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‘Rafale’ is now more of a metonymy than a fighter-jet, like the Watergate scandal that cooked American President Richard Nixon’s goose. Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces somewhat a similar situation though nowhere as conclusive. Strikingly, if nothing else, there is a similarity: The Watergate scandal broke after a break-in by five men at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington; ‘Rafale-gate’ now has a ‘burglar’ in the mix though in Rafale’s case, it’s the Government of India which alleges break-in.

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

Almost four years after the shocking killing of M.M. Kalburgi, Kannada scholar and rationalist on 30th August, 2015, the Supreme Court directed the Special Investigation Team (‘SIT’) investigating the murder of journalist and activist, Gauri Lankesh, in September, 2017 to investigate the murder of Kalburgi also, owing to striking ‘similarities’ between the two cases. The Court further directed that the monitoring of the investigation would be done by the Karnataka High Court in its Dharwad Bench. Significantly, the Apex Court in December, 2018 had remarked that if there was a link between the killings of Govind Pansare, Narendra Dabholkar, M.M. Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh, then one agency should investigate them, instead of multiple agencies.

The Brexit negotiations having stumbled in Brussels after late-night talks with EU officials the British politics is passing through a bind. Both the treasury and opposition leaders are unable to comprehend what political line they should follow in the matter of Brexit. At a time when complete confusion grips the British politics, a labour parliamentarian Yvette Cooper has come up with the suggestion to delay Brexit if Prime Minister Theresa May cannot get her deal through Parliament by a specified date. Interestingly this idea of Cooper has received the support of 15 ministers, including three cabinet ministers.

The recent India-Pakistan military exchanges post-Pulwama attack on the CRPF jawans has led to a significant shift in the way India would deal with terrorist attacks from across the border. The pre-emptive strike by India to demolish the terrorist camps in a place like Balakot has been swift and has caught Pakistan on the wrong foot. In the exchanges that followed, Pakistan surprisingly decided to return India’s fighter pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman unconditionally and urging India to settle differences with peace talks. Two things stand out in this whole saga. Experts have analyzed these and other associated developments from various perspectives. However, two issues which are yet to be understood with clarity are: a) the timing of the Pulwama attack and b) the unexpected and so-called extension of the olive branch of noblesse proportions from Pakistan.

More the war danger deepens in South Asia, more the anti-war peace activism also grows in proportion. Today, such a peace activism has come to the fore as the foremost arena of democratic activism in India as well as internationally. This inevitably brings up the question as to what the role of the labour movement is in this peace activism.

Now, if we can forget war, we can get on with life and with the general elections. That is a thought which is not the pitch because war makes a stronger pitch to make all the correct noises to win elections. Watching and listening to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is proof. He’s up first light of the day and thereafter it’s a daylong diatribe against rivals who are demonized for not giving a thought to “our armed forces.” It’s as if the entire opposition is “anti-national” and the BJP alone is in the trench with the “jawan.”

Tribal lands have always been for grab. On March 4 the tribals observed Bharat Bandh in protest against their evictions from their own land and accused the state governments of helping the big business in their attempt to grab their lands.

They are fighting on semantics now. The Bharatya Janata Party and the Congress. Whether Pulwama was an “accident” or an attack. It is a deliberate attempt to confuse, to make a ‘Baat Ka Batangad’, some would say. An “accident” when it’s planned is an attack. But who will tell that to Congress stalwart Digvijay Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi? Digvijay Singh called Pulwama an “accident” and invited attack.

Poll issues have changed overnight after the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 and India’s subsequent retaliation. It is clear now that all the earlier issues like Rafale scam, jobs, rural crisis etc. have taken a back seat to the terror narrative which presently gives an advantage to the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Whether it will give them votes is a different question.