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Union Home Minister and BJP’s second-in-command after Prime Minister Modi has set his party’s electoral target in West Bengal – 200 seats, not one less. But the dream is slowly turning into a nightmare. Ominously for the party, attendance at its election meetings is getting thinner and thinner. So much so that at a recent poll rally at Tarapith (where the famous Tarapith temple is situated) party president J. P. Nadda became so angry at the thin attendance that he refused to mount the rostrum and instead went back straight to the local party office to demand explanation for this humiliating experience.

Voltaire had said “one can always kill a man with incantations, plus a little poison”. Voltaire was a rationalist which the BJP government alas is not. It believes that one can revive an economy with incantations alone, for that is what the budget for 2021-22, presented a few days ago by the finance minister promises to do to the Indian economy.

In an hour and a half long speech, replying to motion of thanks to the president’s address to the joint session of parliament Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent most of the time patting himself and his government on the back hailing the president’s address. The fact of the matter is that this speech is prepared by the union cabinet, presided by the PM, which the president reads out. Modi was, therefore, complementing himself for the speech that was written by the cabinet.

The new draft labour rules prepared by the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment are one of the most dangerous ones for India in general and working class in particular. These are being framed in the name of much ‘desired labour reforms’, as the Modi government claims these to be. The real intentions are being camouflaged with certain proposals of great temptations as a snare to fall in, which any wise person would like to avoid for ones safety if not enforced otherwise. In their ‘sweetness of sin’ and ‘refinement of cruelty’ the government is providing some ‘optional’ backdoor entry points for the greedy industries and businesses totally ignoring the well-being of the working class.

My hunch was right. Even my close friends believe that I allowed my imagination to run uncontrolled in painting the internal battles within the ruling camp with an upper hand to the Prime Minister NaMo in my previous perspective. Very little was known of the backroom boy in the Bharatiya Janata Party except his success in organizing ability in moving the Advani Rath Yatra through eight states. His mistaken use of the Newton principle ‘every action has reaction’ for the Gujarat communal carnage of 2002 proved to be costly. His comment had reaction of inviting wrath of most as the man behind the carnage.

Fatorda, Goa: Kerala Blasters again squandered a winning position, playing out a third successive draw after being held 2-2 by Odisha in the Hero Indian Super League at the Fatorda Stadium on Thursday.

New Delhi: Talanted Elavenil Valarivan (Gujarat), beat Apurvi Chandela’s World record to win the, 10M Air Rifle event at T3 national selection trials at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting range here on Thursday.

Dubai: Promising Devender Kumar and Nimisha Suresh clinched a gold medal each as India started their campaign on a strong note winning six medals on the opening day at the 12th Fazza International Championships – Dubai 2021 World Para Athletics Grand Prix here on Thursday.

New Delhi: Ace defender Surender Kumar feels that a strong defence is a key to success for the team in big tournaments.

Vasco, Goa: For struggling East Bengal it is not over yet. A win against fourth-placed Hyderabad at the Tilak Maidan on Friday will take them to within four points of their opponents with three games left in the Hero Indian Super League.