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The United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week, observed every year across the world from February 1 to 7, has ended without observation in India this year 2023. The Interfaith Harmony Week has not been observed since 2014. People are not aware of it generally. This is largely because of communal, discriminatory, divisive and religious polarizing majoritarian Hindutva politics of the RSS Pariwar union government and its ruled state governments.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown his nervousness in announcing the Bharat Ratna awards in a haste to two former Prime Ministers Choudhury Charan Singh and P V Narasimha Rao While choosing Charan Singh from western Uttar Pradesh, a Jat dominated region, Modi showered praise; “He dedicated his life to the rights and welfare of farmers. His dedication to our farmer brothers and sisters and his commitment to democracy during the Emergency are an inspiration to the entire nation.”

The Himalayan states, which have had comparatively less economic development due to various issues including security, have done reasonably well under Prime Minister Narendra Modi if one went by budget allocations in recent years. The Interim budget on February 1, 2024 is no different. The budget allocation for Jammu and Kashmir in particular after abrogation of article 370 on August 5, 2019, has been more pronounced to the envy of Kashmiris leaving across the border and under occupation of Pakistan. This has been acknowledged by Pakistani media as well where in one of the popular channels, a commentator said the interim budget in India has allocated as much as $16 billion for the development of Jammu and Kashmir when the entire Pakistan was struggling to get peanuts of $3 billion from International Monetary Fund.

Bhubaneswar: India led by Harmanpreet Singh is all set to begin their FIH Hockey Pro League 2023/24 campaign when they take on Spain in their first match here on Saturday.

Vizag: Sneha Singh picked up her second win in three starts despite two bogeys in the last three holes at the fourth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the East Point Club here on Friday.

The BJP government holds that truth is what Modi says; if evidence points otherwise then evidence must be wrong and should be suppressed. Modi says that India never had it so good as during the last decade of his government; but since official statistics contradict him, the statistics must be wrong and the statistical system must be changed. In this manner one of the finest statistical systems of the global south, built with great effort and care, is being demolished by this government.

‘White Paper’ is a document containing information about pressing issues before the government explaining their plans before their introduction. It is therefore absurd and ridiculous for a government to issue a white paper, after a delay of 10 years while it slept, at a time when its term is set to expire, brings the document at the last session of the Parliament’s term only two days before its conclusion, just before a country is going to elect a new government.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s hunt for new regional alliances for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls has taken it to Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party and the Badals’ Shiromani Akali Dal even as Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal looks like the best bet, a likelihood that Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party is dreading with every passing hour..RLD’s joining BJP bandwagon has brightened with the Prime Minister suddenly announcing Bharat Ratna to Charan Singh, grandfather of RLD supremo Jayant Chaudhury.

LUCKNOW: Is RLD President Jayant Chaudhary under tremendous pressure to join NDA Or he wants to bargain with Akhilesh Yadav for a favourable seat sharing for Lok Sabha polls? On January 19 Akhilesh Yadav announced seat sharing with RLD while giving seven seats in Western UP having influence of powerful Jat community. But RLD leader has started negotiations with BJP and the prospect of RLD has brightened with Prime Minister announcing Bharat Ratna to former Prime Minister Charan Singh.

It indeed was a Red Letter Day in the history of Indian politics. Jantar Mantar in the National Capital saw on Thursday, February 8, a capital expression of anger against the Union Government’s attempts to undermine cooperative federalism and its “discriminatory fiscal policies”.