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Democracy returned to the Maldives after the people decisively defeated the autocratic regime of President Abdulla Yameen in Sunday’s elections. They voted overwhelmingly for Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Solih is known to be very close to the former President Mohamed Nasheed who was ousted from power by an army coup in February, 2014. Later he went to the UK for medical treatment where he was given political asylum.

Universal health coverage is the need of the hour. Two weeks back I was in Malaysia for the CMAAO Assembly, where the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) spoke about their 40:40:20 scheme. The entire population of Malaysia has been divided into three income groups: Lower income group bracket 40 per cent, middle income group bracket 40 per cent and top 20 income bracket 20 per cent. Their government has said that they would pay for and look after the lower 40 per cent income group bracket.

Whoever says that the BSP supremo Mayawati does not dream big? After losing three back- to-back Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, after getting zero seats in the current Lok Sabha, she still has not given up her ambition of becoming the first Dalit Prime Minister of this country. It may be premature to talk about this but nursing this ambition for long, Maya herself thundered in 2012 during an election rally, “I hold the master key to power." In 2014, the BSP declared her as its prime ministerial candidate. The BSP’s national executive passed resolutions in May this year announcing Mayawati as the prime ministerial candidate for the 2019 elections. She is not doing it without a purpose as these projections are meant to galvanize the party cadres selling them the dream of a ‘Dalit ke beti” reaching the top. The bottom line is that she should at least emerge as a king maker in the post poll scenario after 2019.

Like other slogans much expectations have been raised from the highly advertised National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) – the Ayushman Bharat rolled out by the Prime Minister on 23rd September at Ranchi. It is said to be the biggest health insurance scheme in the world. It is therefore important that the scheme is reviewed to see whether it will provide universal comprehensive healthcare to the citizens of our country.

Monday September 24, is a ‘newsful’ day. Sikkim got its first and India its 100th airport. And a sub-jail in Kerala got its first Bishop inmate – Bishop Franco Mulackkal, accused of the serial rape of a nun. It’s sweet retribution for the nun-clan. More so, after one nun, who stood firm with rape-survivor nun, was divested of her duties at her convent and told to cool her heels at home. Revenge for the Bishop cooling his heels behind bars!

It’s a dull and gloomy day under the overcast sky, the light obfusc and aqueous. It could rain, it would rain. In Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan – ‘IK’ to mesmerized Pakistani youth – is suffering, angry. IK wants retribution for being stood up. “What did IK do wrong? He only wants peace between the two neighbours, stability in the region,” the anchor on Dunya TV said.

Last year’s Labour Party conference was the busiest, best and most optimistic that I’ve ever attended. And this year’s conference promises to be even better, with important debates and votes in the conference itself and a better than ever conference fringe, the fantastic The World Transformed festival and the Liverpool Left events.

This is the most dangerous game the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is playing. The façade of RSS moving from the fringe to mainstream Indian nationalism primarily aims at keeping the liberal centrist Hindus and minorities under confusion. The entire exercise of Bhagwat at the RSS meet and his three series of lectures raises suspicion about his mission.

Mayawati may have botched her own chances of being one of the front-runners in the prime ministerial race among the national opposition parties by her self-serving manoeuvres in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Last week, India’s defence ministry said “the government has stated earlier and again reiterates that it had no role in the selection of Reliance Defence as the offset partner” of Dassault Aviation. Ironically, the French government too said it had no role in choice of Indian partner. If both the statements are valid, the question is: who pushed the name of highly debt-ridden Anil Ambani’s inexperienced Reliance Defence for the job? In case it was a pure commercial decision of Dassault Aviation, there is little to trust the French defence manufacturing giant is serious on its commitment to partly manufacture in India.