Though meant figuratively, it was true literally. The Lok Sabha has been missing a leader of the opposition for 10 years. Nothing new. There was no recognised LoP during the Nehru-Shastri years. There were taller titans on the opposition benches those days, but leading lilliputian parties. The CPI, the largest, had 16 MPs against the Congress’s 364 in the first house of 489.
The LoP post came into being after the 1969 Congress split, when the Congress (O) claimed it for Ram Subhag Singh. A 1977 Act of Parliament gave it a statutory status, stipulating that an opposition party ought to command at least a tenth of the house for its leader to claim the post, the privileges and the pay.
The Congress now commands a fifth of the house, and has asked Rahul Gandhi to take up the role. He is yet to say yes. That’s the problem with Rahul. As the nuns sang in The Sound of Music, how do you make him stay, and listen to all they say?
Denne historien er fra June 23, 2024-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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Denne historien er fra June 23, 2024-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
