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The unusual spurt in diesel and petrol prices as a result of deadly cocktail of surging global oil prices and falling rupee value signals danger to the economy, now on the path to recovery clocking 8 per cent GDP in the first quarter of this financial year.

The Bharatiya Janata Party may lose power in 2019. If not there will be a different Prime Minister at the helm. BJP’s allies in the NDA are likely to ask for their pound of flesh and that could be Narendra Modi’s head on a platter. Recent opinion polls and surveys are too close to this truth, says James Manor, a professor in the School of Advanced Study, University of London.

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

The last one week witnessed tumultuous events pertaining to the state of democracy and the exercise of freedom of expression in this country. On 28th August, 2018, a team of Pune police conducted coordinated raids in almost seven states, and raided the houses and offices of 10 human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, and writers, amongst others in Delhi, Haryana, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ranchi and Goa. The police arrested Sudha Bharadwaj, trade union activist and lawyer from Faridabad; Gautam Navlakha, journalist and activist from Delhi, Vernon Gonzalves, lawyer cum activist from Mumbai, Arun Fereira, cartoonist cum lawyer from Pune; and Varavara Rao, dailt activist and writer from Hyderabad, while it raided the houses of Susan Thomas, journalist Kranthi Tekula in Hyderabad, Father Stan Swamy in Ranchi and Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde in Goa.

India celebrates September 5 as ‘Teacher’s Day’ every year remembering late philosopher-teacher President Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan. The country honours best teachers on this day. This year too the best teacher awards have been announced but for the first time, the scheme has been totally changed to enable the teachers to apply online. Over 6,600 teachers applied for the Award and 45 meritorious teachers have been chosen. There are 1,24,755 teachers in the country according to 2017-18 official figures.

The results of the local bodies elections in Karnataka officially declared on September 3 have shown that the Congress is in a formidable position in the semi urban areas of the state as the leading party as against the BJP and with JD(S) alliance for the Lok Sabha poll agreed, the BJP is sure to face defeats in a large number of seats in this important state of the South. In Karnataka, the BJP got 17 of 28 seats in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. As the trends suggest and the indications received from a large number of state based opinion polls, the Congress-JD(S) alliance is poised to get a minimum of 20 seats out of 27 in the coming Lok Sabha poll. The BJP”s central leadership is quite worried and despite considering a number of strategies, the top leaders have found out no viable way to maintain their strength.

Who says the sarkari babu doesn’t have spine? Wait till he retires and watch him show backbone. And it doesn’t matter if an Emergency-like situation prevails, which is worse than Emergency. Ask the 48 retired civil servants who have written an open letter to the Prime Minister to tell him that the sudden arrests of five activists is the “most brazen display of coercive authority by the state yet”.

Labor and its allies in the Democratic Party in United States have built ground operations through which they plan to turn out record numbers of voters this November to take Congress out of the hands of the Republicans.

BJP discard Arun Shourie is painting a black picture for the Opposition: Forget old arguments, grudges, get together, field one candidate against BJP in each constituency or kiss democracy goodbye. Scaring the pants off bhakt-baiters and #UrbanNaxals, who will do full shashtang before any god who delivers them Modi-Shah scalps, the ex-editor without much ado transferred his desperation to others in the building.

The second hearing by the Supreme Court of the case against the so-called “Urban Naxals” will not only determine whether they pose a genuine threat or whether the police charges against them are an attempt by the government to create a smokescreen of terror to buttress its electoral position.