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, Satish Acharya takes a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her response to the violence at Rampurhat in Birbhum district, where eight people were burnt alive after their houses were set on fire by a mob — suspected to be in retaliation for the killing of a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader the previous day. While stressing that she was “not justifying” the incident, Mamata appeared to blame the opposition, saying, “Such things are done by those who are not in power just to harass the government and malign us.”
Sajith Kumar takes a swipe at the Modi government for hiking petrol and diesel prices shortly after the assembly elections in five states wrapped up. Fuel prices had been frozen in India since November last year, despite international crude oil prices having shot up, especially with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
R. Prasad in his cartoon refers to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s planned visit Thursday to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time after taking office. With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) just having swept to power in the border state, the Centre is likely to be keeping a close eye on Mann.
Sandeep Adhwaryu comments on Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files, a film about the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley that has been heavily promoted by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and sparked extensive debate and controversy. The majority of Pandits are no closer to returning to Kashmir, with only 17 per cent of the accommodation the government is building for them being complete.
Nala Ponnappa also comments on Kashmir, which is often the centre of national attention and debate, with The Kashmir Files having sparked the latest round — unlike Jammu, the other half of the Union territory.