Best Of FPJ Opinion: Government’s ‘Extreme Paranoia’ On CJP protests, Himachal Congress’ 2027 Test & More

Here is a roundup of five editorials and op-eds published in the Free Press Journal in the past week. The opinion section of the Free Press Journal provides incisive perspectives and in-depth commentary on a range of subjects from India and the world. If you would like to read more such articles on the go, please consider downloading the Free Press Journal app.

1. A Besieged Capital, A Paranoid Government

   The jailing of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka for five days for “repeated violation of law and order” is an indication of the extreme paranoia that has seized the government, states the Free Press Journal’s October 15 editorial. 

2. Himachal Congress’s 2027 Test: From Organisational Repair To Mission Repeat

   With barely a year left before the 2027 Assembly elections, anti-incumbency could hit the Himachal Pradesh Congress government hard, while the lack of coordination between the government and the party organisation threatens to add fuel to the fire, writes KS Tomar.

3. Beneath The ‘Apolitical’ Movement Lies A Political Agenda

   The Cockroach Janata Party’s strategy has been one of ‘tactical radicalisation’. Initially positioned as a peaceful protest, it rapidly shifted to violating statutory orders, storming barricades, confronting security forces, and attempting to provoke state violence, writes Bhavdeep Kang.

4. We Cannot Use Democracy As An Excuse For Our Shortcomings

   The appalling failure of educational outcomes and rule of law is not because of democracy; it is because of a dysfunctional state. In other words, we cannot use democracy as an excuse for our shortcomings, writes Dr Jayaprakash Narayan. 

5. Maharashtra Govt Must Clear The Pending Dues Of Contractors

   The contractors preferring death by suicide, like students who did the same, should have woken up the Fadnavis government to the chasm it has allowed to prevail and widen. If there are genuine issues of roadblocks and tender clauses in the pending payments, they must be addressed without delay at every level of the government, states the Free Press Journal’s October 12 editorial.