Arvind Kejriwal’s Hindutva; Indian Military gains weapons branch; India-UK FTA roadblocks
Opinion Watch
Arvind Kejriwal’s Hindutva
Aam Aadmi Party seems a right of the centre outfit, and its faces, Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, have shown extraordinary ease at chanting mantra in temples and wearing caps in mosques in the run up to the elections.
Politicians generally read the minds of their akas well. But Rajendra Pal Gautam proved ignorant. The cost for the scale of ignorance of Gautam’s level is clear in politics – the erring person is thrown out. The Pioneer in its Editorial has dissected the ‘hard Hindutva’ of AAP in the backdrop of Kejriwal going gung-ho in Gujarat, which by all accounts of the political pundits is a Hindu laboratory.
The Noida-based daily gave an account of Gautam leading a 10,000 strong crowd embracing Buddhism and also taking the 22 vows of BR Ambedkar, which included not praying to Hindu gods. The daily reminds that AAP is riding on Hanuman Bhakti, free travels to Ayodhya for the people, Luxmi Puja and so on, while deciphering Kejriwal’s idea of secularism. The daily hits out at AAP, literally calling it an ungrounded outfit, thriving on freebies, while mapping its journey from “anarchist to hanuman Bhakt”, and asserting that the ruling party in Delhi has become a floating mass without the ballast.
But AAP is indeed part of the political herd in India.
Military gains weapons branch
Drones have tilted the scale of war in Ukraine against Russia, and India has rightly decided to constitute a weapons system branch, which will help the country with an edge in warfare.
The Economic Times in its Editorial has lauded the government for the decision to create a separate service in Weopons Systems Branch for unification of all ground-based and specialist airborne weapons systems operators. The move will improve efficiency, cut down training costs, better information circulation.
But it also must be seen if India actually possesses the cutting edge defence systems, particularly in the military drone weaponry.
India-UK FTA roadblocks
The UK has too many Prime Ministers in the last five years, and the newly-elected Liz Truss and her team show that they are clueless about the economy as well as bilateral partnerships.
The Times of India in its Editorial has asked the government to walk out of the free trade agreement being negotiated if the UK is stingy about migrant mobility. The Indian strength undeniably is in the services and the access of the UK market should be unhindered for the Indian professionals.
The New Delhi-based daily has given an account of the floundering UK economy marred by high inflation, while unemployment there is at a historic low at 3.8 per cent, while job vacancies are at a record high of 3.8 per cent. The UK just needs to learn from the US, which milks the sweats of the Indian professionals to profiteer from the knowledge economy
Understanding AAP and their policies / tactical changes under different circumstances is a challenge for all but its captured veey well here with details. We need to wait & watch how much they gain in reality.
Free trade agreement India – UK requires careful consideration.
Great article – appreciate the details.