THE Left Front in Tripura has achieved a sweeping victory in the by-elections held for the vacant seats in the three tier panchayat held on December 21. 83 percent of the voters cast their vote in a peaceful manner. Of the total 47 seats, Left Front won unopposed in three seats in gram panchayat. Votes were taken for one seat of zila parishad, two seats of panchayat samiti and 41 seats of gram panchayat.As the results were declared on December 23, it became evident that the people in the rural area have reposed their faith in the Left Front.

THE extreme wrath of people against the inhuman reforms in the name of demonetisation got reflected in the formation of human chain across Kerala on December 29. Though the Left and Democratic Front had decided to organise a human chain, the colossal gathering of the people from all walks of life turned the human chain into a huge human wall. Lakhs of people joined together along the more than 700 kilometres long National Highway from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargode.

FIFTY days, that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked of the people, were completed but with no signs of abatement of hardships. These fifty days have brought to light umpteen stories of hardships that the people had to suffer in order to access their hard earned money. These fifty days also witnessed the goalposts of demonetisation shifting continuously. First it started as a measure to combat black money and terrorism. Later it was championed as a necessary step for transition towards a 'cashless society', which yet again was subtly modified to a 'less cash society'.

A FARMER in Tamil Nadu's Thiruvarur district, sowed paddy hoping the Cauvery waters would irrigate his four-acre field. But the saplings he had planted began dying as the water released from the reservoir of Mettur Dam did not reach the tail end areas where his farm was located. Unable to repay a loan of Rs. 50,000, the farmer killed himself consuming pesticide, his family says. He was found dead near his field. His son said, "With no rain and no water, we are in debt too. My father was under stress seeing the fields.

SWATI Chaturvedi's book I am a Troll, released a few days back, blows the lid off BJP's systematic trolling of its opponents. We have always known that the trolling on the internet we see on a daily basis was an organised effort of the BJP. We now learn that there is a team, directly controlled by the RSS and BJP leadership that is at the centre of this trolling. This was the team that fed the lies, the “drip of hate”, vicious attacks on women including threats of rape, to a larger troll army.