Indian Politics

Will go to Jharkhand to back students' protest: CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke

The Cockroach Janta Party will function as a pressure group for now, as that is what India needs at the moment, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters ahead of the CJP's core team meeting in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Dipke said the discussions will focus on the dwindling trust of people in institutions like the media and judiciary. The meeting will also take up issues like ethanol-blended fuel and rising unemployment, he said. "For now, CJP will be a pressure group, as what India needs now is a pressure group," Dipke asserted. CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said activist Sonam Wangchuk will continue to be their mentor and they will seek advice from him. Das further said they will push for withdrawal of FIRs against students who took part in the recent protests led by the CJP against the NEET paper leak and other exam irregularities. "We are talking with government representatives on this issue," he said. Das also said they are worki

Veteran Congress leader, former Bengal governor DY Patil passes away at 92

Former West Bengal governor and senior Congress leader D Y Patil passed away due to prolonged illness at his residence in Maharashtra's Kolhapur on Tuesday, family sources said. He was 92. The veteran leader, who founded several educational institutions in the state, is survived by his sons, former minister and Congress leader Satej Patil, Sanjay Patil and Ajinkya Patil. Hailing from Kolhapur, Patil served as an MLA from 1967-78 before turning his focus to the education sector, founding the D Y Patil University, which offers courses in medicine, engineering and several other disciplines. A Padma Shri awardee, Patil had served as the governor of Tripura, Bihar and held additional charge of West Bengal.

Congress's opening in India's emerging one-and-a-half-party system

Even if it's a municipal election where the Congress is a cipher, you will find the BJP targeting it. It's an acknowledgement that Mr Modi sees the Congress as his only likely challenger

How Congress lost nationalism: Rethinking the party's post-2014 path

The Congress party's abandonment of nationalism is the most intriguing aspect of its post-2014 politics. The real Congress was never a party of bleeding heart pacifists

BJD at a crossroads as defections test Naveen Patnaik's leadership

Naveen Patnaik's party faces internal churn after the 2024 polls with the BJP strengthening its Odisha foothold

Slowly & strategically: NDA close to 2/3rds Rajya Sabha majority

The NDA is assessing its numbers in Parliament as it prepares to revive the Delimitation Bill, which requires a two-thirds majority for passage

India's political class remains irrationally uneasy about youth dissent

Let's just enjoy the rare spectacle of peaceful youthful defiance

NDA leaders to felicitate PM Modi as he surpasses Nehru's tenure record

Chief ministers and senior NDA leaders will honour Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he overtakes Jawaharlal Nehru as India's longest-serving elected prime minister

Gangster state: Politics as a criminal enterprise in pursuit of power

The 2010 Hindi film 'Raajneeti' showed the pursuit of power as an end in itself, and it has disquieting afterlives

StatsGuru: Women's fair political representation still a far cry

Parliament rejects 33% women's reservation Bill, as data shows persistently low representation of women in legislatures despite gains at grassroots levels

Ex-Union minister, veteran Congress leader Mohsina Kidwai passes away at 94

Veteran Congress leader and former Union minister Mohsina Kidwai passed away on Wednesday, her family said. She was 94. Kidwai passed away at Noida's Metro Hospital early in the morning. She was suffering from age-related ailments, her son-in-law Razi Ur Rehman Kidwai said. She will be cremated at the graveyard in Nizamuddin around 5 pm, he said. Kidwai is a former Union minister who held important portfolios in the Rajiv Gandhi government. She has been a member of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha at various points in time. Kidwai has also served as a member of the Congress Working Committee and the party's Central Election Committee in the past.

Local job quotas expose a dangerous new wave of nativist politics in India

Covid-19 exodus demonstrated the cynically utilitarian treatment by local residents towards people from other Indian states who play a vital role in sustaining economies far away from their homelands

Indira Gandhi and the remaking of India's democratic institutions

Srinath Raghavan is less interested in the spectacle of the Emergency than in the decisions that preceded it and endured long after

Congress slams Modi govt, says VB-G RAM G Act benefits corporates

The Congress party had announced a nationwide 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangram' from January 10 to February 25, opposing the Act

Digvijaya Singh and the Congress' unfinished ideological argument

There's more to Digvijaya Singh than just a closet Hindutva-vadi at best and a rabid anti-RSS politician at worst

Beyond legacy, towards power as heirs vie for votes in state elections

Across southern and eastern India, upcoming Assembly elections place the spotlight on political heirs looking to translate legacy, governance and organisation into votes

Why 200% salary hike for Odisha MLAs could set an uneasy national benchmark

With lawmakers in Bhubaneswar self-appraising salaries amid public backlash, Ramani Ranjan Mohapatra explains how these are fixed, and why Odisha's move matters

Semi-final shock for Left in Kerala local body polls as rivals gain

Months before Assembly elections, Congress sees resurgence and BJP continues making inroads.

Winter Session: Lok Sabha to debate electoral reforms on Dec 9, says Rijiju

Opposition's demand for discussion on SIR of electoral rolls ruled out; PM Modi to initiate Vande Mataram debate

Rising women-focused cash schemes pose tough fiscal, political calls

Bihar's last-minute scheme reflects a broader shift toward unconditional transfers, even as many states run revenue deficits and debt levels climb