DEMONSTRATING strong support for the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government's pro-people policies, voters in the Chelakkara Assembly constituency elected U R Pradeep of the CPI(M) by a significant margin of 12,201 votes. The by-election was necessitated after K Radhakrishnan, CPI(M) Central Committee member and former Devaswom Minister, resigned following his election to the Lok Sabha from the Alathur constituency in the last general elections.

THE CPI(M)-MVA candidate Vinod Nikole won a historic victory in the Dahanu (ST) Assembly seat in Palghar district. He secured a record 1,04,702 votes and defeated the BJP candidate by 5,347 votes in a tightly fought contest. This is the tenth time out of the last eleven Assembly elections since 1978 that the CPI(M) has won this seat (Jawhar-ST before delimitation in 2009), and that too by giving five different candidates, all of whom won.

Those who take oath of office in its name are undermining its principlesAT the age of 75, the Constitution of India is the talk of the town. In parliamentary debates, as an issue in elections, in the speeches of political leaders across parties, it is a central point of debate. It is a tribute to the founding members who drafted the Constitution that not only has it stood the test of time, but upholding its core values has become an essential patriotic duty.This is not to say that the people of India have benefitted equally from the Constitution.

THE recent indictment of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his associates by a Court in United States of America in the ‘Solar Energy Bribery Scheme’ running into more than US$ 250 million exposes once again the Adani group’s vast corruption and its ability to influence Central and state governments in gaining lucrative contracts.

THE recent events in Sambhal and the deaths of five young Muslim men underline the importance of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, l991 enacted by Parliament in that year. This legislation prohibits “conversion of any place of worship” (Section 3) and provides for “the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August, 1947” (Section 4).