My Opinion

West Bengal goes to polls this year and traditionally Malda has always been a Congress stronghold. However after the last Assembly elections, the Trinamul Congress has gathered good ground in the area and that is why they have alleged that prior to the elections, there is a deliberate attempt to communalise the whole atmosphere in the state. However the perpetrators of the violence in Malda, feel that since Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will give them protection, they can easily get away.

Aamir Khan was made the Ambassador for the Incredible India campaign by the erstwhile UPA government. That he is neither a supporter nor a fan of Narendra Modi is not unknown. Despite having criticised Modi often in the past, he was never removed from the campaign. He is perhaps now being replaced because his recent remarks on intolerance is known to have ruffled many feathers in the government and Amitabh Bachchan is to be the new face of the Incredible India campaign. He is probably being considered because without charging a penny and without courting any controversy, Amitabh Bachchan had successfully campaigned for Gujarat Tourism as its Ambassador.

The passing away of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is a great loss for the country. A well defined leader whose presence was necessary in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir. He exhibited a great sense of conviction when he decided to join hands with BJP to form the government. He was governing the State judiciously and did not allow anything to come in between him and Narendra Modi. He guided and taught the BJP ministers in his government to join hands and work together. He was acceptable to all – his own party and the BJP. Perhaps the biggest challenge for his daughter Mehbooba Mufti would be to bind the party and the BJP together and govern the State successfully like her father.

In the aftermath of the Pathankot attack, perhaps for the first time there is a visible change in the manner in which Pakistan has responded. This has happened primarily because when Narendra Modi recently visited Lahore, he had asked Nawaz Sharif “what has war yielded? Neither land nor heaven”. Since then Nawaz Sharif and his brother have been reiterating the futility of war and terrorism. Ironically post the 26/11 attack, Pakistan had refused to accept that Ajmal Kasab who was caught alive, was a citizen of its own country but this time they have not refuted India’s claims that the terrorists in the Pathankot attack had entered from Pakistan. And perhaps for the first time they have accepted that the evidences provided to them by India are strong enough. One can hope that our neighbour will strong action before the 15th of January so that there are no brakes in the Foreign Secretary level talks between the two countries.

Gajendra Chauhan finally takes charge as the Chairman of FTII but he would not be able to interfere with the matters of the Academic Council. He would only look into administrative issues. The Academic Council will have 14 members with established names like Raju Hirani as part of it and the Council will decide upon training and academic matters. Gajendra Chauhan will therefore be a mere figure head. The Government decided to come to such a compromise not only to keep its prestige intact but to also placate the protesting students.

The manner in which the terrorists had entered the Pathankot airbase proves that they had been planning out the operation for months. They had undergone training at an Air Force base in Pakistan, they had also undergone weapons training and had come with AK47 rifles fitted with grenade launchers. All this reveals that the fidayeen attackers had crossed the border and entered Punjab some time back. It would therefore be incorrect to link this attack to Prime Minister Modi’s surprise visit to Lahore. And there is no doubt that the handlers who gave instructions to these terrorists are still in Pakistan and Nawaz Sharif has little control over them. Nawaz Sharif wants better bilateral ties between the two countries but his army thinks differently. However the manner in which the Pakistan Prime Minister has responded and promised prompt action in the aftermath of the attack, one can be optimistic that the perpetrators would be dealt with in the strongest manner. It is perhaps for the first time that Pakistan has agreed to investigate the attack based on the evidences provided by India. And incase that does not happen, India would perhaps have to take what Swami Ramdev says, is a more combative stance against Pakistan.

I was a witness for Arun Jaitley today in Court in the defamation case against Arvind Kejriwal. I have known Arun Jaitley for the past 42 years. I have known him since we were nobody and we hadn’t even envisaged that eventually one day he would become the country’s Finance Minister. For years our families have been very close. On both professional and personal grounds, I have always found him to be extremely honest. There are very few people like him in public who have such high moral values. And that is why I went to Court as a witness for him. I am positive that there are lakhs of people who would agree with me that Arun Jaitley is an honest man. Unfortunately not everyone can testify for him but my going to Court as his witness is but a reflection of the sentiments and feelings of all his supporters and well wishers.

The combing operation to flush out the terrorists at the Pathankot airbase continues to be on. Arun Jaitley pointed out today that the Air Force base covers a very large area, the boundary wall of which has a perimeter of 24Kms and there are residential pockets within, with about eleven thousand people residing in them. It is more or less like a mini township. Naturally to sensitise the area is no mean task. The operation can only be called off till the combing of the entire area is complete. But the bigger question is how did the terrorists manage to infiltrate the airbase? Apparently sensitive information about the Pathankot Air Base and a possible attack had been passed on by the former Air Force officer who was recently arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan. When the intelligence agencies had such crucial information in their possession, why did they not act timely? Once the operation is complete, the Government must find out who is responsible for such a gross oversight which facilitated the terrorists to enter easily. Although a major strike has been successfully averted, the Government must take stern action against those whose recklessness has resulted in the tragic loss of some of our jawans and officers – a loss that the country will perhaps never be able to accept.