ABOUT PREZ POLL AND MAHA POLITICAL DRAMA

In New Delhi democracy has triumphed. In Maharashtra, it has for the time being taken an unseemly beating. More on this later in the article. The Indian Foreign Service has provided the country with one Rashtrapati, two UpRashtrapati and two External Affairs Ministers and several other Cabinet Ministers.

KR Narayan was the second person to be elected VicePresident and President. The first was Dr S Radhakrishnan. The former came from the Scheduled Caste. The latter was a high class Brahmin. For the Presidential election to be held on July 18, the NDA has seleceted Smt. Draupdi Murmu. She is a Santhal Adavasi from Maurbhange in Orissa. Her election is a foregone conclusion. Her opponent is Yashwant Sinha, a former IAS officer who, after resigning from the IAS was Finance and External Affairs Minister in the Vajpayee Government.

Three well-known, nationally admired personalities had declined to contest the Presidential election- S/s Sharad Pawar, Farook Abdullah and Gopal Krishna Gandhi. He is Gandhiji’s grandson. Smt. Murmu filed her nomination on Friday, in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. She lost her two sons and husband several years ago. It has been a life of searing sorrow. But her inner strength and uncommon serenity have seen her through life and to be become Rashrapati next month. Madame the good wishes of 1.4 billion Indians are with you.

MAHA CRISIS DEEPENS
Maharashtra is the second most important state in India. In Bombay the Congress was founded in 1885. It is still the richest city in the country. Broadly speaking it is still, politically and commercially a magnetic metropolis. Marine Drive, Chowpati, Juhu, Malabar Hill are eye catching land marks. The city has first rate book shops. Bollywood provides the glamour. The slums hugely diminish it.
 

What is happening politically in Mumbai at the moment is nothing short of a tragic, comic and alarming farce. Shri Shinde and his 30 or is it 35 or 40 MLA’s are in Guwahati. Shri Eknath Shinde was not so long ago number two in Shri Uddhav Thackeray’s cabinet. If there at present a government in Maharashtra. Only Sh. Sharad Pawar probably has the answer. He is the most astute and experienced politician in India. Shri Uddhav Thackeray’s son, Aditya Thackeray-he is a cabinet minister remarked on June 24th, “Our own people betrayed us. My father underwent surgery and could not meet people. They took advantage of his illness. I feel angry about this.”

His father (is he still the Chief Minister) said the same day, “I may have left the Chief Minister’s official residence (Varsha), but not my determination to fight back. You should keep(the) Thackeray name out of your politics and see if you can survive. One can never detach the Thackeray from Sena”. Shri Uddhav’s intense dislike of the BJP is not a secret. Will Shri Eknath Shinde embrace the 105 BJP, MLAs?

What role will the Governor and Speaker play. So far it is not known, except perhaps to a few insiders. The haemorrhaging of both sides is doing much harm to both groups and more importantly to the political process in the state. The media is running from pillar to post. Many of its Pandits think that they know what is going on. Alas! They don’t. Politicians display genius while dealing with the media. They don’t give false information, only 25% of reality.

At times even the politicians do not know which way the political wind is blowing. I am aware that by the time this article is published, fresh elections could be announced. Some M.L.A’s might ditch Shri Eknath Shinde. Who knows. Let’s wait and see. This is the advice of an ex-politician.

The Supreme Court of the United States has put the abortion clock fifty, if not more years back. From 1973 till last Friday abortion was legal. No longer so. The present Supreme Court is conservative. President Triumph appointed three conservative judges. Supreme Court Judges- 9 in number are appointed for life. President Biden spoke frankly and passionately against the verdict. According to recent Gallupole only 25% of Americans have confidence in the Supreme Court. Only 13% Democrats have any faith in the Supreme Court.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

K NATWAR SINGH The author is Former Minister of External Affairs of India