scorecardresearch
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomePlugged InElection Commission unsure, but Amit Shah bats for simultaneous polls

Election Commission unsure, but Amit Shah bats for simultaneous polls

Follow Us :
Text Size:

Front Page

Making a case for simultaneous polls. BJP president Amit Shah wrote a letter to the law panel Monday pushing for simultaneous elections across the country, PTI reports. He said that simultaneous polls will lower public expenditure and “strengthen India’s federal structure”.

The man known for being in election mode through the year said holding the Lok Sabha and assembly elections together will make sure the country is not in election mode throughout the year.

Shah seems to have done his homework, despite the obvious lack of political consensus on this sensitive matter. The Times of India reports that the BJP has identified 11 states where assembly elections can be held with the Lok Sabha polls of 2019. While Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim go to polls during the Lok Sabha elections, elections in Haryana and Jharkhand can be brought forward, party sources said. President’s rule may be sought in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram, due for elections later this year, for a couple of months until the general elections.

However, the Election Commission is not so sure. The commission has been preparing for ‘normal’ Lok Sabha elections for April-May next year, The  Times of India reports. Chief election commissioner O.P. Rawat has said that the commission can begin preparing for simultaneous elections only when the legal framework is put in place. If elections were to be held together, 34 lakh ballot units, 26 lakh control units and 27 lakh VVPAT machines would be required, the report adds.

The war in the DMK’s first family is out in the open. Following the demise of M. Karunanidhi, his elder son M.K. Alagiri has spoken out against Stalin, the designated heir to the post of party president, The Hindu reports. Alagiri was expelled from the party by his father in 2014 and has been in political oblivion since. The intervention came a day ahead of a DMK executive council meeting Tuesday to decide the future course of action for the party, and most probably elevate Stalin to the top post. Alagiri has accused Stalin of misusing party funds and claimed that the “real loyalists” of Karunanidhi back him.

Oops, no ‘NRC’ for ‘illegal migrants’ in Britain: India has rejected a proposal by the United Kingdom to conduct DNA tests on illegal migrants overstaying in the UK to ascertain their nationality, citing “privacy issues”, The Hindu reports. According to the UK, there are more than 100,000 illegal Indian migrants living there. However, the Indian government estimates the number to be around 2,000. India had signed a memorandum of understanding with Britain in January 2018, agreeing to the return of illegal migrants to India. However, the final pact was not signed by PM Modi during his visit to the UK in April, owing to interventions by foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and NSA Ajit Doval.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal has been accused of assault and charged with criminal conspiracy, illegal confinement and causing hurt and assault and 10 other offences in connection with the attack on chief secretary Anshu Prakash by AAP legislators earlier this year., Hindustan Times reported. The gravest offence of all is causing hurt to deter a public servant, which invites a three-year jail term.

The charges have been levied against deputy CM Manish Sisodia and 11 other AAP members, too.

This came a day after The Indian Express reported the acquittal of several AAP members accused of equally grave crimes, from the violation of the Defacement Act and extortion to disobeying an order promulgated by a public servant. Guess what? In 19 of 22 cases, the court found evidence to be lacking.

The AAP is calling the fresh charges “bogus”.

Speaking of attacks, Umar Khalid, part of the triumvirate of JNU “anti-nationals”, was shot at but escaped unhurt Monday outside the Constitution Club in Delhi, barely a hundred yards from Parliament.

‘Achhe din’ come at a cost and a lot of advertisement: IndiaSpend reports that the NDA government’s Rs 4,880 crore tab for advertisement of its flagship schemes in the 52 months of its reign is double the money spent by UPA-II in 37 months.

What could this money have financed though? IndiaSpend suggests that the money spent on advertisement could have funded midday meals for 45.7 million children for a year. One day’s wages for 200 million workersunder the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS). About six million new latrines. And at least 10 more Mars missions”.

The TV star decoding the the Rafale deal: TV actor Pallavi Joshi has made a video explaining the Rafale deal and systematically deconstructing its complex origins. It’s not clear if the BJP has paid for the video, but the likelihood is high. At any rate @RamMadhavBJP has tweeted it.

https://twitter.com/NeetuGarg6/status/1028885843258368000

News it’s just kinda cool to know:

On Monday, scientists unveiled a previously unknown species of the giant pterosaur, the first creatures “with a backbone to fly under their own power”, according to AFP. The remains of the prehistoric creature were found in Utah, and are suspected to be 200 million years old.

Vehicles in Delhi/NCR are now going to have colour-coded stickers indicating what fuel they use. The Supreme Court accepted this suggestion offered by the union road ministry as it will help identify polluting vehicles.

Business Class

The Indian online streaming market is gearing up for another shake-up. Desi online streaming service Hotstar “has received a fund infusion of Rs 516 crore from Star US Holdings”, reports Business Standard. Hotstar is facing stiff competition from Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Meanwhile, Amazon too is gearing up for a renewed competition with Flipkart following the latter’s takeover by Walmart. According to a Business Standard report, “Amazon Seller Services, the marketplace unit of the US online retail giant in India, received an infusion of Rs 2,700 crore earlier this month.”

Point of View

Uttar Pradesh is lobbying to shift the aviation exhibition, Aero India, to Lucknow from Bengaluru. The Economic Times writes in its editorial, “There is no compelling reason to lay waste the facilities at Bengaluru for the air show and build new ones at Lucknow while forcing aircraft and avionic manufacturers to recalibrate their calendar.”

Joint efforts of Maharashtra and Karnataka police have led to arrest of Hindu radicals reportedly planning terror strikes. The Indian Express writes in its editorial, “Coordinated probe of radical Hindu outfits by police teams is a reassuring first step. It must continue, law must take its course.”

Are we more free today? Journalist Ravi Shanker Kapoor doesn’t think so. He writes in his column in The Times of India, “In the first half of the last century, when our political leaders were fighting the greatest empire on earth, they enjoyed far greater freedom of thought and action than they do now.”  Freedom of business leaders and common people also seems to be tamed.

How is Indian economy doing? Is the economy strong enough to take care of its poor? Former RBI governor C. Rangarajan writes in his column in The Hindu, “India may well clock the highest growth rate globally, but more is needed to create jobs and reduce poverty.”

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular