My Opinion

Air pollution level in Delhi-National Capital Region is currently 100 times more than that of London and Tokyo, and 85 times more than that of Paris. The argument that we have a burgeoning population does not hold water, because Beijing, teeming with population, has brought about 5 pc improvement in air pollution level in the last five years. On the other hand, air pollution level in Delhi-NCR rose by nearly 13 pc.

Face-saving measures like the ban on crackers on Diwali night or odd-even rules for plying of vehicles will not do. None of the state governments tried to stop burning of stubble in fields of Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. No stern measure was taken to stop pollution from nearly 20,000 factories. No water was sprinkled on 40,000 tonnes of dust that emanated from construction sites. Not a single among the one lakh odd trucks and 89 lakh vehicles that enter the capital daily was stopped.

In a belated move, the Lt. Governor of Delhi on Wednesday imposed a ban on entry of all trucks, except those carrying essential goods, into Delhi and all construction activity inside the capital. But these are not permanent solutions. It appears that the government takes decisions only when a big crisis occurs. The government only wakes up when it finds its citizens facing trouble even to breathe. The air in Delhi will not become clean through such ad hoc measures. We need to change our overall attitude.

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Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh has revealed that the Pakistani spy agency ISI had “hatched a major conspiracy to fan communal disturbances in the state” by killing RSS and other Hindu leaders recently. This, he said, came to light with the arrest of members of a “terror module’ comprising Sikh separatists from abroad. Capt Amarinder Singh needs to be praised for acting with patience and he refrained from making a political issue out of this. Those killed belonged to RSS, BJP and Shiv Sena and were opposed to Congress. It is a matter of concern that the ISI, after being frustrated in its attempts to foment violence in Kashmir, has now shifted its attention to Punjab, ruled by Congress party. The motive behind this was to create communal tension between Hindus and Sikhs. The people of Punjab clearly understand this nefarious game of our enemies and our security agencies are on alert. We should not be complacent and be on our guard against such despicable attempts to create disturbances, whether it is Punjab or Kashmir.

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The Centre on Monday announced a multi-agency probe, involving Income Tax, Enforcement Directorate, Financial Intelligence Unit and RBI, into the ‘Paradise Papers’, which are leaked documents, running into millions, that allegedly show offshore dealings by hundreds of Indians. These documents have been revealed by an international collective of journalists, who pored over them for months, to sift details. The multi-agency group will match the information in the Paradise Papers to ascertain cases of tax evasion. The government has made it clear that there are several cases in which investigation is already being carried out, and the new cases will be added to the probe. The chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes will head the multi-agency group. I hope the investigations will be carried out speedily, questions that are agitating the minds of people will be answered, and action will be taken.

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One of the co-founders of Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, Mukul Roy, on Friday joined the BJP. Roy is a known face in West Bengal politics, a politician having grassroot support. He had left the Congress along with Mamata Banerjee more than two decades ago and formed the Trinamool Congress. He was number two in the party hierarchy, next to Mamata Banerjee. He was the party general secretary, its vice-president and was member of Rajya Sabha twice. It was Mamata who made him the Railway Minister to replace Dinesh Trivedi. The two fell out a few months ago, after Mukul Roy was named in the Saradha scam and Narada sting operation. Mukul Roy resigned from the party after he was sidelined by Mamata Banerjee. His joining BJP is a big loss to the Trinamool supremo. On the other hand, the BJP, which lacked a big political heavyweight in West Bengal, was more than eager to get Mukul Roy in its fold. It is true that whenever BJP will raise the Saradha and Narada scam issues, Mamata Banerjee will naturally question why BJP admitted Mukul Roy into the party. I do not know whether the BJP has prepared its answer to this inevitable question.

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Rajput outfits, particularly Karni Sena, has given a bandh call in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh over Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmavati. The Karni Sena members had earlier ransacked shooting sets and had assaulted Bhansali and his crew. The Rajput outfits allege that Queen Padmini and the Rajput community has been shown in a negative light in the film, but Bhansali has outrightly rejected such charges as baseless. The film will hit the theatres on December 1, and presently dubbing work is in progress. The Rajput outfits have demanded that the film be shown to them, but the producers say that the film is still not ready. The question is: unless somebody has seen the film in its entirety, how can a charge of distorting history can be made? It would be better if the matter is resolved through negotiations and the controversy should be put to rest.

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The Maharashtra ATS has prevented nearly 120 Muslim youths from joining the Islamic State outfit and has utilized the services of Maulanas to “deradicalize” them and bring them into the mainstream. Police also took the help of the family members of these youths. This is a commendable step, both by police and the Islamic clerics. Legally, it was easy for the police to file cases against these youths, but the officials opted for the difficult path of persuading these misguided souls. Security agencies in Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana should emulate this model because most of the Muslim youths who have been caught while joining ISIS belong to these states. This is how terrorism can be nipped in the bud.

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On Tuesday, the World Bank released its 2018 report on Ease Of Doing Business, and India jumped 30 notches up from 130th place to 100th. The report also said, India’s business environment improved at the fifth fastest pace in the world. India registered improvement in 8 out of 10 tough indicators that were set as benchmarks, like starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.

For the last several weeks, the Modi government was being criticized domestically by sections of industry for not doing enough for ensuring ease of business, but the latest World Bank report is an effective reply to these critics. For India, entering the top 100 club for the first time matters a lot, and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley deserves kudos for this achievement.

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The Supreme Court on Monday directed that the 24-year-old woman Akhila alias Hadiya, a homoeopath, who converted to Islam after marrying her Muslim boyfriend Shafin Jehan, be brought before the court on November 27. The woman is presently in custody of her Hindu parents. After the Kerala High Court annulled their marriage saying this was a case of ‘love jihad’, the husband approached the apex court for relief. The Supreme Court had earlier directed the National Investigation Agency to probe cases of ‘love jihad’ in Kerala. The NIA in its report said, of the 89 suspected cases of love jihad furnished by Kerala Police, it probed nine and found startling similarities in the matter of conversion of Hindu girls into Islam. The NIA said there was a well-oiled machinery at work involving outfits like Popular Front of India and Sathyasarani, which were playing a big role in converting and radicalizing young girls.

If one goes by the NIA, the matter has serious ramifications. Radicalizing young girls and sending them to work for Islamic State in the Middle East amounts to sedition, but it appears the NIA’s counsel failed to convince the apex court. The Supreme Court said every adult woman had the right to decide whom she would like to marry and which religion to follow. The bench also remarked that there was no curb on a woman marrying a criminal. In the past there had been similar cases. Convict Abu Salem married a woman while in jail, and nobody stopped him. But in the case of Akhila alias Hadiya, the issue is slightly different. The apex court had directed NIA to probe cases of ‘love jihad’, and it is necessary that the NIA finishes its probe into all these 89 cases, and convince the apex court about the radicalization issue.

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In an interview to India TV reporter on Friday, Gujarat OBC leader Alpesh Thakore has ruled out reservation for Patidars from OBC quota. The Patidar agitation leader Hardik Patel is presently busy extracting a promise of reservation from Congress, the party which Alpesh Thakore had joined last week. If one looks carefully at the statements of both Alpesh Thakore and Hardik Patel, it is clear that the Congress is stepping into a mire. Saying that the party would give reservation to Patidars is not sufficient. The party has to make it clear how it will implement it. On Friday, Bombay High Court stayed the Maharashtra government’s decision to provide reservation to Marathas. The same was the case with the reservation for Jats in Rajasthan. Haryana assembly had to pass a bill to give reservation to Jats. The same occurred in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, but none of the decisions stood the test in courts. It should be made amply clear that any reservation for Patidars in Gujarat can be implemented only through a Constitutional amendment. The Congress is not in power at the Centre. Hence its promise will automatically vanish into thin air. With election schedule announced in Gujarat, the Congress must clearly state in what manner it would implement reservation for Patidars. To me, it seems the Congress is tying itself up in knots while allying with Alpesh, Jignesh and Hardik.

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Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday visited the famous Taj Mahal in Agra, launched a cleanliness campaign outside the complex, and announced new projects. By doing this, Yogi has effectively replied to those who were trying to create a wrong impression that the chief minister was favouring those radicals who were opposing the very existence of Taj Mahal. Yogi told a gathering that Taj Mahal was built with the blood and sweat of labourers and he was looking forward to a rise in the number of tourists visiting Taj from the current 40-50,000 to 2-3 lakhs a day. He promised to provide more facilities for visitors and enhance the beauty of the entire complex. Naturally, more tourists mean more income for small traders, vendors and other service providers. It also provides more employment to the local populace. Most of the people rightly feel that the unnecessary controversy over the origin of Taj Mahal should now be put at rest. I hope, politicians like Vinay Katiyar, Sangeet Som and Asaduddin Owaisi must have got the right message from Yogi’s visit.
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With the Election Commission announcing the election schedule for Gujarat, the stage is now set for an engrossing showdown between the ruling BJP and the main opposition party Congress. The hopes of Congress leaders rest on two factors: one, Narendra Modi is no more the chief minister of Gujarat, and leaders like Anandiben Patel and Vijay Rupani are not as strong and popular in countering the anti-incumbency factor, and two: the Congress, which finds itself weaker, is now relying on anti-BJP outfits like those of Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakore and Jignesh Mewani. Talks are on with NCP too. The Congress gameplan is to unite all anti-BJP forces on a single platform to give a tough fight to the ruling party. On the other hand, BJP is relying on its vast organisational network and the charisma of Narendra Modi. It is also counting on the strength of 12 ex-Congress MLAs who recently joined the party. BJP had never registered a win from these 12 seats in the past.

Though Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani may claim that the contest is one-sided, I personally feel that BJP’s position in Gujarat is not as strong as it used to be during Modi’s rule. When Modi was ruling Gujarat, BJP seemed to be the only major party in the state, and one big reason for this was the personal charisma of Modi. The majority of the people of Gujarat trusted Modi, and the latter knows this too. That is why Prime Minister Modi has visited Gujarat five times in the last one month. He knows that the people of Gujarat will vote for BJP only because of him. Also, it will be wrong to assume that Congress is nowhere in the picture and that the agitating Patidars are now back in the BJP camp.

While BJP is going to seek votes in the name of development, it is also facing 22 years of anti-incumbency. For the first time in 22 years, BJP is going to fight without Modi as its chief ministerial candidate. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and wait till December 18.

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On Tuesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a massive plan to spend nearly Rs 14 lakh crore on infrastructure and banking in the next two years. He made this announcement after the Union Cabinet cleared the Rs 7 lakh crore Bharat Mala highway project aimed at building 83,877 kilometre highways. The package also included a massive infusion of Rs 2.11 lakh crore into public sector banks in order to provide them share capital for lending and reviving investment, needed for job creation in the economy.

It is true that, on the ground level, small and medium traders and entrepreneurs have, of late, been facing difficulties, first, due to demonetization, and second, due to the GST scheme. These two factors have adversely affected business and industry. The Opposition, on cue, raised the issue of unemployment. Tuesday’s big package announced by Arun Jaitley was meant to give a concrete reply to the naysayers.

The infusion of Rs 2.11 lakh crore into public sector banks is bound to give a fillip to the economy, mostly to medium and small scale entrepreneurs, who are in need of loans. This, in turn, will create massive job growth. Naturally, when highways,  housing and railway get fresh infusion of funds, it will give a big boost to the economy. The Modi government has named this New India Takeoff plan. On our part, we will keep a close watch on the implementation of this plan, and let our readers and viewers know, how much and in what manner it has progressed.

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