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“Oh the games people play now/every night and every day now/Never meaning what they say, yeah/Never saying what they mean...” Politicians play games and grabbing power is the name of the game if elections don’t throw up a clear verdict. A BJP-Ajit Pawar government was formed in Maharashtra in 2019, with Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister and Ajit Pawar the uncrowned Deputy Chief Minister. It lasted 80 hours! The needle of suspicion fell on Sharad Pawar but he never broke his covenant with silence, till now.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The people of Kerala would find it difficult to digest it. But it is the grim, unalterable reality. The Union Government’s refusal to sanction any funds to cover the losses caused by the July 30 Wayanad landslide is the ultimate insult to the victims of the tragedy besides being a shocking display of political hostility to Kerala.

Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister of Home Amit Shah have extensively campaigned in Maharashtra on behalf of the ruling Mahayuti, and the Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and the Congress Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on behalf of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) the electorate in the state are impressed lesser than the local issues that they have been facing in their day-to-day existence. Political scenario at the peak of electioneering has therefore become very tense with a prospect of closer contest than earlier expected in the poll scheduled for November 20.

A large number of critical appraisals and commentaries have been written on the occasion of the retirement of Chief Justice of India (CJI), D Y Chandrachud. This is but natural as Justice Chandrachud is considered to be one of the most consequential chief justices of the Supreme Court in recent years. Moreover, he had a two-year tenure, which is longer than any other chief justice in the past two decades.

Supreme Court justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan made it clear to the "Executive" that it cannot ape the "Judiciary" and pronounce judgements. They warned the "Executive" against prejudging the guilt of an accused, even those caught red handed, and delivering 'bulldozer justice'. The Justices laid down guidelines for delivering 'bulldozer justice' without running the risk of breaking the law. The top court did not ban bulldozer action. Instead, the bulldozer will be used only according to laid down procedure, as spelled out in the 95-page judgement.

Recent interventions by the Supreme Court into actions taken by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) have underscored mounting concerns about systemic issues within the country’s chief market regulator. SEBI’s actions in several high-profile cases—particularly its record of imposing significant penalties and its alleged tendency to either delay or condone infractions by key market players—are sparking renewed questions about the agency’s decision-making processes and effectiveness. With SEBI Chief Madhabi Puri Buch herself now under scrutiny, facing allegations of misconduct and questionable financial dealings, public and judicial attention to the organization’s governance has intensified.

A Bench of the Supreme Court of India has bulldozed the ‘bulldozer justice’ on November 13, 2024, but partially, since it does make officials accountable for the damage and the cost for restoration would be recovered from their salary, but the power drunk politicians would still remain untamed in absence of any order of making them also accountable on whose orders such ‘bulldozer justice’ is carried out. Nevertheless, the order and the guideline are welcome, which may rein in ‘bulldozer justice’ up to a great extent.

Elections come and go. Even these will pass. One nation one election is for the birds and the bees. What will not pass easily is the fracas over the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024. The next big political fight will be when the Joint Parliamentary Committee sends the bill back to Parliament. The Muslim community across India is bracing for the big showdown during the Winter Session and Muslim organizations have warned the Modi government of massive street protests.

Donald Trump’s thumping victory for USA Presidency for the second term unleashed a mixed bag of signal to India-USA relations. Unlike first term, rising global political tension due to Russia-Ukraine war and western sanctions on Russian have India’s situation a but different from the first term.

KOLKATA: Rare exceptions apart, diplomats as well as foreign policy spokesmen in Delhi as well as Dhaka have in recent times observed protocol-related niceties and established norms while referring to current developments in Bangladesh. Their mutual restraint has been praiseworthy: Post Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's fall from power and the spectacular decline of her Awami League party (for the moment), Indo/Bangla bilateral relations have turned a great deal frostier than before.