Ravish Tiwari

There is a sense in the government that giving states more room may not actually make a big difference on the ground as no state, at this point, can afford to opt for a “thoughtless” relaxation and then bear the burden of a spike in cases.

Shut until April 30, Odisha wants no rail or air; draws contours of roadmap for others.

The committee met for the third time on friday and is likely to meet early next week again. It is learnt that the group may be in a position to make up its mind only after looking at the corona numbers — rate of growth of new cases, extent of the spread — by April 10.

Former Union Minister and senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Beni Prasad Verma (79) died at a private hospital in Lucknow on Friday. Verma, a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh, had been ailing for some time.

It emerged from conversations with several leaders who took part in campaigning that the BJP national leadership was told that the issues the party was highlighting had traction, but might not translate into votes.

Internally, BJP was confident the script was working — its own surveys suggested the shrill campaign would help get fence-sitters switch to its side and just days before voting, Shah himself said the party would cross 45 seats.

Seven months after highlighting NRC in his address to a joint-sitting of Parliament, President Kovind’s address today had no mention of what the government said was to be done on a ‘priority basis’.

The BJP leaders, however, said they hope the Budget may be able to instill some confidence and arrest the current downward slide.

While the BJP and the Centre talk down the protests, brush it off as choreographed and avoid any engagement with the protestors, the Opposition senses an opportunity to rattle a government that returned to power with an enhanced majority.

In an interview to The Indian Express, Kumar said: “The V-C has the discretionary power to waive any punishment or reduce the punishment... We will be flexible, if you come and explain to the chief proctor’s office."

"I have always believed that agitating or going on a dharma on some issue is a fundamental right of our students. In fact, we have assigned a specific spot in the university where such dharnas or protests can be held," says the Vice-Chancellor.

People are angry over the political situation...As for UP, even today, if you go to villages and ask about the election results, they say it is beyond comprehension that the (Opposition) alliance lost: Akhilesh Yadav.

Across the constituencies of Baghpat, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Sambhal and Rampur, many Hindus who voted for Opposition parties during the Lok Sabha elections support the government’s citizenship move.

Villagers know of Modi’s December 22 claim that there are no plans of a nation-wide NRC, but also Home Minister Amit Shah’s assertions that it would be held, made in Parliament and elsewhere.

One comfort for the BJP is the narrow difference in vote share — while the JMM-Congress-RJD got 35.25 per cent of the vote, the BJP, fighting alone, got 33.5 per cent.

The BJP gambit is projecting the protest as limited to a “varg vishesh (a select set)”, and the violence as instigated by the Opposition. “What public cause are these protestors espousing over which common cause can be made?” is one BJP line. The other being, “Those who are organising these protests have always been opposed to us. So what is new in this?”

BJP national president Amit Shah put on the job his trusted lieutenant Bhupender Yadav, the party general secretary who was in-charge of elections in Maharashtra.

Even as the closed-room talks between NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and the Congress leaders were taking place, and there were revelations before the media by them, the BJP kept its cards close to its chest

NDA members in many committees are using the rule book to stonewall scrutiny on issues that may raise uncomfortable questions for the government.

While the Mandal demand of caste-based reservations is older, the BJP was the first to politically weaponise Kamandal — seizing the opportunity presented by the setting up of the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas in 1986.

After today’s verdict that clears the way for a Ram temple at the site, sources in the Sangh Parivar said, this won’t be invoked. At least, for now.

The decision to not join RCEP came in dramatic fashion given how the government positioned its stance on the issue in the last couple of days.

Thirty years after the BJP’s resolution to build the temple, the issue emerged as an irritant between the party and RSS barely six months ahead of the announcement of 2019 general elections, according to sources briefed about the events.

The Congress was caught off guard by the BJP government’s Jammu and Kashmir gambit. And it does not want to repeat the mistake.