Protests by political parties are a hallmark of a functional democracy, with their decibel levels often hinting at shifting alignments. On June 28, a day after the president’s address to Parliament highlighting the government’s achievements, the opposition protested inside the house, demanding discussion on the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) paper leak case. Members of the INDIA bloc entered the well of the Rajya Sabha and even staged a walkout. What might have been dismissed as usual ruckus took an interesting turn when the Biju Janata Dal joined the protest. The party was upset that there was no reference to Odisha in the president’s address.
For the first time in the party’s 27-year history, its members entered the well of the Rajya Sabha. The BJD, led by former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, is known for its disciplined and constructive role in Parliament. The act of defiance indicates the changing political realities in Odisha. At the beginning of the 18th Lok Sabha, the BJD made its political position clear, shedding its NDA-friendly stance of the past decade.
Similarly, the YSR Congress Party, half the BJD’s age and founded by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, also faces changing dynamics. Both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh had simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha elections, where the ruling parties were voted out, giving an impressive mandate to the BJP and the NDA. Both the BJD and YSRCP, seen as BJP-friendly in their states, supported the Centre on key issues and helped pass several legislations in Parliament.
The YSRCP, which has 11 members in the Rajya Sabha and four in the Lok Sabha, also held protests inside Parliament over the lack of special status for Andhra Pradesh in the budget, and against post-poll violence in the state, which killed 31 people. The INDIA bloc members joined the protest, bringing the Andhra party closer to their side.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 11, 2024 من THE WEEK India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 11, 2024 من THE WEEK India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Chase For The Mace
The next three years throw up a gamut of challenges for Indian cricket; winning the World Test Championship is the most important
Two-horse race
Can the NC-Congress alliance reshape the future of Jammu and Kashmir?
Man-eaters don't spare women
Critics say Narendra Modi’s decade-long rule has been one of jobless growth. Factories produced more, companies earned more, owners profited more, the government earned more; but fewer hands were hired, or those who were hired got work for fewer days. Putting the last two together, economists said the Indian economy generated fewer ‘man-days’.
Decolonising the mindset
The vision of a Viksit Bharat hinges on India T breaking from the shackles of a colonial mindset and embodying the freedom of being unapologetically Indian. The laws of any nation are the cornerstone of its growth. The legal system offers the stability and adaptability essential for a country to thrive. The laws must be simple to understand and specific in their consequence.
The making of India's Mr Difficult Words
When my publishers at Aleph invited me to put together a book on words and language, I hesitated for a brief moment.
Couture's creepy corridors
If one is spending a summer in New York, any summer in New York, an absolute must-do is to spend an afternoon at the city’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, on the edge of Central Park, just gawking in gobsmacked awe at the annual fashion exhibition the museum’s Costume Institute puts together.
Stree 2 has given us hope
The unprecedented success of Stree 2 is the best news we have had in the recent times and with an unabashedly feminist agenda, has comprehensively out-performed Sandeep Reddy Vanga's toxic masculine star-studded Animal at the box office is (to me, at least) kind of the cinematic equivalent of Awadhesh Prasad winning Ayodhya-it redeems my faith in the inherent decency of Indians.
BRANDS BEYOND RAMPS
Whether through carpets, fragrances or home interiors, Indian couturiers are defying their own limits
RESERVOIR OF WORRIES
India has a robust dam management systém on paper, but inadequate maintenance and climate change pose serious threats
INTER-STATE ISSUES HAVE NO EFFECT ON DAM SAFETY
INTERVIEW: KUSHVINDER VOHRA INTERVIEW Chairman, Central Water Commission
