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Suddenly an innocuous question has started making rounds in the political circles of Bihar, which has been causing consternation in the BJP circle. The question is: who is running the BJP government? Is it Narendra Modi or Amit Shah?

The protests against the draconian trio of CAA-NRC-NPR continue in India, while the Judiciary waits for the ‘violence to stop’, before making any meaningful intervention. In contrast, several state governments have voiced their strong disagreements on the principle behind and implementation of these laws; out of these, Kerala and West Bengal stand out as the fiercest critics, with both the Chief Ministers, P. Vijayan and Mamata Banerjee, having directed to stop the work on the NPR (‘National Population Register’) in their respective states. The growing opposition of the state governments to the fascist policies of the Central Government led by the duo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Home Minister Amit Shah, is a clear indication of severe strain on the federal structure of India, and the Indian Constitution.

Chennai: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Lakshya Sen combined to guide Chennai Superstarz to a win over Hyderabad Hunters as the fifth edition of the Star Sports Premier Badminton League got off to a thunderous start at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here today.

Guwahati: West Bengal’s Soubrity Mondal claimed three gold medals in the swimming competition in the Khelo India Youth Games on Monday but Maharashtra’s Kenisha Gupta and Karnataka’s Srihari Nataraj are well on course to become the most successful athlete here.

Bhubaneswar: It was at the 2015 FIH Hockey World League Final in Raipur when India had managed to overcome a 0-2 goal-difference in the first half to eventually draw with the Netherlands 5-5 in regulation time at a crunch Bronze Medal match.

Chennai: World No. 2 Tai Tzu Ying will lead the charge as Bengaluru Raptors begin their title defense in the fifth season of the Star Sports Premier Badminton League against North Eastern Warriors at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here in Chennai tomorrow.

No other cause in recent times has evoked such spontaneous participation by the public as the campaign against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The previous occasion when this happened was the anti-corruption crusade launched by Anna Hazare, which provided a rallying point for all those who were disenchanted with the prevailing order and system of governance. People from all walks of life joined the agitation although there was no effective leadership that directed its course in any direction. It is a different matter that the whole movement ended up in an anti-climax.

As per the reports, the Prime Minister in a meeting with the Pharma giants, Zydus Cadila, Torrent, Sun Pharma and Wockhardt has warned that they should strictly adhere to the Ethical Marketing Practices and not bribe the doctors. The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) has however denied any such discussion; “The meeting was called to discuss future roadmap for growth of the healthcare industry. The focus of discussion was on: Research and development, building innovation ecosystem, improving access to high quality medicine, and strengthening global competitiveness of the industry,” said a press statement issued by the IPA.

There has been discussion going around in political circles that Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may be able to secure a second term in Delhi — which will see elections on February 8. Last time, AAP registered a resounding victory by winning 67 out of 70 seats and the rest were won by BJP. And, this time too, AAP is expecting to repeat its 2015’s stunning performance.

By re-nominating Dilip Ghosh as the party’s State chief for the next three years, the BJP has given a clear message to its voters and supporters in West Bengal. The party will fight the next year’s State Assembly elections under his leadership. Ghosh is known for his crude and distasteful language. He also disdains to conceal his contempt for the State’s literati and the intelligentsia. In one of his recent public meetings he said that only those who were not sure of their parentage need be concerned about the NRC and CAA. The party faithfuls clapped enthusiastically just as about a decade or so ago loyal party supporters had clapped when a senior CPI-M leader had compared Mamata Banerjee with women of Kolkata’s red light area.