Varun Hari Prasad

On this day four years ago, Mr Narendra Modi took charge as the Prime Minister of India. He led his party to an emphatic victory, a victory in which the people chose a single party after over three decades. The people were bowled over by his promise of ‘Acche Din’ and muscular approach during campaigns. After four years, it is time to assess Mr Modi’s performance in key aspects of administration. Foreign Policy The Foreign Policy of the Modi Government took off to a great start with all the SAARC leaders being invited for the swearing-in ceremony. But this government proved that its attention span is short by failing to capitalise on the initiative. Today, there is no policy towards Pakistan; Mr Modi is clueless as far as Nepal and Sri Lanka are concerned. Maldives is throwing tantrums all along and the ’56 inch chest’ Prime Minister is happy playing second fiddle to China. Economy The economy is under acute stress due to rampant mismanagement on part of the governmen...

It has been a week filled with twists and turns for the people of Karnataka. As the fiercely fought election ended, the results opened the doors for an all-out battle for power. As the final trends began to emerge, the Congress outsmarted the BJP by going for a post poll alliance with JDS and staked claimed to form the next government. As news of the Congress-JDS tie up emerged, the BJP went to the Raj Bhavan and staked claim to form the next government by virtue of it being the single largest party. Sometime later the Congress-JDS combine too staked claim to form the government. It is from here that the Governor’s role comes into play. The Governor’s discretion At the outset, no one is disputing the discretion of the Governor. The Governor does have discretion under the Constitution but that discretion has to be objectively exercised based on the material placed before him. In this case, the material before him was a letter submitted by the BJP stating th...