The results of the Jharkhand Assembly polls are a serious setback to BJP. One of the main reasons the party could bag only 25 seats must have been its reluctance to go in for alliances. It all started with TDP which deserted it within 2 years of coming to power in AP because TDP felt it got let down in respect of Special Status for AP, then we have seen Shivsena, which was with BJP for more than 30 years in Maharashtra but left. And also it was the same case with Jharkhand too. BJP contested alone.
BJP’s footprint in the country has shrunk a lot as of now it has only 35% of the population under its fold as against over 76% during its peak in 2017, when it was straddling the entire Hindi heartland. It has lost power in 5 states in a year. This could be because of state leadership relying on Central achievements. This result proved that people’s priorities differ when it comes to Parliament and Assembly. In a way, this setback is also a refreshing sign of the resilience of Indian Democracy that keeps correcting the course of political narrative reinforcing hope for the pluralistic polity.
Congress, on the other hand, is well advised to maintain the momentum and further improve its national presence by making pragmatic regional coalitions.
For BJP coming close on the heels of below-par performance in Haryana and Maharashtra, the result in Jharkhand must have stunned its leadership, as it has failed to keep its own house in order. No doubt this shows that the BJP’s attempts to polarise voters on religious lines have limits and can not always guarantee electoral successes.
If you see the recent history, loosing financially significant Maharashtra, reinforced the contagious perception that BJP is incapable of retaining its states. Despite many wins in the past 6 years, it has also been undone in Rajasthan,& Chattisgarh. It hardly made impressive gains in TS and AP. It seized power in Karnataka using floor crosser’s help. It formed Govt in Haryana with post-poll allies. Victory in Bihar, Delhi, West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu where elections are coming up seems to be in doubt.
BJP must realise that divisive politics will no longer serve its purpose. In every sector people are facing problems-youth are jobless, the economy is in ICU (See today’s Interview of Arvind Subramanium to NDTV) minorities are being deprived of their rights. As such it would be better if it focuses on these issues rather than CAA, NRC, etc.

    The Jharkhand poll outcome should serve as a wake up call,to BJP’s leadership,to reset its priorities and focus on more pressing public issues,instead of harping on the agenda ,widely perceived as divisive.After,Haryana and Maharashtra,it’s a big jolt to it in the tribal dominated Jharkhand.BJP’s poll campaign,more focused on issues of national interest ,Ayodhya,Art370 abrogations in J&K,CAA,NRC etc But it couldn’t find traction among voters. If you see the pattern of voting, it fared very poorly in tribal dominated areas and even in urban segments also its performance was far below the expectations.It must be noted that only six months,before, for LokSabha elections,the same people gave resounding mandate,but when it comes to state assembly,local issues must have been prevailed
This was first election after Ayodhya verdict by SC,and parliament passed contentious CAA, and PM,HM extensively used these two, in all public meetings,but avoided mentioning major issues,like Unemployment,Economic situation,and anything pertaining to development issues, etc If you remember,even in Haryana,and Maharashtra also they extensively mentioned about scrapping of Art 370 in J&K to drum up strident nationalism,to boost up its votes.After successful run that saw BJP forming governments in majority states,the final leg of Amit shah’s tenure as Chief ,has seen the party slide in one state election after another, .In 2018,BJP lost Rajasthan,MP,and Chhattisgarh,to Congress,and this year it has already lost power in Maharashtra.Although it has hung on to power in Haryana,thanks to postpoll tieup with Dushyant Chowthala, it’s performance didn’t measure up to the expectations.
Given the large number of lynchings incidents ,the divisive plank also must have misfired for BJP particularly when it sought to divide Cristian’s and non-Christians tribals.The urban vote which had tilted towards it last time,has drifted away proving that people are not buying into Jumlabazi .
While BJP needs to be rational,the opposition shouldn’t be exulting either because all its successes are coming from a default systematic setting rather than any active effort.But the major challenge for the new government will be on handing out doles,which never seem practical for implementation.

Unrest, agitations, and protests are spreading to all parts of the country over the CAA act. Karnataka, UP, Kerala, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Northeastern states are some of the places where the agitations are happening at a large scale. It is sad to notice that 2 people died in Mangaluru and 1 in UP one and several injured in police firing. In several places, internet services and SMS services have been clamped down to dampen the protesters' efforts.
Instead of addressing the concerns and helping soothe their insecurities the Centre has taken an apathetic stance of setting the deadline for the construction of sky-high Ram Temple in Ayodhya, within the next 4 months, while being silent on the police brutalities, on the students of JMI.
A very harsh crackdown by police has provoked a reaction from everywhere in the country, including cities and small towns even. And the Govt is hugely mistaken if it thinks that can contain such protests with strong-arm measures like police firings, curfews, and cutting off communication facilities, etc. Citizens have the right to protest, but it must be ensured that they are peaceful.
 At a time when twin projects CAA and NRC have put lakhs Of people in trouble, should India be worrying about finishing Ram temple so hastily? What people want is peace, and dousing the fire will be a difficult task now, for the government.
 CAA, NRC people think that its a Hindu-Muslim problem, but it’s not that, for the last 7 decades, besides Hindus, all the other minorities have been living peacefully, without any problem, but with the passage of CAA the divisions are clear now. Where was the urgency to bring in such legislation’s which was not even remotely connected to the development of the country, thereby diverting the attention from real burning issues the country is facing —like Unemployment, Economic crisis, Agrarian crisis, etc to name a few?
The secular fabric of the country is in grave danger of being torn apart and the decisive forces must be trying to drive a wedge among communities.
Fighting against the country’s youth is not good for any democracy because they are citizens of tomorrow and future custodians of the constitution. Unleashing atrocities against them will leave an indelible black mark on the ruling dispensation. At the same time, youth also should be within their limits and are not supposed to destroy public property
Had the government ensured a healthy debate, and come to a consensus with the political parties and the opposition, which is the part of the democratic process, on CAA and accepted the opposition’s suggestion to refer the Bill to a select committee, the confusion, violence, and destruction, could have been avoided. It is now up to the government to ensure peace and dialogue, with stakeholders. 

The Citizenship Amendment Act seems to have brought in more troubles to the country than the cheers.  It was a measure for consolidating or boosting BJP's image.  The North-East has been turned into a war zone, as conflicts between people and the police are going on with the widespread loss of properties and casualties are reported. What started as a peaceful protest by Jamia Mallika Islamia students against the Act on Sunday turned into arson, rioting, and violence, the scale of which Delhi has not witnessed in a long time. Buses were burnt, public property vandalised, and there was a large scale stone-throwing. Media reports say, police entered the campus forcefully and unleashed terror inside. It is alleged that the police entered the library, hostels and even went inside the washrooms to beat students and staff. It was horrifying to read about the violent protests in Delhi, against the CAA. While protesting is a citizen ‘s right, it must be done peacefully. But the reaction of police at the campus must be condemned. Throwing tear gas shells especially after the students said their protests were peaceful, was not right.

 When political parties achieve unexpected electoral victories they often become delusional about their powers. Something of this type seems to have happened to that party after its success in 2019 Parliament Elections. It develops fascistic tendencies in deciding what is right for our nation. The partisan interest of the party has become one with the good of the country, and the party’s manifesto has become the constitution. This is clear from the HM statement “It (CAB) has the endorsement of 130 crore citizens as it was the part of BJP’s manifesto in 2014 as well as in 2019.” The intent of the statement is clear since it has won parliamentary elections in2019, anything that’s in its party manifesto must have the backing of all India’s citizens. No one has the right to disagree. Anyone opposing the party is an anti-national. But all these assumptions have backfired. Consequently, India’s neighborhood policy has been damaged. Besides, this country’s International framework which underlines equality and humanism, which brought laurels is now seen as severely compromised, and many countries including US, UK France, Canada have issued travel advisories for their citizens asking them to” exercise caution” while traveling to NE region. On the one side, NE is playing with fire with people hitting the streets for the protection of the constitution, on the other hand, India’s image among the world community is diminishing and sending signals that country is deviating from its known paths of secularism and democracy.

It will be a real tragedy if foreign governments, as well as foreign investors, think twice before pegging India as a stable and functional democracy. The government needs to ask itself if pushing CAA is worth it.

My views on the “Citizenship Amendment Bill” were concurred by few and opposed by few. And even though I do not agree with some of their opinions but still, I respect their views as well. As everyone is entitled to their own opinions and views on different issues.
Yesterday on HM made a statement on the floor of the house proclaiming that Congress has divided the nation based on religion in 1947 and this bill was kind of a corrective measure to rectify that mistake.
I feel that the statement is twisted and misleads the public. The idea of religious identity is the basis of partition that has less to do with Congress and more to do with the ardent advocates of communal notion of nation building-VD Savarkar of Hindu Mahasabha and Jinnah of Muslim League. The ML had a firm grasp on the political value of such an idea. Jinnah outmaneuvered political opponents on his way towards establishing Pakistan and by 1940 the germ of the idea propounded initially in 1923 by Savarkar had seized Jinnah’s imagination and was fuelled by events on the ground. From the beginning, both MK Gandhi &Nehru rejected the idea. British PM Churchill predisposed to managing situations through divisions saw innate merit in supporting Jinnah rather than giving into Congress’s demands. Soon after Jinnah articulated the idea of Pakistan in Lahore resolution of 1940 the British endorsed the essence of it thereby pushing the idea further into the realm of reality. It is also a fact that Congress failed in persuading either Jinnah to give up his separatist dream or in convincing the British to not to help Jinnah take that path. Various rifts came to surface in the riots of West Bengal after political fall out between Nehru and Jinnah.
Jinnah called for “direct action” to realise the idea of Pakistan. Thousands died as the riots that began in1946. Trouble spread to Naokhali, in WB, and Bihar. This was probably the turning point when congress leaders saw no further point fighting the idea that Jinna had presented, the idea that the British had assiduously foisted and aggressively worked out. The short answer to HM’s postulation is that it was not Congress that caused the division along religious lines.
It is not that they don’t know the history, but it only a blame game that the people of India could easily decipher. The HM glosses over history to present RSS-BJP as a so-called keeper of “Hindu” interests everywhere. But is there a “Hindu” interest that is separate from India’s interests in India which is the common home of people of many faiths.
North-Eastern India was in flames on Tuesday, resembling Kashmir before the military crackdown, last August,-only hours after Union HM had pushed through the hotly contested bill in Lok Sabha. On Wednesday, even the army was called out In Tripura, although the Internet had to be shut down, to prevent the protests from spreading. This part of the country has not seen such comprehensive people’s protests since the Assam agitation of the 80s.
Hours after Lok Sabha passed CAB, in the US the House Foreign Affairs Committee -an influential bipartisan subset, of the US Congress —has regretted that India is proposing to use “religious” test in awarding citizenship. If the measure becomes law its likely to recommend to the US government to sanction HM and other high officials. And that scenario may not be advantageous to India and in turn can be a huge letdown.

India is known all over the world for its centuries-old ethos, of assimilation; a culture of compassion, humanitarian values, and providing shelter to refugees from far off lands without any discrimination. It is this CORE VALUE that is under threat now with the present ruling dispensation adopting an exclusionist approach towards refugees fleeing from their homelands due to persecution. Opposition to the Bill,(now passed by both Houses of Parliament), stems from the fact that it proposes to grant Indian Citizenship to fleeing Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Cristian’s, and Parsis, who are residents of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, while it excludes persecuted Muslim sects, Shiyas and Ahamadiyas. In other words, non-Muslim immigrants wouldn’t face deportation and Muslims would. It also proposes to reduce the mandated 11 years residence in India for citizenship eligibility to 6 years. Ostensibly BJP wants to neutralise the Muslim infiltration in border states encouraged by vote bank politics, with a Hindu influx and effect a demographic change. But this idea is preposterous, simply because there are not enough Hindus left in those countries who would want to return to their roots. The population of Hindus in Bangladesh, at the time partition, was 30%, now it’s less than 5%, while in Pakistan during partition time 23%, now it’s about 1%, in Afghanistan, only 220 families are left. As of 2017 only a few thousands of Hindus and Sikhs were left in Afghanistan, and the less said, the better, about other minorities. Therefore, the illegal Muslim infiltration from Bangladesh, is only the main concern, because of porous borders and needs to be monitored. Bill must have been envisioned with Bangladesh as it’s the focus. Now that Assam, Arunachal, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Nagaland, have been kept out of the bill’s purview, it’s clear that the party’s target is undoing Muslim immigration into Bengal. It has now stepped back from the northeast because it has invested too much in the region in developing new vote bank and strengthening its footprint. Of course massive protests, bandhs have already taken place and it already started burning.
By implementing a law that treats one religion as a disqualifier for citizenship, India runs the risk of sending a wrong signal not only to the world at large but also to the Muslim community within the country. It is only because of political expediency that tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, and other northeastern states, have been exempted from the legislation and there are genuine fears that the legislation might repeat the bitterness of the partition era as it violates the basic idea of India.
Further in keeping with RSS-BJP political theology if there is no CAB there can be no compilation of NRC, CAB is therefore meant to give legal cover to illegal Hindus in Assam. The recent disastrous exercise of compiling NRC for Assam showed there were more Hindu illegals than Muslims. The state BJP rejected the exercise, thus added emphasis by the center on fresh NRC but only after CAB is in place.
Whatever it’s worth, it violates the right to equality, and other rights, including secularism which is the basic structure of our constitution, and parties that have supported the bill should seriously consider what it means for the very soul of this country.

It looks like the Central government still nurses a belief that the economic slowdown is simply a cyclical phenomenon that is deliberately being hyped to suit vested interests.  And some people believe that a small stimulus package will be enough for economic redemption. 
I wonder how forced mergers of public sector Banks, done to tackle Non-performing Assets; the loud reintroduction of an existing export incentive scheme; funding of window for housing sector can help reverse the current meltdown.
Manmohan Singh’s attribution of the slump in the economy to the Modi Government’s “all-round mismanagement” has logic. When core sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, real-estate construction, auto, and services have taken such a strong hit, while consumption and investment are almost at an all-time low, the economic revival needs more than tokenism. Band-aids simply won’t do. The quick fix measures unveiled by the government do not suffice to undo the damage caused by demonetisation and hastily implemented GST.
Coming to Disinvestment of PSEs, the Power sector was of major interest to me personally and tried to find out more initiatives being taken by the government.
The government has decided to privatise three large PSEs, which included Bharath Petroleum, Shipping Corporation, and Concor, where the Centre holds majority shares, and the management is in the hands of the government officials. The proposal is to sell the majority shares in these corporations, to a “strategic buyer” whereafter the government’s interference will end. And this is a welcome measure as we all know the personal gains of the government officials may not be in sync with the growth of these PSE's.
Along with these PSEs government also proposes to disinvest its majority holdings in NEEPCO and THDCIL, but the proposal is to sell the majority holdings to NTPC, which is owned by the government. Therefore, the shares of NEEPCO and THDCIL will henceforth be with the government indirectly, through NTPC. Only the “CAP” gets changed and in the process, the government will obtain Rs16000 crores from NTPC as payment for these PSEs.
It may appear as if the government has no vested interested in these after disinvestment but that will not be the case. The money flow is controlled by NTPC, but the government can still exert its force or say on these companies as the company (NTPC) which is controlling these divested companies is owned by the government. The main problem of these PSUs will remain unattended because the control of these PSEs by government officials will remain intact. Previously the Ministry Of Power appointed CMDs directly, but now it may direct NTPC to appoint CMDs of these PSEs.
Further, the money obtained from Disinvestment will be used to fund the government in paying salaries and pensions, etc. The government is behaving like a person who sells his inherited property to go on a foreign pleasure trip.
The efforts of the government to hand over the management of Bharath Petroleum, Shipping Corporation, Concor to strategic buyers are welcome but efforts to sell the loss-making NEPCO and THDCIL under the guise of Disinvestment to NTPC is deceptive.

The brutal rape and murder of Disha is, by all means, a macabre and most heinous crime. There have been tremendous emotional outbursts of anger and anguish among people not only in just Hyderabad but also in the whole country and everyone demanded instant justice. This is due to the deplorable working of our judicial system. Instead of working to address this fundamental aspect of our democracy our MPs were seized by bloodlust and urged people to take the law into their own hands after this gruesome incident in Hyderabad. Jaya Bachan’s statement in Rajyasabha suggesting to go for lynching the perpetrators is a pointer in this regard.
The prayers of those seeking instant justice were swiftly answered.Around 3 am, on Friday Hyderabad police seem to have shot dead, the four accused in cold blood. The police action seems to have been motivated by a desire to play to the gallery. What were they investigating at the spot of the crime at 3 am? Or even for the reconstruction of the scene of offensive why it should be done around, 3 am? The guilt of any accused has to be subject to judicial scrutiny. As a layman, what I know, the culprits behind gruesome rape incident deserve stringent punishment, but it’s the judicial trial that establishes the guilt of the accused not that the police would bump them off in the dark of night. Crime and its punishment have been one such choice that we have had to make through civilisations from” eye for an eye” medievalism to a civil justice system. The first is instantaneous, the second protracted, the first will douse our raging emotions, the second gives the satisfaction that we are not just as bad as the killers.
Here the encounter story is unlikely to withstand scrutiny, however, the demonstrations in Hyderabad showed people were very angry after the gang rape-murder. The people have largely approved the “cold-blooded” encounter, and they even showered flower petals on police and KCR. If the police turn into terrorists and are entrusted with hand-delivering speedy justice no one may be safe. Instead of improving and reforming the courts, we may as well wind up the legal system. This is how the Taliban rendered justice, who have dispensed with the idea of due process.
The major problem with the knee-jerk reaction is that we are absolving the police of its failures to do its job. The CrPC says that the trial in rape cases should be completed in 60days but it doesn’t happen normally, it gets prolonged to few months. A traumatised rape survivor hardly dares to go through such travesty and gives up midway. How many of us have been tracking the Nirbhaya case over the last 7 years, as it had faded from the public memory.? Also, the law has been classist about convicting rapists who are politicians. While the shoot at sight approach is easy to use against truck drivers/cleaners, let us not forget that the rape accused like Kuldeep Senegar and Swamy Chinmayanand are privileged by the politics they practice and had been roaming free before they were put in custody. Many serving MPs are in the dark zone, and very recently there was a report in the press that the majority of MPs, MLAs have got serious criminal charges of rape and murder are from one single national party.
In a constitutional democracy, we investigate, try and punish the accused in a courtroom, also giving them a chance to defend themselves. The ends don’t always justify means and such “encounter killings” are a blot on our justice system.

Ever since BJP gave Sadhvi  Pragya Singh Thakur, the Lok Sabha ticket from Bhopal, Sadhivi has been managing to embarrass BJP. By fielding her, their party hoped to generate the Hindutva ripple effect to give the party a lift across the country but it was an utter miscalculation. She could be a street fighter but is not cut out for politics, is as clear as daylight. Sadhus and sadhvis in the present-day Indian politics, particularly in BJP, have nothing to prove; nor is there anyone in their flock who can claim a contribution to the freedom struggle. Their sole aim appears to be causing fissures in society to remain politically relevant, and divert the nation from pressing problems like Economic slowdown, unemployment, etc.

What Thakur has done is to repeatedly cross the redline by eulogising Mahatma’s assassin Godse. The mascot of Hindutva has done it again, this time on the floor of the house called Godse Deshbhakth. She was forced to tender apology a furor with the stinging counter-attack on Rahul for calling her a terrorist. It’s not enough to condemn her remarks or bar her from meetings of their parliamentary party or drop her from the consultative committee of the Defence Ministry. The only way to deal with the serial offender is to EXPEL HER from the party if it’s really serious and concerned. The ruling party must walk the talk, on its avowed commitment to the Gandhian values by showing her the door.

Our Honourable PM had gone on record that he would never be able to forgive her. I feel it’s a big mistake by the party to give her the ticket from Bhopal, considering her background, as it was reported that she was associated with radical Hindu outfit Abhinav Bharat, and Durga Vahini, the women’s wing of VHP. By allotting party ticket the party is guilty of mainstreaming fringe elements. Many may feel, that she must be having the blessings of her bosses, otherwise, why she is so brazen? How could BJP which claims to be a party with a difference and bats for "purity in politics” justify making her MP when she faces grave charges? I feel the present action against her is only an eyewash. Had the party taken exemplary action in the first instance, she would perhaps have learnt “Laxmanna Rekha” of free speech.

The only way for the saffron party to redeem itself from the mess is to remove her from the party. Such course correction will be a fitting tribute to Mahatma as the country marks his 150th birth anniversary.