The selected cartoons appeared first in other publications, either in print or online, or on social media, and are credited appropriately.
In today’s featured cartoon, R. Prasad takes a dig at the war of words between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over “freebie politics”, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi denounced the “culture” of attracting votes by giving out “revadi”, a sweet (used here as a metaphor for “freebies). Prasad also alludes to ‘resort politics’ – elected representatives defecting to rival parties after being courted by means of sponsored stays at a luxury resort or hotel, which is now commonplace in Indian politics.
Satish Acharya alludes to Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana’s remarks last week about the “diminishing space” for the opposition in the country in the backdrop of opposition leaders accusing ruling parties of misusing central and state agencies to target political rivals.
E.P. Unny, while referring to the controversy over a list of “unparliamentary words” published by Parliament earlier this month, remarks on former West Bengal Govenor Jagdeep Dhankhar — who hasn’t shied away from openly criticising the Bengal government while in office — entering the fray as the vice presidential nominee of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). If he wins, Dhankhar will be the next chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Alok Nirantar takes a dig at the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council’s decision to levy 5 per cent GST on pre-packaged goods like atta (flour), paneer and curd.
Sajith Kumar refers to uproar over a circular issued by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat prohibiting MPs from using “the precincts of the Parliament House for any demonstration, dharna, strike, fast, or for the purpose of performing any religious ceremony”.