Congress gravediggers; Islamabad calling; Tech layoff
Opinion Watch
Congress gravediggers
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh may claim all credits for helping the Bharatiya Janata Party to drumbeat the town with allegations of Congress being “anti-national and anti-Hindu”. By breathing fire into the charges of “Hindu Terror”, which gained headlines when P Chidambaram was the Union Minister for Home Affairs, Singh pushed Congress into the dark alleys of political irrelevance in the Hindi heartland.
The Asian Age in an Editorial has delved into the fresh Singhism, of asking proof for the surgical strike, opining that the “BJP has already become the sole arbitrator of nationalism, patriotism and Hindutva”. The daily also counselled Congress “to disabuse themselves of the thought that they still control the national narrative”. The daily also opined that Congress long lost touch with real politics. It also recalled self-goals by likes of Mani Shankar Aiyer at crucial times.
Recently, Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a ‘Ravan’ on Gujarat turf in the midst of the election and sought to cover up the lapse with his Dalit credential. Thus, Singhism is an ailment within Congress which several patients. Indeed, former party chief Rahul Gandhi admonished Singh for his proof seeking remarks. But by saying that “it was his personal remark”, Gandhi is shying away from taking his party for deep surgery.
Islamabad calling
Pakistan is artificially existing on the world map. Geostrategic location of the Islamic country brings dollars, and lords of the rings – military, mullah and landlords turned politicians – grab their pounds of fleshes to keep the people into abject poverty and unabated violence. Occasionally, Pakistan blows peace pipes to please her western donors, and a section of the India media goes overbroad to eat from the hands of the Rawalpindi spin masters.
The Hindu in an Editorial have given India’s G20 Presidency and also of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) backdrop to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s television assertion (later revised) that “Pakistan had learnt lessons from three wars (with India)”. The Chennai-based daily has sought to dig deeper into the meaning of the statement of the Ministry of External Affairs that “India wants normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan…”. The daily also ventures to state that it’s to be seen if Sharif was honest with his words, which may be seen by accepting the Indian participation for the SCO meetings and also by restoring mission strengths in New Delhi and Islamabad. The daily also made reference to the Indian outreach to the Taliban to suggest that New Delhi should not remain frozen to peace overtures of Pakistan.
A few of the former diplomats had come out in the open to chide the media for going overboard on Sharif’s interview to Al Arabiya, accusing them for playing in the hands of the Pakistani spin masters, while giving context that Islamabad is currently begging with promises of good behaviour. India and Pakistan are members of several groupings, and even if some of them are hosted in New Delhi may not open up spaces for bilateral relations, as Samarkand Summit last year showed that even handshakes are missing.
Tech layoff
The Pioneer in an Editorial on the layoff tsunami in the big tech companies stated that about 3000 employees (globally) are losing their jobs daily. The Noida-based daily lauded the government for staying away from the spate of layoffs in the IT sector. It also noted that India has Rs 480 crore plan for reskilling. In fact, the IT sector was the sole beneficiary of the pandemic windfall and the people made riches, while others became poorer.
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