My Opinion

Developed countries like the US, UK, Germany and France want India and other developing countries to adhere to strict carbon emission norms but China and India are together on this. Both the countries agree that the World’s developed countries in order to achieve higher standards of living, have exploited the natural resources according to their whims and fancies and now want the developing nations to limit themselves. India and China have said that all developing nations have a right to grow and it is the industrialised countries who need to shoulder a bigger responsibility towards cutting down their own carbon emissions.

One may well remember that just two days back, on Saturday, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had told the British Prime Minister David Cameron, that Pakistan was ready for talks with India without any pre-conditions. And today when Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif met in Paris, the warmth that was exchanged between the two is perhaps an indicator that there could well be a thaw in the relationship between the two countries. However, having burnt our fingers with Pakistan in the past, India will have to tread the ground very cautiously.

Rahul Gandhi is well aware that GST is a necessity for the country. The proposal to introduce GST incidentally was first mooted by the Congress government. However the Congress Vice President’s opposition to pass the GST bill is guided purely by political reasons. If GST is introduced, there will be a spurt in economic growth which would be attributed to Modi fulfilling his promise of ushering in development in the country. Rahul Gandhi has realised that this would benefit the BJP. Even if GST is beneficial for the country, in the long run it may not be beneficial for his party. Naturally he will not want the bill to be passed now.

There was a major ruckus in the parliament today when CPM MP Md Salim wrongly attributed a quote in the Outlook magazine to Home Minister Rajnath Singh. However the magazine had erroneously quoted Rajnath Singh when in reality the comment was made by the late Ashok Singhal of the VHP leaving the Home Minister not only hurt but also very angry. The Speaker of course expunged Salim’s remarks from the proceedings of the House but a privilege motion has been moved against the Outlook Magazine and its Editor will now have to appear before the Privilege Committee of the Parliament.

Major developments were seen at the swearing in ceremony of Nitish Kumar. Firstly, Nitish has tried to send out a message from Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, of a new political beginning. All anti-Modi leaders were brought together on stage. Secondly, Lalu Yadav has made it clear that his younger son, Tejaswi Yadav, would be his political successor. Another visible development was the fact that the RJD supremo did not give those a chance to become a part of Nitish’s cabinet, who had left him and joined Nitish when the two were rivals. Shyam Rajak, who was part of Nitish’s cabinet for the past 10 years, had to be content watching the ceremony on his TV screen. Nitish has relied on people who have supported him for a long time now. Similarly Lalu has ensured that those who stood by him even in the most trying times, got good portfolios. Abdul Bari Siddique has been allotted the crucial finance ministry.

One question that is repeatedly being raised is whether Peter Mukerjea was actually unaware about Sheena Bora’s murder? What stopped him from taking the initiative to find out Sheena’s whereabouts? CBI is confident that Peter knew about the murder and the proof of this was given by his own son Rahul Mukerjea. Now, CBI needs to find out the motive behind this murder. Was it only money or the relationship between Sheena and Rahul which led to this gruesome crime? Another important aspect which has surfaced is a certain police officer’s role in trying to help Peter. It is equally important to find out the reason behind this help.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rightly pointed out that the supply lines of the ISIS would need to be choked. According to certain reports the ISIS is being funded by 40 odd nations. The terror outfit does not have any weapons manufacturing facility and yet is managing to procure arms and ammunition. The only way to stem their onslaught is to curb their sources of funding. And this is applicable not just to the ISIS but to all terror organisations in the world.

Maulana Madani’s initiative needs to be appreciated. Organisations like the Taliban and now the Islamic State have insulted Islam and created a nightmare for Muslims across the globe. In the Holy Quran, it is stated that Islam does not allow the brutal murder of an innocent man. But these terrorist organisations are misleading people and using religion as a tool to gather support of the masses. The Islamic State has killed around 1.5 lakh Muslims around the world. In the name of Islam, it is misleading the youth. It is our responsibility to educate the young generation and make them aware of these terrorist organisations and their intentions and thereby prevent them from joining such dreadful terror outfits.

In the aftermath of the attacks on France, President Francois Hollande has been repeatedly urging nations to unite together to fight terrorism. He stressed on the need to join hands to combat terrorism. He would be meeting US President Barack Obama on the 24th of November followed by a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 26th of this month.

Raj Thackeray is unhappy with the fact that Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has decided to build a memorial for Bal Thackeray at the same location where Uddhav Thackeray wanted. The MNS chief questioned this move and went on to say that the Mayor’s house is a heritage building and a memorial cannot be built there and the government should look for a different location.

France is a country that is known for its liberalism. It is a multiracial country where every citizen enjoys the same rights. People have the right to express themselves freely, there are no restrictions on what they say or what they wear. Citizens have the right to practise their own religion and live according to their beliefs. France has a total population of six and a half crores of which there are fifty lakh Muslims which is about 8percent of the total population. For such attacks to have taken place in France is indeed shocking. In the aftermath of these attacks, questions are now being raised on the extent of freedom being given to all. Questions are also being raised whether it would be judicious for France to accept migrants from Syria.

The Dadri incident in which Md Akhlaq lost his life had forced President Pranab Mukherjee to comment on the core values of the Indian civilisation. He had said that at any cost we as a Nation would have to be tolerant. The President has also expressed his anguish at the manner in which awards were being returned as a mark of protest. He said that such acts tarnish the country’s image. After the President has spoken out against ‘Award Wapsi’ one can hope that those who are protesting against the rising intolerance will voice their concerns but would think twice before returning their awards since this would show India in a bad light.