My Opinion

Perhaps the biggest pointer to this year’s Budget is that even Rahul Gandhi did not have much to criticise. Digvijay Singh who is generally known for his criticisms, for once was forced to agree with the Budget. Leaders like Anand Sharma and Kapil Sibal weren’t very vocal either. Normally most of these senior Congress leaders never miss out on an opportunity to hit out at the Modi Government. Even within the party, Shatrughan Sinha who considers Jaitley his political opponent and Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan’s political elder too came out in support of the Budget. If people like Shatrughan Sinha and Yashwant Sinha who usually love taking potshots at Arun Jaitley have supported the Budget, one does not need to elaborate much about the Budget or how it would impact people.

The Rajya Sabha had started a discussion on the action being taken against those who had raised anti India slogans in JNU. The Left and the Congress had wanted a discussion on this issue. But soon things began to take an ugly turn when the discussion got steered towards the politics in Bengal. The Left and the Congress are eager to forge an alliance for the upcoming elections in West Bengal this year. Even Rahul Gandhi went to JNU in an act of solidarity with the Left. Both Anand Sharma and Sitaram Yechury are well aware that any reference to Goddess Durga would have a direct impact in Bengal and that is why Smriti Irani’s remarks resulted in such heated exchanges in the Upper House.

In today’s Rail Budget, Suresh Prabhu has underlined that there will not be any hike in passenger fares or freight charges. However he laid stress on capacity enhancement. Stations would better equipped with wifi and put under surveillance. New rail lines and tracts would be introduced, locomotive factories would be set up, smart railway stations and smart coaches would also be introduced. However all this would require substantial capital. Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha somewhat outlined the mode of financing. He said they would ensure that there is a threefold increase in the advertising revenue and they would develop the infrastructure that would generate more revenue from the freight handled by the Railways. Suresh Prabhu being a Chartered Accountant knows how to maintain a balance sheet. One can hope that he has worked out the arithmetics before making such big announcements.

Her emotional and animated speech today proved that Smriti Irani has been deeply affected by the accusations heaped against her. This was noticed both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. She even stated that she took all these accusations against her personally when someone from the Opposition that she need not get so personal. What is noteworthy is that the Opposition was completely silenced by the manner in which Smriti Irani delivered her speech today.

More people would have lost their lives in the ongoing Jat agitation had the Army and the CRPF not been rushed to maintain law and order. The situation has more or less now been brought under control. The government has also assured the protestors that it would look into their demands. However lot remains to be answered. Was the Haryana Government completely oblivious of the impending stir? Did they not have any information that the Jat agitators were preparing themselves for a such an assault? If reports are to be believed, is it true that a section of the Haryana police turned a blind eye towards the violence that followed? Did any top leader finance this entire agitation? And perhaps the biggest question remains is whether the Government will be able to identify those involved and severely punish them?

There is no doubt that anti India slogans were raised inside the JNU Campus. Slogans of diving the country were also raised. There were slogans in support of Afzal Guru. Such anti India slogans can never be supported by any citizen of the country. However the main question at the centre of this controversy is who raised those slogans? Did Kanhaiya raise them or was Umar responsible for them or those who raised such slogans were outsiders and not belonging to JNU? A thorough impartial investigation is necessary for the truth to come out and for that one would have to have faith in the police and the Judiciary.

Umar Khalid and his fellow students are facing charges of allegedly raising anti India slogans in JNU. The police want to interrogate him about the sloganeering but Umar and his associates after having returned to the campus appear to take full advantage of their situation. The police on the other hand has decided to exercise restraint. The manner in which Umar and his associates have laid conditions before the Court pertaining to their surrender, it seems as if he an iconic figure engaged in some freedom struggle. It would be better if all those involved instead of taking law in their own hands, surrender and appear in Court. It should be left to the Courts to decide whether they are guilty or not. The more they linger their surrender, Umar Khalid and his compatriots will end up weakening their own case against them.

It is amply clear that come what may, the Congress is determined to stall the Parliament proceedings this Budget session. Whatever may be the outcome of the All Party Meet and however hard the Government may try, the Congress will not be prepared to give any safe passage to it. There can be no doubt on this if one were to carefully listen to what the Congress President Sonia Gandhi had to say today at the Congress Working Committee meet.

In a democracy while every citizen has a right to protest and has a right to one’s own opinion, it does not mean that the right to protest should be at the cost of others. It does not entail the right to plunder, the right to arson or the right to block rail and road. The kind of agitation that is being witnessed in Haryana today is similar to what has already taken place in Rajasthan, in Andhra Pradesh, in Telangana or even Maharashtra over the Maratha reservation issue. Every State government has had to accept their demands and pass the quota bill. However each time the Supreme Court has rejected it on grounds of being unconstitutional. Those agitating over the Jat reservation issue should therefore realise that pressurising the government and causing inconvenience to the common people will ultimately not yield any results.

In the Pampore encounter, the Army officers and Jawans lost their lives because they were out in the open while the militants firing at them were holed up in a building. However for the Army, the biggest concern was to protect civilian lives from these insurgents who were ruthless and cared for none. Our salute goes out to the father of slain Captain Pawan Kumar who said that his son’s sacrifice for the country could not have made him prouder.

The manner in which Kanhaiya was manhandled by the lawyers in Court is shameful. Equally disgraceful is the manner in which a BJP MLA was caught beating up others. The assault on media persons in the Court premises is also very shocking. Even the video footage, basis upon which a case was slapped against Kanhaiya, has been doctored. However one cannot deny that some people did raise anti India slogans within the JNU campus, they did raise slogans of dividing the country. It is therefore alarming that those wanted by the police are not just being sheltered in the University, they are even hitting out at the police and blaming the media and with University teachers having warned against any police presence in the premises — all this seems like a mockery in the name of free speech.

A sloganeering by a handful of about 8-10 people in JNU that day has now snowballed into a major controversy. However a majority of the people whether they are from the Left or the ABVP, do not support those who have raised such anti India slogans. Even at the Jadavpur University those expressing anti India sentiments were vehemently opposed by the majority. It is therefore essential to segregate those few divisive voices and engage with those who are willing to listen and catch those who despite living in the country keep talking of dividing it.