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Ever since the Modi government came to power in 2014, it has been trying to somehow strangle the rural job guarantee scheme (MGNREGS). Driven by its commitment to the discredited neoliberal dogma that public expenditure should be cut down in order to allow the private sector to have its way and guide the economy more ‘efficiently’ and ‘productively’, the government has not only periodically cut budget allocations to various welfare schemes, including MGNREGS, but it has also taken other devious measures to squeeze the schemes.

Under the grim shadows of crisis spreading all over, and the general masses being at the receiving end, brutal offensive of plunder and destruction engulfs all sections of the society except the top few. Apart from the petty, small and middle strata, there are those at the top serving their own interest and making it easier for the rightist forces to overpower the entire system. The burden of entire infrastructure and production is shouldered by the lowest strata, if they have a job and even then 16 to 18 hours of hard work leaves them more dead than alive.

KOLKATA: In an unexpected turn of events, a section of Christians living in Pakistan has issued its strong endorsement of the new citizenship legislation introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government in India. The small yet commonly persecuted Pak-based Christian community is hopeful that it may be possible for its members to migrate successfully to India as refugees.

After M G Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, AIADMK, which was formed by MGR breaking away from DMK over issue of corruption during the leadership of M K Karunanidhi in 1970s, now has an undisputed leader in former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Edappadi Palaniswami, who became the unanimous party general secretary following the Madras High Court rejecting interim application filed by expelled leader O Panneerselvam (OPS) and his associates. Former Deputy Chief Minister, OPS had sought restraining AIADMK from implementing the party’s general council resolutions and the consequent notification issued on March 17 for general secretary election. The election was held but the result was withheld pending the court order. With the court verdict, the unanimous election of Palaniswami as general secretary was announced. But Panneerselvam faction has gone on appeal to division bench of the High Court.

The single-phase Karnataka assembly elections takes place on May 10. It is a largely 3-party race, with the BJP, the Congress and H D Kumaraswamy’s Janata Dal (S) fighting it out in the full glare of domestic, national and international media. The Karnataka elections are the first big elections being fought after the recent political upheavals featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his business tycoon friend Gautam Adani and Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who had led his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ through Karnataka with irrepressible gusto. Needless to say, the Karnataka assembly election is a matter of “life and death” for the Congress after the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha.

There are at least ten valid legal reasons for challenging the conviction of the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by the Surat Court as a consequence of which the Wayanad member of Lok Sabha was disqualified by the Lok Sabha secretariat on March 23 this year. The former MP’s lawyer Kirit Panwala is filing the appeal against the conviction on the basis of those reasons shortly, according to The Leaflet.

Due to deep bias of the society and the government, Indian essential workers are continued to be undervalued and subsequently exploited. They work in miserable working conditions and often without social security.

Bengaluru: Englishman Alex Fitzpatrick seized the halfway lead with a second straight seven-under 65 while Kartik Sharma with five under 67 was the highest-placed Indian golfer in tied fourth at 11-under 133 at US$300,000 The Challenge at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) course here on Wednesday.

Mysuru: SD Prajwal Dev overpowered compatriot S Abhinav Sanjeev, while unseeded Briton George Loffhagen, a world number 182, shocked top seeded Nam Hoang Ly of Vietnam 6-3, 6-4, on his way to the pre-quarterfinals of the Cycle Pure Agarbathi ITF Mysuru Open at the Mysore Tennis Club here on Wednesday.

New Delhi: In a big push to give boost to the sport at the grass level, Hockey India (HI) on Wednesday announced that it will distribute over 11,000 hockey sticks, 3,300 balls and other vital playing safety equipment to its State Member Units and specific Academy Members.