Parley by The Hindu

On February 17, the Election Commission of India (ECI) allotted the name ‘Shiv Sena’ and the party’s Bow and Arrow symbol to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction, in effect recognising it as the original party founded by Balasaheb Thackeray. The political crisis in Maharashtra began last year after a group of 40 of the 55 Sena MLAs walked out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance under the leadership of Mr. Shinde, which caused a division in the party. Both the Uddhav Thackeray and Shinde sides staked claim to the party name and symbol, each claiming to represent the ‘real’ Shiv Sena. The ECI said that it had based its decision on a “test of majority.” It said the group of MLAs supporting the Shinde faction got nearly 76% of the votes polled for the 55 winning Shiv Sena candidates in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, while the Uddhav Thackeray faction got 23.5% of votes. The crisis has thrown the spotlight once again on the anti-defection law, whose purpose is to prevent political defections. Here we discuss whether the law needs changes. Guests: P.D.T. Achary, former Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha; Ruchi Gupta, Executive Director of the Future of India FoundationHost: Sonam Saigal

Recently, a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court put forth the idea of setting up an expert committee that could recommend ways to protect common investors from market events. The court’s recommendation came soon after the stocks of the companies of the Adani Group crashed following a report by Hindenburg Research, a U.S.-based investment research firm. It is estimated that the fall in the Adani Group’s stocks has cost investors over $100 billion. Can investments be free of risk? Here we discuss the question.  Guests: Jayati Ghosh, a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Anand Srinivasan, an investor and a personal finance advisorHost: Prashanth Perumal J.

Last October, Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as the national president of the Congress party. The election was historic as the party’s top post was, from 1978, occupied by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family (except for brief spells between 1992 and 1998). Officially, the party says it is now ready to hold a similar election to the Congress Working Committee (CWC), its highest decision-making body, but there are still internal debates going on. The last time the CWC had an election was in 1997, under the presidency of Sitaram Kesri. Should there be an election now to the CWC? Here we discuss the question.Guests: Praveen Chakravarthy, chairman of the Congress Data Analytics Department; Mridula Mukherjee, a former Professor of History at JNU and former Director at Nehru Memorial Museum and LibraryHost: Sandeep Phukan

A report prepared for a security conference in Delhi set off a controversy by stating that India has lost access to 26 of 65 patrolling points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since the Galwan Valley clash in April 2020. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar emphasised again that no territory has been ceded to China, while the Opposition has called for the government to clarify matters on the LAC. Here we discuss whether the government should put out a white paper on Ladakh.Guests: Satish Dua, former Corps Commander of the Kashmir based Chinar Corps, retired as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff; Manoj Joshi, Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation and author of Understanding the India-China Border: The Enduring Threat of War in the High HimalayasHost: Suhasini Haidar

The Union Budget set to be presented in Parliament on February 1 will be the last full-year Budget of the Narendra Modi government before the Lok Sabha elections are held next year. Given the electoral timetable, there is an expectation that the Budget could be populist in nature; but with high inflation, there are questions about the government’s ability to spend freely at the moment. Here we discuss the fiscal situation.Guests: Lekha Chakraborty, a professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy; Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at the Bank of BarodaHost: Prashanth Perumal

With the surge in COVID-19 cases in China, after the easing of its stringent zero-COVID policy in December, there is apprehension that the pandemic could be entering a new, uncertain phase. Here we discuss the situation in China and the potential impact in India. Guests: Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, former chief scientist of the World Health Organization; Dr. Giridhara R. Babu, professor and head of Life Course Epidemiology, Indian Institute of Public Health, PHFI, BengaluruHost: Zubeda Hamid

By issuing decrees banning girls/women from school, gyms and public parks, and from working at NGOs, the Taliban regime controlling Afghanistan seems to have made it clear that it does not intend to keep the promises it made of protecting women’s rights. It also seems to be reneging on its other assurances, such as ensuring an inclusive government, the safety of minorities, and disallowing terror groups to operate from Afghanistan. Should India, which changed its traditional stand against the Taliban by holding talks with the group and setting up a mission in Kabul this year, review its position?Guests: Amar Sinha and Tara KarthaHost: Suhasini Haidar

The Supreme Court of India goes on vacation for a week during Holi, 45 days during summer and for around two weeks during Deepavali and winter. This practice came into the news recently when Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said that no vacation Benches in the apex court would be available this winter break. He said this a day after Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju spoke of “long vacations” of the court and the inconvenience it caused to litigants. Here we discuss whether courts should close for vacations amid the overall burden of cases on them.Guests: Indu Malhotra, a retired judge of the Supreme Court; Devadatt Kamat, a senior advocate of the Supreme CourtHost: Sonam Saigal

The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) concluded on November 20 in Sharm el-Sheikh Egypt. Nearly 200 countries pledged to set up a ‘loss and damage fund’ to help vulnerable countries affected by climate change. Developing countries have welcomed this development, which has been a long-time demand. Developed nations, however, are not satisfied with the level of commitment that poor countries have shown towards cutting down greenhouse gas emissions and phasing out fossil fuels. Here we discuss issues surrounding the cost of going green. Guests: Navroz K. Dubash, a professor at the Center for Policy Research, New Delhi; Tejal Kanitkar, an associate professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, BangaloreHost: Prashanth Perumal

On November 7, 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the 103rd Constitution Amendment which provides 10% reservation to the economically weaker sections (EWS), but excludes from this quota the ‘poorest of poor’ among the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Socially and Educationally Backward Classes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Here we discuss whether reservation should be used as a means to alleviate economic backwardness.Guests: Satish Deshpande, Professor of Sociology, Delhi University; Arghya Sengupta, Founder and Research Director at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, DelhiHost: Abhinay Lakshman