Arun Jaitley is prudent to opt out of the new cabinet to focus on his medical treatment. He was the one-man think tank in both the Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi governments. His absence will be deeply felt, but PM Modi must now focus on filling this intellectual gap.
Mamata, Pinarayi skipping Modi swearing-in is inelegant. It’s time to forget poll rancour
The decision of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and her Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan not to attend PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony is discourteous. They hold their positions as custodians of public interest and not as individuals with political preferences. The rancour of the poll campaign must not cloud Centre-states relations.
Modi 2.0 diplomacy shouldn’t be just grandstanding. Opportunities were squandered last time
The presence of BIMSTEC leaders at PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony will be as much a diplomatic leg-up for India as the attendance of SAARC leaders last time. That advantage was wasted through policy blunders and inconsistencies in the neighbourhood. This will go the same way if diplomacy becomes episodic grandstanding.