Mamata Mantra; Erdogan Era; Drug Bust
Opinion Watch
Mamata Mantra
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants the Congress to focus on 200-odd Lok Sabha seats, and The Asian Age has found merit in the suggestion, while arguing that the Opposition ranks need to come to an agreement to give alternative to the people “who want non-BJP government”. The daily also stressed that the Congress needs to come off its high horse.
Making a case on the basis of the losing spree of the BJP in several states, the daily argued that the centrality of the Congress to an Opposition front is now real even while there remains a few naysayers. The daily claimed that Banerjee’s advice that the Opposition votes be not split is reasonable.
It’s indeed true that the BJP gains from a divided Opposition ranks. It’s also true that a combined Opposition in Uttar Pradesh came a cropper to stop the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. More than mathematics, the Opposition will need to work on chemistry.
Erdogan Era
Turkey is not yet tired of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as The Telegraph underlined that the Turkish leader by polling 49 per cent votes in the first round of the Presidential elections to set a run-off on May 28 against Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who polled 45 per cent votes, has again demonstrated his authority. Erdogan is in power since 2003, first as the prime minister till 2014, and then as the president of the Islamic country.
The Kolkata-based daily gave an account of the Erdogan era, as he essayed an independent foreign policy for Turkey despite being a NATO member, holding up Sweden membership, brokering a grains deal between the warring Ukraine and Russia, and always pursuing policies independent of the US.
The election is taking place close on the heels of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey, which had flattened several cities, and the people had even levelled allegations of administrative apathy. Under his watch, Turkey has emerged as a military power, supplying drones to even rogue nations. Erdogan may be popular, but he’s on the wrong side of history, for being an ally of rogue nations – Pakistan, China, Iran and others.
Drug Bust
The Pioneer in its Editorial has said that seizure of 2500 kgs of drugs off the Kerala coast, valued at Rs 12000 crores, is the largest in the country. The daily informed that the drug haul was the result of Operation Samudragupt, a joint exercise of the Indian Navy and the Narcotics Control Bureau against drug trafficking originating from Afghanistan.
The Noida-based daily has quoted the United Nations saying that the poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has gone up by 32 per cent in 2022. The daily informed that the drug haul is the third in the last 18 months in the international waters.
The Taliban and Pakistani Army are well-known to be peddling drugs, and India is their target for obvious reasons. India needs to get the world to turn heat on drug trafficking
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