Pavan K. Varma | Amid corona crisis, it’s politics as usual for BJP
4 years, 6 months ago

Pavan K. Varma | Amid corona crisis, it’s politics as usual for BJP

Deccan Chronicle  

The whole world is in the grip of an unprecedented pandemic. Irrespective of the magnitude of the crisis gripping the country, it wants to attack chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her ruling Trinamul Congress party, and blow the bugle for electoral battle. A great many people believe that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should, at this critical juncture, take the lead to build a national consensus, set aside partisan politics, make an appeal for unity and harmony, over-arch political differences, and emerge as a catalytic icon for an India robustly united in fighting the worst crisis the country has faced since 1947. J ust imagine, if the Congress was in power, and the BJP were in Opposition, how stridently the BJP would have agitated against the suffering and tribulations of the millions of the urban poor trekking their way home over hundreds of miles, without money, food, or even safe drinking water. It is now time for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rise above the political fray and make an open appeal for national unity to fight the crisis that the nation is facing.

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History of this topic

Pavan K. Varma | Manmohan peaked by 2009, elegantly faded into history
1 week, 3 days ago

Pavan K. Varma | Manmohan peaked by 2009, elegantly faded into history

Deccan Chronicle  

In May 2009, just before I was leaving to take over as Ambassador of India to Bhutan, T.K.A. However, in retrospect when I think about it, one of the reasons why I said no to joining him in 2009 — and again when the offer was repeated a year later — was because I realised the difficulties in working for …

Pavan Varma | EC's double standard on byelections irks parties
2 months ago

Pavan Varma | EC's double standard on byelections irks parties

Deccan Chronicle  

While critics allege so, I have tried to believe that the Election Commission of India is not partial and discriminatory in implementing its constitutional obligation of conducting elections freely and fairly. I tried to reach the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar last week to inform him that the four by-polls due on November 13 in Bihar would be seriously affected …

State Braces For Poll Fest Amid Shravan, Ganpati Buzz: Of Alliances & Yatras
5 months ago

State Braces For Poll Fest Amid Shravan, Ganpati Buzz: Of Alliances & Yatras

News 18  

As Maharashtra gears up for its upcoming Assembly elections, likely to happen in mid-October, the political temperature in the state has risen significantly. The state is witnessing a surge in political yatras, with Ajit Pawar’s ‘Jan Sanman Yatra’, Sharad Pawar and Jayant Patil’s ‘Shiv Swarajya Yatra’, Raj Thackeray’s ‘Navnirman Yatra’, Prakash Ambedkar’s ‘Arakshan Bachao Yatra’, and Congress’s ‘Mumbai Nyay Yatra’ …

Pavan K. Varma | Tectonic shift: Can Modi turn into new Vajpayee?
7 months ago

Pavan K. Varma | Tectonic shift: Can Modi turn into new Vajpayee?

Deccan Chronicle  

Today, the Narendra Modi 3.0 government will take oath. While the reasons for the below-expectation performance of the BJP have been analyzed at length, the real issue ahead is, whether Mr Modi is temperamentally capable of running a coalition government? In the 2024 elections too, the PM, expecting a third term with an absolute majority, “abki baar 400 paar”, acted …

Pavan K. Varma | Drama after trauma: Much politics in the name of Ram
1 year ago

Pavan K. Varma | Drama after trauma: Much politics in the name of Ram

Deccan Chronicle  

These days the entire country is absorbed with the forthcoming inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22. Now that the Prana Pratishtha of the magnificent temple is being performed when the party is in power, and is led by a charismatic leader like Narendra Modi, it is but natural that it will reap political dividends, especially since …

Pavan K. Varma | Whither democracy sans a functional Opposition?
1 year, 1 month ago

Pavan K. Varma | Whither democracy sans a functional Opposition?

Deccan Chronicle  

The results of the recent five Assembly elections signal both a victory for democracy and a crisis for India’s democratic system. The reasons for this precipitate plunge are known: Inept leadership, defunct organisation, no convincing counter-narrative, rootless coterie, lack of a credible face, and — the visible elephant in the room — the stranglehold of the Gandhi family, which insists …

Pavan K. Varma | Why 2024 promises to be an exciting election
1 year, 5 months ago

Pavan K. Varma | Why 2024 promises to be an exciting election

Deccan Chronicle  

The fact that almost the entire political canvas divided into two groups to meet on the same day, July 18, in the lead-up to the 2024 parliamentary elections, was a first in the history of democratic India. The goal of the two groupings was different — for the Opposition, the attempt was to strive for more unity amidst often irresolvable …

'Mohabbat ki dukan' stall, 'pariwar bachao': Patna witnesses poster war ahead of Oppn meet
1 year, 6 months ago

'Mohabbat ki dukan' stall, 'pariwar bachao': Patna witnesses poster war ahead of Oppn meet

India TV News  

Patna Opposition meeting: Bihar's capital Patna witnessed a poster war between the ruling Mahagathbandhan and Opposition- Bharatiya Janta Party ahead of a crucial Opposition meeting which will begin in a few hours on Friday. Congress workers installed 'Mohabbat ki dukan' stalls in several locations in the city, while BJP supporters put up 'pariwar bachor' posters slamming the unity bid by …

Pavan K. Varma | Karnataka's lesson for BJP: Divisiveness has limits
1 year, 8 months ago

Pavan K. Varma | Karnataka's lesson for BJP: Divisiveness has limits

Deccan Chronicle  

The results in Karnataka may or may not influence the final outcome in the parliamentary elections next year, but they hold important takeaways for all parties, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party. Quite apart from the fact that in Assembly elections people vote for the government they think can work for them directly, there is also something unacceptable in the logic …

Pavan K. Varma | Sans wall against despotism, govt cherrypicking dharma
2 years, 9 months ago

Pavan K. Varma | Sans wall against despotism, govt cherrypicking dharma

Deccan Chronicle  

Political leaders and political parties have to often resolve the dilemma between mechanical legality and moral rectitude. The Shanti Parva, as expounded by the smitten Bhisma lying on a bed of arrows, states: “When wishing to smite, should speak gently; after smiting he should be gentler still; after striking off the head with his sword, he should grieve and shed …

Pavan K. Varma | Persevere and be clear to build a robust Opposition
2 years, 9 months ago

Pavan K. Varma | Persevere and be clear to build a robust Opposition

Deccan Chronicle  

The five Assembly elections concluded recently have two clear-cut lessons. In 2012, Mulayam Singh Yadav swept UP, with the BJP getting only some ten per cent of the votes; in 2014, the BJP swept UP, trouncing the SP. This has emerged as a very serious weakness in the combined aspirations of the Opposition, since the Congress is the principal opponent …

Pavan K. Varma | Budget ignores real threat in favour of speculative relief
2 years, 11 months ago

Pavan K. Varma | Budget ignores real threat in favour of speculative relief

Deccan Chronicle  

There were two unwelcome guests sitting outside finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s capacious office in North Block before she presented the Budget. In other words, the real suffering of the middle class and the poor has been ignored on the basis of a promise that may or may not fructify two-and-a-half decades later. Education accounts for 2.8 per cent of the …

Pavan K. Varma | Time to teach a lesson to Haridwar’s hatemongers
3 years ago

Pavan K. Varma | Time to teach a lesson to Haridwar’s hatemongers

Deccan Chronicle  

The so-called Dharma Sansad or “Religious Parliament” held at Haridwar over December 17-19 witnessed a level of hate, bigotry and open incitement to violence against Muslims that most Indians will find unbelievable. We need hundred soldiers who can kill 20 lakh of them to win this.” These are but samples of the extraordinary rant of pure vitriol and venom at …

Pavan K Varma | If only BJP were as good at vaccination as it's at election
3 years, 9 months ago

Pavan K Varma | If only BJP were as good at vaccination as it's at election

Deccan Chronicle  

The writing is writ large on the wall: vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate. To contain successive surges, we should, of course, retain our vigil on all health and social distancing protocols, but the real solution is to universalise vaccination and ensure its delivery in the shortest possible time. We have the systems in place for such a campaign — Electronic Vaccine Intelligence …

Pavan K. Varma | Ground reality darkens PM ‘vista’ of democracy
4 years, 1 month ago

Pavan K. Varma | Ground reality darkens PM ‘vista’ of democracy

Deccan Chronicle  

At the bhoomipoojan of the proposed new Parliament building it was heartening to hear Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak about the ancient democratic traditions in India, and modern India’s belief in the theory and practice of democracy. At the bhoomipoojan, the PM’s eloquence on India’s democratic credentials, and the importance of civilised discourse, could not hide the fact that the …

Pavan K Varma | A Parliament without questions is no democracy
4 years, 4 months ago

Pavan K Varma | A Parliament without questions is no democracy

Deccan Chronicle  

A Parliament session without Question Hour is like a forest without trees. The BJP’s decision to scrap Question Hour in the forthcoming parliament session is worrisome and opportunistic. Within the hallowed precincts of Parliament, the nation’s highest democratic forum, Question Hour is the one institution where government ministers can be directly questioned. The fact that some state Assemblies have dispensed …

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