'The current Election Commission functions more like a government department than an autonomous body.'
'They refuse to be transparent. They refuse to be accountable.'
'I have serious doubts about the longevity of the NDA government and the longevity of the 18th Lok Sabha itself.'
'Whenever the hike in voting percentage is more, the NDA gains more, and when the hike is negligible, the NDA falls.' 'I have established this in UP, Haryana and Jharkhand.'
'The longevity of the government is a doubt for me because when the going gets tough, there could a be a point in time where there might be pressure, from within the party or from the allies.'
Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday assumed charge as the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister for the second consecutive term and is slated to soon present the final Budget for FY '25 that is going to set the tone for the Modi 3.0 government's priorities and direction for Viksit Bharat. Upon her reaching the North Block office, Sitharaman was greeted by Finance Secretary T V Somanathan and other top officials. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary was also present. Chaudhary assumed charge on Tuesday evening.
In the Interim Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that a high power committee would be set up to consider the challenges arising from 'fast population grown and demographic changes.' 'But who wants data? It pays to feed people's fears, insecurities and apprehensions. If such fears don't exist, they must be created,' her husband Parakala Prabhakar says in this fascinating excerpt from his book, The Crooked Timber of New India: Essays on a Republic in Crisis.
'Modigate is snowballing into a huge thing with the electorate. The BJP is in for huge punishment by the electorate.'
The lack of clarity on who is next in line, when the time comes, as indeed it will one day some day, reflects poorly on the management of the world's largest political party. It scarcely need be said that a squabble between the contenders, Shah and Yogi, is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Opposition, notes Krishna Prasad.
If the BJP gets only 200 seats and wants to remain in power, Modi will have to make way -- either for a proxy of his choice, or for an internal rival, predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Union government will soon take a final decision on the demand to create a separate state of Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh. In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Dr Parakala Prabhakar, general secretary of the Visalandhra Mahasabha, says that if Telangana activists deliberately distorted the facts to advance their partisan agenda, the book will call their bluff.
The Gujarat elections 2012 are not a contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress and the Gujarat Parivartan Party. It is not between Narendrabhai and Keshubhai. Nor is it between Modi and Rahul or Sonia Gandhi. It is a contest between Modi that is seen as a symbol of Vibrant Gujarat, and a Modi that is deeply resented Parakala Prabhakar.
Parakala Prabhakar, spokesperson of the Visalandhra Mahasabha, tells Aditi Phadnis that those in favour of a separate state need not be the well-wishers of Telangana.
A stern articulator with outspoken views and a dignified personality, Sitharaman now bears the responsibility of steering the economy which has witnessed sluggish growth in recent quarters.
A purported conversation in an audio tape between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and nominated legislator Elvys Stephenson, aired in a section of local television channels, has given a new twist to the cash-for-votes controversy.
The government did not tell us why our economy had imploded. The prime minister simply stopped speaking on the subject, asserts Aakar Patel.
After being pounded for an entire day by Cyclone Hudhud, the storm is weakened on Monday leaving behind a trail of destruction in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
In a fresh twist in the cash-for-votes scam, Andhra Pradesh police on Monday registered a case against Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao over the alleged illegal tapping of the phones of his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu.
The picturesque port town of Visakhapatnam, a major industrial, educational and tourism hub in the east coast, is still reeling under the impact of havoc caused by the cyclonic storm Hudhud and is picking up pieces from a trail of destruction left behind by the calamity.
Tension prevailed as the next of kin of two of the slain in Andhra Pradesh staged protests in Tiruvannamalai district
Andhra Pradesh now comes third in ease of doing business.
'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.' Commerce Minister Dr Nirmala Sitharaman tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com how the Modi government plans to change India.
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