Athavale says Sharad Pawar refused invite to join NDA

Union minister and Republican Party of India leader Ramdas Athavale said he was aware of moves to woo Sharad Pawar Nationalist Congress Party to join with the BJP, but the patriarch had refused the invitation. His comments came in the wake of Pawar’s nephew and NCP leader Ajit Pawar breaking away from the NCP and […]

Sabarimala sent for consideration of a larger bench

The Sabarimala temple case has been referred to a larger, seven-judge bench, giving relief to pro-tradition activists. The case has been referred to a seven-judge bench on the basis of a 3:2 ruling by the judges. The case refers to a petition filed by some Delhi-based lawyers complaining that women devotees of Ayyappa are not […]

Three-way talks start between Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP on Maharashtra govt formation

Uddhav Thackeray, the head of political party Shiv Sena, confirmed today that his party has begun official talks with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party on forming a government in Maharashtra. The statement indicates that the Congress Party and the NCP have reached some kind of consensus on what to expect and demand from […]

In a win for China, Nepal starts stapling visas for Taiwanese

In a diplomatic victory for China, Nepal has started issuing stapled visas to Taiwan passport holders, departing from its previous policy of issuing regular visas to citizens of the island nation. Diplomatic sources in the Taiwan Embassy in New Delhi say that the matter came to their attention shortly after China’s President Xi Jinping’s visited […]

Keeping BJP out is our No.1 priority – Prithviraj Chavan on Shiv Sena option

With only a day remaining for the BJP to inform the Raj Bhawan of its final stand on forming the government in Maharashtra, the state-leadership of the Congress Party seems to have fully come around to the idea of lending support to a government involving rival Shiv Sena. Speaking to a TV channel from a […]

Kerala anti-conversion activist expresses regret over 2018 assault

Puliparambil Gopinath, a Hindutva activist who shot to fame last year after roughing up a team of Christian evangelists in Kodungallur in Kerala, has publicly expressed his regret at his past political choices and blamed Hindutva organizations for failing to support their workers in their hour of need. Gopinath, also known as Gopinath Kodungallur in […]

Amazon slowed investment into India due to protectionism – Wilbur Ross

US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross today said that e-commerce giant Amazon, one of the biggest foreign investors in India, had scaled down its plans for investments in this country after the government came up with new, protectionist and restrictive ecommerce rules. In what was seen as a nasty blow to the likes of Walmart […]

COLUMN: Why we should welcome a recession

Subramanian Swamy is often accused of propagating outlandish ideas and suggestions, but at least on the issue of addressing a slowdown in India’s GDP growth, he seems to be closer to the truth than India’s ruling establishment. Both Sitharaman and Swamy are united in recognizing the need for a ‘stimulus’ to nudge the economy from […]

No Ayyappa To Help: BJP’s vote share falls 31.5% in Pala bypoll

Five months, it seems, is a long time in politics, certainly long enough for the electorate in Kerala to forgive, if not forget, the Left Front’s decision to ‘desecrate’ the holy shrine of Sabarimala. The Left Front has emerged as the undisputed and unexpected winner in today’s results of the high-profile Pala by-election, but it […]

India’s water position vulnerable vs China: Brahma Chellaney

China’s use of water as an “unconventional weapon” of warfare against India is a major geopolitical and environmental concern for New Delhi, strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney warned, as he recalled how Beijing’s refusal to provide New Delhi with hydrological data in 2017 had caused “preventable deaths.” “As an upper-stream state, China is obliged to […]

Kerala to install real-time face detection system in public places

Kerala government has issued a request for proposals from artificial intelligence companies to develop a real-time mass surveillance and facial identification system to be deployed across the state. The surveillance cameras will be connected to powerful computers, and any person whose name has been entered into the system will be detected the minute he or […]

Politicians face backlash for supporting illegal flats in Maradu

The demolition of five illegal high-rise apartment buildings in Kochi has snowballed into a major controversy, with some of the state’s prominent politicians who openly supported the illegal buildings now coming under fire from social media and even their own colleagues. The initial response of the political community in the state was one of support […]

Police investigation finds sensational rape case to be ‘fake’: reports

A sensational rape case of 2016, in which a housewife accused three brothers — including a CPIM ward councillor — of gang rape in Kerala, has been found to be fake and closed, said media reports quoting a status update given by the police to the local MLA. Two prominent celebrity women’s rights activists, dubbing […]