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Op-ED JANUARY 21, 2022 | The Indian Eye 16

how caste equations

are playing in uP elections

Views and opinions from the top commentators in Indian media

khilesh’s gambit of playing pricing based on the government’s
up the caste census demand long-term procurement goals; man-
awas deflected by BJP with a date that non-governmental bulk
major Union Cabinet reshuffle last purchase of listed crops beyond a
year in which 27 OBC and 12 Dalit certain threshold cannot be below
MPs benefited, with strong UP rep- MSP.
resentation. The extension of OBC --Kabeer Shrivastva, The Telegraph
reservation to the NEET all-India
quota ensued. With 303 MLAs, BJP Uae money in KasHmir
can shrug off the Maurya loss but
ticket distributions can trigger more he United Arab Emirates was
showdowns given the party’s track one of the first countries that
record of denying seats to unpopular Thad responded with under-
incumbents. standing to India’s decision to scrap
Article 370 of the Constitution in
but bJP will be comforted by 2019.
On the very second day of India’s
the unwieldy ticket demands move, the UAE ambassador to India,
akhilesh will now face, hav- Dr Al Banna, told Gulf News that
from his understanding, the reorga-
ing embraced a large number Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav greets party supporters during nization of states was not a unique in-
of allies. a Rath Yatra in Lucknow (ANI) cident in the history of independent
India and that it was mainly aimed at
reducing regional disparity and im-
Indian Ocean region. In Colombo, a sign that the India-China rivalry in
However, many of UP’s smaller proving efficiency.
outfits often contest under big par- Wang spoke of creating a forum the maritime sphere is set to inten-
for Indian Ocean “island countries” sify.
ties’ symbols, which may mitigate that shared “similar experiences and -- Editorial, The Indian Express He viewed the decision re-
SP’s ally problems. common needs” and development
With campaigning on pause and lated to the state of Jammu
ticket distribution gaining pace, UP goals to strengthen “mutually bene- save tHe farmers and Kashmir as an “internal
ficial co-operation”.
parties will have a tough time con-
Such fora already exist. China
trolling the shrill caste messaging is a dialogue partner of the Indian ndia’s road to substantive agrar- matter” as stipulated by the
ian reforms is long and arduous,
from malcontents. Despite the flail- Ocean Rim Association, along with Ibut in the interim, to soften the indian constitution.
ing OBC quota sub-categorization Russia, the US and several Europe- current impasse with its largest po-
experiment and political representa- an countries. Since 2008, an Indian litical constituent — the farmers — This was at a time when Pakistan
tion struggling to keep every group Ocean Navies Symposium brings the government should guarantee had recalled its ambassador back
happy, most bets seem to be on so- together 24 countries in the region, by statute, for a minimum period of from India, had downgraded diplo-
cial engineering, not development.
No surprise then that Maurya’s po- in which, too, China, which is not an 10-20 years, that crops such as nuts, matic and commercial ties with India
Indian Ocean country, is one among
and was frantically trying to drum up
pulses and oilseeds would be pro-
litical life could so smoothly go from several observers. It is significant cured using the Swaminathan for- international opinion against India’s
BSP to BJP to SP. that Beijing, which has pumped in mula; amend the NFSA to include decision.
-- Editorial, The Times of India
so much money into many of these such crops as scheduled entitlement It is also reflective of the shift in
countries, but by virtue of its geog- for targeted households at a subsi- the UAE’s foreign policy, which now
cHina in tHe raphy, is not a full member in any of dized rate; devolve greater procure- positions itself as a bridge-builder
neigHborHood the region’s groupings, now believes ment powers to states for localized and peacemaker in the region.
there should be another forum rep- procurement of dairy, poultry and -- Aditi Bhaduri, The Quint
he visit by Chinese Foreign resenting the region. Wang’s pro- horticulture products to strength-
Minister Wang Yi to Sri Lan- posal, which bears a curious resem- en the nutritional output of MDM
Tka as part of a five-nation blance to the Security and Growth and anganwadi systems; give inde- Every week, we look at what the top
swing-through, that also covered for All in the Region (SAGAR) pendence and statutory teeth to the commentators in the Indian media are
three African nations and the Mal- doctrine articulated by Prime Minis- Commission for Agricultural Costs talking about and bring to you a slice
dives, has highlighted Beijing’s re- ter Narendra Modi in his first term, & Prices with the mandate to imple- of their opinions and comments
lentless drive for influence over the during a visit to Mauritius in 2015, is ment a dynamic crop incentivization

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