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, E.P. Unny takes a swipe at the ongoing controversy in Maharashtra over the use of loudspeakers by mosques, while referring to the brutal heatwave that has just given the country its fourth-hottest April in 122 years and rising concerns about a fourth wave of Covid-19.
As much of the country, including Maharashtra, reels under a power crisis driven by the heatwave and a shortage of coal, Alok Nirantar also draws on the tussle over loudspeakers between the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray.
Sandeep Adhwaryu makes a pun-intended comment on the energy crisis — which has resulted in power cuts across states — while referring to soaring inflation in India driven by rising fuel prices and other commodities.
Alluding to the number of undertrial prisoners locked up under much-criticised laws like sedition, Sajith Kumar alludes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealing to chief ministers and chief justices of high courts to give priority to cases related to undertrial prisoners languishing in jails, and release them on bail “on the basis of human sensibility and the law”.
Meanwhile, Satish Acharya draws attention to the ongoing row in Karnataka over allegations that government officials and politicians had demanded a 40 per cent “commission” (bribe) from contractors for every project. Last month, K.S. Eshwarappa, then minister of rural development and panchayat raj, had stepped down after the suicide of a contractor who had made such accusations against him. And now, the allegations have hit the tourism department.