View Articles

BHOPAL: As the dates for the 2018 Vidhan Sabha elections are coming closer, BJP led Madhya Pradesh Government is promising heaven to the deprived sections of the society.

Temple of Goddess Wagheshwari Devi is situated in Dhamangaon village, which is about 20 kms from Burhanpur near the Maharashtra border. Traditionally, people have deep faith in this temple, so during Navrati festival, people from various adjacent villages come to this place for worshiping the Goddess. During this festival, Mrs. Archana Chitnis, Madhya Pradesh Minister for WCD, remains there in a small cottage inside the temple premises. Though, it is a religious event, owing to the efforts of Mrs. Chitnis, a local village fair was organized 10 years ago. In that fair, food stalls and swings were installed for the entertainment of local villagers.

Whoever said Mamata Banerjee is a one-god person can eat their words with bhaat and fish curry. The ‘appeasement-Chief Minister’ of West Bengal and Trinamool Congress boss is no less a Ram-bhakt than a Babul Supriyo or a Dilip Ghosh. And in the true spirit of the believed-to-be non-violent Hindu, Mamata has something against the Hindu wielding arms, even if it is Lord Ram’s favourite, the bow and arrow, the one which the Son of Dashrath lifted to string an arrow to claim Sita for his bride. ‘Didi’ has given pride of place to the bow and arrow by including them in the ambit of the Arms Act, 1959, illegal to carry and non-bailable a crime.

The Chennai-based Geographical Indications (GI) Registry’s order in mid-March to exclude Madhya Pradesh from the area officially declared for cultivation of the aromatic and widely consumed basmati rice, both by the domestic users as also the overseas aficionados, has predictably raised a lot of questions and hackles than it answered in explaining what constitutes popular perceptions in the usage of GI tags on a product that has more than geography in terms of aesthetics, aromatic standards and consumer satisfaction!

Amidst the revision of Chinese Constitution, which will permit Xi Jinping to be the perpetual head of Communist Party after the expiry of his second term, Trump’s escalation of tariff on steel and aluminum imports and asserting further tariff rampage on Chinese exports worth of US$ 50 billion spooked an air of suspense over a global trade war. Trade analysts are in a fix to deduce whether Trump’s protectionist measures, which target China, would really instigate China for retaliatory actions or the dispute would be settled through political and economic adjustments through negotiations. Till now, China refrained from taking any retaliatory measures. Instead, it relied more on mustering global support to stymie USA’s measures.

The Karnataka government’s decision to grant minority status to the Lingayat community is clearly intended to boost its prospects in the forthcoming Assembly elections. However, the assertion that the Lingayats constitute a religious community separate from the Hindus is yet another instance of how religion continues to play a major role in politics although secularism is supposed to be a cardinal feature of the polity.

LUCKNOW: After the success in Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha by-elections, the SP-BSP alliance seems to be all set to become a game changer in 2019 polls.

Weekly Round-Up of Major Decisions of the Courts in India as also Legal Policy Developments

In a shocking judgment, the Supreme Court, in a two judge bench of Justice Adarsh Goel and Justice U.U. Lalit, has completely overtuned the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (‘POA’), by diluting its provisions. Dealing with a case of a Principal from Maharashtra facing prosecution under the Act, the Court made several unnecessary observations about the alleged ‘misuse’ of the Act, without citing any proper evidence or data.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government has again proved its inability to ensure smooth and mature handling of a peaceful protest.