Opinion View from the left: Bypoll losses

“Can these results be dismissed in such a cynical manner? Remember that earlier in the by-elections in Uttarakhand, the BJP drew a blank and lost all the three seats that went to polls. Even in Bihar, voting figures show that there has been a substantial erosion in the RSS/ BJP alliance’s vote share… Hence, to dismiss these results as a mere ‘cynical caste arithmetic’ would be self-deception,” the editorial argues.

“Though there is still a long way for the anti-communal combination to come up as a coherent alternative, these results nevertheless are a pointer to the fact that the people have realised, much to the RSS/ BJP’s discomfort, that the real agenda of the Modi government is completely different from the issues on which the election campaign was mounted,” it adds.

“These results of the recent by-elections must be seen as the pointer that reflects the people’s desire to not allow such a diabolic process wherein the RSS/ BJP seek to metamorphose the secular democratic Indian Republic into the RSS political project of a rabidly intolerant fascistic ‘Hindu Rashtra’,” the editorial concludes.

100 DAYS

Claiming the first 100 days of this government have been “mostly hard and bitter”, the CPI(ML)’s ML Update says that the government is giving a freer hand to big capital and “subverting” rights.

“The new government may not yet have unveiled any clearly formulated policy agenda, but we already have enough pronouncements and indications to assess which way the government is headed… Talking of policy initiatives, the new government is pursuing the familiar UPA agenda with greater intensity. Almost the entire economy has now been thrown open to foreign capital… While giving a freer hand to big capital, the government seems committed to subverting and weakening the framework of rights for the working people,” the  editorial says.

“Modi has also been trying to project a range of foreign policy initiatives beginning with the surprising invitation to leaders of South Asian countries during his swearing-in ceremony. The promise of opening a new chapter in relations with neighbouring countries has however already given way to the reality of cancellation of talks with Pakistan. His government’s silence on Israel’s war on Gaza and the refusal to adopt even a parliamentary resolution condemning Israeli aggression have signalled a new low in India’s international profile,” it states.

“The biggest worry for the common Indian is however not that Modi has forgotten his poll promise of ‘achche din’, it is the impunity and brazenness with which the entire Sangh brigade is enforcing its agenda of communal polarisation,” the editorial adds.

Cashing in on coal

Talking about the recent Supreme Court verdict on the “coalgate” scam, the CPI’s NewAge has said that it confirms that “most of the scams and scandals that came to light during the past two decades are nothing but by-products of the crony capitalism and shameless imposition of the policies of neoliberalism… It is well known that coal blocks were allocated to cronies and favourites of the ruling politicians of all hues,” says the editorial.

“Whether the apex court recommends the de-allocation of the coal blocks or not is becoming subsidiary. The real issue is booking the culprits and that should include the ruling politicians who facilitated the loot in the garb of coal-block allocation and shared the loot,” it claims. It further claims that the BJP-led government, instead of “preparing to take up necessary follow-up action is planning to totally reverse the SC verdict of terming all allocations since 1993 as illegal”.

Compiled by Ruhi Tewari