My Columns: Without Fear and Favour

Sunanda Pushkar case: Political Implications for Congress By  Deepak Parvatiyar January 8, 2015 Much to the discomfort of the Congress, Sunanda Puskhar – the deceased wife of high profile Congress Member of Parliament and former minister Shashi Tharoor – has risen from the ashes. On January 7 this year, the Delhi Police called Pushkar’s death as murder and filed a First Information Report against unknown persons in this connection. Pushkar had died under mysterious condition in a Delhi five star hotel exactly a year ago, when Tharoor was a minister. What gave an ominous twist to her death was just a day before her death on January 17, last year, she had accused in an angry Twitter exchange, a Pakistani journalist of having an affair with her husband Tharoor. The Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences has revealed that Pushkar’s death was caused by “poison” and not by an “overdose of Alprax,” as was mentioned in...

Delhi Elections 2015 : Can Congress make a comeback By  Deepak Parvatiyar January 7, 2015 What a turnaround it has been for the Congress in recent times – down and out from a position when elections used to be between the Congress and the rest! The ensuing Delhi elections too is no different as the show has been stolen by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)! Congress yet to Come to Terms with Past Poll Reversals Unlike the BJP and the AAP, the Congress has been left behind in campaigning spree ahead of the 2015 Assembly polls in Delhi. It is only now that the party has started putting up hoardings with the slogan – ‘Toot gayi vikas ki dor, chalo ab Congress ki or’ – to remind about the break in the progress achieved in the 15 years of stable Congress government in the city state. However, it has been a rather low key campaigning as compared to the other two rival parties. And understandably so! The last one year h...

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) : Exceeding Poll Expenditure Norms? By  Deepak Parvatiyar January 6, 2015 Election campaigning is a costly affair and none of the political parties take chances when it comes to splurging on such campaigns. The  Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) , despite the popular perception that it spends the least on their campaign trail, is no exception. It is on a publicity blitzkrieg to capture the voters’ attention in Delhi for the February elections since November! In the process, it has left other political parties far behind on campaigning spree. AAP yet to Comply with Election Commission’s Norms on Election Expenses There is nothing wrong in such campaigns if political parties comply with the  Election Commission of India ’s norms and stipulated budget for such campaigns. However, like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the AAP too has failed to comply with the EC’s mandatory requirement to submit the Expenditure Report whether on the expenditure...