Left, Right & Centre

The decision to scrap 500 and 1,000-rupee notes to clean up India's black money is being called Prime Minister Narendra Modi's boldest move. But is it also the PM's riskiest move politically? With anger and frustration among many who have not been able to access cash, the government is trying to firefight and also ease some of the restrictions on cash withdrawal and exchange. And with the winter session of Parliament starting in two days, the opposition is ganging up and putting pressure on the BJP. Is this a gamble that will pay off for PM Modi in the long run or has it hurt the BJP politically?

It is being called PM Narendra Modi's boldest gamble yet - a crackdown on black money that has turned everyone's world upside down with the banning of 500 and 1000 rupee notes. Today, as banks opened for the first time since the surprise announcement, there was utter chaos. People lined up for hours to change their money. Some had to be turned away because the banks just ran out of cash. The new 2000 rupee note has started to come into circulation, but there will be a new 1000 rupee note as well, says the government. It will have new security features. While the government said there was no need to panic, for many people it was a crisis situation as they struggled to pay at hospitals, chemists and vegetable vendors. Meanwhile, there have been Income Tax raids at 11 locations in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Ludhiana today - largely jewellers and hawala currency operators have been raided.

Delhi is a virtual gas chamber. It is shrouded with smog so thick and the air so poisonous that you can smell it and feel it entering your lungs. This has been the most toxic Diwali Delhi has seen in years with pollution levels upto 30 to 40 times the safe limit as prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Delhi government has been asked to issue health alerts and convey that children should stay indoors. For the first time, a school in the capital has announced that it will close down for a few days. But what is the Delhi government doing? Is it doing enough? Isn't this a health emergency that needs far more drastic steps than we have taken?