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For all the BJP’s earlier assertions of being a “party with a difference” – a claim which it no longer makes presumably because of the ridicule it will evoke – the party has long proved itself to be as bad, if not worse, than all the others.

The ongoing investigation in the recently surfaced corporate espionage matter in the economic Ministries of the Union Government as also in the now infamous Neera Radio tapes cases has revealed the questionable involvement of journalists of all hews in the nasty games of business and statecraft. This obviously puts journalists in the public spotlight. Their professional clout, personal connections with persons in powerful political, bureaucratic and corporate sector positions make them very resourceful, tempting the interested groups in trade, commerce, industry, government security set ups to tap them for intelligence gathering, lobbying for various benefits on quid pro quo basis and other favours. This also makes the media persons greedy bombs so much so that news reporting and their reviews and interpretations are coloured, in the process denying the people their inherent right to correct and fair information. Of course, there are exceptions that help maintain the nobility of journalistic profession, which outshines.

In the elections to 74 civic bodies across Assam held on February 9, the BJP emerged triumphant, capturing 23 municipalities and 20 town committees, leaving the Congress far behind. The BJP won 340 seats, while Congress won only 232. Regional parties like the AGP and the AIUDF were pushed to the margin while the Left drew blank.

The BJP-led government faces a big test in the monsoon session of Parliament as it needs to replace six ordinances with legislations that include the one on land acquisition and that has already created ripples in political circles. The government failed to get big ticket Insurance Bill and Coal Ordinances passed through the Rajya Sabha during the winter session due to strong opposition presence in the house. The fall out of the BJP’s humiliating defeat at the hands of the Aam Admi Party in Delhi could also reverberate in the Budget Session.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Velikkakath Sankaran Achuthanandan cannot be denied for long. The CPI(M) veteran has proved, once again, that he cannot be shackled for good by dropping yet another bombshell, which has sent shockwaves through the party.

For the Modi Government, shell-shocked by the excruciating electoral results in the national capital in the second week of this month still rankling, the need to recapture its larger-than-life-size image is too important to be left to the tame preparation and presentation of the General Budget on Feb 28 in Parliament. No doubt, the Union Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley has a mind of his own and a virtual minefield of ideas in consonance with his pronounced pro-business and pro-market proclivities that he said time and again are neither incongruent nor inconsistent with pro-poor policies.

If Nitish Kumar is guilty of insulting the dalit pride, humiliating the dalit chief minister, Jitan Ram Manjhi and scheming to come back to power, the Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi is being accused of using his office to promote the BJP’s political interest in Bihar. Usually the office of the Governor is suspect in the eyes of the political system of the country as being an instrument to protect the political interest of the ruling party in Delhi. Tripathi has not been an exception. A seasoned BJP leader, Tripathi, is alleged to have been the part of the big game plan of the party to project and catapulting Manjhi as the new charismatic dalit leader, after Kanshi Ram who is one of the most prominent faces of the dalit politics in contemporary India.

BHOPAL: If charges levelled by the galaxy of Congress leaders have an iota of truth then it can be safety stated that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan is in serious trouble.

New Delhi has moved an inch forward to secure the Indian Ocean from the growing Chinese influence. It has seized the right opportunity with the change of leadership in Sri Lanka to strike a civil nuclear pact with the nearest island and agreed to expand defence and strategic cooperation, including “the trilateral format” with the Maldives. The civil nuke pact is the first of its kind that Colombo has signed with any country. This can be seen as India’s attempt to pre-empt any such move by the Chinese to ink a similar deal with the island country.

The government may deny, but the Aam Admin Party’s (AAP) massive victory in Delhi offering free water supply and cheaper electricity among others seem to have put a pressure on the BJP’s first full budget priorities that seek to drastically cut subsidies meant for the poor, help the middle class and corporates with lower taxes and provide a whole lot of incentives to entrepreneurs to grow India. The most discomforting situation facing the government before its most important budget session is the ‘give away’ stance taken by AAP to offer relief to the poor by making foods cheaper, electricity cost lower, education easier and health expenses smaller and acting against those who made them dearer with the help from the previous government. Admittedly, AAP’s territory is small. Problems are limited. Revenue is large. Corruption is big. A cut in corrupt practices by officials may produce enough to take care of the funds it needs to help the poor and give them the support they need to prosper, if not flourish.