THE imposition of president’s rule in Uttarakhand and the dismissal of the Harish Rawat government is a blatant attack on democracy, constitutional norms and states rights by the Modi government. Coming after the imposition of president’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh a few weeks earlier to facilitate a government with defectors from the Congress and the BJP, the Modi government has shown that it will utilise the draconian Article 356 of the constitution to topple non-BJP state governments, utilising any opportunity available.

THE leakage of heavy water in the unit one of the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS-1) has once again raised fears about the safety and reliability of the nuclear power plants in the country. As per the sketchy reports emanating, there was a moderately large leakage of heavy water in Kakrapar on March 11, 2016. The power plant has been shut down and inspection is on by the scientists from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) to assess the nature and seriousness of the accident and to ensure that the safety of the plant is assured.

THE spectacle of a minister in the Modi government making a speech of communal incitement and violating his or her oath of office has become a regular feature. Even so, the latest instance of Ram Shankar Katheria, the minister of state in the human resource development ministry making a hate speech against Muslims in Agra has to be taken with the utmost seriousness.

THE RSS-BJP drive to bring universities and higher educational institutions under its political-ideological domination is in full swing. The latest attack on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and its student community was almost predictable given the recent events in other educational institutions which come under the purview of the central government. The JNU has become a prime target as it stands for all that is antithetical to the RSS-Hindutva forces.

THE imposition of President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh is an assault on the federal principle and yet another misuse of Article 356. The BJP government at the centre and the state governor J P Rajkhowa have played a sordid role in the whole episode.

The political crisis in Arunachal Pradesh began in November last year when a group of MLAs belonging to the ruling Congress party revolted. They approached the governor for impeachment of the speaker of the assembly.