The decision of the central government to observe the birthday of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on 23rd Jan as ”parakram divas”. I think it's only a political stunt with an eye on the ensuing Assembly elections of West Bengal. And if someone thinks it otherwise, I leave it to their wisdom. On the face of it, one would consider it a matter of great pride and patriotism though belated. Strictly speaking, Netaji was born in Cuttak, Orissa, then in Bengal Presidency Of British India. While Didi led TMC and BJP led NDA are in tandem on the issue of celebrating of Netaji's birthday. But the bone of contention is the nomenclature, Central Govt wants to call it as “Parakram Divas” the state’s TMC Govt with All India Forward Block wants it to be called “Desh Premi Divas” and both TMC&FB, are miffed with the Centre for not consulting them.

 If someone thinks that it is not a move to appease voters of West Bengal, then also I will leave it to their wisdom as it is an individual perception. With West Bengal Elections are on cards, especially when it comes to the birth anniversary of Netaji, no party wants to let the opportunity to lure the voters to slip from its hands. And it’s quite reasonable to accept the truth that Central Govt had no time to remember Netaji in the last 6/7 years from the day it came to power. But I feel the people of Bengal are shrewd enough not to fall into such traps and vote judiciously based on work done and schemes floated by Govt.

The regional party’s leaders have gone so far as to claim that it was a “stunt “by NDA keeping in mind the forthcoming Assembly Elections, and” not a mark of respect “to Netaji. Its also reported that the family members of Netaji also put their weight behind TMC’ s, “Desh Premi Divas” but they also said “ we are happy with the announcement. “ 

But the bottom line remains that true respect and honest tributes to Netaji had been if both Governments had joined hands to celebrate 125th birthday anniversary of one India’s greatest sons who strove to free India from the British Iron clutches and rather than quibbling over Netaji’s event the governments should have celebrated the event together if both are so generous and magnanimous. 

 With the failure of 9th round of talks between Centre and farmers Unions,  both sides have agreed to resume discussions on 19th Jan, in a bid to break the deadlock over three contentious farm laws. The end to farmers agitation is not in sight. The Supreme Court waded into a delicate situation, which is being watched by the world.  Even though the government and the farmers were not seeking its help and yet the Court stepped in any way and held the three laws in abeyance. Though it’s not cutting any ice, as the farmers demand repeal of laws. And the Supreme Court should have concerned itself about the question of the constitutionality of the farm laws.

 Appointment of the committee is an extra-parliamentary method to settle the debate over laws is worrisome. The court is not only undermining the legislative but also the nation's faith in a representative democracy. It is hard to see how the court-appointed committee can come up with an amicable solution. As such, the verdict of appointment of a committee of Experts has not resolved the standoff. Farmers have refused to end the agitation and cooperate with the so-called Expert committee and it has only widened the scope of the dirty politics. Let it be the purview of the government, not the Supreme Court to rule the country. The Govt should learn a lesson from this verdict that laws shouldn’t be enacted in haste and must be done after convincing all the stakeholders. The centre and states must work in tandem for the progress of the country. It's a wonder that this government especially since it came to power, announced all important issues unilaterally, in haste by taking things for granted because of brute majority in Lok Sabha.

As per the Supreme Court, the committee it has constituted will hear all sides and help the apex court understand whether the farm laws are in “public interest.” This self-given assignment is outside the top court’s remit, as its job is to determine the constitutionality or otherwise of legislation, not whether it’s in the public interest. That's for the people to decide. Here for the sake of the record, all the four experts are strongly pro-Govt on the Agri-laws. Instead of being an honest broker, the court may be courting disdain.

For conducting negotiations, the members ought to and should be known to have an open mind on core issues which alone will create confidence in the parties concerned.  The validity of the laws can only be decided after proper hearing of the recommendation of the committee.  

Therefore bringing in a committee of known views amounts to constitutional abdication and farmers have rightly refused to appear before it. Howsoever powerful the court may be, there are always limits to its power.

 Indian Coronavirus immunization process has drawn a lot of curiosity, controversy, questions and anxieties. And at the stage when a new wave of attack of the mutant virus is looming large, I wonder if the disease is fatal or the misinformation surrounding it. Keeping greater welfare in mind  -- the government needs to curb over ambitiousness and the opposition should also refrain from questioning every move just for the sake of doing so. 

Many experts have expressed their concerns over hasty approval of these vaccines despite not having the complete data of Phase 3 trails. 

The scope of for apprehension is, one fails to understand the terms “restricted use” ” Emergency use” and also clarification of Union Health Minister that recipients will be tracked, and monitored as if they are on trial. Such disclaimers could dampen the euphoria generated over the approval to the much-awaited vaccines. The rhetoric that this domestic vaccine is “India’s pride” and “ decisive turning point in the war on Corona” and the Govt and its machinery is chanting the same. A section of naysayers feels that failure of Govt to tackle Covid Pandemic and keep the economy from further deteriorating into crisis is a foregone conclusion. It would be unethical to see the Covaxin vaccine as a weapon by covering-up the complete information related to it.  The Govt’s irresponsible attitude could be the reason for the controversy over Covaxin. While 26 thousand volunteers had to be tested, but so far only 23 thousand have been tested. The third phase of those experiments will take 2 to 10 months to come to fruition. How did the subject matter committee of the central Drug Control Agency approve it in the meantime without waiting, is anybody’s guess?

Why this hurry? Is the Govt trying to score some brownie points by following the suit of a few western countries have approved some vaccines? It would be assuring if the government also makes the public aware of the reactions that can be expected after the vaccination. 

To instil confidence the first vaccine must be given “live” on TV to the President Of India, the PM, and the Health Minister and opposition leaders who are toeing the government line. Observing their post-vaccine health condition will enable greater success.

In other countries, top political leaders including the US President-Elect and the VicePresident -Elect have taken jab in public to inspire confidence among people.

The current farmer agitation is one of the major protests.  It is an unprecedented protest which includes the participation of 12 million farmers and 14 million truck drivers.

It is a matter of great public concern that many rounds of talks and the seize around the nations capital borders have remained inconclusive.   Many national celebrities from various fields have decided to return their state honours in a show of solidarity with the agitating farmers. The farmers fear that the gains of the new farm laws would not percolate down to them.  And have expressed fears they may lose their negotiating power to the large corporates. 

 By pushing these laws in haste, the Government has lost out on the virtues of consensus.  It could have ensured the acceptance of its policies had it addressed the angst of the farmers.

The central Government claims that farmers will have unfettered freedom to sell their produce at higher prices in any market in India hereafter under the new legislation but the farmers fear of corporates dictating procurement terms is not altogether unfounded. With the dismantling of APMC Mandi’s and the government having no power to keep a watchful eye on the deals being struck between farmers and traders, there seems to be a greater possibility of farmers being exploited by the heavy cartelised corporate giants. Also, state governments stand to lose the revenue from the APMCs which fund the various farmers-related Welfare measures. The farmers proved that they cannot be fooled easily. And that they are aware of the nexus between the government and these corporates. Farmers feel that the major benefactors of these farm bills will Adani and Ambani's, who are known to be quite friendly with Prime Minister Modi and the ruling dispensation.  Adani, for that matter, is an expert in using political connections for business advantages. He also did that in Australia in ways that made the public put up placards saying “stop Adani.” India is different since Modi came to power. Adani's net worth increased 121% per cent to more than $26 billion by getting government tenders to build infrastructure projects.

The unloved question here is how to ensure that the reforms do not lead to monopoly or cartelisation. Equally important is the issue of federalism as Agriculture as such, is a state subject. The states play a crucial role in this sector, but they have been scarcely involved in the passing of agriculture laws.

Farmers have always borne the brunt of the natural calamities like floods, drought. And they labour endlessly in inclement weather. It's a pity that these annadatas themselves have to sit on roads to get their voice heard.  

According to the Global Hunger Index 2020, India ranks 94th among 107 countries, in terms of hunger and continues to be in the “severe” hunger category. This index is also an indicator of the poor human development of the country. Now, India is behind most of its south-Asian neighbours, including Bangladesh. Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Pakistan ranked 75, 78, 88 respectively, are also in the same category but are above India. Nepal ranked 73rd and Srilanka 64th are better off and are in “moderate” hunger category.

Many factors contribute to India’s “severe” hunger and the other hand the collective net worth of half of nation’s 100 richest people on 2020 Forbes India Rich list saw a rise of 14%. Sensex, an Index Of 30 companies actively trading on Bombay Stock Exchange, used to observe “the overall growth, Development Of particular industries, ups and downs of the Indian Economy closed at 38,673 points on March 31st 2018. One needs to consider all these, along with data released with the National Statistical Office, which shows that the Economic growth slumped to 11year low of 4.2 per cent in 2019-20. One school of thought holds that the rise in wealth-despite Corona -inflicted downturn-was partly due to the cut in corporate taxes from 35% to 25% last year. If you see the GHI, India is just better than Afghanistan among all south-Asian neighbours. Instead Of concentrating on religion, etc. Our policymakers need to wake to the reality of the situation and adopt a convergent approach to tackle this problem faced by our country.

The problem of hunger both in urban and rural areas should be tackled differently, as numerous factors contribute to this” severe” hunger status. There is a lack of stable employment, due to frequent migration, many have not registered with the system and hence do not receive the required benefits, not to forget the poor public distribution system. It’s advisable to have an autonomous PDS based on community-led procurement and storage. There is also a need to hold negotiations between centre and states on food and nutrition security measures and India needs to reevaluate its economic reform strategy and consider course correction to feed the hungry and create opportunities for gainful employment.

 I read a newspaper editorial titled ”Disastrous Disinvestment policy” which decries the move to disinvest profit-making public sector enterprises. A closer look at the PSUs on the chopping block reveals the flawed thinking on the part of the Govt whose only objective appears to be to handover profit-making state-owned companies to the favoured corporate groups. The government has failed the public sector by too much interference, reducing the autonomy of the management in respect of pricing, employment, purchases and marketing etc. If you recall, the dismantling of PSUs under the guise of disinvestment began during NDA1, which ended up disinvesting 7 PSUs, and the present dispensation has disinvested as many as 23 PSUs disregarding the interests of agitating employees. It is ironic that our PM who claims to have sold tea on Railway platform, during his childhood, should be contemplating to sell the very same Railways.  And I also feel, it’s preposterous to privatise LIC, an iconic organisation which is the pride of India with over 40 crores policyholders, having assists worth 30 lakh crores? Yes, its a fact that there are some inherent problems, like excess workforce, obsolete technology, inefficiency, lack of accountability etc. The public sector as such, is nobody’s baby, competition from the private sector, politically influenced unions. In my opinion, the burning problems of poverty and unemployment cannot be addressed without due support from the public sector. The government needs to change its policy on PSUs from disinvestment to revival and sell only those enterprises which cannot be revived at all. It also warrants a re-look at the move to sell of PSUs to raise resources. There is also an urgent need to strengthen the independence and autonomy of PSU boards.

 Bihar witnessed 52.24% turn out, in the first phase of Assembly Election, seems that people have voted wholeheartedly despite the ongoing pandemic, which itself is a sign of vibrant democracy. Bihar elections are no litmus test either for BJP-JDU combine, or LJP or even Mahagatbandhan, because each party has failed Bihar in every possible way. Nitish, who like a trapeze artist jumped from Lalu’s swing to catch BJP rope in time, made a mockery of the mandate. BJP shamelessly accepted the bait and went on to govern as if they are elected to rule.

If you see the trend of the campaign, vast crowds are turning out to attend the public meetings addressed by RJD’s Tejaswi Yadav in a clear indication that the young leader has captured the imagination of Bihar electorate. People’s response to such rallies enables us to see which way the wind is blowing. His promise to create 10 lakh new jobs, seems to have galvanised the youth. In contrast, Nitish turned out to be faring poorly in every way. He made booze ban his main plank. Of late his government has been facing flak over its handling of pandemic, particularly in the wake of the return of the lakhs of migrant workers to the state and resultant rise in unemployment and rural distress. The widespread damage caused by floods has further added to the woes.

Narendra Modi Ji has conveniently skirted his failure to fulfil the promise of special state status, and special package for state and establishment of a central university in Bhagalpur made in the run-up to 2015 Assembly Elections. As such Bihar is at the bottom of the pyramid of economic indicators, while Nitish being the CM of the state for 15 years, so he cannot blame Congress as usual for their failures, at least in this case.

Lok Jan Shakti‘s Chirag Paswan’s open hostility towards Nitish, and his idolisation of Modi Ji highlight that some moves in the game of politics are at times beyond our comprehension, as Lalu, the patriarch of RJD is in Ranchi jail, while veteran Sharad Yadav has been suffering from ill-health, and a prominent Dalit leader Ramvilas Paswan died recently. Their heirs seem to have not just taken over the reins but have also taken over the narrative this time. The LJP which has a strong Dalit support base, reiterated support to Modiji, while fielding candidates against JDU, has lent its credence to the argument that it was part of saffron party’s long term strategy to edge out Nitish.

As such Bihar being a politically significant state and the election results are bound to have a significant impact on the course of national political scenario.we may have wait for the remaining schedule to be finished to come to some conclusion