‘Cloak & Dagger’; Knotty Affairs; Pealing Onions
Old and new parliament building; INDIA leaders in Mumbai; Onions in Maharashtra
Opinion Watch
‘Cloak & Dagger’
The Indian Express in its Editorial has wondered if the one nation and one election (ONOE) links up to “one civil code, one party, one leader”. The Noida-based daily has called for the exercise on ONOE to be in sync with deliberative democracy and subject to checks and balances of constitutional system, and certainly not be “cloak and dagger” affair to ambush. It added that the idea is at dissonance to parliamentary system and feeds to unitary and presidential system.
Four elections were held simultaneously till 1967, and afterwards the rigours of democracy pushed Indian polity to regressive path. Electoral reforms are need of the hour, for thugs in politics cannot have the license to represent the people who are educated and aspirational. Before attempting scorching ideas, parliament should scorch criminals and moneybags from the field of politics.
Knotty Affairs
The Asian Age in its Editorial has shown appreciation to the Opposition INDIA Alliance to agree to contest Lok Sabha elections jointly. The New Delhi-based daily, however, has warned that the seat pact will be a grueling affairs. It listed out Punjab, Delhi, West Bengal, and Kerala to argue the case that the road ahead is not smooth. The daily also spotlighted the Congress chagrin at the appearance of Kapil Sibal at the Mumbai conclave to stress the existing fault lines in the grouping.
The fact that the 14-member coordination committee of the INDIA group couldn’t choose a head signals that the constituents are hiding the daggers in cloaks over the leadership issue. The real test for INDIA will be in landing its mission on the electoral ground.
Pealing Onions
Deccan Herald in its Editorial has decried the government resorting to export curbs in the face of price rise at the cost of the interests of the farmers while commenting on imposition of 40 per cent duty on outbound shipments of onions. The Bengaluru-based daily listed out similar measures – 20 per cent tax on export of parboiled rice, and banning export of non-basmati rice – to state that the election considerations are harming farmers’ income and a right balance should be ensured to protect consumers as well as cultivators.
The government had banned export of wheat long ago. Three months of flying tomato prices appears to have stunned the government, and now it wants onions to stay in checks.
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