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Saffron ecosystem must be feeling ecstatic at its achievement of having Waqf board under its belt, acquiring vast tract of land owned by it across the country and pushing the Muslims to the position of second grade citizens. A closer introspection nevertheless would make it explicit that the strategy of saffron retribution will prove to be boon in disguise for Muslims as it would witness emergence of a new type of Muslim politics, having different culture and tenet.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 24th CPI(M) Party Congress has approved its political-tactical line laying stress on increasing the independent strength of the party even as it remained part of the state-specific secular and democratic front, including the Congress, to “defeat the neo-fascist regime” at the Centre.

Passage of Waqf Bill in the both houses of the Parliament of India has immediately created political ripples that was felt across India, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, and from Gujarat to Assam. Political parties on both sides – INDIA bloc and BJP led NDA – are trying to derive maximum political mileage out of it, but both sides will have also to readjust themselves to the new challenges that is likely to emerge.

The true story is buried in the creases and folds of the Janata Dal (U) and the Telugu Desam Party. What coerced them to dump their loyal Muslim vote-banks and align with the "Muslim-hating" Bharatiya Janata Party in amending the Waqf bill? There is no guarantee Muslims (even the Pasmanda!) will hereafter, after the passage of the amended Act, vote for the BJP (and its allies!) in a sense of gratitude. Also, why weren't these Muslims voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the first place?

“Hindi and all Indian languages strengthen each other. There should be no attempts to divide the nation in the name of language,” said BJP’s senior leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on March 29. The quote came only after refusing to release the educational assistance to the Tamil Nadu government because of the state’s failure to implement the three-language formula. The sermon was a caution against the coming suppressive steps. The Centre’s educational assistance to Tamil Nadu is part of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. The five southern states have been repeatedly complaining that they have been contributing nearly 29 percent of the central government’s tax revenue but only get 15 percent of its resources.

Hope and frustration run high. Despite a court order to Delhi police to register an FIR and direction for further investigation to be conducted against BJP leader and Delhi law minister Kapil Mishra and others over his alleged involvement in the 2020 Delhi riots, Mohammad Ilyas of Yamuna Vihar, who struggled for five long years to get this order passed by the court after refusal of action against him by Delhi police, does not think that Delhi Police will actually act on the order. This explains the situation on the ground level persisting not only in Delhi, but also across the country, in communally surcharged socio-political context, which is not good for healthy secular democracy.

The rightist BJP riding on the back of its so-called secular allies, JDU and TDP, managed to get its much-hyped Waqf Bill adopted by the Lok Sabha on April 2. With this, the Narendra Modi government has moved several steps forward in not only taking over the centuries-old Waqf management from Muslims, but it has also succeeded in its avowed mission to erase the identity of the Muslims.

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi national president Akhilesh Yadav has consolidated his position as leader PDA (backwards, dalits and minorities) after his opposition to waqf amendment bill 2025 in Parliament. The manner in which Akhilesh Yadav and his party MPs launched attack on BJP on the issue of waqf amendment Bill 2025 has strengthened his hold over minority community.

Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D. Raja gave a clarion call on Wednesday for the building of principled unity of all communists in India to act as the vanguard of the battle against the Narendra Modi government and the RSS-BJP led Sangh Parivar. Addressing the inaugural session of the 24th congress of the CPI(M) at Madurai, the CPI leader said that the combined Left has to mount a decisive resistance against the corporate communal assault by the Narendra Modi government in the last ten years against the Indian nation, its people and the country’s institutions.

It is curious that Indians have learnt of New Delhi’s willingness to cut tariffs for American goods from President Donald Trump rather than an official statement from the Modi government. It is as though charmed by Trump’s personal warmth towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has conceded without putting up a fight. The fact that such a significant policy shift has been revealed by Washington rather than New Delhi raises concerns about the transparency and strategic prudence of India’s trade negotiations.