In nearby Bengal, at the same moment, the doctors went on a strike, and continued for one whole week on the issue of doctor-attendant clash. Indian medical association (IMA) came out in their support and declared one day strike on June 17. More than three lakh doctors struck work. In Mumbai alone, three thousand elective operations were postponed.

The issue is valid and needs attention from the concerned quarters. After the chief minister ensured the doctors personally, strike has been called off. Meanwhile, the seven days proved to be\ too long for the hundreds of thousands of critical patients. There looms a graveyard apathy for them.

The moment is critical also for those engaged in a struggle just to continue living. Every year, over 10,000 farmers opt to end their lives. In Maharashtra alone, 808 farmers have taken their lives so far in 2019. Their ultimate protest, going fruitless, farmers are not going to take it for long.

On top of it, there is the four-point economic policy getting to be cleared in the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha itself, dominated by single largest party of BJP. The policies formulated to serve the foreign investors, need amendment to the process of land acquisition, leading to land banks. Swathes of fertile, wet lands are to be taken away from the farmers, leaving them bereft of only way they know to live. Eventually, they join the labour market. Here again, they face the horror of joblessness.

The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy is an established organization of repute that gathers and publishes statistical data about the Indian economy — macro, sectoral, business and microeconomic data. On unemployment, according to their report in 2019, the rate has gone up to 7.2 per cent from 5.9 per cent in February 2018. The total number of employed persons in India was estimated by CMIE to be 406 million in February 2018. The figure has now fallen to 400 million. This is yet another reliable report that confirms the trend that is supposedly contained in the National Sample Survey Office report, suppressed by the government of India.

Those unskilled, mainly the farm labour, and technologically obsolete, face the worst.

Entire economic context suffers from slow growth. Inflation being low, government expenditure could be allowed to go up, especially to serve people, but there is no money for such jobs. So far as investment is concerned, in the period of 2018-19, FDI inflows into India declined for the first time in the last six years, falling by 1 per cent to USD 44.37 billion. On the other hand, with 76 percent capacity utilisation, manufacturing also does not offer a bright scenario. In fact, foreign institutional investors (FII) withdrew their money in 2018-19, as the manufacturing faced slump.

It is in this all round gloom that the 17th Lok Sabha is meeting. The BJP led government is entering into its second term with a complete hold. Yet, there are the issues, like implementation of the National Registry of Citizens across India, abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, alienation of the minority — both religious and political, where opposing voices would not be easily stalled.

The ball has started rolling. There is the idea of ‘one nation, one election’ proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The idea is not new and he had come out with it in his previous term too. On June 19, 2019, he had called an all party meeting on the issue. Several parties boycotted the initiative. Opposing the very idea, the left parties called it undemocratic and against the principle of federalism, promoting one nation-one culture-one nation-one language, a proposal that is not only unrealistic but also unconstitutional, in fact an attack on our Constitution itself. Yet, the government has already formed a committee to deliberate and finalise the issue. If implemented, it would be only end of our glorious democratic traditions articulated in our Constitution itself. (IPA Service)