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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala continues to pay the penalty for rebuffing the ruling BJP’s attempts to dig in its heels in the State. And from the look of things, any change in the hostile attitude of the Modi Government seems unlikely towards the state, considered a bastion of secularism, during the remainder of its term in office.

A remarkable Supreme Court judgment on corruption issued during the course of the week has gone unnoticed. In a verdict that can make prosecution in corruption cases somewhat easier, the court ruled that the acceptance of bribe can be presumed if the accused fails to give satisfactory explanation for possessing bribe money. A bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R Banumathi ruled that if there is evidence of demand and acceptance of bribery money, the recovery of such money is not important for prosecution of the accused.

The image makeover programme for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, launched at the initiative of party president Amit Shah, is producing the opposite result: it has helped draw people’s attention to his failures and misgovernance, rather than boost his image. While spreading the word about the government's achievements has been one of the key components of the strategy, the party leadership is not sure how this can counter the damage caused by his soft approach towards Hindu vigilantes, which encouraged violence in the name of cow protection.

Before Independence, earthen pitchers containing drinking water at the Railway stations were marked Hindu water and Muslim water. I was a child at that time and amazed to see the marking. Hindus would not drink Muslim water and vice-versa. I had then wondered how can water be divided on religious lines? Irrespective of marking on earthen vessels, there was far better communal harmony in pre-Partition India; of course, there was no Pakistan then.

Wolf Aaya, Wolf Aaya… But Congress President Rahul Gandhi had also promised a 'Bhookamp' if allowed 15-minute one-on-one with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Friday, he went on the rampage, shaking the foundations of the Modi government in a speech that rocked Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to her feet, with Rahul telling her to her face that she was a ‘liar!’ And that no less than President Macron of France had told him that. Then, roping Prime Minister Narendra Modi into the Rafale deal, Rahul Gandhi challenged him to “look me in the eye”; going on to declare, “He can’t, he cannot look me in the eye!”

Involvement of youth in the use of highly addictive killer drugs in such large numbers as is being reported is a matter of serious concern for social thinkers and concerned citizens, more so for the medical profession. A doctor is duty bound to prevent disease and infirmity. Drugs are a cause of various illnesses. Their use leads to physical disorders and mental health problems and even untimely death. These also become a cause for various types of crimes.

It is more than a year since the inauguration of the GST on 1 July last year. Much has been made of this step to achieve ‘uniformity’ of tax in the country: ‘one country, one tax’ is touted as a great slogan by the BJP. There is no doubt that the country needs a simplication of the tax structure, which is always desirable. It is also necessary to do away with unnecessary complications, which slow down the growth of economy and the market. But everyone will agree that the way it has been framed and implemented, the GST has proved to be a great disaster, and has adversely affected the normal transactions, trade and commerce throughout the country.

It all started in 1990s with the advent of ‘Structural Adjustment’ agreed to by the then Congress government at the Centre. Sukhram, the then telecom minister, presented a Bill in Parliament, to turn the department of telecommunications into a corporate body. BJP, whose strength had gone up to 88 by then, opposed the bill, holding up Parliament for a spell of 14 days. The Congress government was forced to withdraw the Bill.

Detaining immigrant children has morphed into a surging industry in the United States that now reaps $1 billion annually—a tenfold increase over the past decade, an Associated Press analysis finds.

Even the most careless and dated ones among us know that the world and the word have been reduced to a bunch of hashtags. But it is like the Universe. Ever-expanding. From #TalkToAMuslim to #RightToPray. It goes on and on with gay abandon though ‘gay abandon’ is also dated. #TalkToAMuslim surfaced two days ago. #RightToPray was in the Supreme Court after years on the slow burner.