[This was the cover story of Governance Now a couple of years ago, September 16-30, 2010 to be precise. Little seems to have changed in the intervening period, except that this week Rahul Gandh
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has taken leave from party affairs and the parliament to `reflect` and `think` about party’s future after poor performances in series of elections.
It was an inauspicious start to the railway budget presentation in parliament on Thursday morning. Led by Congress president Sonia Gandhi the opposition parties stalled parliamentary business over
In parliament on Monday, the Congress party raised what it called ‘Snoopgate-2 , the alleged espionage of its vice president Rahul Gandhi by Delhi police. On March 12, Delhi po
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday returned from his 56-day ‘sabbatical’. He was on an unexplained leave amid speculations about his possible elevation as p
Rahul Gandhi’s disappearance and reappearance have led to much discussion and debate. That is surprising, because he is a leader far outshined by his mother, in a party far outshined by Modi&
Temperatures are going to rise both outside parliament and inside. Lok Sabha resumed its budget session after a break and Rajya Sabha sitting is from Aril 23. The debate over land bill is going to
The land acquisition ordinance was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday by minister of state for parliamentary affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy. The ordinance was promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee on
Continuing his theme of rich versus poor that began with land bill speech, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the Modi government of trying to give away internet space to cor
Politicians never learn especially Indian politicians about propriety. A farmer committed suicide during AAP`s rally in Delhi against the controversial land acquisition bill and the political
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi is on a maiden two-day visit to Telangana from Thursday that includes a 15-km `padayatra` in Adilabad district. Rahul`s visit is to highlight the
Lalit Modi is keeping the pot boiling and adding to the discomfort of Sushma Swaraj even as the Congress attack questioned Narendra Modi on why he was protecting his foreign minister and termed the
Today is the day of loaded political discourse that can also serve as lessons to politicians. While Congress leader Rahul Gandhi remained stuck to the rhetorical mud-slinging, prime minister Narend
The countdown to the 2016 assembly elections began in Tamil Nadu with the byelection to RK Nagar, where chief minister J Jayalalithaa contested and won with a huge margin. The impending assembly el
After his brother-in-law Robert Vadra, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is now facing fire over his stray remarks. Rahul Gandhi had accused Sushma Swaraj of committing a criminal act by h
Will the Congress return to the parliamentary business now? A special court on Wednesday allowed the issuance of a non bailable warrant against Lalit Modi in a money laundering case. With this warr
India woke up today to another day of uncertainty and ceaseless cacophony created by the politicians. Television screens screamed that today is last day of parliament`s monsoon session and no legis
Shiv Sena threatened Pakistani cricket umpire Aleem Dar on Monday to quit the current series between India and South Africa, shortly after storming BCCI’s Mumbai office to protest a planned m
In a major step to counter the deadly pollution levels in the national capital, the Delhi government has decided to allow odd and even number vehicles to be on the roads on alternate days, starting
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon today welcomed the decision by India and Pakistan to engage in a comprehensive dialogue to discuss peace and security issues and hoped for progress in their efforts
Though Jhandewalan sees a rat in this story, JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar has become a star of sorts overnight – or over 22 days. With the “freedom” speech on Thursday night, fo
On May 19, after the results of the assembly elections were announced, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “We will work harder till we win the confidence & trust of people.&rdq
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took the Modi government to task for price rise, particularly of food items like lentils. “Today in villages people are raisin
As reports suggest that Rahul Gandhi may indeed come to head the grand old party, we republish this analysis of the Congress vice president by a prominent social scientist, first publishe
You have read (or heard or seen) countless analyses, points-counterpoints, theories-conspiracy theories and allegations-counter-allegations on the historic move to ban high-denomination currency no
The dangal is on. The election commission has announced dates to the assembly elections to five states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur. Chief election c
The latest buzz on social media is about whether or not Rahul Gandhi, while campaigning in Manipur, said he would be happy to see ‘coconut juice’ from the state being sold in London wit
A private agency has been hired to assess the functioning of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC). Sources say Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has tied up with the private agency t
Prafulla Samantra, a social activist from Odisha has bagged the Goldman Environmental Prize, described as the Green Nobel Prize, for his long struggle to save the Niyamgiri hills from bauxite minin
There is a huge difference between chalk and cheese. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, it appears, has not developed acumen to decipher it. He is not a quick learner. But, when a major st
For the first time in our history, India has the opportunity to wipe out poverty. If India is able to lift another 350 million people out of poverty by 2030, it would be an achievement that t
The Congress has criticised the changes made in the Goods and Services Tax (GST), say
The assembly elections in Gujarat are expected by December, and the Elections Commission is touring the state on Monday to check the preparedness. It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home st
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Thursday clarified that it is not considering the entry of women in shakhas. The shakhas refers to the meetings of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sang
Prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday batted for demonetisation, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called it a tragedy as November 8 marked a year since the note ban took place. &ldq
As terror mastermind Hafeez Saeed walked free in Pakistan, Rahul Gandhi tweeted to ridicule prime minister Narendra Modi’s diplomacy, and in response BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao called
Gujarat has always been a riddle for those who tend to apply conventional academic or intellectual tools to unravel the mystery. When confusion gets confounded, such analysts invent subterfuge to c
Rahul Gandhi, who becomes the Congress chief on Monday without opposition, is taking up a position that was once occupied by stalwarts like Jawaharlal Nehru, JB Kripalani and Subhas Chandra Bose.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi may get elected unopposed t
The election for the Congress presidentship turned out to be a stroll in the park for Rahul Gandhi as nobody else filed nomination papers. It is not that the Congress doesn’t h
As the first phase of the Gujarat elections is on, one question that political pundits and common people alike are asking is: who is likely to win? Indeed, these elections are vital for the BJP, no
Familiarity, it is said, breeds contempt. But a two-decade-long association of a political party with the electorate is bound to unleash demons of contempt, jealousy and disaffection.
Assembly elections in Gujarat, since 2002, have been like Churchill’s description of Russia – with a little twist: wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, but eventually a non-riddle.
Rahul Gandhi has become the president of India’s grand old party. Nobody else wanted to, since none contested. By any parameter, it is not a welcome move in a democracy. Regardless of your vi
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) surged ahead in the first hour of vote count in both Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh. The initial trends on Monday indicate that th
An hour of vote count has showed that it is not going to be an easy win for the BJP in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh, as had been predicted by the numerous exit polls. While th
In future, the Gujarat elections might as well be remembered for the arrival of Rahul Gandhi. Going by the leads, the Congress is certainly not going to win, and few ha
Prime minister Narendra Modi flashed the victory sign before entering parliament, as trends indicated that the Bharatiya Janata Party was all set to retain Gujarat and win in Himachal Pradesh.
Going by the leads, the BJP is set to establish its stronghold in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Confident of his party’s victory, prime minister Narendra Modi even flashed a victory sign whil
Prime minister Narendra Modi has thanked voters of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and credit good governance for his party’s victories in the state assemblies. “I bow to th
1934 The first elections After the British law paved the way for representational assemblies, the first elections were held in 1934. Gujarat was then part o
The BJP is set to form the sixth government in Gujarat. Not counting a bump in 1996-98 thanks to its own rebel Shankarsinh Vaghela, the party has been in power since 1995, and shows no signs of ant
Prime minister Narendra Modi emerged as the most mentioned personality, while Vijay Rupani emerged as the most mentioned candidate on Twitter, the social media giant said in a release.
“They have money, marketing, television and media at their disposal. But, Congress is going to win the assembly election in Karnataka because we have the poor, the farmers and the labourers s
“Parliament is a forum for exchange of views. If you are not allowed to speak, then what is the point? We might as well shut down and go home,” said Congress leader Sonia Gandhi at the
As media reports spoke of ATMs across the country going dry, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a dig at the government even as the finance ministry reviewed the situation and blamed it on “un
As the Congress leads a bunch of opposition parties in preparing to move an impeachment motion against the chief justice of India, Dipak Misra, BJP president has said its real agenda is not to save
Recently, while addressing a rally in Mumbai, Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a dig at prime minister, Narendra Modi. Gandhi called the PM as a “watchman of a handful of superrich”
Narendra Modi has finally emerged as the architect of unity – of opposition unity, that is. Though it took the Congress and other non-NDA parties four years to learn this lesson, it has come
Self-deception is an essential trait of a revolutionary, particularly of the Marxist variety. Rahul Gandhi as the Congress president seems too eager to internalise this trait in his politics.
You needn’t be thoroughly familiar with Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to know about the Cheshire cat. Characters like Humpty Dumpty, the Red Queen and
Demagoguery is elemental to politics. But the use of lies, rather patent lies, as an instrument of politics is a new trend. In the age of social media lies peddled with confidence acquire features
The recent move by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to borrow Rs 962 crore from banks to pay salaries to its employees has once again exposed the sorry state of the public sector undertaking
“Aandhi” (Storm), director Gulzar’s movie starring Suchitra Sen and Sanjeev Kumar, was made in 1975, when Indira Gandhi reigned supreme in Indian politics. The film, based on Ka
The Congress party has unanimously supported Sheila Dikhshit`s decision to reject an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi. With the Congress shutting the prospect of alliance, the natio
“Today is a historic day.. It is on this day that the Congress party launched its final assault on poverty. 5 Crore of the poorest families in India, will receive Rs. 72,000 Per Y
The general elections of 2019 commence on April 11 and the last phase of campaigning in the 91 constituencies of 21 states is under way. Both prime minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rah
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is an archetypal Indian socialist, a Lohiaite whose tribe is practically extinct. In his personal life, he is extremely austere. In his political life, he is s
The fifth of the seven phases of general election 2019 is currently underway and a total of 51 seats across seven States have gone to polls. Voting will take place in a
Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has cautioned that after opening up if you are forced to shut down it would that be devastating for economic activity as it would create a trust deficit. It would
In a scathing attack on the government, PawanKhera, national spokesperson of the Congress party, has said that the BJP is remote-controlled by RSS, an unregistered organisation that decides who the
Ram Madhav, a member of the RSS National Executive, has said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi proudly proclaiming to be a better Hindu is a welcome step and the opposition’s newfound claim t
The Congress is scheduled to hold a Chintan Shivir (meaning, ‘introspection camp’) from May 13th to 15th in Udaipur and it has identified six specific areas for introspection. These are
Hitting out at prime minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that it has saddled the country with a debt of Rs 200 lakh crore and atrocities against Dalits have increased
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance was cruising comfortably ahead to form the government for the third time, though the Congress-led INDI Alliance made surprising gains to change the ongoing
