.'

November 29, 2014

'The government likes to deal with such people'

'Why should the accused in scams visit the CBI chief so frequently?'

November 28, 2014

Exclusive! When India and Pakistan nearly reached an agreement

'The people of Pakistan and India will begin to understand what the bottom lines are. What India can accept maximum is known to Pakistan. What Pakistan can accept minimum is known to India.'

November 23, 2014

'Taking moneybags along with the PM on tours doesn't send the right message'

'The PM should keep some distance from them (businessmen).'

November 20, 2014

Chidambaram's son: 'Tired slogans won't take us anywhere'

'We cannot capture the mind space of today's youth by evoking past sacrifices. Politics is about hope; hope for the future. The Congress hankers about the past too much.'

November 18, 2014

'It is great to focus on the PM's personality, but...'

'We cannot ignore the role of public institutions in driving development... I don't see much focus on institutional renewal.'

'Ayurveda is medicine with intelligence, modern medicine is like a bullet'

Ayurvedic expert Dr G G Gangadharan on how the ancient Indian medical practice needs to be propagated in the country of its origin

November 17, 2014

'Why is govt delaying relief for families of anti-Sikh riot victims?'

As Delhi gears up for assembly polls, Upasna Pandey speaks to Aam Aadmi Party leader HS Phoolka about the Modi factor, the issues on which the Sikh electorate and why the AAP is likely to return to power.

November 16, 2014

JD-U, Nitish will face the wrath of anti-incumbency: Sushil Kumar Modi

Bharatiya Janata Party senior leader Sushil Kumar Modi talks to about the prospects of the party in Bihar. Modi says only the assembly elections or general elections are the true barometers of popularity. Edited excerpts:

November 14, 2014

'Countries that forget their history cannot have a future'

Mahesh Rangarajan, director of the historic Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi, tells Sheela Bhatt how the first prime minister will always remain relevant, and the efforts being made to keep his legacy alive.

November 10, 2014

'UN's permanent members do not want any change'

The Security Council as it is today is unable to bring peace and security in the world and so there is reason for countries like India to become members of the Council, Ambassador Asoke Kumar Mukerji tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.

'The way Modi is cleaning up India is wrong'

'Unless Modi uses his power to make people work, he will not succeed. He may cry hoarse but he will not succeed.'

November 09, 2014

'Won't resign under any condition this time'

The Aam Aadmi Party is gearing up for elections for the third time in one year. Party chief and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal says that the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to deceive people by projecting it as a "fight" between Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal, while the actual chief ministerial contest is between Kejriwal and Jagdish Mukhi. He concedes there is a 'Modi wave' in the country but that wouldn't affect his party' prospects in Delhi.

November 07, 2014

Rajdeep Sardesai: 'Modi is here to stay for 10 years'

In the final part of his interview with Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com, journalist Rajdeep Sardesai says the Congress lost the election in 2011, the year of Anna Hazare.

Bharat Ratna C N R Rao: 'I expect great things for science under Modi'

'No PM has said no to anything we have proposed. I am not a politician and I cannot give speeches about things, but a lot of good things have been done in science by previous governments.'

November 06, 2014

Rajdeep Sardesai: 'Item number was wrong use of words for Priyanka, should've said cameo'

The second part of journalist Rajdeep Sardesai's interview to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.

Exclusive! Kalam: When a problem arises, become the captain of the problem and defeat it!

'We have 200 million families. Parents have the responsibility to make their children righteous -- where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character.'

November 05, 2014

Rajdeep Sardesai: 'I have never been anti-Modi'

On the eve of the release of his book, 2014: The election That Changed India, Rajdeep speaks candidly in an interview with .

'Absolutely brilliant response from the government to free our sailors'

The last seven Indian sailors held hostage by Somali pirates were released October 30. Chirag Bahri, Indian coordinator for the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme that aids piracy survivors and their families, speaks to on how the near-impossible was achieved.

November 04, 2014

'This govt is beholden to the capitalists who hold accounts abroad'

The second and final part of advocate Prashant Bhushan's interview with Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com. Bhushan is one of the petitioners in the black money case in the Supreme Court

'Too late in the day for giving closure to 1984 anti-Sikh crimes'

'The consolation is that in recent years, the focus at the time of the anniversary has been increasingly shifting from Indira Gandhi's assassination to the plight of the thousands of innocent Sikhs who had been killed in retaliation,' Manoj Mitta, co-author of When a Tree Shook Delhi: The 1984 Carnage and its Aftermath, tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com.

November 03, 2014

'This govt is beholden to the capitalists who hold accounts abroad'

The second and final part of advocate Prashant Bhushan's interview with Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com. Bhushan is one of the petitioners in the black money case in the Supreme Court

Exclusive! Amit Shah: 'We are pro-India'

The third and final part of BJP president Amit Shah's interview to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.

'There is a problem in the way the Congress party is run'

B S Gnanadesikan, who resigned as Tamil Nadu state Congress chief, tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com what is wrong with the party in the state.

October 31, 2014

'UPA, NDA approach to black money seems similar'

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is one of the petitioners in the black money case, makes a case for the revelation of all the names of account holders that the government has submitted to the Supreme Court.

Exclusive! Amit Shah: 'There is no politics of Hindu-Mussalman'

The second part of BJP president Amit Shah's interview to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.

October 29, 2014

Black money: 'This govt was changing its position and going backwards'

Anil Divan, who is fighting the black money case in the Supreme Court, speaks to .

October 27, 2014

Exclusive! Amit Shah: 'Nobody should live away from reality'

'Politics always moves on the ground of reality. Ticket distribution should be done on the basis of each party's actual strength on the ground.'

'Modi will recover black money from abroad'

'The difference between black money in India and the black money out of India is, in India, it is tax evaded money and Indian money outside India is not only tax evaded money, but money which has been taken out of India's capital resources needed for India. So it is not only tax evasion, but treason too.'

'Hooda did not pay heed to even Sonia's advice'

Former Union minister and Haryana Congress leader Kumari Selja decries former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's style of functioning, his inability to carry everybody with him and pitches for a fresh leadership in Haryana after the poll debacle, in an interview with Anita Katyal.

October 22, 2014

'In India, there is no value for human beings'

'In Hindu society, marriage is not between a man and a woman, but between their castes; politicians do not ask for human votes, but for caste votes....'

'Not everything is about Congress, BJP or AAP'

Shazia Ilmi, one of the Aam Aadmi Party's founder members who left that party after the Lok Sabha elections in May 2014, was recently nominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi unit to join the Swachh Bharat campaign. After she came out in favour of the campaign and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there has been speculation about Ilmi planning to join the saffron party. She speaks about her views on BJP, love jihad and her fallout with AAP.

October 17, 2014

'Modi played a crucial role in convincing voters'

Buoyed by the results of exit polls that gave the Bharatiya Janata Party an edge in the Maharashtra assembly elections, state unit chief Devendra Fadnavis said the party would form the government in the state. In an interview, Fadnavis, a leading contender for the chief minister's post, spoke on the party's performance.

October 16, 2014

Must Read! How ISRO became an Indian legend

'The unique achievements have been made by engineers from small towns who have had a non elite upbringing and who have grown with the programme,' says R Aravamudan, one of the pioneers of the Indian space programme.

October 13, 2014

'BJP wants to come to power by hook or by crook'

It is a fight for survival for the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra, which has been its citadel. In an interview party President Sharad Pawar speaks on the NCP's prospects and how the Bharatiya Janata Party is exploiting Narendra Modi's popularity in the state assembly elections.

October 06, 2014

I have not favoured anyone: Hooda

Out to prove his critics wrong, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda says it's not anti-incumbency but pro-incumbency that will work in his favour and give him a third term.

October 01, 2014

'Rajni is a clever businessman, not a politician'

'Whenever a new film of his releases, he uses politics to hype his film.'

September 29, 2014

'We need to urge the govt to stop subsidising tobacco altogether'

Senior science journalist, Dinesh C Sharma told rediff.com that the way ahead would require higher public awareness and discourse on these factors and building advocacy for reversing such government policies

'Obama won't promise Modi $100 billion'

'India is going to maintain its ties to China, India is going to develop a strong relationship with the United States. It means that India is going to have the flexibility to pick and choose its friends.'

September 26, 2014

What's next for Mangalyaan? ISRO boss tells us

In his first interview, after the launch of MOM in Mars orbit, ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan spoke to T E Narasimhan about the mission and the way forward.

September 25, 2014

'India woke up to this threat long before the US did'

'It is vital we should form an international coalition against ISIS, because their brutality and the use of the Internet for jihadist activities is a reminder that the entire world community has to be in this together,' US Congressman Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tells Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com in an exclusive interview ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit.

Whistleblower MP: Manmohan Singh is the biggest culprit

'There was a big conspiracy to undermine India's self-sufficiency and kill Coal India,' says Hansraj Ahir, the BJP MP who blew the whistle on the coal scam.

September 24, 2014

'Pakistan is more obliged to improve the security of its nukes'

'Its internal security concerns are greater.'

'War with China is possible in the future'

'All the political parties, should in order to deal with China, come together and formulate strategies to safeguard every single inch of Bharat.'

September 22, 2014

'Kerala CPM resorting to violent politics to cover up their shortcomings'

'The CPM is not in a mood to introspect, and their total failure on all fronts is being covered up by crimes such as maiming and killing political opponents,' alleges Bharatiya Janata Party's Kerala president V Muraleedharan on the eve of his rally to protest the murder of his party activists in Kannur.

'I had no right to teach students who I deserted'

'It's the least I could do,' says Professor Soumitra Basu, head of the Philosophy department at Jadavpur University, who resigned to protest against the police violence last week.

'I've been telling Rahul to speak up, but haven't made much headway'

Digvijaya Singh, the Congress veteran who is one of its general secretaries, talks about his inability, despite years of urging, to get party vice-president and supposed heir, Rahul Gandhi, to communicate more directly. And, on related matters of generational change.

PM Modi's 1st interview: India, China have grown at similar paces

Narendra Modi speaks to CNN's Fareed Zakaria in his first interview after becoming prime minister. The excerpts

September 19, 2014

'The end is in sight, the TMC is fast losing its credibility'

'There is no discipline here -- only autocracy. The state is not governed by any democratic ideology. Democracy has ceased to exist here.'

'Modi@Madison Square Garden is once-in-a-lifetime event'

'A historic reception of this size is an extraordinary statement for the broad appeal of such a dynamic, action-oriented, people-first leader,' says Dr Bharat Barai.

Modi: Indian Muslims will live and die for India

"The patriotism of Indian Muslims cannot be questioned."

'There is no way a PM can shirk responsibility'

'Good politics is not just staying in power. You cannot sacrifice everything at the altar of trying to ensure the coalition remains in power.'

September 18, 2014

'This is the story of thousands of Sikh families'

'Since last year, over 50,000 Sikh farmers have been evicted from Kutch district and Narendra Modi's government has done little other than giving assurances.'

September 17, 2014

'India, China need breakthrough in economic, border issues'

'India and China have to make concrete progress with regard to the border issue, addressing the trade deficit, and facilitating people-to-people interactions. This has to happen in the next two, three years.'

September 16, 2014

'There is a lot of bitterness in the Sangh Parivar'

Congress leader Sachin Pilot, who was recently appointed the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief, says people are disenchanted with the Vasundhara Raje government.

September 10, 2014

'Al Qaeda is serious about expanding in India'

'India can certainly be counted on to ensure that Al Qaeda's influence doesn't grow to the point that it carves out sanctuaries.'

'Governance of cities has become horrendous'

'Disparity is not only in Mumbai; you see it in every city. The other day, I saw right next to the mansion of Mukesh Ambani worth Rs 5,000 crore for one family, thousands of people sleeping on the pavement. This is the urban India you have created!'

September 08, 2014

'ISIS more ruthless than Al Qaeda, India needs to be cautious'

Former RAW Additional Secretary Jayadeva Ranade tells Rediff.com's Upasna Pandey that India needs to be extremely cautious and watchful of the estimated 35-40 Indians who may have joined the ISIS in Iraq and may return to the country.

'Love jihad campaign treats women as if they are foolish'

At its heart, the furore over 'love jihad' reveals an anxiety over the increase in inter-religious marriages and women's freedom, says Charu Gupta, associate professor of history at Delhi University, whose areas of research include the colonial history of Uttar Pradesh and issues of gender and sexuality.

September 05, 2014

'By accepting the post, he has diminished the judiciary'

'My question is not why he has accepted the governorship, my question is why did the government offer it to him? By his accepting it, an impression is sought to be created that judges are no better than anyone else and will accept anything.'

September 04, 2014

'The ISI doesn't care for Kashmir'

'The ISI doesn't trust the Kashmiris. They hate them...'

September 03, 2014

'Pakistan would like to wash its hands of Kashmir'

'I have never seen the Kashmiris in a more conciliatory mood or a more defensive and reasonable mood than I did when I went there in May. All of them said, "raasta nikaliye".'

September 02, 2014

How AIIMS can handle VVIPs without inconveniencing patients

The dust has not yet settled on the public inconvenience and outcry over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country's premier health centre All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi for a routine check-up on August 24. But medical superintendent Dr DK Sharma insists "there was minimal inconvenience of a few minutes" in an interview to Rediff.com's Upasna Pandey.

'BJP can stoop to any level for power'

The Bharatiya Janata Party can hold elections any time in Delhi but it is afraid to do so, says Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal

September 01, 2014

'If a Muslim girl marries a Hindu boy...'

'... The girl's parents would probably react in the same manner as the parents of the Hindu girl who marries a Muslim boy.'

August 28, 2014

Exclusive: 'The age of indecision has come to an end'

Prakash Javadekar enjoys being information and broadcasting and parliamentary affairs minister, but heading the green ministry is turning out to be thornier than he had expected.

August 27, 2014

Her billionaire hubby didn't know she was writing a book!

'I realised I didn't have to wait for a spectacular event or a character to emerge. All stories of ordinary people, of your family, are extraordinary,' novelist Yasmeen Premji tells Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com

August 26, 2014

'There's no word like Chennai in Tamil'

'Madras is a Tamil word while Chennai is Telugu. Without the English, there would have been no Madras. The erection of Fort St George laid the foundations for the growth of the first modern city of India,' Historian JBP More tells Shobha Warrier.

August 25, 2014

'Hindu nation is an existential notion'

Till 2000, K N Govindacharya, former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak, was considered the Bharatiya Janata party's chief ideologue. Govindacharya, who now heads the Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan, which opposes anti-people policies of governments, tells Sahil Makkar and Archis Mohan the Narendra Modi-led government is still in the election mode.

'The Indian State suffers from an arrogance of power'

'Elected representatives have won elections in the past on the basis of money power received from the central government.'

August 22, 2014

'I have never been kept down by the PM'

'I am almost tempted to say there is some kind of a vested interest operating to play down the achievements of Modi.'

August 21, 2014

'Allegations about fear among the minorities are rubbish'

'There is nothing like the Sangh agenda or the BJP agenda... we believe only in the Nation's Agenda,' says newly appointed BJP Vice-President Vinay Sahasrabuddhe.

August 20, 2014

Exclusive! 'PM takes his job seriously in letter and spirit'

'Modi as the PM of the country has to take everybody on board and deliver on good governance. That is his responsibility. In that talking alone won't help, he's working.'

'I brought life into yoga, I made it very lively'

'A person should not be caught in the pursuit of enjoyment alone, he should experience enlightenment too. I mean, there should be action and motion. We must enjoy the action, not the motion,' BKS Iyengar told Rediff.com in September 2000.

August 18, 2014

'The Hinduism being talked about isn't the religion of Swami Vivekananda'

Trinamool congress MP and Gardiner Professor of History at Harvard University Sugata Bose tells Kavita Chowdhury that there is a sense of fear and insecurity among our minorities.

August 14, 2014

'Modi wants to be Patel, but might end up as Indira'

'It is obvious within these two months that in many ways Narendra Modi has a great degree of resemblance with Indira Gandhi.'

August 07, 2014

Exclusive! Sri Sri Ravi Shankar speaks out!

The spiritual guru responds to Sheela Bhatt/Redifff.com's quick-fire questions with prompt answers.

August 05, 2014

'3 locals helped carry out the Mumbai terror attacks'

Saroj Kumar Rath, author of the newly-published book Fragile Frontiers: The Secret History of Mumbai Terror Attacks, speaks to Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.

August 04, 2014

Amarinder interview: Public attraction towards Modi govt is waning

Captain Amarinder Singh, deputy leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha and the former chief minister of Punjab believes that it is constitutionally wrong not to have a Leader of Opposition. In an interview with Kavita Chowdhury, he asserts that the Congress party is confident it will bounce back. Edited excerpts:

August 01, 2014

'In the national interest, English is a must'

'In UP/Bihar there is no industry. There are no other jobs, you either herd cows, teach or join the IAS. The brightest go to the IITs. The rest go to arts college and they become IAS officers and it is this crowd that is now agitating.'

July 30, 2014

'Introduce education rooted in India's culture'

'There is no harm in children studying the Vedas; it is part of Indian culture and history... The aim is not to saffronise education,' Shiksha Bachao Andolan chief Dinanath Batra tells Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com

July 28, 2014

It pleases me when people say we want to saffronise education'

G Sreedathan interviews Dinanath Batra, president of Siksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas and national convener of Siksha Bacho Andolan, who shot to fame after he was instrumental in getting American scholar Wendy Doniger's book on Hinduism pulped.

July 23, 2014

'MH17 tragedy may be a horrible mistake by rebels'

Balazs Jarabik, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where his research focuses on Ukraine and Eastern Europe, says preliminary and not direct evidence points suggests that the Ukrainian rebels shot down the plane. In this interview with Rediff.com's , Jarabik says that it would not be right to call this an act of terror or a war crime as it appears to be a horrible mistake.

July 22, 2014

Exclusive: 'No grey areas with Modi, he is focussed on objectives'

Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad believes governance finally on track. An exclusive chat with .

July 21, 2014

'No Indian has been harmed in captivity in Iraq'

'That the Indian nationals have been sighted, they are unharmed, they are in captivity, and we know their captors. This is the sort of information I think everybody has the right to know and we would share it. Information beyond that we feel would be detrimental to the safety of those who are in captivity and it is not at all in the interest of our countrymen to share that information,' says MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.

July 18, 2014

'Shooting down of Malaysian plane is a tragic case of misidentification'

Captain John M Cox, who spent 25 years flying for United States Airways and is now the chief executive officer of safety operating systems at Washington DC, talks to Rediff.com's about the MH17 Malaysian Airlines flight which was shot down in Ukraine on Thursday night killing 298 people on board.

July 15, 2014

'There is a connection between rape and absence of toilets'
'I had been to a village in Haryana. One woman who had four daughters-in-law and three daughters, told me that she had to be awake the whole night to take each of them, one by one to the fields.'

July 14, 2014

'Manto's predictions of Pakistan are shockingly accurate'

'Manto is the only writer to grasp what the project of Pakistan would eventually mean,' says Aakar Patel, who has translated a collection of Saadat Hasan Manto's essays in a just-released book Why I Write.

Why ISIS grew strong: 'Blame Iraqi PM Maliki'

Michael Knights, a Boston-based Lafer Fellow of The Washington Institute who specialised in the military and security affairs of Iraq, Iran, and the Persian Gulf, spoke to Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa about power of the ISIS and the reasons behind its growth

July 09, 2014

'It will be business as usual when Modi visits US'

The second and final part of former cabinet secretary Naresh Chandra's interview to Sheela Bhatt.

July 07, 2014

'What civil service expects will be a test for Modi'

Naresh Chandra, former cabinet secretary, diplomat and well-known strategic thinker, tries to explain what the Modi government is up to and assesses what will work and what may not work and why. He spoke to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com, also, on diplomatic issues.

July 03, 2014

'For ache din, give us at least a year'

'Understand one thing, if you want immediately and magically that things should become cheap, it's not possible. It's a long-term policy.'

Exclusive! BJP MLA takes on Goa's anti-bikini minister

'We don't want hardcores like Pramod Muthalik in Goa. We vehemently oppose people who share Muthalik's tendencies. We don't need cultural watchdogs in Goa.' BJP MLA Vishnu Wagh lashes out at Goa's anti-bikini minister Sudin Dhavalikar in this exclusive interview to Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com

June 26, 2014

'KNPP produces 24 million units of power a day'

R S Sundar, the site director of KNPP, on how the plant is producing 1,000 MW of nuclear power, the largest in the country.

June 24, 2014

'We're not forcing Hindi on anyone. We have nothing against English'

Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas with independent charge Dharmendra Pradhan on the controversy over the government's use of Hindi in the social media and how the government is going ahead to execute its plans to honour the 60-month mandate it has been given.

'There is no comparison between Irani and Sibal as HRD minister'

Activist and journalist Madhu Kishwar on Smriti Irani and the controversy over the four-year course offered by the Delhi University.

'Strict decisions have to be made for the good of the poor'

'You cannot judge a government within a month. Give us five years' time.'

June 23, 2014

'People want only development now and not agitations'

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy tells rediff.com's Shobha Warrier why the UPA lost in the general elections, the decline of the Left and what he expects from the Centre.

June 21, 2014

'Rail fare hike result of UPA govt's policies'

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has justified the Narendra Modi government's move to raise the rail fare by 14.2 per cent, saying it was a result of the policies undertaken by the previous United Progressive Alliance government.

June 20, 2014

Tharoor: Rahul Gandhi is underestimated and misunderstood

Shashi Tharoor speaks to Shobha Warrier on the controversy over his article seen as praising Narendra Modi and what the future holds for the Congress and Rahul Gandhi.

June 19, 2014

'If anything happens to me, IB and government are responsible'

Anti-nuclear activist S P Udayakumar, who has been called a threat to the economic security of India by the Intelligence Bureau, speaks to A Ganesh Nadar.

June 16, 2014

'Kerala incident is a huge violation of child rights'

J Sandhya, member, Child Rights Commission, speaks to Shobha Warrier about the recent incident where more than five hundred poor children from Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal were being sent to Kerala orphanages, and why children's rights need to be protected with vigour.

June 10, 2014

'We fought the elections with 19th century ideas'

'We have to get the party and its members to this day. We have to bring them to the present and see the realities of today. We must fight the elections with 22nd century ideas.'

June 06, 2014

'Rahul acted like a joker'

'From the time Rahul Gandhi entered the scene, I started feeling dissatisfied. No true Congressman will be able to agree with the way Rahul Gandhi functioned. He has not attained enough maturity or wisdom.'

June 04, 2014

Cong won't allow BJP to have a free run: Kamal Nath

Senior Congress leader and Pro-tem Speaker Kamal Nath has defended Sonia and Rahul Gandhi's decision not to lead the opposition in Lok Sabha. Speaking in an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN, Nath also said the Congress will provide an effective opposition.

'If Smriti Irani succeeds, it will be a great achievement'

'Once you've made up your mind that you don't like Smriti Irani because she has got where she has far too quickly or far too easily, you find reasons to dislike her and to justify your view,' says Pritish Nandy.

June 02, 2014

Shobhaa De: 'Smriti is smart and efficient'

'This is a very sexist, narrow minded way of pre-judging a woman. A foolish carry-forward of the old "All models are dumb bimbos" adage.' Shobhaa De jumps to Smriti Irani's defence.

'Coalition with RJD is not on the cards right now'

There are no permanent friends or foes in politics. It's true that the RJD supported us on the trust vote, but it doesn't mean we needed them, says Bihar new chief minister, Jitan Ram Manjhi.

May 23, 2014

Modi very keen on downsizing the government: Shourie

Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi can and will downsize the government, and the Union Cabinet could be cut by half its present size, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Arun Shourie reveals as explains what could be the new PM's masterplan ahead of Cabinet formation in an exclusive interview to CNN IBN.

DON'T MISS: NaMo's interviews to Rediff.com

Narendra Modi has probably given Rediff.com more interviews than he has any other news outlet. From his early days as BJP general secretary to after becoming the most powerful politician in India... Check them out!

May 22, 2014

'Why did so many people get killed?'

'Tarun Gogoi is incompetent to be chief minister. We heard Intelligence had warned him about possible aggression. Why did Gogoi fail to react?'

May 21, 2014

Chandrababu Naidu welcome to stay in Hyderabad: KTR

In this interview with /Rediff.com, KTR speaks about the plans while adding that the state government is capable of managing law and order in Hyderabad and there is no need for Central interference.

May 17, 2014

'Nitish, Lalu misjudged Bihar's mindset'

'They gave Nitish their votes to bring progress. But he forgot this and got involved with his own political interests. That is not done. So he was rejected.'

'India's interests will be paramount'

'We will certainly perform and take India to newer heights. We will really like to see India become a world power in every sense of the term and build a strong and robust economy that is capable of employment generation on a scale required for a country like India,' BJP ideologue Vinay Sahasrabuddhe tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com

May 16, 2014

'The Modi wave has wiped off everyone in Bihar'

'Nitish Kumar's government will be at stake. The JD-U is working with a very thin majority, which is a borrowed majority. With just two seats Nitish Kumar has no moral right to stay on,' says Professor Prabhat Ghosh.

'Will Modi organise an Iftar party like Vajpayee?'

'It is too early to say whether a "BJP era" is emerging... The Congress era was already over anyway! The real question is: Has India opened a new, post-coalition era and I'm very doubtful about that,' renowned political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com, analysing Mandate 2014.

'Everybody has rallied around one leader. One vision'
'I don't think you would have seen this level of enthusiasm or phenomenon in the NRI community ever before.' 'To call the BJP or its leaders 'fascist' is historically untenable'

'Narendra Modi could be too old to change his personality. On the other hand, his attachment to the RSS could be mostly sentimental. So one must hope that if he becomes prime minister, he is able to detach himself from the RSS view of the world as completely as Narasimha Rao detached himself from the Congress's First Family.'

'Modi is a clean, determined man, ambitious of his place in history'

'A change of government will bring about a lot of changes because everything is frozen for the last two years. So, the frozen energies of India will be released.'

May 15, 2014

'The two Ms (Modi, Mamata) will waste no time to shake hands'

Veteran Communist Part of India-Marxist leader Mohammed Salim in an interview with Rediff.com's speaks about volatile atmosphere in Bengal this election season, the prospects of the Left and more. Edited excerpts:

'India has changed after AAP emerged'

'The BJP used to be a party of decent, Hindu, middle-class people. Today, it is a party of goons. At the ground level, goons beat you up and at the senior level, the intellectuals justify the beating up.'

May 13, 2014

'There is a Modi wave in India'

'The Modi wave is superimposed by an anti-Congress wave. While there is anger against the Congress, there is also a pro-Modi sentiment. Together, it will lead to a Modi victory.'

'Manmohan Singh knows very little of the Indian economy'
'The UPA's claim of growth at 9.5 percent was absolute nonsense and a fraudulent claim because the country did not grow; it was only statistical growth.'

May 12, 2014

'Does Mamata think the people of West Bengal are fools?'

Somen Mitra, the one time pillar of the Trinamool Congress and now Congress candidate from Kolkata North constituency, can't help smiling. The SC's order directing the CBI to probe the Saradha scam is the fruit of his hard and lonely battle.

May 09, 2014

Arnab: Modi was a picture of complete confidence

'It would not be right to compare the two interviews. In the case of Rahul Gandhi, it was more about where should I start since it was his first interview.'

May 08, 2014

Modi not responsible for Assam violence: Ex-NSG chief

'The violence that shook Assam was a direct outcome of the state's ethnic problem... The tension that created a rift between the Bodos and the non-Bodos for years found a blood-spattered expression.'

May 06, 2014

The Narendra Modi interview: 'We will empower minorities with education'

Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi dispels doubts about him and his policies in a conversation with Urdu weekly Nai Duniya's Chief Editor Shahid Siddiqui.

May 02, 2014

'I am worried about Modi's foreign policy'

'If Modi were to be elected, he would be part of a coalition government, and within that he would have to take this minority into account. Muslims cannot relate to the idea of Hindu nationalism. Although it is presented as a pan-Indian idea, it appears to them to be exclusive.'

Exclusive! CEC V S Sampath on Election 2014

'The diversity of geography and demography of India is truly reflected in the challenges faced during the election process.'

'Only Muslims in Gujarat have the right to pardon Modi'

'Islam says the person who has been hurt has the right to pardon the accused. So don't ask me on whether I will pardon Narendra Modi or not. Go and ask this question to Gujarati Muslims who have been hurt.'

'Daughter' row: Modi's office releases DD interview footage

Seeking to put to rest the controversy over Narendra Modi's remarks about Priyanka Gandhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate's office has released the full interview that was edited out by Doordarshan.

April 29, 2014

'Where is this wave? Can you see it?'

'Gujarat is number one in public relations and marketing. Gujarat's PR is strong, it washes like a strong washing soap... The third phase is ours. It is our family and household elections, let him come there... Banaras and UP have taken on the challenge.'

'I could never become Modi's yes-man'

'Corruption is rampant in every office in the state from the villages right up to Gandhinagar. I have witnessed all these issues first hand... Before Narendra Modi became chief minister Gujarat had a debt of Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore. Today it is Rs 180,000 crore. There has been six-fold jump in public debt in Gujarat in the last ten years... Every child born in Gujarat owes a debt of Rs 30,000 today. How can you call this development? Look at how high taxes are in Gujarat. Look at the condition of our public health system. There are not enough doctors or nursing staff in government hospitals; not enough teachers in schools and colleges.'

April 28, 2014

'Mamata has outlived her usefulness'

'Mamata Banerjee was an anti-body that the people of West Bengal needed to throw the CPI-M out. Though the disease is no more, we are suffering the anti-body. It is a punishment for the people of this state.' BJP leader Tathagatha Roy lashes out at the West Bengal chief minister.

April 25, 2014

Mission 272+: How the BJP used the Internet to power its campaign

'You will be surprised at how wide the Mission272+ Internet campaign has been in terms of its reach across India. We have volunteers in all of 543 Lok Sabha seats. Every one of them signed up to volunteer through the Internet. We are laser focused on Mission272+. All of our volunteers are working at the constituency level to make a difference so every vote and every booth counts.' Shashi Shekhar, who is spearheading the BJP's Internet-social media campaign, explains how it is done.

Congress MP: 'The Times Now interview worked against Rahul'

'A Gujarat model won't work in every part of India. We have to look at each part as unique, with needs being different from one state to another and yet we must be able to empower them and give them the kind of future the youth aspire to... The BJP has not shown what they want to do. What is their vision for this country? What are the solutions for where we have gone wrong?'

April 24, 2014

Defeat is impossible, says this Congress MP. Is it?

Eknath Gaikwad, a three-time MLA and a two-time MP from Mumbai, hopes to to win a seat in the Lok Sabha the third time over. But his path to victory confronts more obstacles than ever before.

April 23, 2014

'Had the SIT not balked, Modi would have been facing a trial'

'I don't think there is a need to order a fresh investigation into the complaint against Modi & Co. As the amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran said in his report to the Supreme Court, the existing material is more than sufficient to prosecute Modi and other high-ups of his regime,' Manoj Mitta, author of the book The Fiction Of Fact-Finding: Modi and Godhra tells Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore.

April 21, 2014

'How can a party that has people like us be communal?'

'Minorities should not fear a Modi sarkar... Who has given the right to kill in the name of religion? No one! You are not James Bond 007, that you will just take a shotgun and kill anybody at your whims and fancies. We are not living in a banana republic...' The inimitable Shatrughan Sinha on Narendra Modi as a dabbang action hero, what a Modi Sarkar would be like.

'Do you think people trust Chandrababu Naidu?'

'People know what Naidu is. I want to know if he will come clean on his various scams... He has given away land at throwaway prices to his stooges. How can he call my son corrupt?' Vijayamma, who has changed the game in Vishakhapatanam, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa why her son Jaganmohan Reddy will be Seema-Andhra's first chief minister.

April 16, 2014

'Delhi's favour-driven culture will get a big shock from Modi'

'Modi is a master of convergence. By his ability to converge and add new features to a non-star idea, he is able to sell it. Like how he has turned Kutch into a tourist destination by selling the salt desert of the Rann as a flat snow desert of the night and roping in Amitabh Bachchan to sell it. In one stroke this has ensured economic returns to the people and on the other hand it has taken care of the national security angle in the sense that the border population in the Rann, which is almost entirely Muslim, is feeling better as now they are much more connected with the mainstream.' Ahead of the launch of his book on the much-debated Modi model of governance, journalist Uday Mahurkar speaks to Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.

April 15, 2014

Jaswant Singh: 'I don't see the NDA getting the numbers'

'I think the BJP will be the single largest party. Will it have enough numbers to form a government? I don't see those numbers as of today, and on the basis of the elections that have already taken place,' former Union minister Jaswant Singh tells Rediff.com's Saisuresh Sivaswamy.

April 14, 2014

'Under the BJP India will not become regressive'

If people respect our culture and interests, why should anyone become more regressive? Education will not be saffronised. Just the correct picture will be portrayed and facts not distorted.' Dr Dinanath Batra, who successfully litigated to have Penguin withdraw copies of Wendy Doniger's book on Hinduism, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa what India will be like if the BJP under Narendra Modi forms the next government.

April 12, 2014

TV interview # 2: Rahul goes after Modi, drags in Adani

In a strong attack on Adani group perceived to be close to Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi has said that land equal to the size of Vadodara and the Gujarat coastline of the size of Mumbai coastline had been given at throwaway prices.

April 11, 2014

On the poll trail with Gadkari: 'Amit Shah never talks nonsense'

'Secularism does not mean appeasement of terrorists all the time. Secularism does not mean you have to appease anybody. Justice for all and appeasement for none. That is the role of a secular party.' "So that will remain?" '100 percent.'

'Telangana was formed for its people, not KCR's family'

In an exclusive interaction with Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Congress MP Goud says that he is certain that the Telangana sentiment will work for him in Nizamabad. As he prepares for hectic campaigning, the leader says that the BJP, which was initially expecting to make some gains in the newly-formed state, has wasted its chances after it aligned with the Telugu Desam Party.

April 10, 2014

'Pakistan cannot be trusted'

'The Indian military has rightly advised the government not to fall for the rather spurious Pakistani demand to demilitarise Siachen,' says Nitin Gokhale in an interview about his new book Beyond NJ9842: The Siachen Saga.

April 09, 2014

'The 2G scam is no scam'

'Do you know there is a 500 page report prepared by an inquiry committee headed by myself? When I placed the report in Parliament, have you heard any single Opposition leader give a notice for discussion? Why are they not demanding a discussion in Parliament on the report? They could have established that there was a scam. Today, a Parliament Committee report is as good as a Parliament report and this report says the 2G scam is no scam. Our government is suffering because of the media hype on these scams,' Congress MP P C Chacko tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

April 08, 2014

Wish the best for Nandan, Balakrishnan in LS election, says Murthy

I would prefer a government that is stable and progressive, a government that takes quick decisions, a government that is much more oriented towards creating jobs, and one that attracts a lot of foreign investments, says N R Narayana Murthy.

'We had inputs about the hijacking, they were ignored'

'Narendra Modi is a beginner on the national scene. Intelligence and security will be new for him on a national scale. He will succeed if he crosses the bureaucratic barriers. If he entangles himself in these barriers, then I highly doubt he will succeed,' former R&AW agent R K Yadav tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.

'The Constitution has to change ... states need more freedom'

'Though federal, the Constitution is unitary in nature. All matters relating to revenue are centralised. It is necessary that matters related to finance have to be decentralised... States need more freedom in designing schemes with their interest in mind. There has to be a Constitutional amendment to give more powers to the states. A special session of Parliament should amend the Constitution, especially the 7th Schedule,' Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

April 07, 2014

'People in Kerala don't vote for money'

'Bribing voters is very, very less in Kerala; I would say, almost zero... Across the border, there is so much of money power during the elections. But I don't think in Kerala, people vote for money... People of Kerala do believe that politics can bring in good governance, 'says Nalini Netto, the Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala.

April 04, 2014

'I entered a sinking ship when I joined the Congress'

Realising that there was no possibility of being re-elected on a Congress ticket, Rao has now decided to hitch his wagon to the Bhartiya Janata Party. In an exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Union Textiles Minister K S Rao explains the reason for leaving the Congress, his assessment of Rahul Gandhi's leadership and his future plans.

April 02, 2014

'Do you want a weak leader who can't take decisions?'

'Mr Modi has the necessary initiative, necessary motivation, necessary national thinking to push things forward. Here's a man with proven ability... India can become a superpower provided we shed a lot of things that have plagued us for the past 60 years. One of them -- a major one -- is how the country has been divided for vote banks. We need to sort that out, it will take time, but I am sure once that is done a lot of things will happen which will make this country good and powerful,' says General Vijay Kumar Singh as he battles for the people's vote in Ghaziabad, only the second army chief to contest an election.

April 01, 2014

'People want change, they are fed up with corruption and inflation'

Hema Malini spoke with about her preparedness and exuded confidence to win the election with "the grace of Lord Krishna and love of people of Mathura."

Moon Moon Sen: Politics is teaching me to think beyond myself

'One afternoon while I was shopping for curtains, a friend called up to say, "Congratulations, you have been named the TMC candidate from Bankura." I was stupefied. I finished my shopping and on my return home, called up Mamata."What have you done?" I asked her. She just kept laughing,' Moon Moon Sen, the TMC candidate from Bankura, tells Rediff.com's Indrani Roy in this exclusive interview.

March 30, 2014

How Narendra Modi's new anthem was made

Vani Tripathi Tikoo, national secretary, BJP, speaks with Manavi Kapur about what went behind the making of the anthem and its popularity so far

March 27, 2014

'Modi is the most talented politician of our time'

'He doesn't think anyone else has his brilliance or integrity. And he cannot bear to stand a rival,' says journalist Aakar Patel, a long-time Modi observer who has translated Modi's poetry and his biographies of RSS leaders.

March 26, 2014

'People of Baramati are fed up with the Pawar family's supremacy'

'People respect Sharad Pawar and his contribution, but now it is Ajit Pawar who is associated with Baramati. And he has done nothing for it,' retired IPS officer and AAP candidate Suresh Khopade tells Jyoti Punwani.

March 25, 2014

Modi and Rahul are our main targets: Arvind Kerjiwal

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has made it abundantly clear that he would contest against Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi.

The Pramod Muthalik interview: 'Is fighting for Hindutva wrong?'

'The fight was against those who were being immoral. Not once was there any directive from me or anyone to beat up women,' says Pramod Muthalik, the man behind the shameful Mangalore pub attack incident

The Telugu civil servant taking on Speaker Meira Kumar in Bihar

'Fighting Meira Kumar is not a daunting task at all. I hope to give her a very tough fight...

'What we have is not democracy; it is demonocracy!'

'When the world was refining itself, India was going backwards culturally with so many rape cases and other atrocities against women, children and the elderly. The growth of evil forces was very bad in the last 10 years,' says Malayalam movie star Suresh Gopi, who met Narendra Modi recently tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier in this exclusive interview.

March 24, 2014

'Why should Modi apologise? He hasn't done anything wrong'

'We are a national party that wants to remind people about Bharatiya sanskruti, which, at the moment, is being remote-controlled by an Italian lady and her agents,' says former Union minister O Rajagopal, the BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram who will challenge Shashi Tharoor.

March 21, 2014

'There is no Narendra Modi factor in the rural areas'

n an exclusive interview with Rediff.com's , Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmad analysed the political scenario in his home-state Bihar, admitting that political equations have changed after the Bharatiya Janata Party forged alliances with Ram Vilas Paswan and Upendra Kushwaha.

'Sasikala stays with Jayalalithaa only because of the assets' case'

M Natarajan, the estranged husband of Sasikala, describes in detail the association his wife and he shared with Jayalalithaa.

No 'hera pheri', promises Paresh Rawal in new role as BJP man

He's a versatile actor and is now is looking to bring his onscreen persona to politics. Batting for the 'incorruptible' Narendra Modi, and slamming opponents -- the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party -- Paresh Rawal, the BJP's face from Ahmedabad, is speaking the language of a neta, already.

'India can send rocket to Mars, but not allow absentee voting for NRIs?'

'We have 10 million votes, 15,000 votes per MP constituency. There are certain constituencies who will win by about 5,000 or 6,000 votes. So if we win this case, these 15,000 votes will play crucial roles in at least 50 Lok Sabha constituencies, which can change the dynamics of the entire political system,' Nagender Chindam tells Patrick Ward in an interview.

'I will face Pawan on the political battlefield'

For actor Chiranjeevi, the reel life scenario of a face-off between brothers is today a real life headache. Chiranjeevi spoke to rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa

Politics is not rocket science: V Balakrishnan

Interview with V Balakrishnan, Former CFO and board member of Infosys and AAP leader

March 19, 2014

'Neither Modi nor Rahul will be PM. Are we not there?' Kumaraswamy

'This is an artificial wave created by the BJP by using the money that they collect from corporates. Modi's attacks on the regional fronts are more out of fear, since he feels that we may hurt his ambition to become prime minister,' the JD-S's HD Kumaraswamy tells in an interview.

'Pakistan is at a very troubled point in its history'

'It's true that you are aware of being a Pakistani in India in some way. I don't know how much of it is in my head as opposed to anything else. If I get into a taxi and someone asks 'Where are you from' I would hesitate before saying 'Pakistan',' says novelist Kamila Shamsie, whose latest book A God in Every Stone is an epic page-turner set in India's colonial past.

March 18, 2014

'BJP won't be allowed to push its Hindutva agenda beyond a point'

'Parties like ours and others like the Lok Janshatki Party will ensure that the BJP remains on the straight and narrow path,' says Shiromani Akali Dal leader Naresh Gujral

'Even Modi is a first time candidate from UP'

'The party is going through hard times. One doesn't back off when your party needs you the most. Tough people never withdraw from the race,' movie star Nagma, the Congress candidate from Meerut, UP, tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar.

'Modi wave much bigger than Vajpayee wave of 1999'

A surprise candidate, columnist Prathap Simha will be contesting for the Bharatiya Janata Party from Mysore. Barely a few weeks old in the party, his selection sparked a row causing a lot of heartburn among local leaders as he was picked over two-time MP CH Vijayshankar.

March 14, 2014

People have exaggerated notions about themselves: Pawan Bansal

'Manish Tiwari has been trying for the Chandigarh seat since 1991, but I have never considered him a rival. If all he said the other day was targeted against me, it is unacceptable and I take strong exception to it,' former Railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal tells Anita Katyal in an exclusive interview.

'Murli Manohar Joshi is sentimental about his Varanasi seat'

Mukhar Abbas Naqvi, senior vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is convinced that Narendra Modi will become the next prime minister of India.

March 13, 2014

'Nilekani shouldn't be proud, but ashamed of Aadhar programme'

Five time MP from Bangalore South Ananth Kumar says he feels no threat from Nilekani. "People may seek change, but the change they want is at the Centre", a confident Kumar tells Rediff.com's in this exclusive interview.

The former cop who will challenge Shashi Tharoor

'Shashi Tharoor has publicised whatever little he has done, far more than what he has actually done. Some of the bigger promises he made could never be implemented.' Ajit Joy, a former police officer and Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Thiruvananthapuram, tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier that he is a more attractive candidate in his constituency than sitting MP Tharoor.

March 12, 2014

Simple food will be served at Rs 20,000 dinner with Kejriwal: AAP

Prithvi Reddy, AAP national executive member, however, clarifies that the Rs 20,000 per head dinner is not about eating food worth that much -- it will be a simple dinner and a fund raiser.

March 11, 2014

'Wave now seems a mild word, it is more like a BJP tsunami'

'I won't be very, very surprised if we get 40/40 seats in Bihar. You may find it incredible but I'm telling you that's the mood. The worst the states are being governed, the better the chances for Mr Narendra Modi and the BJP,' says Uday Singh, the two-time BJP MP from Purnia, where Narendra Modi addressed his third Bihar rally in five months on Monday.

'If they arrest me, they will make me a martyr and a winner'

'I don't think we will need to support or get support from the Congress. I hope there is no such political exigency. The Congress will be gone from the political scene. There is no lesser evil. The BJP and Congress are the two sides of the same evil coin,' anti-Koodankulam nuclear plant activist and new AAP member S P Udaykumar tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar.

March 10, 2014

'Is the people's party in such a dilemma?'

Popular Malayalam actor Innocent has decided to throw his hat in the ring for the April 10 Lok Sabha election. However, not everyone is happy about it.

Will P C Sorcar produce magic for the BJP?

'Here I am, a BJP candidate, with a Muslim's blood running through my veins. This is simply magical!' P C Sorcar Junior, perhaps India's best-known magician, tells Rediff.com's Indrani Roy.

'Rahul has not yet come into mainstream politics'

'Congress is on the defensive about scams and corruption charges... The media is against the UPA.... The Nehru family is not just another family; it is a national wealth,'Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

March 07, 2014

'We expect a zero error election; 100% successful to the last booth'

'In the Uttar Pradesh election last time, there were four presiding officers who had a heart attack on the day of the poll. It is a high pressure job and we must compliment our bureaucracy,' says former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi who headed the Election Commission in the 2009 general election.

March 06, 2014

'The CPI-M will have a very feeble presence post elections'

'Communist leaders have become babus, they wear branded clothes and costly shoes, wear perfume to mask their body odour.... Why can't they get rid of their ego and arrogance for the party's benefit? Politburo members have no links with the soil, they have no understanding of the people and the grassroots... After the Lok Sabha election this year, the Left will cease to have any political identity.'rebel Marxist Abdur Rezzak Mollah tells Rediff.com's Indrani Roy.

March 03, 2014

'The role of the armed forces and 3 chiefs has been systematically eroded'

'Admiral D K Joshi's resignation is certainly an example worthy of emulation by anybody who is in a leadership role. Unfortunately, over the last 30, 40 years, I can think of very few politicians or bureaucrats who could be termed real "Leaders". Without leaders, where will there be leadership?' asks Vice Admiral P J Jacob (retd), former Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.

February 28, 2014

'Kejriwal is an honest messiah and the only hope for this country'

AAP is not like any other party but an alternative for a change in this country, Jarnail Singh tells Rediff.com's Onkar Singh.

February 26, 2014

Wronged ISRO scientist: India will be safe in Modi's hands

'My wife was asked to get out of an autorickshaw because she was married to me. My children were targeted and branded a traitor's children. In spite of the Supreme Court and the NHRC having cleared my case, the state government is yet to close it. Local politicians are behind this. Why can't they close the case, give me compensation, accepting gracefully that they have wronged me?' Dr S Nambi Narayanan, the scientist who was accused and then exonerated in the 1994 ISRO spying case, speaks to Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier about his continuing travails and his recent meeting with Narendra Modi.

February 24, 2014

Government of the people or for Reliance?

'If the government starts playing favourites, if the government acts in a manner which is not transparent, then natural resources which belong to not just you and me, but future generations, they fritter away. The anger against corruption, the anger against India's natural resources being looted is a consequence of the fact that within society there is a huge amount of turmoil and discontentment. Why should an Empowered Group Of Ministers or the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs decide the administered price of gas?' asks Paranjoy Guha Thakurta in this exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.

February 20, 2014

I will quit if used as toilet paper and thrown in a bin: Virbhadra Singh

Even as Kiran Kumar Reddy has quit the Congress and resigned as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, protesting against the division of the state, veteran Congress leader and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh says he, too, will quit the party if its central leadership removes him from the post of chief minister, after the elections.

February 14, 2014

'Syria is central to Middle East peace'

'Why not ask for a change of leadership in Qatar, Bahrain or Saudi Arabia? Is there a constitution in Saudi Arabia? Are there elections in Saudi Arabia? Why no talk of democracy in these countries?'

February 13, 2014

Exclusive: 'Sonia is treated as the mother of Telangana'

'The feeling in Telangana is that without her a separate state cannot be created... All the MPs and MLAs from Seema-Andhra have a business background. Their interest is to save their business,' Congress MP K Raj Gopal Reddy, who played a key role in Thursday's turbulent events, tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.

'I will immolate myself in Lok Sabha if Telangana Bill is tabled'

"I am ready to die to keep the state united, as I consider the decision of the Congress to be a very bad one. If the Bill is tabled in Parliament, there will be a self-immolation and I am very serious about it," Ankapalli MP Sabbam Hari tells Vicky Nanjappa.

February 12, 2014

'They should arrest the builder for failing to keep his promise'

'For 20 years, successive governments have failed to provide housing for the poor. Here, they were to get 400 sq ft flats for Rs 54,000,' says Prakash Ambedkar who was arrested by the Maharashtra government for getting thousands of people to submit forms for these apartments.

February 11, 2014

Bifurcation of Andhra can still be stopped: Expelled Cong MP

Congress will be wiped out in next elections, Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, one of the six MPs who was expelled by the Congress for opposing the creation of Telangana, tells Rediff.com's

February 10, 2014

'There is no evidence that Modi ordered the killings'
Lawyer and scholar Vinay Sitapati says the 'Get Modi' strategy largely misses the efforts to prosecute people evidently guilty of violence and murders in the Gujarat riots in favour of "a narrow quest to stop one man from becoming prime minister." 'Congress should name PM candidate before polls'

Milind Deora, minister of state for communication and information technology and shipping, is one of the Congress' young guns under Rahul Gandhi. He tells Kavita Chowdhury that the core problem for the United Progressive Alliance in its second term has been its inability to communicate effectively. Edited excerpts:

February 07, 2014

Angry Indresh Kumar reacts to Aseemanand interview: 'It is a fraud'

'A government which is so inefficient, what hope of justice can we have from them?' RSS leader Indresh Kumar tells Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore.

February 06, 2014

'Telangana is a classic case of how not to do things'

Lok Satta Party chief Jayaprakash Narayan talks to Rediff.com's on the Telangana turmoil, 'juvenile' Aam Aadmi Party and more.

February 01, 2014

Arnab interview is a nasty burn for Rahul Gandhi

It may be true that Rahul Gandhi would rather work than dance for the media, but on the other hand, the days when that was a choice are long gone, says Mitali Saran.

January 31, 2014

Maha Cong chief: It was wrong Ashok Chavan doled out flats

'We are clear the party won't protect those who are seen as culprits,' says Maharashtra Congress Chief Manekrao Thakre.

'The Kargil War was a tragedy, but...': Haqqani

It has been over two years since Husain Haqqani was forced to resign from the coveted post of Pakistan's envoy to the United States.

January 27, 2014

I feel that Rahul has his heart in the right place: Arnab Goswami

Times Now Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami's interview with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, scheduled to be aired on Monday night, is being billed as one of the biggest political interviews of the year.

'The Internet is destroying journalism'

'The scope of social networking as a form of journalism is limited. Yes, you can tweet a photo or write about, say, a policemen beating a protestor somewhere. But a real news story is complicated and analytical and it needs to be worked on... Journalism is not that simple,' Jonathan Franzen, arguably the greatest American novelist of his generation, tells Rediff.com's Sanchari Bhattacharya in a fascinating interview.

January 23, 2014

'India will have to deal with terrorism for a long time'

'The greatest threat faced by India does not come from Pakistan, it comes from terrorism... It is easier to secure the borders of the US; it is not so easy to make India's borders secure,' Pulizer Prize-winning journalist Mark Mazzetti tells Rediff.com's Sanchari Bhattacharya.

'If the urban middle class returns to vote, that will be an electoral novelty'

'150 million new voters, the likely return of the middle class to electoral politics and a party which is going beyond the three-and-a-half master narratives of Indian politics. You can't say this is an election you haven't seen ever, but this is a kind of election we have not seen in a long time,' says political scientist Ashutosh Varshney.

January 22, 2014

'Indians should remember what Hitler did'

'With any luck and a certain amount of rationality, we should be able to survive,' historian Antony Beevor tells Rediff.com's Sanchari Bhattacharya. 'We should learn that genocides and elimination of minorities achieve nothing and only sets a nation back. If we don't learn from our mistakes, then humanity doesn't deserve a chance to survive.'

'Modi is both a very exciting and polarising figure'

'Modi's campaign has been strikingly devoid of anti-Muslim rhetoric. After the kutta pilla incident, it has been several months since he said something horrible about the Muslims of India. It is the result of democratic constraints. He has to make compromises... He's trying to reinvent himself. He will politically hurt himself if 2002 becomes the definition of Mr Modi again', says political scientist Ashutosh Varshney.

January 21, 2014

'Kejriwal is not wrong, but is this the right method of realising that objective?'

'Indian politics has had three-and-a-half master narratives -- secular nationalism, Hindu nationalism, justice for lower castes and regionalism. The AAP seeks to go beyond that. Therein lies its promise and its challenge,' says Ashutosh Varshney, Brown University professor and author of book Battles Half Won, India's Improbable Democracy.

How India fought polio and won

'In 2009 we had 741 new cases of polio. This was the highest in the world. We ran the most apolitical crusade ever. We had the support of every government. We were never short of funds. The central government gave us Rs 11,000 crore a year. In 2011 we had 42 new cases. From 42 to 0 was our most difficult phase,' Mission Director Anuradha Gupta tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar in an exclusive interview about India's monumental campaign to eradicate polio.

'The AAP is the new game in town'

'For now, the AAP is the conversation,' Lord Meghnad Desai tells Rediff.com's Sanchari Bhattacharya. 'Everyone is talking about the 'Delhi model'. They have made so much difference. They have changed politics.'

January 20, 2014

'The AAP government in Delhi is in chaos'

'Today, in response to the rape of a foreigner in the city, AAP leaders are saying the Delhi police is not under them -- when I had said the same, nobody wanted to hear it. They themselves are facing the same situation. I would say, it is a learning process for the AAP,' says former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who was vanquished by the AAP's Arvind Kejriwal in the recent assembly elections.

'I want to be another Guru Dutt'

The going has never been easy for author Cyrus Mistry, who suffers from a nervous disorder. The reclusive author, who bagged the prestigious South Asian literature award, talks openly to P B Chandra about his illness and how writing has helped him cope with it.

January 18, 2014

Kejriwal interview: Won't spare Cong in graft cases; can contest LS polls

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday hit out at the Congress that the Aam Aadmi Party had not asked for support, rather 'they imposed it on us'.

January 16, 2014

'Congress has underestimated the resentment of the people'

'It has also underestimated the striking force of the Opposition. It has been complacent and paralysed. That may be due to the compulsions of coalition politics and the arrogance of a party which looked at itself as entitled to rule,' says political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot.

January 15, 2014

Sachin Pilot: 3 months to turn Cong fortunes in Rajasthan

Sachin Pilot on how he expects to help the Congress regain lost ground.

'Kejriwal will force Modi to change his electoral campaign'

'Modi cannot content himself anymore with merely indulging in Congress bashing and referring to the Gujarat 'miracle'. He'll have to show that his party is as clean and as innovative as the AAP. And this is impossible because AAP is new and the BJP is now old: the people have tried it already. What they have not tried already is Modi, and this is what may make the difference,' says the respected political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot.

January 14, 2014

'Samajwadi leaders's insensitivity indicates their criminal approach'

'The camps were never given any help from the UP government. They did not provide rations, milk, medical assistance or sanitary arrangements...Once the compensation payments started being made, the UP government's entire effort was to get the people out of the camps... The situation was compounded by the fact that those accused of murder, arson and rape were not arrested. How could the victims be expected to return to their village homes? The extreme cold made the situation even more appalling. The deaths occurring regularly were a result of this.' Former MP Subhasini Ali discusses the horrific Muzaffarnagar riots and its tragic aftermth with Rediff.com's Savera R Someshwar.

'AAP is a different phenomenon; we have few leaders'

'I did not come here to contest elections and so I am not going to quit if I lose, television anchor and AAP member Ashutosh tells Rediff.com's Athimuthu Ganesh Nadar.

January 09, 2014

'All of us have multiple identities'

Ela Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's grand-daughter and a peace activist on her PBD award

January 08, 2014

I quit out of disgust: Justice Ganguly

Former Supreme Court judge Ashok Kumar Ganguly maintains his defiant stand on the sexual harassment allegations leveled against him by a law intern in an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN.

January 06, 2014

'How will caste go away from our society?'

'Why was Yeddyurappa taken back by the BJP ? Because his community is very strong in Karnataka and if he is back, the BJP thinks it will get more seats.' The government should stop all reservations based on caste, Gandhian Salem Velu Gandhi -- who recently asked the Supreme Court to include a new caste in the list of India's castes, for the children of inter-caste marriages -- tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

January 03, 2014

India Inc supports Narendra Modi to be on the safer side: Capt Gopinath

Many corporate figures, who are not full-fledged businessmen, have felt the need to make a change in the system. That's why they are joining the AAP, Captain Gopinath tells Rediff.com's

December 31, 2013

'India can't be in anger mode towards Pakistan'

'Pakistan's leaders have made a serious mistake in describing India as an existential threat and a permanent enemy. If there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies in international relations, then neither Afghanistan nor India should be Pakistan's permanent enemies either,' Husain Haqqani, former Pakistani ambassador envoy to the United States, tells Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa in a fascinating interview.

December 30, 2013

'The Kasturirangan Report is a disaster for the Western Ghats'

'If the Kasturirangan Committee report is implemented, the mining and quarrying lobbies will flourish... It will be disastrous for the environment... There will be water shortage, there will be pollution. Finally, farmers will have to quit the area.' Dr V S Vijayan, a member of the Gadgil Committee, points out how the Kasturirangan Committee report will hit both people living in the Western Ghats as well as the plains.

December 27, 2013

'I have no faith in Gujarat government's probe panel'

As the Centre ordered a commission of inquiry to probe the alleged snooping of a woman by former Gujarat minister Amit Shah at the behest of one 'saheb', suspended Gujarat IAS officer Pradeep Sharma is delighted at the decision.

December 24, 2013

Exclusive! Narendra Dabholkar's son speaks out

'A message was sent to society that those who question dogmas and believe in scientific methods will be silenced.' Hamid Dabholkar tells Neeta Kolhatkar why he is disappointed that his father Narendra Dabholkar's killers have not been arrested yet.

December 19, 2013

We are victims of tensions between India and US: Devyani's father

'How can Devyani sitting in New York and I in Mumbai arm-twist the maid's family?' Uttam Khobragade challenges Preet Bharara's version of events in this interview to Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore.

Exclusive! The MP who steered Lokpal Bill speaks

'The CBI and its independence was discussed in great detail. We invited and sought the views of the CBI director as well as several government officials. But the ingenious solution to the problem came from within the committee. The effort was to somehow find a solution. It would not have been possible to draft this Bill if members had not been liberal in their views and if they had not been prepared to rid themselves of their political bias.' Congress MP Satyavrat Chaturvedi, who headed the Parliamentary committee which proposed the recommendations for the Lokpal Bill, speaks to Anita Katyal in an exclusive interview.

December 17, 2013

'Section 377 judgement doesn't make sense in this day and age'

The judgement makes you feel so terrible at every step that the apex court of the country, in which so many people have so much faith, would do something like this, says Anjali Gopalan

Ashok Gehlot: The BJP ran a sinister, poisonous campaign

Ashok Gehlot analysis the shocking rout of the Congress in the assembly polls in Rajasthan.

One of the most important decisions in my life: Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly, cricketing icon in Bengal, has been offered a nomination for the coming Lok Sabha elections by the Bharatiya Janata Party. He tells Digbijay Mishra deciding whether to accept this would be one of the most important in his life.

December 16, 2013

War not an option, but can't brush aside issues: Pak Punjab CM

Chief Minister of the Punjab province in Pakistan and the Pakistan prime minister's brother, Shahbaz Sharif, tells Nayanima Basu that strategic issues go hand in hand with trade normalisation. Sharif believes that cordial relations are in the interest of the people of both India and Pakistan and issues such as Kashmir will also be resolved soon.

December 15, 2013

'War is not an option for India and Pakistan'

In an interview, Chief Minister of the Punjab province in Pakistan and the Pakistan prime minister's brother, Shahbaz Sharif, says that strategic issues go hand in hand with trade normalisation

December 11, 2013

Exclusive! Who killed Benazir Bhutto?

'Bhutto feared elements of the so-called establishment, including people linked to the intelligence services. She highly distrusted individuals like Hamid Gul who -- she was convinced -- maintained active ties with jihadists.' Heraldo Munoz, author of the sensational new book, Getting Away With Murder, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa in an exclusive interview.

December 10, 2013

'Modi's influence is both positive and negative'

'You have to go from winning elections to winning people,' sociologist Ashis Nandy tells A Ganesh Nadar.

December 09, 2013

Ashok Gehlot speaks: 'Vasundhara was second fiddle, used Modi well'

Our campaign was overshadowed by the falsehood and rumours that the BJP spread, former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot tells PB Chandra in an interview.

December 06, 2013

'If Modi wins 185 plus seats, it will change the rules of Indian politics'

'In the early 2000s, mid-2000s, one of the big changes in India was the sense that India was finally going to make it. With all its flaws and faults, the relatively high growth rate gave you an opportunity to do other things and so forth. Right now, there is nervousness about whether India can actually make it.' The second part of political thinker Pratap Bhanu Mehta's eloquent interview to Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.

December 05, 2013

Arrested this week, Nitesh Rane will contest polls, says father

'I am still someone who will open my mouth and speak if I find something is wrong or I dislike anything. Nothing can make me quiet,' Maharashtra Minister Narayan Rane, whose son Nitesh was arrested in Goa this week, tells Neeta Kolhatkar.

December 03, 2013

'The CBI director should not blindly obey or blindly oppose the government'
'Every director is subject to some kind of pressure,' former CBI director Dr R K Raghavan tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier. 'Ultimately, it all depends on the individual and the maturity and sense of fair play of the director. It is up to the director to cope with the pressure and if he is a man of character, he can.'

December 02, 2013

EXCLUSIVE SC lawyer Mukul Rohtagi: Flirtation is not rape

speaks to the well-known lawyer Mukul Rohtagi on the Tarun Tejpal and A K Ganguly cases and 'snoopgate'.

The Bishop who threatens 'Jallianwalla Bagh'

Mar Remegiose Inchananiyil, the Bishop of the Thamarassery diocese in Kozhikode, Kerala, told a public meeting that there would be another 'Jallianwala Bagh' in the foothills of the Western Ghats if the K Kasturirangan committee report is implemented. He spoke to Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier about the plight of the farmers and why he has taken up the issue.

November 18, 2013

Aligning with Cong or BJP will be like cheating people: Kejriwal

In an interview, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal tells Business Standard's Manish Kumar that his party will not be a junior partner in any government that is formed in Delhi.

Exclusive! Amit Shah: I won't do anything against the principles of my party

'The Congress will get exposed more and more. My case will not stand a judicial trial. I am confident that in any case against me, the charges will not be framed. All cases against me are baseless.' BJP leader Amit Shah, in an exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.

November 14, 2013

I respect Dr Singh's decision to skip CHOGM: British PM

United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron, who is on a one-day visit to India, said he was open to meeting all elected leaders including Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Speaking to IBN18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Cameron explained why he was not meeting Modi during this visit.

November 13, 2013

'Commonwealth can't support a regime that attacks, kills regularly'

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision not to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at Colombo has once again put the focus on alleged cases of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.

November 12, 2013

'Only after coming to power will we decide who will be the chief minister'

As Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan celebrates three years in office, the BJP and Shiv Sena which hope to oust him when the state goes to the polls next year have reached a pact that they will stay silent on who the Opposition alliance's chief ministerial candidate will be, state BJP President Devendra Fadnavis reveals in an interview to Rediff.com

November 11, 2013

26/11: 'America sacrificed Mumbai'

'What America could figure out is that this finally was an American with an American passport operating in Pakistan who had access to Al Qaeda. Now the prime objective of that time was the capture of bin Laden. This is three years before Abbottabad, the only thing that the US intelligence agencies were thinking about was how do they decapitate him, how do they cut the head off of Al Qaeda and here was this tantalising, untrustworthy, difficult, hard to control, psychopathic individual, who was American,' Adrian Levy, co-author of the book The Siege: The Attack on the Taj, tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.

'What's Modi's stand on Pak? Let him spell things out'

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan makes a gallant attempt to deflect accusations against the United Progressive Alliance's record in his freewheeling conversation with Business Standard's Aditi Phadnis over lunch.

November 10, 2013

There is only one faction in the Congress: Sachin Pilot

Refuting allegations of divisions in the Congress in Rajasthan, Corporate Affairs Minister and Member of Parliament from Ajmer, Sachin Pilot, speaks to Kavita Chowdhury on a range of issues, including the Congress's prospects in the coming Rajasthan Assembly polls.

November 05, 2013

'SC judgment is neither novel nor landmark'

Former chief information commissioner Satyananda Mishra says the Supreme Court order to frame guidelines for civil servants to insulate them from political interference is a mere elaboration of reports of committees constituted by the central government.

It is a big day for all of us; there is no nervousness: ISRO chief

ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan spoke with rediff.com briefly before the launch of India's mission to Mars

October 29, 2013

'Indians don't have a sense of territory'

Jaswant speak of his new book India At Risk, Mistakes, Misconceptions and Misadventures of Security Policy and explains to why India is at risk.

October 28, 2013

The project that helped prevent over 6 lakh HIV/AIDS cases in India

Alkesh Wadhwani is the head, India programs, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, speaks to on the Avahan India Project.

'Narendra Modiji was stunned and sad at the blasts'

'There were no metal detectors, sniffer dogs or bomb detection devices. It was a complete intelligence and security failure,' says Mangal Pandey, president of the Bihar unit of the BJP, on the bomb blasts targeting Narendra Modi's rally in Patna on Sunday.

Interview: Trinamool MP who is 'leading rebellion' against Mamata

I am not ruling out possibility of joining Cong again, says Trinamool Congress MP Somen Mitra.

Minute errors can lead to failure of Mars mission: ISRO chief

With the Indian Space Research Organisation set to launch the Mars Mission on November 5, Chairman K Radhakrishnan, in an interview with Praveen Bose, talks about the complexities, the challenges and the benefits of the Rs 450-crore mission.

October 25, 2013

Why Tamil Nadu tops the country in suicides

Dr Lakshmi Vijayakumar examines why India's southern states register more suicides than the northern states. Shobha Warrier reports

October 21, 2013

Exclusive: 'Maharashtra police has no understanding of Naxalism'

Vernon Gonsalves, who spent nearly six years in jail after being labelled a Naxalite by the security agencies, recounts in detail his arrest, the case against him and his future plans in an exclusive interview.

October 20, 2013

'Cong using communal-secular divide to woo regional players'

In an interview to Rediff.com's , Shambhu Srivastava speaks about the need of breaking out of the communal-secular paradigm and focusing on the Congress party's poor performance and its track record in fuelling communalism.

October 17, 2013

'If you are not in power, it is very difficult to have money'

'Young people may be good, but their knowledge is not as much you find in an old man. If you want to do successful things and take your party ahead, according to me, 25 per cent people should be old in leadership and the remaining 75 per cent should be young, so that there will be lesser mistakes and the party may prosper.' Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi on the Sena's future.

October 16, 2013

EXCLUSIVE! 'Fears of Seemandhra people are incorrect'

Science and Technology Minister S Jaipal Reddy, who represents the Chevella Lok Sabha constituency in Andhra Pradesh, is considered a front runner for the post of chief minister of the proposed state of Telangana. He gives his first formal interview to rediff.com's Anita Katyal.

October 15, 2013

Manohar Joshi: 'You can't take criticism to heart every time'

'There are some people whose business is to criticise (laughs). There is no specific reason. It does happen in politics that the criticism goes on.' Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi clears the air about his relationship with Uddhav Thackeray in an exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Savera R Someshwar.

October 14, 2013

Exclusive! The Manohar Joshi interview

In a no-hold-barred conversation, Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi talks about life after Bal Thackeray, his equation with Uddhav and Raj Thackeray and of his critics in the Sena.

October 11, 2013

'Telangana decision will affect Congress negatively in elections'

'Some false information was carried to Delhi, these negative bits seemed to have played heavily.' Union Textiles Minister KS on why he opposes the Telangana decision.

October 10, 2013

Exclusive: 'I refuse to play victim or martyr'

'Politics is full of struggle, especially for those from my background,' says Union Minister Kumari Selja in her first interview after Sunday's attack on her. 'It has always been a struggle and will continue to be so.'

October 08, 2013

Exclusive Amit Shah Interview: People are waiting to vote for Modi

Amit Shah gave his first exclusive interview to Rediff.com's after taking charge of UP. The first of a two-part interview:

'Change will come because we have hit the very bottom'

Kiran Bedi tells Amberish K Diwanji reasons for her optimism about change in the political sysatem.

October 04, 2013

Pallam Raju on Telangana: We feel betrayed and angry

Congress leaders from Seema-Andhra region are aghast at the Union Cabinet note which has, formally, set the process of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh and creating Telangana in motion.

October 01, 2013

'It is not the end of the road for Lalu'

'He did something good. He did something bad. I don't think people will forget the good part altogether and as long as people remember the good part, Lalu remains a force.'

September 16, 2013

'Maoists ONLY seek a marriage of convenience with anti-India groups'

Indian intelligence agencies have often claimed that left-wing extremists are trying to make inroads in the militancy-hit regions of north-east to foment further unrest. But Jaideep Saikia, noted terrorism and conflict analyst, claims, "People who speak of Maoism taking roots in the north-east have not read history".

September 06, 2013

Goa CM's U-turn on Modi: Gujarat riots a small incident

In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar blames the media for the recent controversy over his remarks on Narendra Modi's handling of 2002 Godhra riots in an interview to The New York Times.

'Even if cases are withdrawn the Kudankulam protest will continue'

In a candid chat with A Ganesh Nadar, S P Udaykuamr's wife Meera speaks about Idinthakarai's struggle, the sacrifices made by her and her two sons and more.

August 30, 2013

Exclusive: 'It is important we don't have a blind, single-minded, approach to Pakistan'

'I don't think it is right to think that the US has unmanageable concerns about India's economy. India can't say we want and we will not give. India has to find a right balance between give and take. I think we have to negotiate like good, solid, businessmen.' External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on India, the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

August 29, 2013

'There is no religion such as the Hindu religion'

'I cannot call myself a Hindu nationalist or nationalist Hindu...' 'Raj Dharm is where fundamentally Modi has gone wrong...'

August 28, 2013

'America spying should not surprise India at all'

'The Lashkar-e-Tayiba has always been sensitive about how it is perceived internationally,' says Stephen Tankel, discussing PRISM, the Lashkar's presence in Myanmar and Mohammad Saeed's recent dare with Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.

August 26, 2013

'BJP under Modi is a party without any ideology'

Boosted by handsome royalty from oil facilities at Barmer, the Rajasthan government has spent nearly Rs 30,000 crore on various social welfare schemes in the last four-and-a-half years. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tells Business Standard's Mayank Mishra that the state's better performance on various socio-economic indices is a result of that. The excerpts:

August 22, 2013

'Fundamentalists will keep opposing anti-superstition bill'

A day after the anti-superstition and black magic ordinance was passed by the Maharashtra cabinet, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan tells Neeta Kolhatkar in an exclusive interview that 'fundamentalists' behind the cold-blooded murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar will try to scuttle the Bill, but he will fight for it.

Anna Hazare interview: PM made promises, his govt cheated me

Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare's trip to the United States and participation in the India Independence Day Parade, was "to meet NRIs and connect with like-minded people in the United States and get their support -- wake them up -- for the next anti-corruption agitation in India."

August 16, 2013

'Modi's attractiveness to the middle-class is overestimated'

In his first interview after the announcement on Telangana, Jaipal Reddy spoke about the historical background of the movement, Narendra Modi and other issues.

August 14, 2013

'If Nitish Kumar can turn around Bihar, he can do so for India'

Rana Gangeshwar Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Mohiuddinnagar in Bihar, spoke to on why he made this startling declaration to back the chief minister from another party.

August 13, 2013

'The division of AP will lead to a period of turbulence'

Harsh Sethi, consulting editor of Seminar magazine, is an analyst who is always lucid and sharp in his commentaries on human rights and development and issues related to politics or nation building. In a rare interview to rediff.com's he spoke on the broader issues related to Congress party's endorsement to a separate Telangana state.

'Vasco da Gama needs to be tried for crimes against humanity'

'Vasco da Gama himself indulged in some of the most heinous crimes. On October 1, 1502, he mercilessly ordered the killing of 700 innocent Malabar pilgrims. Half the pilgrims were women and children,' says historian J B P More.

August 04, 2013

Single-party rule no longer accepted in India: Sharad Pawar

Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, in an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN reiterated that he is not going to contest the next Lok Sabha elections.

August 02, 2013

'The division of Andhra will lead to a period of turbulence'

July 30, 2013

Theatre personality Waman Kendre on his plans for NSD

'It is widely believed that such posts require lobbying. Maybe they do, but I can say this straight up, I did not lobby. This appointment has been on pure merit. My lobby is myself and I don't need to lobby,' Waman Kendre, newly-appointed director of NSD, tells Neeta Kolhatkar

July 29, 2013

Modi interview: Don't insult common man's tool social media

In an exclusive interview with Asian News International, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has revealed the importance of social media in creating awareness among voters in the country.

July 27, 2013

'Involving its officer in the Ishrat case will destroy the IB'

Ajit Doval, former chief of Intelligence Bureau and now head of Vivekanada International Foundation, continues his furious argument against any kind of CBI action against his former colleague Rajinder Kumar in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case of 2004.

July 26, 2013

I've been wrongly indicted by my successor: Ex-CJI Kabir

Former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir says he's being wrongly indicted by his successor CJI P Sathasivam and demands an apology. In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN, the former CJI also denies any leak of the National Eligibilty cum Entrance Test judgment.

July 15, 2013

Ishrat case: 'CBI vs IB has national security implications'

In this two-part interview to rediff.com's , former IB chief Ajit Doval furiously argues against any kind of CBI action against his former colleague Rajinder Kumar in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case of 2004.

July 11, 2013

'Anyone opposing Mamata is arrested or tagged a Maoist'

In a candid conversation Indrani Mitra, educationist Sunanda Sanyal explains why many intellectuals like him are disillusioned with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

July 02, 2013

'India should prepare for a large earthquake in Uttarakhand'

'The difficulty of coordinating the response in Uttarakhand suggests that the country is ill-equipped to deal with a large earthquake in a mountainous area. The effects would be many times worse,' warns Dave Petley, expert on landslides

June 27, 2013

'It is as if secular means not to speak about religion'

Dr B Ashok, an IAS officer from Kerala, explains why he wrote a controversial article supporting the invite to Narendra Modi by a mutt in the state.

'Modi has peaked; his popularity is on the wane'

Congress general secretary Ajay Maken talks to rediff.com's about the road ahead for the Congress and the UPA government.

June 26, 2013

Why the CBI should be insulated and not independent

You just cannot let an institution go adrift and never reporting to any other institution and never submitting itself to any monitoring review or evaluation with regard to its functioning and particularly with regards to an institution which has dominion over the lives and liberties of citizens.

June 25, 2013

'Modi's cowboy politics will not work in all states'

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan talks to rediff.com's about the current political situation, Narendra Modi's projection by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the future plans of the Congress and the UPA

June 22, 2013

'Nothing wrong with India-US relations, just a slowdown'

K Alan Kronstadt, an expert in South Asian affairs at the US Congressional Research Service, speak to Sheela Bhatt on why India-US bilateral relations are getting cold.

June 17, 2013

'Hindus of this country won't accept polarising Modi'

'We are not fighting against any individual, but the BJP's policies which are dictated by the RSS,' says Congress veteran Mohsina Kidwai.

June 03, 2013

'There is corruption in judiciary. I can't change that overnight'

The overreach of the judiciary can be attributed to one, the inability of the executive to deliver; and two, the tendency to issue judicial pronouncements for national good. The second element is dangerous because that's the function of the government, says Kapil Sibal.

May 30, 2013

Exclusive! 'Quitting Congress for the people of Telangana'

In this interview with Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Rao says that he has decided to join the TRS, but would wait until Thursday night before taking a final decision.

May 27, 2013

'Where land reforms have taken place, there are no Naxals'

A former Maoist speaks to Shobha Warrier

May 25, 2013

'We politicians have given the Naxals a walkover'

'The cities are not safe, Naxals will reach them very soon,' feels Mahendra Karma, the tribal leader who championed the controversial Salwa Judum against the Naxalites.

May 15, 2013

'Supreme Court wants CBI to be politically-neutral'

'The court would like to make the CBI politically neutral so that they behave as professionals and they are not influenced by somebody in power,' constitutional expert Anil Divan tells

May 09, 2013

'Indian Special Forces are tied up in bureaucratic hierarchy'

Special Forces are a vital element of national power, possessing enormous freedom of action and should be fruitfully employed to successfully meet future challenges, say Lieutenant General P C Katoch and journalist Saikat Dutta.

May 08, 2013

Koodankulam: 'It takes time to make a plant operational'

'We are restricting the media because of the difficulties we are facing with the media. The public have been visiting the plant regularly,' says R S Sundar, site director at the controversial Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu. 'The public is knowledgeable. They ask as many questions as journalists. We have faced tough questions from them, clarified their doubts and convinced them.'

May 02, 2013

Exclusive: 'Ladakh incursion by China a localised matter'

In an exclusive interview to Rediff.com, Khurshid refuted reports that the flag-level talks were not moving forward. He also dismissed suggestions that he should call off his visit to Beijing if there's no progress in the talks.

April 26, 2013

'The Cong will win in Bellary despite tainted candidates'

K C Kondaiah, a senior leader of the Congress speaks out to Vicky Nanjappa.

April 22, 2013

'Our support is always based on policies': Yechury

The best option in 2014 is the formation of a non-Congress, non-BJP government based on alternative policies, says CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury

April 21, 2013

'Congress is the biggest communal party in India'

BJP president Rajnath Singh talks on issues like Modi as PM, ties with JD-U and Congress's tainted secular creditials.

April 19, 2013

'Govt should encourage, not prosecute, whistle-blowers'

Giving legal immunity to bribe-givers motivates citizens to report corruption, says Tarun Jain of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

April 15, 2013

'India must use special forces better against Pak, China'

Rediff.com's talks to Lieutenant General P C Katoch and journalist Saikat Dutta on how India has failed to strategically employ its considerable number of special forces especially in creating deterrence against the asymmetric war unleashed upon us by both Pakistan and China since past several years, and that we need to right this urgently.

April 14, 2013

Not in Karnataka CM's race: Mallikarjuna Kharge

In this interview with Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Kharge says that he is not an aspirant to the chair of the chief minister, but also adds that the final decision would be with the party high command.

April 12, 2013

'Corruption is accepted by ALL parties in Karnataka'

The rampant mining in Karnataka and the politicians who minted money from it made headlines during the state election in 2008. But this year, the issue has taken a backseat and mining barons like Janardhana Reddy have been kept away from the electoral fray.

'Congress-JD-S will form coalition govt in Karnataka'

Dr K S Shetty from Udupi has been closely following the political developments in Karnataka for the past three decades or more. A passionate political analyst he predicts in an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa that the Congress-Janata Dal-Secular alliance will oust the current Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state.

April 10, 2013

'BJP will be routed in the Karnataka elections'

In an exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, IIM professor Rajeev Gowda says that the Congress will come to power while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party will be routed this time.

April 09, 2013

'Congress stands united; will win 120 seats in Karnataka'

In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Karnataka PCC President Dr G Parameshwar rubbishes reports of infighting in the party and predicts that the Congress will win 120 seats in Karnataka.

April 08, 2013

'People will give BJP another chance in Karnataka'
For the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka, the assembly elections are nothing short of an acid test.

April 03, 2013

'Hypertension is leading cause of death in urban areas'

In this exclusive interview with Rediff.com's from Jaipur, Dr Gupta talks about the study and what the urban population to do to fight hypertension.

March 30, 2013

Veerappan aides' hanging stayed, Guru denied chance: Omar

In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN's Senior Editor Suhasini Haider, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah admits the lapses in the rehabilitation policy for surrendered militants following the fiasco over the arrest of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Liaqat Ali Shah.

March 28, 2013

'Suryanelli victim shivers when she sees Kurien on TV'

'Our prime interest is to help the victim get justice. When we speak of justice, what we mean is, all the people who exploited her should be punished,' KK Shailaja, general secretary of the All India Democratic Women's Association, tells Shobha Warrier

March 26, 2013

'We are doing a disservice to Tamils in Sri Lanka'

Cho Ramaswamy talks about the Sri Lankan Tamil issue, the DMK walking out of the UPA and also his thoughts on the next Lok Sabha elections.

March 06, 2013

'Religion is one of the biggest divisive forces'

'It is the distress and mistrust in people which causes them to take religion as an excuse to express their frustration and display aggressive, violent behaviour,' says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

March 04, 2013

'An India-Pakistan war in future would be Armageddon'

'Indians need to think clearly about what kind of future they are going to have with a Pakistan that has the fastest growing nuclear arsenal in the world, and more terrorists per square mile than any other place in the world.' Erstwhile Central Intelligence Agency veteran Bruce Riedel speaks to Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa in an exclusive interview.

February 27, 2013

'Lack of honesty, work culture retard India's growth'

'Human society is a conflict-prone society... You cannot have complete peace of the graveyard... Switzerland had 500 years of peace and what did they produce? The Cuckoo Clock... Italy had always been in turmoil and they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance.' Meghalaya Governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary, a former head of the BSF and NSG, in a rare and candid interview with Rediff.com's Archana Masih.

February 26, 2013

Suryanelli rape: 'I saw Kurien in Thiruvalla around 5 pm'

In an interview with rediff.com Shobha Warrier, key witness K S Rajan explains why he has changed his version now.

February 20, 2013

'Doesn't the Suryanelli rape victim deserve justice?'

In this interview with Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier, the only woman Rajya Sabha member from Kerala, Dr T N Seema speaks about the party's strategy in the Rajya Sabha.

February 19, 2013

Suryanelli rape: The most key issue Kerala is facing now?

Well known writer and social commentator, Paul Zacharia is always in the forefront to voice his opinion on the various issues that affect the very social and political fabric of Kerala. In this exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier, he takes a look at the Suryanelli case that is being talked about in Kerala once again, after 17 years.

February 15, 2013

Didn't say hang Kurien, but probe his role: BJP leader

In an interview to rediff.com's Shobha Warrier, Kerala BJP President V Muraleedharan talks about the possible conspiracy that helped P J Kurien go scott-free and why the BJP is now protesting over Suryanelli rape case.

'One Billion Rising has become a tsunami today'

Kamla Bhasin, the coordinator of One Billion Rising in South Asia, tells Rediff.com's Priyanka that their movement has become a tsunami today and also explains why they are against death penalty even for rapists.

February 13, 2013

'How can Kerala government re-open Suryanelli case?'

With the Supreme Court reopening the Suryanelli case, the horrific gang-rape case of a 16-year-old girl from the small town in Kerala has again hit national headlines.

February 11, 2013

Afzal hanging: 'What was the need for this great secrecy?'

"They are saying that the president disposed of Afzal's mercy petition five days ago, on February 3. But even the petitioners didn't know that his mercy plea had been rejected," says Supreme Court advocate Kamini Jaiswal in an interview

January 29, 2013

'Power shortage in TN caused by bureaucratic failure'

S Kabilan, former chairman of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission, talks about what he could do as chairman and what ails the power sector in Tamil Nadu.

January 24, 2013

'Pakistan army is a dishonourable bunch of people'

Naresh Chandra, bureaucrat, diplomat and administrator, shares an 'insider's view' on the India-Pakistan peace process in an exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.

January 21, 2013

'TN power shortage is due to lack of proper management'

M G Devasahayam, an expert in power utility management, demand side and need based energy management, transport utility management, etc with over 45 years experience, discusses the power sector in Tamil Nadu and India.

January 17, 2013

EXCLUSIVE! Rahul as PM is good for India: Ahmed Patel

'As a Gujarati, I would be proud if Narendra Modi becomes prime minister,' Ahmed Patel, the most powerful man in the Congress party after the Gandhis, tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt in a rare and exclusive interview.

January 09, 2013

Grow up! Tit for tat is not Pakistan policy: Hina Rabbani

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Wednesday stated that reports about her country's army killing 2 Indian soldiers along the Line of Control and mutilating the body of one were inaccurate.

January 07, 2013

After bus ride, Mantriji agrees Delhi roads are unsafe

Minister of State for Home Affairs R P N Singh travelled incognito on a bus from Dhaula Kuan to Chhattarpur. He tells Gyan Varma that he now agrees with the people that they feel unsafe on Delhi roads.

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