My Opinion

Initially the Congress party had decided that they would raise the issue of the National Herald case in Parliament and stall the proceedings in the House. However, when the leaders realised that this would send out a wrong signal that the Party leaders, in order to protect Sonia and Rahul Gandhi were not allowing the Parliament to function, they started reiterating that there was no connection between the National Herald issue and the GST bill or with that of stalling the Parliament proceedings. Rahul Gandhi is of the opinion that by taking his protests to the street, his party would make the most of it but some of his party leaders feel that instead of making it into a political issue, it needs to be fought legally.

Inorder to improve bilateral ties, it is necessary to engage in talks with Pakistan without any third party involvement and both India and Pakistan are ready for this. Border skirmishes have also reduced and both the countries have agreed upon laying a gas pipeline which would run from Turkmenistan to India via Pakistan. India and Pakistan are also keen upon boosting trade across the border. However what is necessary in the first place is that Pakistan would have to make a concerted effort to combat terrorism in its own soil.

Narendra Modi had visited Kyoto during his visit to Japan. Like Varanasi, Kyoto is also an old city. However, Kyoto has been modernised without disturbing its legacy. Modi wants to develop Varanasi on the lines of Kyoto and has sought help from the Japanese government to do this. Shinzo Abe may even lend Modi some advice in this regard tomorrow. Preparing tracks for the Bullet train and getting it to finally run will take time. However, cleaning up Varanasi, improving the condition of its roads and improving systems in the city should not take that long. A beginning, at the least, should be made now.

There is a tactical shift in the strategy of the Congress party, which is faced with several questions over National Herald, the property and the share transfer. The reason behind this shift is that many of the party’s senior leaders are against creating a ruckus in Parliament over the issue, which, they believe, is harming their position. If this trend continues, the Congress may end up being isolated and lose support from other opposition parties as well. However, media reports have said that protests over the issue are continuing because Rahul Gandhi has insisted on it. One newspaper report even claimed that Rahul Gandhi is ready to go to jail in this case, which has silenced Congress leaders, even as the chaos continues.

Danish is that unfortunate victim who happened to witness the gruesome murder of his father Md Akhlaq. Perhaps there is nothing more painful than this. He himself was pushed to the jaws of death but despite having gone through so much, he does not see any pre-planned conspiracy behind this. He blames it at the crowd that was provoked by rumours being spread by certain unruly elements and those elements need to be severely punished. Danish’s comments certainly raise a question mark on those who feel that the country has become intolerant!

The bitter truth is that on the issue of terrorism, Pakistan has been exposed in front of the whole world. Prime Minister Narendar Modi has raised the issue of terrorism in all the countries he has visited. He has even called for isolating those countries that breed terrorism in their own soil. Nawaz Sharif and his adviser Sartaj Aziz have repeatedly tried to corner India but it has not made any impact internationally. Rather they have drawn flak for crying hoarse and therefore it is but obvious that Pakistan has no other option but to engage in talks with India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the ground for it in Paris when he had extended his hand to the Pakistan Prime Minister and then despatched Ajit Doval to Singapore for NSA level talks. Currently the Union Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj is in talks with her counterpart in Pakistan. Now Pakistan cannot claim that India is not ready for talks rather it would have to show to the world that it is indeed serious about tackling terrorism.

It is a good sign that both the State and the Central government are worried about the alarming pollution levels in Delhi and have decided to work together on this. This will certainly yield positive results. However the efforts of the government can fully succeed only when we as citizens undertake our responsibilities to reduce pollution and cooperate with the government in all its efforts.

With Sonia and Rahul having to appear in Court this month in the National Herald case, the Congress has accused the government of political vendetta. The party wants to strategically exploit this issue as a means to stall the Parliament, take their protest to the streets and force the central government to go on the defensive. However this strategy seemed have had the exact opposite effect with the Government and the party adopting an extremely offensive mode. Perhaps the BJP leaders are well aware that the case against Sonia and Rahul is very strong…it is a case of corruption and with the Court having issued the summons, the Congress will not be able to carry on with their protests for long.

India and Pakistan resuming talks, augurs well for both the countries. There are discussions on resuming cricketing ties. This is being viewed with optimism in Pakistan. On the contrary in India there are voices of opposition. When the government had decided to put an end to all talks, the Opposition had clamoured for better ties with Pakistan by insisting on talks. And now when the Government has decided to engage with Pakistan, the Opposition will start questioning what has brought about a sudden change in Pakistan to have prompted India to reach out to its neighbouring state. This seems like a double speak by the Opposition!

Today during a discussion in Parliament, all members agreed that once the situation in Chennai is brought under control, all states would be advised to take a fresh look at their existing drainage system. Chennai has witnessed the worst floods primarily due to a dysfunctional drainage system. The Central Government is rendering every possible help to the State. But it is the Army, the Navy and the Air Force jawans who deserve a special mention for their commendable rescue efforts in such difficult conditions.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s comments on the Ram Mandir issue in Kolkata is nothing new. He has often said that he would want the Ram Mandir to be built in Ayodhya in his lifetime. The RSS Chief was addressing a programme in the memory of two young men who lost their lives in police firing in Ayodhya about 25 years ago. His comments have snowballed into a controversy since December 6 when the Babri Masjid demolition took place, is round the corner and the Ram Mandir issue will once again start dominating headlines.

The worsening condition in Chennai and other areas in Tamil Nadu can be attributed to primarily two reasons. One, is the sudden incessant rainfall which is wreaking havoc in the state. It has even broken a 100 year old record! However another major reason for the flood is the unplanned and illegal construction in the state which is destroying the natural water paths thereby preventing the water to flow out. As a result, whenever there is a rainfall, the city is bound to resemble a huge lake. Srinagar, Uttarakhand, Mumbai and now Chennai are victims of such encroachment and flawed urbanisation. While on one hand it is difficult to fight nature but with better planning, the scale of devastation can surely be arrested.