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Now that we have moved on from the serial Haryana rapes to newer headlines of the year in this holy land, and the urban liberal condemnation brigade has moved on to newer issues, let me spoil the momentum and bring back the issue. Is it surprising that Haryana, the state that has a sex ratio of 877 females per 1000 men in population is also the place where the most elaborate public charade of protecting the honour of women takes place?

THIRUVANTHAPURAM: In the ultimate analysis, politics is all about perception. Whatever the spin the United Democratic Front (UDF) leaders might want to put on Defence Minister A K Antony’s angry outburst against the state government headed by his ‘dear friend’ Oommen Chandy, the people perceive it to be the Defence Minister’s strong disapproval of the Congress-led Government’s style of functioning.

How competent and wrong is the Comptroller and Auditor General of India? Do the CAG’s large mouthed figures on loss of revenue for failure to properly auction natural resources—telecom spectrum and coal and land for airports—even remotely correct?

LUCKNOW: Apprehending early polls for Lok Sabha, Samajwadi Party has announced a list of 55 candidates who will be contesting in Uttar Pradesh.

The latest controversy surrounding the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) needs to be seen in right perspective. Minister of State in the PMO V. Narayanswamy’s statement – which he later retracted – that the government was actively considering the recommendation of the Shunglu Committee report, to make the CAG a three-member body, akin to the Election Commission, has, evidently, come at a wrong time. Still worse is the denial by MOS after having gone on record in a taped interview with the PTI about the government thinking.

In the long run, Myanmar remains India’s best bet as a major supplier of energy for decades to come. This is the opinion of some experts, who feel the future of projected pipelines, such as TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) may be insecure in view of the situation prevailing in central Asia.

The Winter Session of Parliament opening on November 22 looks set for stormy days with BJP and other opposition parties gearing up to indict UPA-II on a range of issues including corruption, and press for a vote on the divisive reform agenda, notably FDI participation in the retail sector. Major ally DMK is ambiguous on support for FDI entry into retail trade.