My Opinion

One really can’t expect much from Pakistan. Perhaps Pakistan’s hard line approach suits Narendra Modi the best. When Prime Minister Modi for the first time had cancelled talks with the neighbouring state, he was criticised for lacking the art of diplomacy and there was a clamour for resuming talks. It was also said that Modi was in favour of escalating tensions between the two countries. Modi met Nawaz Sharif at Ufa, at Paris and even went to Pakistan to personally meet him. Sushma Swaraj also visited Pakistan for talks. Subsequently the Pathankot attack took place. Pakistan was given enough proof and the Government even allowed a team from across the border to visit Pathankot for investigations. However when this has evoked a contrarian response, Modi will have no other option but to adopt an iron hand which will certainly prove costly for Pakistan.

It is most difficult to realise the trauma of a father who has lost his son, the pain of a sister who has lost her brother…and it is strange that the person behind the wheel will go scot free because he is only a minor. However in such cases the strictest punishment must be given to such parents who easily hand over their cars to their minor children thereby putting several lives in danger.

Amitabh Bachchan is justified in saying that he has nothing to do with any shipping business. He has been mentioned his as a Director by a company. If indeed he has been a Director in this firm, where is the letter of appointment? Reports say that he resigned from as a Director four years ago and even if he did then there must be a letter of resignation. If Amitabh Bachchan’s name has been misused then it is a case of gross injustice against him. However some have questioned what took him so long to respond? Amitabh Bachchan has said that he had to take legal advice before issuing a statement. He has had to speak to his chartered accountant and only after that he has clarified his stand.

There are about 2500 students at NIT Srinagar. Around 1500 of these students are from states other than J&K. Despite outweighing local students in numbers, there is a sense of apprehension amongst the outstation students. They are scared of beinf at the receiving end of the Kashmiri students who have a local support base. To ensure security, the Government has now decided to deploy CRPF at NIT Srinagar. Smriti Irani will personally visit NIT and hold talks with students. Even the state government is taking this matter seriously. One can hope the situation will get back to normal and students whether local or outstation will not face further trouble. It is important to have discussions with them together.

If one were to listen to Anand Sharma and Arvind Kejriwal, it would appear as if Pakistan has defeated India in a war. Everyone has the right to attack and criticise Prime Minister Modi. But citing a Pakistani newspaper, which is relatively unknown and lacks credibility, to hit out is not correct. If Pakistan’s JIT indeed submits any such report then it must be criticised. However it would be wrong to react in such a hurry where sensitive matters like Pakistan are concerned.

There is no doubt this issue is being politicised. 49 years back in 1967 the Supreme Court had clearly stated that the Aligarh Muslim University cannot be considered a minority institute however it was vote bank politics that forced Indira Gandhi to confer it minority status in 1981. Post ‘81, many a times there have been politics over this issue. Even the Allahabad High Court agreed with the Supreme Court judgement. The government will therefore make its decision as per the law but this will again trigger off a political outcry. The Government will be termed as anti-Muslim and the party will have to do the explaining.

Mehbooba Mufti who took oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir today, is faced with the challenge of fulfilling her father’s dreams. The PDP and BJP are ideologically two different parties, their support bases are different and Mehbooba in terms of running a government is yet not that experienced as her father. Her top priority will be the welfare of the people of J&K and she would have to pay less attention on the uncertainties of her electoral base for having allied with the BJP.

It is well known that in order to avoid paying taxes, people stash their black money in accounts abroad and there is always a veil of secrecy over such shell companies and overseas accounts. However this is the second time that a list of exact names who operate offshore accounts have been leaked. The account holders will either state that there is no element of truth in such leaks or will claim these accounts and companies are legitimate owing to their earnings abroad. Despite the fact that it can be difficult to establish these accounts and the names of Directors of these shell companies owing to the anonymity clause, it is noteworthy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has immediately called for a probe into these accounts. Being apprehensive of who all are involved, usually governments refrain from taking immediate action but this Government has taken the first step forward.

China may not have supported us on Masood Azhar but India today managed to get a huge boost in its fight against terrorism. The US and Saudi Arabia have joined hands to impose sanctions against outfits deemed at funding terror organisations. A joint decision was made to undertake strong action and choke the financing of these outfits acting as terror fronts for groups like Hafiz Saeed’s Lakshar. This comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit where he met President Obama and is now on his way to Saudi Arabia.

In Congress ruled states, its own party MLAs are voicing their opposition against their respective state governments causing enough headaches for the Party high command. Currently there are seven states that the Congress is in power – Karnataka, Kerala, Himachal, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya. Of these, Kerala and Assam will soon go to polls and there is a possibility that Congress may not be voted back here. If the Congress were to lose these two states, then it would be left with only Karnataka as the biggest state. In such a situation the party will certainly want to avoid a Uttarakhand and Arunachal like rebellion in the states of Himachal and Manipur and thereby lose these two states as well.