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The CPI(M) polit bureau member Brinda Karat was narrating the half truth when she said that the public thrashing of Dalits in Gujarat has the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “support to criminal activities” of cow protection committees. True enough, this was more than a criminal activity; it was in the chain of the organised violence by the Hindutva forces.

Some days ago, Bangladesh sent 10,000 tonnes of rice to quake-devastated Nepal by road, through the Siliguri-Phulbari-Banglabandha route. The cargo was not large enough to merit national media attention. But the event did signal the effective launch of the Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal (BBIN) Transport Agreement.

What is the solution of the Kashmir ‘problem’ which has remained unresolved for over six decades making it the subcontinent’s most costly dispute?

The cow is letting the BJP down. Although it has long been the saffron brotherhood’s revered animal, it has never been in so much in focus earlier. Instead, the subject of cow slaughter was only a part of a package whose main emphasis was on the Ram temple, the uniform civil code and Article 370 which gives a special constitutional status to Kashmir. A ban on cow slaughter was bracketed with issues like banning conversions by Christian missionaries.

For the first time in India’s civil aviation history, a serious attempt has been made by the government to present a comprehensive ‘National Civil Aviation Policy 2016’, after a detailed study of the country’s civil aviation industry and global practices for almost two years. The key focus of the policy, according to the government, is to make regional air connectivity a viable reality despite the fact that the country’s brand new airport at Andal near the Durgapur-Asansol industrial hub in West Bengal is lying idle for want of a regular airline operator. Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju said ‘the policy aims to take flying to the masses’ by making air travel affordable and convenient. The policy seeks to establish a combined eco-system that is meant to ensure a significant and lasting growth of the sector and enhance ease of doing business through deregulation, simplified procedures and e-governance. The steps listed to make the policy successful are largely practical as also laudable.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government must avoid slipping into the habit of taking hasty decisions only to change them under pressure later.

G -7 summit held in Japan in May this year, delivered a warning over maritime tension in South China Sea, without taking China’s name. Japan used the summit to hype the tension. Interestingly, none of the G-7 member nations is claimant of the water.

Next year—2017—will see most important assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. UP poll has always been significant as it has bearing on Delhi’s politics. It is said the party which rules UP influences centre’s power equations. The next year’s election in most populous state of the union will see a tussle for power between Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party and Mayawati’s BSP. It is premature to make a poll forecast but, according to reports, Mayawati has better chances because of poor governance by SP.

KOLKATA: In West Bengal, a steady exodus among members and supporters of other parties to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been a fairly common phenomenon in recent years. The one way traffic has hit the Left parties as well, although desertions from the CPI(M) except for a few leaders, have not been widespread.

The political outlook in the country in the third year of the Modi Government does not look at all bright for the BJP though the saffron Party is still having euphoria about their prospects in the coming period keeping the vision of making Bharat Congress-mukta. The just concluded local bodies’ elections in Madhya Pradesh saw total rout of the BJP at the hands of the Congress despite all the efforts of the chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. This is a big setback for the BJP since MP is the state on which BJP is depending heavily for 2019 Lok Sabha elections.