ICYMI#TribuneOpinion: Upcoming Bihar poll, Rahul Gandhi, Sonam Wangchuk stir national politics

Ladakhi activist Sonam Wangchuk’s arrest last week under the National Security Act against the backdrop of the recent violence in Leh created a storm, with denizens questioning the high-handedness of the government. He had visited Pakistan in February as an invitee to a conference organised by Dawn group on climate change. Wangchuk even praised PM Modi for his visionary leadership in tackling climate change there, writes independent journalist Nirupama Subramanian in her Edit piece Wangchuk who went to Pakistan. But, when the Leh violence broke out, officials put the blame on him. Did the Centre fail to see that it had turned a peaceful little town into a festering site of people’s grievances and unfulfilled aspirations that was just waiting to burst? She asks.

On the other end is Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi who tweeted from Envigado, Colombia, “Proud to see Bajaj, Hero & TVS do so well in Colombia. Shows Indian companies can win with innovation, not cronyis.” This apart, what created a furore back home were his words about the BJP’s “wholesale attack on the democratic system in India”, while addressing university students there. The remark has triggered a lot of criticism on why the Congress leader attacks the ruling party from foreign shores so often. The question is, why take the fight to another country when the fight against Modi and the BJP is here, writes Editor-in-Chief Jyoti Malhotra in her weekly column Rahul must focus on the fight at home. He should prepare, every day, to sharpen the cut and thrust of his argument inside and outside Parliament, she writes. Rahul Gandhi is the most powerful man in the party, but refuses to sit on the leader’s chair of nails or wear its crown of thorns. He comes across as a man who seeks power without the responsibility that accompanies it, she writes, adding he must learn from the driving ambition that consumes the BJP.

Cutting across to Bihar, the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana is the mother of all ‘revdi’ schemes, launched just before elections. As Prime Minister, Narendra Modi ran a blistering campaign, most stridently in 2022, against providing cash and other free benefits to people, contemptuously terming them freebies and ‘revdis’, writes Subhash Chandra Garg former finance secretary in his Op-ed piece Modi’s poll pragmatism & revdi culture. As time passed, he quietly moderated his rhetoric against the revdi culture. “Prime Minister Modi is distributing ‘revdis’ now. What will it mean for India's politics?” asks Garg.

Meanwhile, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party has positioned itself as a centrist outfit in Bihar for the upcoming poll, writes senior journalist Radhika Ramaseshan in her Edit piece PK looks to break the Bihar binary. He severed his links with political parties as their adviser not out of rancour but to foster his ambition as an independent political leader of consequence. While the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan is embroiled in Rahul Gandhi’s preoccupation with ‘fudged’ electoral rolls, Kishor is focusing on the plight of Bihar. He says the state continues to be blighted by corruption and criminalisation of politics. Jan Suraaj Party’s performance in the Assembly polls will indicate if Bihar is receptive to a third front, she writes.

A bolt from the blue, 73-year-old Harjit Kaur was deported to India from the San Francisco Bay area in the US, which was her home for the last 33 years, handcuffed and her legs chained, denied medicines, water and vegetarian food. We must ask ourselves whether a 'Viksit Bharat' aspiring to be the 'Vishwaguru' on the basis of its soft power has asserted itself sufficiently to burnish its credentials as a defender of human dignity and protector of the esteem of its citizens, writes former Union Minister for Law & Justice Ashwani Kumar in his Op-ed piece Harjit Kaur’s deportation exposes US hypocrisy. Kaur's deportation, a brazen abuse of American police power in defiance of all norms of civility, must spur us to abjure the convenience of ambivalence and reject indifference to humanitarianism.

Coming to Trump who makes headlines almost every day, his 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan begins with a timer. Within 72 hours of Israeli assent, all hostages, living and deceased, are to be returned. The optics are unusually broad. Trump is fully invested in it, attaching his name to what he brands the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, writes Syed Akbaruddin India’s former permanent representative to the UN in his Op-ed piece India must not miss the fine print of Gaza peace plan. For India, its vantage lies at the intersection of principle and prudence. On principle, New Delhi backs a negotiated two-state solution and sustained humanitarian relief. On prudence, it balances a growing partnership with Israel with expanding ties with Arab states. There is also a hard-nosed economic stake. Ending the conflict would lower maritime risk, stabilise prices, protect the arteries of India’s trade and breathe life into projects like the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which depend on regional peace and predictable politics.

On the other hand is Trump’s relationship with the Pentagon, which started deteriorating during his first term, and has further plunged in the last seven months, abetted by his maverick Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, writes former GOC-in-C, Western Command, Lt Gen SR Ghosh (retd) in his Op-ed piece Trump’s purge has shaken the US military. Trump’s decision to interview nominees for promotion to four-star rank before their final approval is bound to lead to further politicisation of the US military. The more alarming decision by Trump is his use of the military in internal affairs, including riots and illegal immigration. Trump's plummeting relationship with the Pentagon as well as the civilian leadership of the states in his first seven months is indicative of a drift towards a more authoritarian Presidency, he writes.