By Kalyani Shankar Odds appear to favour the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The party is gung ho about its rosy prospects, as barring a few losses, the BJP’s winning streak doesn’t appear to be reversing. The party has retained four of the five states that went to the polls recently. It considers […]
The post Congress Leadership Needs Course Corrections Before 2024 Polls first appeared on IPA Newspack.
By Kalyani Shankar Russia’s ‘invasion of its neighbour Ukraine’ on February 24 has brought to the fore once again the urgent need for United Nations Organisation (UNO) reform and the need for an international body to play its proper role. The world is facing a possible nuclear conflict today. Whatever may be the reason, Russian […]
The post Russia’s Ukraine War Underlines Urgency Of United Nations Reform first appeared on IPA Newspack.
By Kalyani Shankar Will too many cooks spoil the Opposition broth? Many players in the national opposition camp are trying to come together ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls against the BJP. You have Congress President Sonia Gandhi attempting to form a united opposition coalition. You have West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee trying […]
The post Forming Of A Federal Front Of Regional Parties Without Congress May Not Work first appeared on IPA Newspack.
IMMEDIATE DIALOGUE NEEDED TO RESTORE HARMONY
By Kalyani Shankar
Differences of opinion between the Centre and the states are quite common in a federal structure. This is more so if different political parties rule in the state and at the Centre. It is not uncommon that some Chief Ministers have even walked out of the National Development Council or Inter State Council protesting against the Centre’s treatment of their states. Chief Minister accusing the Centre of using the CBI as a weapon against him or her is also not new. In fact the CBI director Ranjit Sinha even described the agency as a ‘caged parrot.’ Whether this is true or not, the CBI is not an autonomous agency and the party in power has some control over it.
Therefore Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s tantrums about the over-enthusiastic CBI raid in his office on Tuesday is not surprising. Althoug
POLITICS HOLDS PARLIAMENT TO RANSOM
By Kalyani Shankar
After a cordial meeting between the Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, it was expected that the Winter Session of Parliament might run smoothly and the reform bills might go through. Modi began with a conciliatory note not only in his speeches in Parliament but also made a rare gesture of inviting the Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for tea to break the ice. The Congress too climbed down and showed signs of supporting the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, which the Modi government desperately wants to push through this session. A week later, the Congress leaders are now talking of a “touch and go” scenario even though the government has responded positively to the Congress demands.
So what has happened to change this scena
|By Kalyani Shankar| The US election results have surprised many who were batting for the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. This is more so in India where many Indians felt Hillary would be good for India. She is known to many Indians because she was the First Lady for eight years, US Senator for another eight years, and Secretary of State for four and all the time she had […]
FULL MARKS FOR DIPLOMACY AND SELF-ASSERTION By Kalyani Shankar Prime Minister Narendra Modi has returned this week after a successful…
BIHAR, ASSAM, BENGAL NEED URGENT ATTENTION By Kalyani Shankar The Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has gone abroad once again…
TOP BRASS FALLS BACK ON SONIA AGAIN By Kalyani Shankar This week’s Congress Working Committee resolution to continue its president…
INDIA-PAK RELATIONS TOPPED THE BILATERAL AGENDA By Kalyani Shankar It was a scheduled high profile visit to the United States…
BOTCHED JOB COULD CHANGE CIVIL-MILITARY TIES By Kalyani Shankar Is the Modi government not paying enough attention to the ex…
HEADY CONCOCTION OF POLITICS AND SHOWBIZ By Kalyani Shankar Did the ‘Iftar diplomacy’ of the Congress President Sonia Gandhi this…
INFIGHTING IN SAFFRON CAMP CONTRIBUTES TO CRISIS By Kalyani Shankar The Congress Party is in a belligerent mood trying to…
OPPOSITION LIKELY TO STONEWALL HOUSE By Kalyani Shankar The combined Opposition proposes to target the Modi government in the ensuing…
By Kalyani Shankar Why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi wooing the Indian Diaspora? While Modi’s critics say that he is building up the brand Modi abroad, Modi is clear that with their support he could build a better image for himself. There are about 100 million Indians living abroad and he obviously feels that their power should be harnessed for the growth of India and for his […]
By Kalyani Shankar The 25-year-old Shiv Sena-BJP break up in Maharashtra confirms the long-term plan of the BJP to go beyond the allies and emerge a dominant national party eclipsing others. In election rallies in both Maharashtra and Haryana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the end of the coalition era in Indian politics to stress this point. Narendra Modi as well as the BJP chief […]
By Kalyani Shankar The Congress split in Tamil Nadu spells trouble for the 129 year old Congress party. Although the Congress high command has described it as a result of factional fight, there is more to it than meets the eye as it has far reaching impact on the state as well as national politics. With the state assembly elections scheduled for 2016, political parties […]
By Kalyani Shankar Will Delhi go for fresh polls or is the BJP in a position to give a stable government? After the people of Delhi chose a hung Assembly, the Capital does not have a popular government since 17 February when the Aam Aadmi party chief Kejriwal resigned as chief minister claiming he was not allowed to get the Jan Lokpal bill passed. Now grapevine […]
By Kalyani Shankar The BJP is jubilant after its spectacular success in Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls this week. Coming as it does on the heels of the recent impressive Lok Sabha victory, the BJP can claim that the momentum as well as the Modi magic is intact. The Congress on the other hand is demoralized further after its humiliating defeat in both the states. There is […]
By Kalyani Shankar Will the ensuing Assembly polls to Haryana and Maharashtra be seen as a referendum on the new Modi government? No doubt stakes are high for both Prime Minister Narendra Modi who feels on the top of the world after his landslide victory and congress President Sonia Gandhi, who is suffering from the most humiliating defeat in the recent Lok Sabha polls. It is […]
By Kalyani Shankar While there could be debate about the success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s five day visit to the US this week, there can be no doubt that he had conquered the 3 million strong Indian American community. The Madison square garden rock show on Sunday was a shining example to prove this. Although his meeting with the US President Obama was spent on substantive […]
By Kalyani Shankar Prime Minister Modi’s honeymoon with the public continues even as he completes 100 days in office. There are mixed reports about his performance as the opposition is looking for loopholes while his supporters are jubilant. But if one has to sum up his 100 days in office it could be described as “so far so good” as he has not committed any big blunder. […]
By Kalyani Shankar Just a week before the Modi government competes its 100 days, the by-election results have come as a jolt to the BJP. The saffron party, which witnessed a spectacular victory in the Lok Sabha polls, has faced a setback too soon. No doubt by- elections are fought and won mostly on local factors, but the results have certainly punctured the feel good factor […]
By Kalyani Shankar Prime Minister Narendra Modi has junked the Planning Commission. His announcement on the Independence Day scrapping it was not a bombshell as speculations to that effect were doing rounds in the corridors of power. What was not expected was his invitation to the public to come up with suggestions for an alternate body. One would have expected the government to give a thought about […]
|By Kalyani Shankar| With the arrival of the AAP party chief Arvind Kejriwal in the national scene, after he quit his post as Delhi chief minister, the ensuing Lok Sabha elections seem to be interesting with one more player added to the confusing poll scene. The AAP is planning to contest more than 350 of the 542 seats. Don’t think Kejrwal is acting impulsively. He has taken […]
