More stories

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa has been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences
Bureaucrats Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar have been chosen for the two vacant posts in the top panel of
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has dismissed former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his party's criticism of the Citizenship Amendment
The high-level committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind today submitted its report on 'one nation, one election'. The
Ram Navami on April 18 this year has been declared a public holiday in West Bengal. The move came "too
In yet another serious setback to the Modi government and the State Bank of India, the Supreme Court has thrown

Opinion

Appeal

The legacy of IPA, founded by Nikhil Chakravartty, the doyen of journalism in India, to keep the flag of independent media flying high, is facing the threat of extinction due to the effect of the Covid pandemic. Only an emergency funding can avert such an eventuality. We appeal to all those who believe in the freedom of expression to contribute to this noble cause.
Click here to learn more

Samajwadi Party And Congress Setting Up Coordination Committees

By Pradeep Kapoor LUCKNOW: Ever since Akhilesh Yadav joined Bharat Jodo Yatra of Rahul Gandhi at Agra, there is a perfect understanding between Samajwadi Party and Congress for Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh. Both the leaders sent positive message to the party leaders and workers through their action...

Mar 19 · >

Nepal Prime Minister Dahal In Command After Confidence Vote Win In Parliament

By Tirthankar Mitra Pushpa Kamal Dahal bode farewell to arms years ago. But perish the thought that ever since he has cast aside his pseudonym of Prachanda, forsaken armed struggle and laying down arms walked away from the hills of his homeland Nepal, he no longer has to watch...

Mar 19 · >

Indian Air Force’s Next Generation BrahMos Missile Makes Big Impact

By Girish Linganna India has been aiming to enhance its defense capabilities through the development of a more compact and efficient version of the BrahMos missile. BrahMos Aerospace, a defense corporation with Indo-Russian roots, is set to begin drop and dummy trials of the lighter and more compact Next...

Mar 19 · >

TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2024 NEPAL PRIME MINISTER DAHAL IN COMMAND AFTER CONFIDENCE VOTE WIN IN PARLIAMENT DESPITE UNEASY COALITION, INDIA HAS TO TAKE NEW STEPS TO IMPROVE RELATIONS By Tirthankar Mitra Pushpa Kamal Dahal bode farewell to arms years ago. But perish the thought that ever since he has cast aside his pseudonym of Prachanda, forsaken armed struggle and laying down arms walked away from the hills of his homeland Nepal, he no longer has to watch his steps. Walking into the arena of unarmed electoral politics, the rebel of yesterday turned today’s Nepal’s prime minister, Dahal is walking on thin ice now. He has just passed another ordeal by fire by winning a vote of confidence in the lower house of parliament last week. Dahal secured the votes of 157 out of 268 MPs who were present in the 275-member lower house of parliament. It is not a big deal in a functioning democracy but it is indeed a quantum leap of faith for one who once made no bones about denouncing democratic form of governance. It is one more sure sign of Prachanda shedding the jungle warfare garb and donning a more sedate attire of a participant in the democratic governance and the electoral process. Dahal is here to stay. The Prime Minister followed the Constitution of his country which lays down that he must seek a vote of confidence after an ally withdraws support. Led by Sher Bahadur Deuba, the Nepali Congress with 89 MPs withdrew support to Dahal’s government. Dahal’s CPN(MC) despite having 30 MPs saved the day with Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) with 79 MPs led by KP Sharma Oli extending support. Indeed Dahal can look back in wonder at the road he has travelled so far. Here is a man who spearheaded Maoist insurgency in Nepal whose immediate fallout was more than 16,000 deaths between 1996 and 2006. But on preferring the ballot box to bullets, Dahal has managed to survive. It was not plain sailing for Dahal when CPN-UML and monarchist Rashtriya Prajatantra Party withdrew support over Dahal’s backing for Ramchandra Paudal of Nepali Congress to be President. But the rug could not be snatched away from under Dahal’s feet after Nepali Congress joined the government. Little was Deuba to know that he would be dumped by Dahal who propped himself up on Oli’s support this year. Even as he displayed his political flexibility, Deuba hurled the epithet “dhokebaz”(betrayer) at Dahal which can be interpreted to be an invective or a backhand complement. Democracy is young in Nepal which had been a monarchy for 239 years. Monarchy took leave in 2008 from this Himalayan country which has had 13 governments since then. Partners in governance, Dahal and Oli has divergent takes on India. Dahal a darling of the Indian Left and other outfits nursing a left of Centre view point owing to his ideology and JNU background has a significant reservoir of goodwill in New Delhi. Oli’s position vis-a-vis India is diametrically opposite to that of his coalition partner. Oli’s words and actions as prime minister during the framing of the Constitution in 2015 led to protests and a border blockade and not too many admirers for him in the South Block. Indo-Nepalese relations touched a new low and a geographical fact that Nepal needs India as a gateway to the ports was twisted by some Nepali politicians including Oli. Nepal, according to them was “India-locked.” Dahal’s acts vis-a-vis India will be under scrutiny especially with Oli being the power behind the throne. As things stand now, cooperation in the fields of water, infrastructure and power are major constituents of India’s toolkit in its relations with Nepal. India seeks to project itself as a “elder brother” to Nepal. This is in contrast to the controlling and hectoring “big brother”. It needs to be mentioned that Oli has clear Chinese leanings. As partner in the government, he will seek to prevail on Dahal to play the China card in Nepal’s relationship with India. The task is cut out for both Dahal and his Indian counterpart. The Nepalese prime minister has to usher in reforms to stabilize his country’s economy and crack down on corruption which retards progress while India should strive to be an equal partner rather than an “elder brother”. (IPA Service)

By C.J. Atkins Hamas will win if Israel holds elections. That’s essentially the claim made by Benjamin Netanyahu this weekend as he hit back at U.S. political leaders pressuring him to send his country to the polls. Forced to respond to the explosive growth of a mass ceasefire movement...

Mar 19 · >

CAA’s Implementation Just Before National Election Looks Purely Political

By Nantoo Banerjee On the face of it the controversial citizenship amendment act of 2019 may appear to be purely humanitarian. It provides the government with a special provision to expedite the citizenship process for non-Muslim migrants – including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, and Parsis — to India...

Mar 18 · >

Curbing Money And Muscle Power Imperative For Smoother Holding Of Lok Sabha Polls

By Kalyani Shankar The Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, has announced the 18th Lok Sabha election schedule, starting on April 19. He has identified four major problems that affect India’s free and fair elections. These are the 4Ms: Muscle power, Money power, Misinformation, and violations of the Model Code...

Mar 18 · >

Once Crypto’s Poster Boy, Sam Bankman-Fried Faces Jail Upto 50 Years

By Arun Kumar Shrivastav Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, could be looking at a lengthy prison sentence. US prosecutors have recommended that he be sentenced to 40-50 years behind bars, along with a hefty fine of $11 billion. Bankman-Fried was convicted in November...

Mar 18 · >

Defending Democracy Against Authoritarianism Has Become The Main Task In Britain

By Ben Chacko LONDON: Scores of Tory MPs are announcing in advance they will throw in the towel at the general election, which Labour is expected to win. Work to shape the political landscape the next government will confront is now essential, particularly because Labour is determined not to...

Mar 18 · >

Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra Places Rahul Gandhi At The Top Of INDIA Block

By Sushil Kutty When the INDI-Alliance prepared for the Mumbai Shivaji Park public meeting to congratulate Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for completing the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the set time, there were folks who said Rahul’s 2nd Yatra was a “flop” going by the standards set by the...

Mar 18 · >

Electoral Bonds Scheme Conspiracy Must Be Fully Revealed

By Dr. Gyan Pathak Initial disclosure of the names of purchaser of electoral bonds has established beyond doubt that PM Narendra Modi’s Electoral Bonds Scheme was just a conspiracy to sell government favours. Modi government had also a strategy to intimidate people to purchase electoral bonds or else face...

Mar 18 · >
Advertisement