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At last, after years of suspense, the office of Lokpal has become functional. The quest for Lokpal began in the 1960s and several expert committees have debated at length on the necessity of a probe panel that is not under the government of day. The Lokpal would have control over investigative agencies like the CBI, when they are investigating corruption cases against public servants. In other cases, the CBI, which itself has been the centre of much controversy, will function under ministry of personnel.

WASHINGTON: Three top female organizers/activists, including Ai-Jen Poo of the labor-backed National Domestic Workers Alliance, have created “Supermajority,” a group designed to unite the nation’s majority, women, and push their issues to the top of the U.S. agenda in advance of next year’s presidential election.

As expected, the Easter Holiday Brexit reprieve was short-lived. And as April rolls into May (no pun intended), progress in breaking the European Union divorce deal deadlock is lacking.

Agent Orange wants Agent Saffron “turfed” out of contention. In a leader carrying the headline ‘Under Narendra Modi, India's ruling party is a threat to democracy’, Agent Orange has written that a coalition government led by Rahul Gandhi is a far better option than a BJP government led by Narendra Modi. But if that is not possible, it should be a coalition led by the BJP but not led by Narendra Modi who, says Agent Orange, has not changed much from the person who failed to prevent Gujarat 2002.

The fifth phase of Lok Sabha Election is marked by no holds barred election campaign. It has reached a new low, and even our Prime Minister is not without blemish, though EC has given him clean chit. The BJP is doing whatever it could to save its majority, but it is too late by now. Elections to the 374 out of 543 seats are already over in the first four phases. NDA, UPA, and Others could hope to win 140, 130, and 104 seats respectively indicating a strong possibility of emergence of a new fragile political realignment in India this month.

After four rounds of polling, there is not a single credible voice that confidently argues that Modi wave still prevails. Waves come and waves go but they go away for definite reasons. Anti-incumbency is no fickle-minded mood change. Once the elections are over, political analysts would split their hair over what made the Modi magic vanish. But the poll observers on the ground are already left with no doubt that the jobs crisis has caused maximum damage to Modi’s prospects in 70% of the seats where polling is over.

Washington ratcheted up hostility against Venezuela Wednesday, threatening a possible invasion a day after a failed attempt to trigger an armed insurrection in Caracas. Belligerent US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that military intervention was a possibility “if that’s what is required” as the usurper Juan Guaido called for more demonstrations in the Venezuelan capital. However Venezuelans remained defiant taking to the streets to “defend a world that is not only possible, but one that is necessary.”

The fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections is over but CM Nitish Kumar supremo of JD(U), is yet to reach out to the electorate with his party’s manifesto. Even his party’s ‘Nischay Patra’ which was to be released on April 14 did not see the day light. This is really intriguing. His party colleagues and supporters claim that he like film star Amir Khan is a perfectionist. He takes personal care to ensure that everything is in place. Obviously his not releasing the election manifesto has been cause of concern.

The claim by Ms. Pragya Thakur, BJP candidate from Bhopal, that her cancer was cured by cow urine has once again brought to the fore the issue whether medical science in our country will be governed by myths or by scientific evidence based approach. Dr.S.S Rajput, a surgeon at Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow has confirmed that he had done three radical operations on her breasts to get her rid of cancer. The doctor’s statement has exposed the claim of Sadhvi about cow urine as a cure of her breast cancer.

The designation of Jaish-e-Muhammad Chief Azhar Masood as a global terrorist makes Narendra Modi ‘majboot’ is one view. The other is that of all those involved in putting Masood in the select list of global rogues, Modi had the least role. French President Macron, POTUS Donald Trump and Chinese President for Life Xi Jinping had bigger roles to play in branding Azhar global terrorist under the UN’s 1267 agreement.