Opinion

Narendra Modi carried both states just four months ago, but neither chief minister has been able to maintain the feel-good factor at the same level.

Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and other family members are under the scanner of the Indian agencies for their involvement in the Rs 14,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.

For resolving the Kashmir crisis, solutions focusing on jobs and economic development will not be adequate and a more comprehensive strategy will have to be crafted.

Eluid Kipchoge, who recently became the first person to run a marathon under 2 hours, is without a doubt the healthiest and fittest man on Earth; science is still exploring the qualities required to achieve such a feat.

In India, we find bullock carts and space rockets at the same time. There are multiple layers and meanings of India. If the country has to grow and flourish, this is a lesson we cannot afford to forget.

We should temper our optimism with caution. While the steps announced are indeed welcome, we should not forget that these are part of a firefighting exercise, not the consequence of some systematised thinking.

The most important miss is the economy. Several indicators including the slump in the auto sales, rail freight, consumption of petroleum products, domestic air travel and also in imports, clearly showed the slow down.

The reason for the tug of war is Bihar government’s decision to bifurcate the state police force into two separate wings — the law and order wing and crime investigation wing — down to the police station level from August 15.

The opposition to Amit Shah’s Kashmir moves has to be calibrated and measured so that the Congress is not seen as toeing a Pakistan line.

In invoking Ram Manohar Lohia, Narendra Modi is challenging the social justice credentials of Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh led by Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav, of the RJD led by Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son Tejashwi.

Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Reddy recently passed a legislation that says 75% of all jobs, including in the private sector, have to be reserved for local youth.

Sheila Dikshit had two qualities that successful leaders have - one was to empower bureaucrats, the second was that she wanted to improve things and was prepared to take ‘hard’ decisions, wherever required.

If we encourage farmers to shift to organic tree-based agriculture, the organic material from animals and trees will continuously replenish the soil and river.

A Goldman Sachs analysis shows that India is already the third largest aviation market globally and is expected to double in size in the next five years. This means continued rapid growth in passengers, which should cheer all airlines.

The pre-electoral ‘gareeb-gaon-kisan’ rhetoric has been carried forward in the continuing focus on rural sector schemes such as income support for farmers, roads, housing, agri-industry, skill development, Swachh Bharat and e-connectivity.

HD Kumaraswamy is not the only politician who is intolerant of mockery. There is a growing tribe of big shots in all parties who expect nothing but genuflection.