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KOLKATA: In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) made a flying start towards winning the civic polls: blowing away all opposition at Siliguri, Asansol, Chandannagore and Bidhannagar (Salt Lake City). In the first phase of polling, out of 226 urban wards in contention, the TMC won 198, some candidates winning by record margins.

Access to clean water is not a basic human right in India, nor will be in near future, given Modi government’s lenient attitude towards polluters. It had even abstained last year when a motion was moved in the United Nations Human Rights Council that recognized access to clean environment a basic human rights. Right under the nose of the seat of power in New Delhi, the River Yamuna remains one of the most polluted rivers in the country, and now an international study has found Indian rivers as one of the most contaminated ones from drugs presenting greatest health risks for humans and other lives.

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA), originally enacted in 1976, mandates for all NGOs, associations or groups which intend to receive foreign funding, to obtain a certificate of registration under FCRA. Recently, it was reported that nearly 6,000 organisations including Jamia Millia Islamia, Indian Institute of Technology – Delhi and Oxfam India lost their FCRA licence. It was either because they did not apply for the licence renewal, or their application was rejected by the Union Home Affairs Ministry (MHA). In the case of Missionaries of Charity, which made the news recently for MHA’s refusal to renew its registration, the uproar it led to has apparently forced a rethink, as the MHA eventually renewed the same till 2026. As of January 7, there are 16,908 active or alive FCRA organisations in the country, according to the MHA.

The Covid pandemic has posed a challenge to many people feeling isolated. We are amid the third wave Omricron. People look to new games during the pandemic. For the past two years, I too got clued into New York Times crossword puzzle, mini crossword, Sudoku, letterboxed, etc. All these are brain games and keep your mind sharp when the movement is restricted.

Political parties have been told by the Punjab Pollution Control Board to keep the noise level to the permissible limit. Notices have been issued to a few bombastic politicians. That said, the PPCB diktat matches Navjot Singh Sidhu’s frame of mind. The volatile Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief has been quiet after Rahul Gandhi named Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi the chief ministerial face of the Congress. The state ruled by the Congress now is going for polling on February 20 with the big question who is the next CM of this border state Channi or the AAP nominee Bhagwant Mann. Can PM NarenfraModi spring a surprise?

LUCKNOW: Although Samajwadi Party and alliance will get the benefit of trend set in its favour during first two phases of polls in Uttar Pradesh, but Akhilesh Yadav is facing tough challenge from BJP in Yadav land and Bundelkhand in third phase of polling on February 20.

“The biggest enemy is panic,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this weekend, adding that if US and British claims that Russia is about to invade his country are based on evidence, he would like to see it.

Constitutional culture may be understood as the interactions between the citizens and officials of a State concerning the meaning of the Constitution. It refers to the belief that the exercise of State power is limited by the Constitution, a document which derives its legitimacy from the will of the people. Legal challenges to legislation – such as public interest litigations – and public engagement with the legislative process through petitions and protests may all be considered as examples of constitutional culture. The Supreme Court has noted that “mere existence of a Constitution … does not ensure constitutionalism or a constitutional culture. It is the political maturity and traditions of a people that import meaning to a Constitution, which otherwise merely embodies political hopes and ideals.”

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province in terms of area, in the last few weeks has witnessed a drastic increase in attacks against the Pakistani security forces, with Baloch rebels having caused heavy casualties to the state forces in different operations. Baloch insurgents are usually involved in scattered target killings, small ambush, and roadside bombings. Now we’re seeing inghimasi and skilled attacks on military camps in which rebel fighters are storming the security forces camps and inflicting heavy casualties.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekara Rao is emerging as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nemesis, not the soft-spoken Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray nor the fire-breathing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee—‘KCR’, as he is called, is an adversary with the ability to get under the skin.