LJP split spices up Bihar politics, BJP eyeing full control of state politics

SPLIT in the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has spiced up the political atmosphere of Bihar. Chirag Paswan, the son of Late Ram Vilas Paswan has accused the Janata Dal (United) of engineering split in the LJP and has strongly condemned the silence of BJP during the operation. He has indicated to come out of the NDA and launch a state-wide “Ashirvad Yatra” (Meeting people for blessings) to garner support for his future course of political activities.

J&K: No Concrete Assurances

THE meeting convened by the prime minister with mainstream political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir – first time after the abrogation of the erstwhile state’s special status under Article 370 – has made it clear that mainstream political parties can’t be written off by caging and discrediting them with bundle of lies and slander campaigns.

Is Socialisation of Investment Enough?

JOHN Maynard Keynes was by far the most insightful bourgeois economist of the twentieth century. He could not afford to be a mere apologist of the system, since he was writing in the midst of the Great Depression and in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution. To pretend at such a time that everything was fine with the capitalist system would have been the biggest disservice he could have rendered to that system which he so dearly loved.

Demolition of Right to Education For Adivasi Students

THE debate on the best way to deal with school board exams – whether to hold exams, what should be the weighted assessments, the need for monitoring internal school assessments and so on has many interested participants and is being settled by the Supreme Court. But how relevant are these questions for poor students and specifically for adivasi students?In underdeveloped rural areas where the majority of adivasis live, there were just three per cent internet connections according to a household survey conducted a few years ago (ICE 360). Not many adivasi families have smart phones.

Shameless Skulduggery in Ayodhya

MANY extraordinary things are happening in Yogiraj, Uttar Pradesh: opposition candidates prevented from filing their nominations for zilla panchayat presidentship elections, corona patients in villages being asked to sit under neem trees in order to breathe oxygen because of the unavailability of medical facilities...The most extraordinary, however, are the scandalous land deals being entered into in Ayodhya by members of the trust entrusted with the construction of the Ram Temple for which thousands of crores of rupees have been collected from devotees.On June 13, leaders belonging to the

The Game Plan in J&K

THE Modi-Shah duo are determined to fulfill their quest to change the essential character of J&K based on their Hindutva convictions.The meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of 14 political parties of Jammu and Kashmir was seen as an unusual step. After August 5, 2019 when the Modi government summarily nullified the special status of J&K under Article 370 of the constitution and dismantled the state into two union territories, a relentless effort was made to discredit the main political parties by detaining their leaders and branding them as corrupt and anti-national.

Constitution and Right to Protest

THE Delhi High Court while granting bail in the UAPA case connected to the north-east Delhi violence, for three detenues, has stated, “it seems, that in its anxiety to suppress dissent, in the mind of the State, the line between the constitutionally guaranteed right to protest and terrorist activity seems to be getting somewhat blurred. If this mindset gains traction, it would be a sad day for democracy.” This applies to numerous cases in which any form of dissent is termed anti-national.

Coercive Centralisation, NOT “Cooperative Federalism”!

THE Economic Times of June 23, 2021 has reported that, in a blog posting “Reforms by conviction and incentives” on a social media site, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed that “an innovative approach to policy making tempered by centre-state partnership during the Covid pandemic helped the states raise an extra Rs 1.06 lakh crore in 2020-21”.

Viewing Covid-19 Pandemic Naturally, Not Conspiratorially

COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has been one of the most devastating pandemics. It has exposed the dark underbelly of the health systems in many developed countries with a dominant privatised system. There has been a massive loss of lives and livelihoods in the US, India, Brazil and several countries. It has also shown that countries with strong public health systems like China and Cuba have withstood the onslaught much better.

BJP’s Stimulus Package another Gimmick: CITU

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) expressed dismay over the Rs 6.28 lakh crore stimulus package announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and said that it is nothing but yet another gimmick to hoodwink the people. It said that the measures announced under the package would neither provide the much needed relief to the crores of people whose livelihoods have been devastated during the second wave of Covid-19 nor can the package help in reviving the economy.

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