My Opinion

The Air Quality Index in Delhi stood at 403 on Friday morning, a day after Diwali this year, which was comparatively better than last year’s post-Diwali AQI of 445. This is despite a full ban on the sale of firecrackers in the entire National Capital Region by the Supreme Court, which is being enforced till October 31. Firecrackers were burst on a large scale on Diwali night, but it would be difficult to make comparisons of air pollution with last year’s figures. The presence of  harmful particulates in air depends on the weather of that particular day.

Last year, when Diwali was celebrated, winter had almost set in, whereas this was not the case this year. Normally smogs do not occur if the temperature is on the higher side. Moreover, the pollution level was lower this year because harvesting is yet to be over in the neighbouring states, whereas last year harvesting was over and farmers were openly burning stubble in the fields. This year there is widespread awareness against burning of stubble.

One major contribution to air pollution in Delhi comes from the emission of carcinogenic gases from the diesel vehicles. The National Green Tribunal, in November 2014, had ordered a ban on plying of all 10-year-old diesel vehicles in the NCR, and last month, it dismissed the Centre’s plea for modification to this order. According to experts, one old diesel vehicle causes pollution equivalent to 24 petrol vehicles or 36 CNG vehicles.There are more than seven lakh diesel vehicles in Delhi. Firecrackers are burst only on Diwali night in the capital, whereas diesel vehicles run daily, contributing massively to air pollution. Therefore, to assume that air pollution in Delhi-NCR this year post-Diwali was less would be incorrect, because there has been no major curb on plying of diesel vehicles so far.

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The grand Diwali show mounted in Ayodhya by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday earned him plaudits from large sections of society. For the last 25 years, Ayodhya had been at the centre of controversy for people across the world. Many people have been making negative remarks about this holy city, the birthplace of Lord Ram. The Ramjanmabhoomi controversy had been and continues to be the bone of contention between the two communities. On Wednesday, however, people across the world saw Yogi Adityanath presenting the positive side of the heritage of Ayodhya. He sought to create a world record of lighting diyas on the banks of Saryu river, and the holy town was decked with lights along with a beautiful laser show. Celebrations apart, Yogi Adityanath sent out a message on what an ideal Ram Rajya should be. A Ram Rajya where the poor get houses and every house gets electricity. He spoke of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, and used the metaphors of Lord Ram and the rich heritage of Ayodhya. Nobody should have any objections to Yogi’s viewpoint. This is a welcome gesture.

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The UP government may cancel the accreditation of 2,682 madrasas for failing to upload details on the official madrasa portal despite several reminders. The state government had launched the UP Madrasa Board portal in August this year and had asked all madrasas to give details of teachers, staff and students, along with building and class measurements added with photographs. There are nearly 16,000 madrasas in UP, out of which 560 are fully aided. Madrasas play an important role in imparting primary and middle-level education to poor Muslim students, but the mode of teaching is several centuries old. Madrasas did not change with time, and hence the need to modernize them. I remember, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had clearly said in our show Aap Ki Adalat in 2014 that he wanted to see Muslim youths with a holy Quran in one hand, and a computer in another, but this can happen only when computer teaching is imparted through madrasas. Naturally, the state government requires details about facilities in madrasas in order to chalk out a proper plan. Madrasa owners should come forward and share details, and if they require time, they should be given. Already the deadline has been extended twice.

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The irrepressible BJP MLA Sangeet Som has again stirred a hornets’ nest by making controversial remarks about Taj Mahal. Som has said, “Those who are feeling pain over the omission of Taj Mahal in the UP government booklet on tourist places, should know what the Mughal history is all about”. Som went to the extent of saying that Taj Mahal was built by a Mughal emperor who imprisoned his father and tormented Hindus in UP and in the whole of India. Som promised to remove the names of “Mughal invaders” Babur, Akbar and Aurangzeb from history books.Whatever Sangeet Som may say, his remarks on the world heritage site Taj Mahal is unacceptable. Taj Mahal is, in fact, the Taj (crown) of India. The Taj Mahal is regarded as the most beautiful monument of love across the world. Every year, millions of tourists visit India to see the Taj Mahal.

On one hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath are constantly working on the “development”, and on the other hand, individuals like Sangeet Som, Sadhvi Prachi and Sakshi Maharaj are trying to derail the vehicle of development. They are intentionally raising issues which are bound to cause a gulf between Hindus and Muslims. Even on Monday, Yogi said, not a single communal riot took place in UP during his seven-month-long tenure, because his government believed in “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”.

It is now time that Prime Minister Modi and Yogi Adityanath should ask Sangeet Som to stop spewing venom and prevent such small-time leaders from seeking cheap publicity. These individuals, in their greed to grab headlines, are causing harm to the people at large, and are trying to create unrest in society. It is because of individuals like Sangeet Som, that the good work being done by the Centre and UP government fade into the background, creating doubts and apprehensions in the minds of people.

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The Allahabad High Court judgement in Aarushi murder case should serve as an eyeopener to all. In stinging observations against the CBI and the trial court, the High court observed that the trial judge “unmindful of basic tenets of law…adopted partial and parochial approach”…and the trial court’s verdict was “a creation of fanciful reasoning”. The 273-page judgement by a bench of Justice B K Narayana and A K Mishra, observed that the trial court judge “like a film director tried to thrust coherence amongst facts inalienably scattered here and there but not giving any coherence to the idea as to what in fact happened.” The High Court also slammed the CBI saying it tampered with evidence and tutored and planted witnesses.

After reading the entire judgement, I feel sad to find that the CBI already knew that Nupur Talwar and Rajesh Talwar were innocent. The CBI had even prepared the closure report, but the trial court converted the closure report into a chargesheet and while making Nupur and Rajesh Talwar the prime accused, sentenced them to life imprisonment. India TV spoke to two former CBI officials, one of whom had personally investigated the case, and the other was a former CBI chief. Both admitted that the CBI had no concrete evidence to prove that Aarushi was murdered by her parents. And yet, both Nupur and Rajesh Talwar had to spend four years in jail, and face nine years of infamy as being suspects in their daughter’s murder. And look at the weakness in our judicial system. Even after being proved innocent by the High Court, the couple will have to spend some more days in jail, for the simple reason that process of release from jail during a weekend would take more time. The entire system needs to be reformed and debated over, so that no innocent person should ever face such a situation in future.

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The mystery continues. Nobody can surely say who killed Aarushi Talwar. On Thursday, the division bench of Allahabad High Court struck down the trial court’s verdict giving life sentence to Aarushi Talwar’s parents, Rajesh and Nupur, and acquitted the couple. For four long years, the dentist couple suffered incarceration inside Dasna jail. Aarushi cannot return, but who will return the lost four years of Rajesh and Nupur?

We need to ponder over the issue deeply. There was the UP police, SIT, CBI, and yet the murder case could not be solved. The murderer was not caught, nor was the murder weapon traced. And yet the dentist couple had to spend four years in jail. I think there is something badly lacking in our system; in the working of our investigative agencies, in the working of our judicial process. Some people have already started saying , let the lower courts hurry up their legal process, they will get justice only from the higher courts, that is, the High Court or the Supreme Court. We need to correct this perception.

Several leading doctors rang me up to say that on a daily basis, they have to take immediate decisions about their patients and zero in on a course of action. There could be mistakes sometimes, but if a doctor commits a mistake, he has to face litigation in court. Doctors have to go to courts to defend themselves. But judges of lower courts have time on their hands while conducting trials. And yet innocent people end up spending four years behind bars for life. What should be done to improve this situation? Time to ponder.

Returning to Aarushi’s murder, there were no substantial evidences, no witness, no murder weapon, nor any motive. One can easily understand the pain that the Talwar couple must have endured. The pain is more so, because the dentist couple took utmost care of their daughter. On one hand was the pain of losing their daughter, and on the other, the pain of facing infamy of being labelled murderers of their own daughter for nine long years. Maybe the Talwars express their pain now, if they wish, when they come out of jail, but Nupur evocatively expressed her emotions in an interview she gave to Vartika Nanda of Tinka Tinka Foundation in November last year, when the latter visited her in Dasna jail.

Nupur Talwar told Vartika how in the beginning it was difficult for them to accept that they were murderers of their own daughter. The couple used to think why this was happening to them. In the beginning, it was painful for them to pass time inside jail, they always used to think about Aarushi, but then, the couple decided to divert their attention. The dentist couple started treating patients inside jail and Nupur read books and wrote poems.

For the last four years, never once did I ever feel that Rajesh and Nupur were culprits. A father that used to dote on his lovely daughter could never commit the despicable act. I could never accept that a wife could help her husband in committing such a heinous murder. Even the CBI admitted that it had no substantial evidence to nail the two, but the lower court did not accept. It ordered that the closure report be converted into a chargesheet, and sent the couple to jail. Had the relatives of the dentist couple not helped, in hiring lawyers to fight the case, the couple would have spent the remaining years of their lives inside jail.

The main question now is how Nupur and Rajesh will try to re-establish themselves in society, by reopening their clinic and start on a fresh note.

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Close on the heels of Supreme Court imposing a ban on the sale of firecrackers in National Capital Region, ten days before Diwali, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday refused to grant permission to the Maharashtra government to allow Bullock cart races anywhere in the state during Diwali on grounds of cruelty to animals.

Earlier this year, there were massive protests in Tamil Nadu against the Supreme Court ban on ‘Jallikattu’, a traditional bull support during Pongal, following which the state assembly had to pass a bi-partisan bill to allow the sport.

The judiciary similarly imposed restrictions on Dahi Handi pyramids in Maharashtra during Janmashtami, wherein the height was fixed at 20 feet and the age of participants was fixed at not less than 14 years.

Last month, the West Bengal government led by Mamata Banerjee imposed restrictions on immersions of Durga idols on Vijayadashami, as the date clashed with Muharram. The Calcutta High Court had to intervene and remove the restrictions.

If bullock cart race amounts to cruelty towards animals, then slaughtering of goats, sheep and other animals during Eid ul Azha should also be declared cruel. Naturally, questions are being raised on the ground of religion.

Questions are being raised as to whether the Hindu festivals are being targeted only because Hindus, as a community, are tolerant and do not come out on the streets to oppose such interference in their traditions and festivals. This matter needs to be considered.

It is nobody’s case that there should be no curbs on pollution or animal cruelty. But traditions, culture and festivals have their own significance, which cannot be overlooked.

On the firecracker ban issue, the Supreme Court must review its order. The order raises two important questions: one, that of timing, i.e. Diwali eve. The ban was lifted a month ago and nearly 500 licences were issued following which shopkeepers invested nearly Rs 500 crores, and then the sale was suddenly banned 10 days before Diwali. If firecrackers were to be banned, then why were licences issued?

Two, bursting of firecrackers during Diwali night is more than a thousand year old tradition and it cannot be stopped at the stroke of a pen. There is no ban on bursting firecrackers, and so, the aim of controlling pollution will not be achieved. One cannot send policemen to each household to question from where the firecrackers were procured. The SC order surely needs to be reviewed.

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On Tuesday, even as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was busy campaigning in Gujarat, BJP president Amit Shah and I&B Minister Smriti Irani addressed a rally in Amethi, Rahul’s constituency. Amethi and Rae Bareli have been Congress strongholds for decades. Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi have been consistently winning Lok Sabha elections from Amethi and Rae Bareli respectively. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP lost both, but in this year’s UP assembly elections, the BJP won six out of the total 10 assembly seats. Four of these seats fall within Amethi. BJP has correctly gauged the mood of the voters here. Secondly, there are speculations in political circles that Rahul Gandhi may change his constituency from Amethi to Rae Bareli in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and his mother may opt for a Rajya Sabha seat.

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The Supreme Court on Monday reimposed the ban on the sale of crackers in the entire National Capital Region till October 31 in view of concerns relating to pollution caused by the release of smoke and chemicals in the air. I feel the timing of this SC order is wrong. Diwali falls on October 19 this year, and most of the wholesale and retail vendors of firecrackers had already made big plans to sell their wares. In recent weeks, the sale has been brisk, but the SC ban has spoiled festivity cheer. A large section is questioning why Hindu festivals are being targeted every time. It is surprising that the SC order has come on the basis of a petition filed two years ago by three children, of whom two were kids, hardly six months old, and the third child was then 14 months old. On behalf of this, it was argued before the apex court that firecrackers cause air pollution and adversely affect the health of young children and the aged. The apex court had given its first order on November 11, 2016 banning the sale of firecrackers till further orders. Licences issued to shopkeepers were suspended. The shopkeepers went to the Supreme Court, and on September 12 this year, it made changes, allowed controlled sale of crackers and nearly 500 shopkeepers got licences. But on Monday, the apex court reversed its decision, ordered a ban on sale till October 31, and said that the Sept 12 order allowing controlled sale of firecrackers will be effective from November 1. A large number of shopkeepers selling firecrackers has been adversely impacted by this order, coming in the wake of Delhi, as they had made big investments. I think this will be an injustice to them.

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On Friday, the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a slew of concessions under Goods & Services Tax (GST) for many sectors in order to give a boost to business. GST rates were cut for as many as 27 goods. Traders with a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore will now have to file quarterly instead of monthly returns under composition scheme. The earlier notification making PAN cards mandatory for purchase of jewellery worth more than Rs 50,000 under Prevention of Money Laundering Act has been withdrawn. These are timely and welcome steps because the jewellers were facing a big slump in business for the last several months. Those working on contract in the construction industry were facing problems, and exporters had run out of cash. Small and medium traders were finding it difficult in filing GST returns every month. Along with this, traders who were not passing on the benefits of GST to consumers will now have to face problems. The Finance Minister has clearly said that traders will now have to pass over the GST concessions to the consumers. All these welcome steps are in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion two days ago that the government has no straightjacket mind (‘lakeer ke faqeer nahin’). What the Finance Minister and the GST council have done on Friday is in line with this thinking, and should be welcomed.

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After reducing the basic excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 a litre, the Centre has requested state governments to lower tax on petrol and diesel in a similar manner, so that the common man is benefitted. At present, prices of petrol and diesel are completely decontrolled. The oil marketing companies fix the prices on a daily basis. Petrol and diesel constitute a major part of the revenue earnings of state governments. Each state government levies tax on petrol and diesel according to its requirements. That is why the states did not agree to bring petrol and diesel under the purview of GST. One must understand that asking states to lower tax on petrol and diesel is not a permanent solution. The step that needs to be taken is: petroleum products should be brought under GST, so that prices of petroleum products should be the same across all states.

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When senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha wrote a column to mount a frontal attack on Modi government’s management of the economy, it created political ripples. He was promptly supported by Congress stalwarts like P. Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and Dr. Manmohan Singh. Several experts wrote articles in newspapers on the current state of our economy. Allegations were levelled to say that Prime Minister Modi and his Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are unable to manage the economy. The articles mentioned about falling GDP rates, small and medium businessmen facing the crisis, workers losing their jobs, GST regulations making life hell for traders and businessmen, no tangible benefit accruing from demonetization, and the like. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi, while addressing company secretaries, clearly addressed these critical issues. He had come fully prepared for his speech. He had facts and figures ready with him, to buttress his arguments and reasons. The Prime Minister made it clear that he was in full control of the economy, and was keeping a watchful eye on shortcomings. It is in the fittest of things that he admitted to some shortcomings. He also said some criticisms were justified, and the government was ready for another set of reforms. I personally feel that we should trust our Prime Minister’s words and wait for another four to six months to see in which direction our economy is heading, and how much improvement has taken place.

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