Editorial

Adityanath as Chief Minister: Hindutva Gameplan

THE selection of the mahant of the Gorakhnath temple, Yogi Adityanath, who is also a member of Lok Sabha from Gorakhpur, as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, is a clear signal that the BJP-RSS combine wishes to pursue the line of Hindu consolidation as the basis of its future political strategy.Since becoming the member of the Lok Sabha from Gorakhpur in 1998, Adityanath became notorious for his record of Muslim baiting and direct incitement of communal violence in Gorakhpur and the adjoining districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh.  He raised the Hindu Yuva Vahini which was nothing but an ar

Portents of UP Elections

THE Uttar Pradesh assembly election has resulted in an unprecedented sweep for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP with its smaller allies has won 325 out of the 403 seats and polled 41.4 percent of the vote which is just fractionally lower than the percentage polled in the Lok Sabha election.It is important to understand how the BJP has achieved this success if a coherent political platform and alternative to the BJP has to be worked out.

Stop Coercion for Aadhar

THE Modi government is determined to coerce people to join the Aadhar Unique Identification Number by making all sorts of government schemes and services available to citizens only on the basis of Aadhar. The latest instance is the notification issued by the human resource development ministry making Aadhar compulsory for children to avail the mid-day meal scheme in government schools.

Two Events: Same Message

TWO places separated by over 2000 kms became sites for resistance to the RSS attacks on democracy and secularism last week. The first was Delhi University in the national capital and the second was Mangaluru city in Karnataka.In Delhi University, students belonging to the ABVP (the student wing of the RSS) attacked a seminar being held at Ramjas College on the pretext that anti-national persons were invited to speak at the seminar.

Stop Misuse of “Money Bill” Route

The government is increasingly resorting to the money bill route to avoid the Rajya Sabha having any say in the legislation making process. Since the BJP-led government has no majority in the Rajya Sabha, it has been resorting to the device of the “Money Bill” to overcome this hurdle. All democratic forces must extend support to the demand that the misuse of the money bill be ended forthwith.The Modi government is systematically downgrading the Rajya Sabha by misusing the definition of “Money Bill” to get legislations passed in parliament by bypassing the upper house.

A New Successor in Tamil Nadu

THE election of  VK Sasikala, the aide and confidante of the late J Jayalalithaa,  as the leader of the legislative party of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in order to become the chief minister of Tamil Nadu has opened a new chapter in the political game being played out in the post-Jayalalithaa period. After proposing her name for the leadership of the legislative party, O Paneerselvam, the incumbent chief minister, who had resigned, has now come out against the change.

Facing the Realities of the Trump Presidency

THE first ten days of the Trump presidency in the United States, if it has proved anything, it is that Trump will remain faithful to the promises he made during the election campaign. Donald Trump has issued a flurry of executive orders which exemplify his anti-immigrant, Islamophobic and pro-big business agenda.One of the first executive orders was to build a wall along the border with Mexico. This, according to Trump, is required to keep out illegal migrants.

Defend Republican Values

JANUARY 26, this year, is the third Republic Day under the Modi regime.  This has been a period when each and every institution of the republic has seen changes which mark the subversion of the founding principles of the republic. Dr BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian constitution, remarked “However good a constitution may be, if those who are implementing it are not good, it will prove to be bad”.  The men who are at present entrusted with the running of the republic – Narendra Modi and his cohorts who all belong to the RSS – are those who are committed to re-design the republican co

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