Derek O Brien – Author, NDTV.com

Opinion: Modi's Regime Of Superheroes Is A Myth. Take A Look

Derek O'Brien | Sunday December 10, 2017

Every day, the government - the BJP and its family are Olympic gold medallists in propaganda techniques and technology - pummels us with more numbers, more statistics, more surveys and more data to prove it's a Regime of Superheroes.

Opinion: PM Knelt When Entering Parliament. That Respect Gone

Derek O'Brien | Tuesday November 21, 2017

What has happened subsequently is a reversal of those claimed sentiments. Things have now reached a stage where the Prime Minister is refusing to visit his "temple" by not even calling the winter session.

Opinion: No Fear Among People? BJP Chief Living In La-La Land

Derek O'Brien | Wednesday July 26, 2017

In parliament, I spoke on how this government is unleashing different sorts of attacks on innocent people across the country.

Opinion: BJP Has Given Bengal "<i>Supari</i>" To These 8 Stalwarts

Opinion: BJP Has Given Bengal "Supari" To These 8 Stalwarts

Derek O'Brien | Monday July 10, 2017

In Bengal, the BJP is a strange party. It lacks leaders, grassroots politicians and even effective spokespersons. It has outsourced its wicked and ghoulish pursuit of power to guns for hire.

Opinion: Rumour Spreading Society (RSS) And BJP Playing With Fire

Derek O'Brien | Friday July 07, 2017

The recent incident in North 24 Parganas district of Bengal is a case study on how a religious controversy is manufactured and promoted by the Rumour Spreading Society (RSS). Its affiliates join in for the political benefit of the BJP. The BJP has been trying to make inroads in Bengal. In 2014, it invested heavily in an expensive campaign in the state but came away wi...

Opinion: Surviving TV Channels Who Are Government Mouthpieces

Derek O'Brien | Sunday July 02, 2017

These are strange times for the media and for political messaging. Some television channels have become mouthpieces for the government. Alternative voices are drowned out and shouted down by the anchor himself or herself, not necessarily by official BJP spokespersons.

Opinion: Contrasting Styles Of Modi And Mamata Banerjee

Derek O'Brien | Thursday June 29, 2017

I concede though that Mamata Banerjee doesn't have the BJP's flair for publicity and for taking other people's programmes and repackaging and renaming them. But as David Ogilvy famously put it, "Great marketing only makes a bad product fail faster." One day (soon), the BJP will find out.

Opinion: The Truth About The Darjeeling Trouble

Derek O'Brien | Sunday June 18, 2017

The unrest in Darjeeling has reminded some people of the Gorkhaland agitation that erupted against the CPI(M) government in Bengal in the 1980s. This led to a demand for a separate state and a call for greater development. Are we seeing a repeat of it? The short answer is "No". The context and circumstances are very different.

Opinion: <i>Chatur Baniya</i> Remark Exposes - Again - BJP Aversion To Gandhi-<i>ji</i>

Opinion: Chatur Baniya Remark Exposes - Again - BJP Aversion To Gandhi-ji

Derek O'Brien | Tuesday June 13, 2017

Political battles are temporary. Institutions such as the Mahatma and the Indian Army - even if it is strange to mention them together - are permanent. They define our nation, and always will.

Opinion: Centre Doesn't Know Meaning Of F-Word

Derek O'Brien | Monday June 05, 2017

For all its lip service to federalism, the BJP-led government at the centre is systematically undermining powers of the states. The recent restriction and virtual ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter - it amounts to a blanket ban on cow slaughter, for all practical purposes - is one example.

Opinion: 6 Lessons I’ve Learnt As An MP Including Perils Of Khan Market

Derek O'Brien | Monday May 29, 2017

To be honest, six years in parliament have taught me something new almost every day. Here are six lessons from these past six years.

Opinion: When A 27-Year-Old Dies, How Do You Cope?

Derek O'Brien | Sunday May 07, 2017

However old you are, whatever you've experienced in life, it's never enough to teach you to cope with grief.

Opinion: Football Jersey No 110 for Arun Jaitley, Please

Derek O'Brien | Sunday April 16, 2017

After sterling and cross-party work to bring the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime into effect, it was disappointing that the BJP-led government introduced the GST Bills in Parliament as Money Bills. This allowed it to essentially bypass the Rajya Sabha, ignore its views, and let the government romp home on the basis of its Lok Sabha majority.

Opinion: GST Victim Of Ego War Between India's 2 Biggest Parties

Derek O'Brien | Thursday April 06, 2017

When either the BJP or the Congress is in government, it is all set to "Go" for GST. When in opposition, the same party and same political leaders "Slow" GST. It has been the smaller parties in the middle that have tried to take a constructive approach to GST.

Opinion: Nirbhaya Fund Remains Unspent. Happy Women's Day

Derek O'Brien | Tuesday March 07, 2017

From 2013 to 2017, the Rs 3,000 crore in the Nirbhaya Fund has remained almost entirely unspent. In 2016 and 2017, the Finance Minister didn't even mention women's safety in his Budget speech. It's back to normal.

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