News and Views

A photo of Rahul Gandhi standing in a sweet shop with a signboard behind him which reads "No credit will be accepted till Rahul Gandhi becomes Prime Minister" has resurfaced on social media.

Here's a fact check on the photograph.

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India is a richer nation today for knowing that its Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a mango lover. Indians, or those who watched his carefully constructed and faux casual conversation with Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, also know whether the prime minister prefers to use a fork for his mangoes or draws out the juicy flesh with his hands and mouth.

Whoever thought that such edifying information would be necessary for us Indians, in the middle of sweltering heat and a scorching general election, added more illuminating factoids on a range of subjects. They covered:

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Since the infamous Saturday morning emergency hearing in the Supreme Court on an “issue of great public importance”, several legal and political commentators have raised noteworthy concerns over the apparent absence of due process, and the possiblity of abuse of the office of the Chief Justice of India.

Another aspect of the Court’s approach that is disturbing is that, in its attempt to discredit the complainant, the Court and the law officers representing the Central Government, dressed the issue in the constitutional language of ‘judicial independence.’

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The release on Sunday, 21 April, of a national security strategy document by the Congress party was, perhaps, inevitable – given the BJP’s decision to make national security its key re-election plan.

A key element of the 44-page document entitled ‘India’s National Security Strategy’ (INSS) is the view that India must be prepared for unilateral, limited military actions against terror groups in Pakistan, as it can be assured of peace only if it demonstrates its capability to defend national interests through the use of force.

The man who led the task force to draft the document is Lt Gen (retd) D S Hooda, under whose watch the Army carried out its surgical strike following the Uri attack in 2016.

The Congress Party says that elements of the document have been incorporated in its manifesto. This is a welcome development since it suggests that a political party is willing to put its ideas on security to pen and paper. Equally, that the Congress has no intention of ceding political space to the BJP on the issue of national security.

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