Firstpost Editor's Picks: Doctors' strike in West Bengal, simultaneous Lok Sabha, Assembly polls, Maurizio Sarri exits Chelsea; today's must-read stories

Doctors' strike: West Bengal already has laws to deter violence against medicos, Mamata-led govt needs to implement them

At least nineteen states, including West Bengal, already have in place state legislation aimed to deter and curb violence against health professionals and damage of medical institutions. The West Bengal Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act was enacted in 2009. In India, whenever there is a public outcry against any form of crime, there is a demand for specialised laws prohibiting such crime. However, what we lack are not laws, but the effective implementation of the existing laws.

Simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha, state Assemblies untenable; smack of attempt to impose one-party dominance

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Karnataka polls win no guarantee Congress will perform well in 2024: Prashant Kishor

Karnataka Results: What the poll outcome means as 2024 nears

While it is true that many states now have very stable governments, especially with the BJP emerging as a dominant force countrywide, there are no guarantees that state governments will not fall. So, how will simultaneous elections work in this context? The simple answer is that they won’t. Mid-term elections will always remain a possibility. One solution suggested in the current context by BJP leader Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is that no-confidence motions will have to be accompanied by confidence motions, enabling a new government to be formed when one falls.

More than Rs 1,00,000 cr is waiting to enter Narendra Modi govt’s wallet if it bites PSB privatisation bullet; timing is never better

Is massive capital infusion using taxpayers’ money justified in state-run banks pitted against their smarter rivals in the private sector? When it comes to asset quality and profitability, most PSBs continue to lag behind well-run private banks, one reason is the lack of aggression in business operations, intervention of government in these entities for the forced role of social sector schemes and lapses in following golden rules of high-value lending that led to the piling up of bad loans. But, the government, fighting a fiscal conundrum has a golden opportunity now to get out of this annual burden—if it chooses to bite the privatisation bullet.

Premier League: Maurizio Sarri's tumultuous reign at Chelsea ends in jaded disillusionment as London club yearns revival

While all top clubs barring Manchester City and Liverpool stuttered, a ‘top four’ finish was secured with relative ease, but even the staunchest of Maurizio Sarri's fans would agree that it was downright due to poor performances from the remaining clubs. From record defeats to demoralising draws, Sarri divided the Chelsea fanbase like no other manager has ever been able to do before. He enjoyed a cult following from a group of fans while a larger section booed him and his tactics — leading to a toxic culture hitherto unseen at the Stamford Bridge.

The Lion King: Shah Rukh Khan teams up with elder son Aryan to voice Hindi dubbed version of Disney's iconic film

Shah Rukh Khan will team up with his elder son, Aryan Khan, to voice Disney's live-action version of The Lion King. While SRK will voice the father Mufasa, Aryan will lend his voice to the son Simba in the Hindi dubbed version of the film. On Fathers' Day, Shah Rukh had teased the development in a Twitter post, where he posed with Aryan in the blue jerseys with Mufasa and Simba's names ahead of India's ICC World Cup match against Pakistan on 16 June.