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The devastating impact of the second wave of Covid-19 and the bitter truth about the impending third wave is alarming to the federal structure of the country as presently, there are more than 306 districts with a positivity rate of 20 percent or higher.

Second wave of COVID has placed Modi government on the back foot. Public resentment against the government is rising. But he is lucky in absence of a national alternative to take on the government. He faces stiff resistance from the regional parties. But the regional parties are yet to be united. Who is to unite the regional forces. Unlike Jayprakash Narayan or Anna Hazare who had been projected as national heroes, there is no such person in sight. It now rests upon a pan-India party to unite these regional parties in one platform. It is the responsibility of Congress, which has a pan-India presence and single largest Opposition in the Parliament, to do so. But the burning question is - are the regional forces willing to unite under the leadership of the Congress?

Malayalam actor Prithviraj Sukumaran stands with the people of Lakshadweep who want Lakshadweep administrator Praful Khoda Patel upended in the Arabian Sea at a spot far away from Gujarat, which is where Patel, a close acquaintance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, belongs to. For those walking in late, the people of Lakshadweep, a Union Territory in the Arabian Sea, are up in arms against Khoda Patel because he has come up with a clutch of draft regulations that, they claim, will significantly alter the political architecture and cultural ethos of Lakshadweep, which is 96% Muslim and uniquely tribal.

Every consecutive week of May 2021 brought higher rate of unemployment and a great humanitarian crisis underneath. The situation has been going from bad to worse month after month which crossed the terrible double digit mark in the week ending May 21 when it was 10.3 per cent for a month, and 14.7 per cent for the week. It is abnormally high, similar to the situation in April-May 2020 when India was locked down putting brake to the economy at grinding halt pushing unemployment rate above 23 per cent.

Statecraft is broadly understood to be the art of governing and the conduct of national politics. It enjoins on the players a certain minimum standards in terms of probity, which is an essential requirement for an efficient and effective system of governance and socio-economic development of the country. Keeping this in mind, by no stretch of imagination can the Modi government’s late night order asking West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay to report to the Department of Personnel and Training under the PMO on May 31, giving the seniormost West Bengal bureaucrat barely three days to move lock, stock and barrel to Delhi. Not only that this is no statecraft, it is worse than witchcraft, which involves the use of magical powers to obtain desired results, whether fair or foul.

Mamata Banerjee’s political victory in the West Bengal elections is remarkably impressive. Here was a chief minister (CM) who successfully defied two-term anti-incumbency — and while there have been other CMs who have successfully returned to power for a third time (Narendra Modi is a prime example), Banerjee was facing the most formidable challenger in India’s political theatre.

With clouds of uncertainty over the NaMo regime due to determined opposition by the Sangh chief, the Indian politics seems to be like an open house. No one can predict the future course though many can aspire to have a deal because no one can predict the side for the camel will prefer to sprawl. Uncertainty hovers over the NaMo government as the Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat has passed the public judgment of failure against the regime in fighting the corona pandemic.

New Delhi: Defending champion Amit Panghal and Olympian Shiv Thapa chalked out impressive wins over their rivals to move into the finals of their respective categories while two other Indians Vikas Krishan and Varinder Singh lost their semi final bouts at the ASBC Asian Boxing Championships in Dubai.

All publicity is good publicity—so goes the old marketing slogan. Is that why Ramdev courts controversy by laughing at Covid-19 victims gasping for air on his Astha channel? His attack on allopathic medicine as “stupid science” and false claims that “10,000 doctors have died” after two shots of the vaccine are recent ones.

As Covid-19 courses through India’s veins, the environment has become toxic. If it’s BJP versus Congress at one level, and it’s Modi Government versus Big Tech at another. The rightwing says Twitter is modern-day East India Company while the Delhi Police has the microblogging site in its crosshairs. The Chhattisgarh Police is gunning for the BJP meanwhile, and both the police forces are investigating what’s called the “toolkit case” even as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to vitiate the atmosphere amidst a severe shortage of Covid-19 vaccines, which in turn has led to a Centre versus states confrontation.