The sellers and the buyers
There seems to be a small relief to the mega saga of politics that was unfolding in the state in the last few days. The move of the governor who invited BJP to form the government has come under question. Instead of considering JD(S) and Cong coalition which has majority numbers of seats required to form the government, the governor had invited BJP which clearly lacks the numbers and had said the party will have 15 days’ time to show the numbers. Now the Supreme Court has ordered for a floor test to be held by Saturday evening 4 pm to show the strength of numbers, bringing a small relief to all those who believe in democracy. In the given situation, one can clearly say, this order was more than what we expected from the Supreme Court which has honored the governor’s words and has also reduced chances of horse trading by reducing time gap given for the show of strength by the BJP.
This has obviously been a discouragement to the office of Governor and to the BJP which tried to subvert the powers of this office. If the two weeks’ time as given by the governor was continued, the next two weeks in Karnataka would have been nothing short of hell. Hence, the ruling of the court has curtailed big chances of horse trading. If there is a majority in actual sense, it can be proved now. One need not seek two weeks’ time to shore up the numbers. A government, acting in haste, took some significant decisions to shift officers on transfer and acted on decisions of a few nominations too. This undue exigency in taking a few decisions is inexplicable and obviously these decisions have ulterior motives behind them. Hence the SC has insisted that the CM should not take any decisions on administration till majority vote is proved. The BJP leaders insist that they have the numbers and t’s just a matter of time to prove the majority.
Soon as he became the CM, Yeddyurappa withdrew the security cover around Eagleton Resort where the Cong and JD(S) MLAs were being hosted. This is a matter of concern since all elected representatives in one place demands high security cover, by the rule book. How would the lone-man cabinet explain should there be any attempt to harm the lives of elected representatives? All attempts have been made to subvert the democracy and buy out MLAs. If there are any supporters within that camp of JD(S) and Cong, who support BJP why would the party put pressure on them to come out and be on their side? Yeddyurappa has accused Congress of doing goondagiri on the MLAs. How does he know these details and how can be defend such statements? If any of the MLAs had complained against Cong for the same charges as the ones levelled by Yeddyurappa, the government should undertake serious probe into the matter. But then, what would one call the BJP leaders who are trying to hijack the MLAs from opposite camps?
JD(S) and Cong must remember one thing. It is obvious that BJP needs to buy the numbers. So long as they are bound to sit for a trading. But then, a transaction will be done only when there is a buyer and a seller. This ‘politics on sale’ is worse than sex trade. Prostitution has some amount of honesty in it. But politics has none of it. If this ‘sale’ continues, the dignity and prestige of Vidhana Soudha will be thrown into the drain, let’s have no doubt about it. It now depends on the keepers of the consciousness to ensure this does not happen.
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RBI lowers FY26 inflation projection to 4 pc
Mumbai (PTI): The Reserve Bank on Wednesday lowered the inflation projection for the current fiscal to 4 per cent from 4.2 per cent earlier, taking into account good agricultural output and falling crude prices.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) based headline retail inflation declined by a cumulative 1.6 percentage points during January-February 2025, from 5.2 per cent in December 2024 to a low of 3.6 per cent in February 2025.
On the back of a strong seasonal correction in vegetable prices this year, food inflation dropped to a 21-month low of 3.8 per cent in February.
Unveiling the first bi-monthly monetary policy of financial year 2025-25, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the outlook for food inflation has turned decisively positive.
There has been a substantial and broad-based seasonal correction in vegetable prices.
"On the inflation front, while the sharper-than-expected decline in food inflation has given us comfort and confidence, we remain vigilant to the possible risks from global uncertainties and weather disturbances," the governor said.
He further said the uncertainties on rabi crops have abated considerably and the second advance estimates point to a record wheat production and higher output of key pulses over the last year.
Along with robust kharif arrivals, this is expected to set the stage for a durable softening in food inflation, the governor said.
Sharp decline in inflation expectations for three months and one year ahead period would help anchor inflation expectations going ahead, the central bank said.
Furthermore, the fall in crude oil prices augurs well for the inflation outlook, said the Monetary Policy Statement, 2025-26 Resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
On the other hand, there are concerns on lingering global market uncertainties and recurrence of adverse weather-related supply disruptions pose upside risks to the inflation trajectory.
Taking all these factors into consideration, and assuming a normal monsoon, Malhotra said CPI inflation for the financial year 2025-26 is projected at 4 per cent, with Q1 at 3.6 per cent; Q2 at 3.9 per cent; Q3 at 3.8 per cent; and Q4 at 4.4 per cent. The risks are evenly balanced.
The government will release the retail inflation numbers next week.
