According to the data released for the year 2023-2024, India has exported goods worth 16 billion U.S. dollars to China and imported goods worth 101 billion U.S. dollars, resulting in a trade deficit of 85 billion U.S. dollars with China. At the same time, discussions regarding Indo-China relations are taking place with great intensity.
Once seen walking through Parliament in chains, accusing the BJP of “killing democracy” and urging voters to defeat it, Sushil Kumar Rinku became a symbol of protest politics for the Aam Aadmi Party. Less than a year later, the same leader crossed over to the BJP, turning yesterday’s slogans into today’s awkward memories. From Congress to AAP to BJP, and from chains of protest to the saffron fold, Rinku’s political journey raises an uncomfortable question, were the chains a fight for principles or just a costume for the moment ? And in Punjab’s fast-changing politics, does such rapid switching signal political survival skills or does it slowly erode voter trust, no matter which party flag is held ?
कभी संसद परिसर में जंजीरों में चलते हुए, भाजपा पर “लोकतंत्र की हत्या” का आरोप लगाते और उसे सत्ता से हटाने की अपील करते दिखने वाले सुशील कुमार रिंकू आम आदमी पार्टी की विरोध राजनीति का प्रतीक बन गए थे। लेकिन एक साल भी नहीं बीता कि वही नेता भाजपा में शामिल हो गए, जिससे कल के नारे आज की असहज यादें बन गए। कांग्रेस से आम आदमी पार्टी और फिर भाजपा तक का सफर, और विरोध की जंजीरों से भगवा खेमे तक की छलांग, एक असहज सवाल छोड़ जाती है, क्या वे जंजीरें सिद्धांतों की लड़ाई थीं या सिर्फ उस पल की राजनीतिक पोशाक ? और पंजाब की तेज़ी से बदलती राजनीति में, क्या इतनी जल्दी पाला बदलना राजनीतिक समझदारी है या इससे मतदाताओं का भरोसा धीरे-धीरे कमजोर होता है, चाहे झंडा कोई भी हो ?
After losing both the 2022 Assembly election and the 2024 Lok Sabha contest, Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi finds himself at a crossroads that many turncoats quietly face but rarely admit. Once a four-time MLA and Cabinet Minister who held influence in Punjab politics, Sodhi’s shift from the Congress to the BJP was seen as a calculated move for a second innings. But with back-to-back defeats, the bigger question now isn’t about party loyalty, it’s about political return on investment.
