#Column: Modi’s message – Perform or perish, no place for mediocrity
Pravin Joshi: The cabinet reshuffle is extraordinary in many ways. Apart from increasing the number of ministerial berths, it has sent out a strong message for ministers. Modi has shown no mercy to his colleagues who had batted for him till thrown out from the cabinet. The prime minister has categorically cautioned his team members to...
#Column- Modi mantra for Covid-19 – trust doctors and go for vaccine
Pravin Joshi: Ever since the second wave of Covid-19 created havoc in the country, claimed thousands of precious lives, prime minister Narendra Modi is back to basics. In his Mann Ki Baat, he urged countrymen to shed hesitancy and take both the doses of vaccine. Mentioning complete vaccination of his old mother, Modi said that people...
#Column- The Buckstopper: Energising Rajasthan
Exclusive Author: Braving the severity of Covid-19, this 1996 batch IAS officer never missed a day in office. His dedication to work and determination to serve people during the pandemic is exemplary for officers in public service. Meet senior bureaucrat, the principal secretary energy and chairman of all discoms in Rajasthan – Dinesh Kumar. His smile...
RAEA illegally sacks woman employee
“Defunct” executive of RAEA illegally removes a regular woman employee from service amid COVID-19 pandemic Manish Goyal, Jaipur: The Rajasthan Adult Education Association (RAEA), a premier non-government organisation (NGO), working in the domain of literacy and education since 1973, is now in the grip of anarchy, orchestrated by a “crooked” bunch. The defunct executive...
Govind Singh Dotasara wears crown of thorns
Prakash Bhandari: Govind Singh Dotasara, who took over the reins of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee on Wednesday, faces an uphill task of rejuvenating and reuniting a faction-ridden party. Dotasara, 55, a three-time MLA, is the education minister and he is likely to perform the duel task of being a minister as well as the president...
Governor, CM clash intensifies as Rajasthan political crisis enters third week
Prakash Bhandari: In the ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan that entered the third week, the spotlight has shifted from rebel Sachin Pilot to the governor and the country is witnessing a rare happening when a governor of the state has ignored the advice of the state Cabinet to convene the Assembly. Instead, the governor has...
Mayawati’s plan against Ashok Gehlot govt falls flat
Prakash Bhandari: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati’s Sunday night plan to spoil Ashok Gehlot’s party by creating a legal issue questioning the way the Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi allowed the merger of the BSP MLAs collectively into the Congress met its waterloo in the Rajasthan High Court. The high court on Monday dismissed...
Are Governors compromising with the Constitution?
The governor of a state, before assuming office, swears to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution and the law to the best of his or her ability. But, often the governors have been found to protect the political interest of his or her appointee party that is in power at the Centre. Prakash Bhandari: The...
Mohan Lal Sukhadia was the first to revolt as a youth leader
Prakash Bhandari: The over a century-old political outfit-Indian National Congress that is facing a leadership crisis after the party performed miserably in the Lok Sabha elections last year has witnessed a simmering resentment among its young cadre. Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the Congress to join the BJP by making his discontent public that resulted in the...
#Column: People suffering because Centre, state imposed lockdown sans any homework
ShankerSinh Vaghela: There is a popular theory doing the rounds that the COVID-19 epidemic is an international conspiracy. Even as we debate this theory, the surge in COVID-19 cases shows that both the Centre and the state failed to ascertain the seriousness of the threat. A lockdown was imposed without the governments doing their homework....
#Column: BJP targeting media for exposing ground realities, governance failures
ShankerSinh Vaghela: Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and plays an important role in society. However, the ruling dispensations at the Centre and the state have developed a habit of blaming the media whenever journalists expose the ground realities that certainly do not create a rosy picture for the government. The media is often...
#Column: Incapable govt, foolish system liable for COVID-19 crisis in Gujarat
Shankersinh Vaghela: BJP, as a party, has achieved excellence in hiding facts and figures—a trait that runs deep into the saffron party’s hierarchy. This trait is particularly visible in cases when it senses that any data or figure can be detrimental to its image and will expose its governance failure. Hiding or manipulating data has been...