(The Political Line newsletter is India’s political landscape, explained every week by Varghese K. George, Senior Editor, The Hindu. You can subscribe.) Here To get the newsletter delivered to your inbox every Friday.)
minimum support price, aka free
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made offensive remarks Politicians use ‘freebie culture’ and ‘shortcuts’ to garner votes twice a week in Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
He can be accused of using shortcuts to get votes himself, but the Prime Minister has raised a valid question. There needs to be a distinction between cynical populism and vigorous welfarism, and Mr. Modi himself should lead a debate on this, because our editorial tells.
Can we really differentiate between good welfare and bad welfare? Two experts discuss the question HereAnd they agree it’s relevant.
i argued before Politicians have come to the conclusion that rapid changes in our production model have made it difficult, if not impossible, to provide jobs. In a democracy, they negotiate a minimum welfare package with voters in exchange for support.
federalism path
rites of governance
one in Bulletin before Monsoon SessionThe Parliament Secretariat reminded members that they should not use the premises “for the purpose of demonstration, picketing, strike, fasting or any religious ceremony”.
It was a routine reminder that goes out before every session, but the question of religious ceremony is curious as only a few days before, a religious ceremony unveiling of the national emblem Above the new Parliament building under construction.
In December 2020, Shri Modi presided over groundbreaking ceremony The construction of the new building was completed with Hindu rituals.
opposition party questioned the propriety of the event And the Prime Minister’s role in this, at least in three respects. One, Parliament is the legislature and the Prime Minister is the head of government and part of the executive. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha should have been in the lead role for this event. Two, all political parties should have been invited. Three, a religious ritual weakened the secular nature of the Indian state.
While the first two points are clear, secularism point is a bit complicated, In Tamil Nadu, where the atheism of Dravidian politics is considered a determinant of government action, “almost all ground-breaking ceremonies for the construction of new government buildings follow Hindu rituals. Even after the DMK came to power, Some ministers and the chief minister’s son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, an MLA, have participated in government functions conducted by Hindu priests, contrary to government orders and even a High Court directive.
A ruling party MP recently banned Hindu rituals at a government function and the BJP has questioned his conduct.
Kejriwal for federalism!
Thumbs Down: LG Vinay Kumar Saxena (right) has advised Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal not to attend the event. File photo PTI | photo Credit: –
Arvind Kejriwal’s rise as a politician was based on a campaign to bring power to the people. The decentralization in his plans meant that the mohalla sabhas, or local councils, would decide everything about governance. That was before coming to power. As chief minister of Delhi since 2015, he has been a different person, following the workbook of other chief ministers – total centralization of power, not tolerating any dissent, never questioning anyone and of course Not from journalists. He supported the disintegration of the state of Jammu and Kashmir by the Center in 2019. But whenever it is convenient for him, Mr. Kejriwal reminds of the center of federalism,
denial of center they have been allowed to go to singaporeFor example, it became an occasion for Mr. Kejriwal and his party to recall the norms of federalism.
The Delhi LG thinks the conference Mr Kejriwal was planning to attend in Singapore was for mayors, and The topics of the conference were not for the Chief Ministers, It is clear that the BJP wanted to deny Mr. Kejriwal the opportunity of grandeur abroad. Bad faith on all sides.
Hindi in South, English in North
P T Usha.
Athlete PT Usha’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha is part of the BJP’s continued efforts to gain a foothold in Kerala. Mr. Modi has in the past inducted Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi into the Upper House. While the BJP has not made any immediate electoral gains in Kerala, its popularity among Malayalees is definitely on the rise. Ms. Usha took oath in hindiAnd it must have warmed many Hindutva hearts.
Two sisters from Arunachal Pradesh have created quite a stir on social media by singing a Tamil patriotic song written by the great Tamil poet and freedom fighter Subramaniam Bharati, which was retweeted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “I am very happy and proud to see this. Congratulations to these shining stars of youth power from Arunachal Pradesh for taking forward the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ by singing in Tamil. You can also watch the wonderful singing here:
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel tried to blend Regional identity politics with English aspiration, In his “Bhent Mulakat (Meet or Greet)” programme, he asks school students some questions in Chhattisgarhi language and later answers them in English. “The children who engage in these dialogues are students of Swami Atmanand Government English Medium Schools (SAGES), which the government projects as a major attraction to project a ‘pro-people’ image.”
During this, In Rajasthan, “The gradual conversion of the existing Hindi medium government schools to English medium has created trouble for the students. Protests have erupted across the state over the admission process, which involves ‘forced shifting’ of students.
what i’m reading…
I just finished Violent Fraternity: Indian Political Thought in the Global Age by Shruti Kapila. If you are interested in history or political philosophy, you will find this book exceptionally original. This book re-establishes the historiography of the Indian National Movement. For one, it calls into question the notion that the principle of nonviolence guided and shaped India’s national movement. you can read the review Herelisten one more interview with the author, A shortened version of the interview can be read Here,