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It is often said that the health of a democracy can be gauged from the freedom the media enjoys in that country. In 2019, the World Press Freedom Index ranked India at 140 out of a total of 180 countries in the world. It’s a shame of gigantic proportion. In the last five years, apart from the institutional collapse, the credibility of media, especially the electronic media, has been dented so much that no one is surprised anymore if most of the mainstream news channels are more of a mouthpiece of the Modi Government than the Government’s own spokespersons. As expected, Modi 2.0 has begun on similar lines.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Communist Party of India (CPI) has taken strong exception to the CPI(M)’s oft-repeated proclivity to take unilateral decisions on policy matters.

Economic development is a broader concept than economic growth. Development reflects social and economic progress. Peace and trust in the police are the two principle indices for growth which is imperative and vital for development, which is about removing obstacles to greater freedom.

National Politics is no longer La-affaire of New Delhi, Modi has taken it to common man of India. Love it or hate it, Modi’s BJP is back to power with thumping majority with an increased tally from 2014. Some are surprised to see the result and may still look at the tally with utter disbelief. As a post election rituals multiple analysis have come in different newspapers and analysts were running from pillar to post to present their intellectual point of views thorough statistics, socio-economic issues or by explaining ill-equipped strategy of opposition to demystify the grand winning of Narendra Modi. Alas nothing was visible to them just a month ago.

Modi had asked 60 months for ushering in ‘Good Days’ in India. People voted for him to become Prime Minister of India in 2014. Three years passed. Good days remained elusive. Then he came with the idea of creating a New India within five years by 2022. The period 2017-22 was mentioned repeatedly as five-year plan, and the newly created government think tank, the NITI Aayog was activated to work on it. Politically it worked for him and got extension for another five years though the promised ‘good days’ turned into ‘bad day’ by the end of 60 months of his rule. Economic growth slowed down to five years low and joblessness 45 years high. During the election campaign of 2019, he likened the next five years ie 2019-24 with that of the period between 1942-47 in India, a subtle move to avoid mentioning 2022 the promised year for New India, and placing a new year 2024 in electors mind.

The Joint Trade Union Movement (minus the BMS) had called for the ouster of Modi government primarily because of its antiworker policies That was the slogan of all-India strike, a great success, launched on January 8 and continued on second day of January 9, 2019. It was also the call given by the workers’ convention held in Delhi on March 5, 2019. There were other reasons too, such as BJP‘s divisive communal policies, drive for privatization and corruption.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s threat to interfere to prevent Jeremy Corbyn being elected British Prime Minister is an appalling affront to our country’s independence.

While Narendra Modi is yet to be absolved of charges and get a clean chit from the oppressed people of the country, his supporters and advisers have launched image makeover and relation building exercise. This arduous exercise has been taken upon by Some TV channels. They have been enacting the role of conduit between Modi and the Muslims. The process of taking Modi to Muslim community has in fact accelerated after Modi winning the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

More strengthened by a greater public mandate and a bigger parliamentary majority, Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of the second NDA Government is going to give more attention to neighbourhood diplomacy. His just concluded visits to the Maldives and Sri Lanka are of a piece with India’s neighbourhood dilplomacy which aims at checkmating the growing Chinese clout on our neighbours and its increasing footprint in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

The authority of the Congress high command seems to be eroding slowly going by what is happening to the party in several states, including Telangana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Karnataka. While the Congress is battling with the leadership crisis at the national level, the party is disintegrating in the states too. Senior leaders feel that with Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s stepping down with no clarity on whether or not he will continue, the grand old party is literally falling apart. In such confusion, it is no surprise that there is growing indiscipline and factionalism in the party has grown after such a drubbing in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.