THE Modi government has got a Constitutional amendment adopted in Parliament providing for 10 percent reservation for economically weaker sections in the general category, i.e., those who are not in the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), or, Other Backward Classes (OBCs).ELECTION PLOYThe Constitutional Amendment Bill was passed in great haste – in a span of three days beginning from the union cabinet decision to its adoption by both the houses of parliament.  This has, no doubt, been done with an eye to the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections which is just a few we

KERALA'S renaissance movements in the past 100 years made big strides. These movements had helped women in the struggle to shake off patriarchy and advance towards gender equality. But unfortunately, following the recent Supreme Court verdict which allowed the entry of women of all ages to the Sabarimala temple, there had been attempts to belittle the achievements of the women in Kerala and to sideline them as second class citizens.

The CPI(M) will not accept donations through electoral bonds. IN the course of the assembly elections now on in five states, the CPI(M) has been offered electoral bonds as donation in one of the states.  The Party has not accepted this offer even though it is in serious need of funds to fight elections.Why is the CPI(M) rejecting funding through electoral bonds? This requires explanation as the system of electoral bonds introduced by the Modi government is a pernicious one.

AS the prime minister was labouring to deliver his one and half hour long speech at the end of the no-confidence motion debate on Friday, June 20, Rakbar alias Akbar Khan was being lynched to death in Alwar district of Rajasthan over allegations of cow smuggling.Till now, the prime minister has not once paid even lip service of expressing concern over the spate of lives lost due to lynching by private armies that have mushroomed under the rule of the BJP governments.

THE BJP party which was considered to be an urban party-having more influence in the cities was supposed to address the urban issues better than its predecessors in ruling. But, four years of the BJP rule at the centre with a clear majority of its own has completely disappointed the people living in the cities.Today more than 1/3rd of the people live in urban centres. There are over 7,935 small and big towns and 468 class 1 cities. These cities are those which hold a population of above 1, 00,000.