Opinion Watch
Restive Rajasthan
The Hindu has advised Congress in its Editorial not to repeat the “mistake of Punjab” where the party had removed Captain Amarinder Singh as the chief minister. The daily has also underlined that keeping house in the order will be a challenge for Congress to stop the Bharatiya Janata Party from wresting the state in the Assembly elections later this year.
The Chennai-based daily appears to have listed the caption of former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s group photograph with incumbent Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his bete noire Sachin Pilot. The daily advised patience to Pilot, sagacity to Gehlot, and leadership to high command.
Congress state units are quarrelsome houses. Rajasthan affairs of Congress is no different than what has been seen in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Haryana and elsewhere. This may also be natural, for political ambitions have no limits, but they gain prominence because of the weakened appeal of the high command.
Shettar Shots
The Telegraph has claimed that the ruling BJP has been hit by a hailstorm of resignations in Karnataka. The daily has said that Congress now can count on a formidable Linagaya line up strengthened by the induction of the BJP veterans Jagdish Shettar and Laxman Savadi.
The Kolkata-based daily has said that the BJP’s claim of being a party of disciplined workers is hollow. It has also claimed that the “outgoing CM Basavaraj Bommai wanted wings of senior leaders clipped”. The daily also noted that Indian politics now resembles an arena of mercenaries with fickle commitment.
The BJP indeed is hit hard of rebellion in its ranks in Karnataka and the blame may lie with the Central leadership for pushing for early retirements of big names in the state politics. The Gujarat experiment of the BJP is being sought to be pushed everywhere wherein younger lots are being pushed to the front.
Ukraine Umbrella
The Economic Times has cautioned in its Editorial to draw ambition meaning from the decisions of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia to ban imports of grains from Ukraine. The business daily has said that Russia is drumming up divide in the European Union narrative.
The daily said that post-pandemic the grain prices have crashed in several of the European countries. The decisions to ban imports from Ukraine, which had shot up substantially, is meant to protect the local farmers in the EU nations. It noted that domestic politics, not Russia-Ukraine War, has expedited the decision to ban import of grains.
Yet, it must not be ignored that French President Emmanuel Macron showed an extraordinary joys in the reception of Xi Jinping, the Chinese authoritarian ruler, during his visit to China. In contrast, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was unsparing in her remarks in China over Taiwan sabre rattling of Beijing. Certainly, there is a divide in the EU.
