My Opinion

On Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spent almost the entire day playing hide-and-seek with police on the Rajasthan-MP border. Rahul has the democratic right to register his protest over police firing in which five farmers were killed. He also has the right to meet the families of those killed. But I feel, it would have been better if Rahul Gandhi had issued an appeal to farmers to maintain peace and shun violence. But what did he do? He rode a motorbike with the local MLA, who a day earlier had tried to instigate farmers in Mandsaur. This fuelled doubts that the Congress leader was trying to reap political advantage. Police too had to intervene. Now supporting anti-social elements who stoned a bus full of passengers in Devas, with women and children ducking under their seats and crying for relief, is out of the question. Police must take stringent action against such anti-social elements.

Coming to Maharashtra, nearly Rs. 740 crore worth fruits, vegetables and milk were thrown on the roads. This turned out to be sheer wastage and as a result, thousands of farmers and vendors had to suffer losses. Farmers, under these circumstances, are worried about vegetables, fruits and flowers rotting in their fields, and if the agitation is not called off soon, they will have to bear the full brunt of losses. The leaders representing these farmers should understand this. They have the right to agitate, boycott programmes of state ministers to keep up the pressure on the government, but they should at least allow farmers to send their fruits and vegetables to markets so that they can feed their families.

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On Wednesday, a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Danish Ahmed surrendered to police and Rashtriya Rifles in Handwara, Kashmir and expressed his desire to return to the mainstream. Only a few days ago, he was seen holding a grenade and shouting slogans at the funeral of Sabzar Bhat, the Hizbul commander, killed in an encounter with security forces. Danish was a third-year student of an agriculture science and technology college in Dehradun. He was attracted towards militancy after coming into contact with terrorists through social media. He left studies, started throwing stones at police, was let off after warning, and he then took up the gun. At the time of his surrender, Danish revealed how terrorists in South Kashmir were mainly indulging in extortion and loot, and money was flowing freely into the Valley from Pakistan for militancy. He said, he has realised the futility of joining militant ranks. He will now be given all assistance from the state under the Surrendered Militants Rehabilitation Policy.

The Director General of Police, Jammu and Kashmir has promised that surrendered militants will not be troubled any more by police. The state police is taking the help of parents in bringing militants back to the mainstream. Several of these militants have now realised that returning to the mainstream will be beneficial both for them and the people of Kashmir, who want an early return to normalcy.

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Whenever farmers come out to protest on the streets, it becomes an emotional issue. People of India revere farmers as “annadata”(providers of food). They know that farmers toil from morning till night, raise crops and feed themselves and the nation. That is the reason why no government, of whichever political persuasion, ever thinks of collecting income tax from agriculture.

In Madhya Pradesh, the state government has gone to the extent of giving an interest-free loan. If a farmer takes Rs 100 worth loan, he has to repay only Rs 90. But the problems with farmers is not the loan. They want remunerative prices for their produce. The irony is that if there is a bumper harvest, prices of produce fall. There arises the need to hike support prices. But farmer leaders must understand: violence is not the way out, they should find out solutions through talks.

On a media website, a historian has published an article comparing Indian Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat with the infamous Brig Gen Reginald Dyer of British Raj, known as the Butcher of Amritsar, the man whose troops fired 1,650 rounds on an unarmed crowd of some 20,000 people gathered in Jallianwala Bagh.

Such writers forget that Brig Gen Dyer had ordered troops to fire on those people who were shouting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. These brave people were our freedom fighters, those who gave away their today for a better tomorrow for us and our future generations.

On the other hand, the jawans of Indian army fire on those who kill and maim innocent Indians, who behead our soldiers, who use children as human shields to attack our troops.

There must be no mercy for such brutal terrorists, because they do not have a shred of sensibility left in their hearts. To speak about the “human rights” of such attackers is meaningless. Those who compare Gen Rawat with Brig Gen Dyer must feel ashamed.

On Thursday, when US President Donald Trump announced his decision to exit the Paris climate change accord and ranted against India and China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was asked a question at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, whether he supported or opposed Trump’s action. Modi gave a classic reply.

He said, he would rather take the side of the future generation. Modi quoted a verse from the Vedas to say that ‘exploiting nature was a crime, but milking of nature was a right of mankind’.

Trump is trying hard to prove that he is fighting for the interests of Americans, and has exited the Paris accord to provide more jobs to his countrymen. He even warned that 2.7 million Americans may lose their jobs by 2020, and he would not allow this to happen.

But Modi took a wider view, and said he was more interested about the future generation. This shows the basic difference in the thought processes of Modi and Trump.

Moreover, on Friday, Modi was at his best while selling the dream of a new India to investors and global businessmen who had gathered in St. Petersburg. His sales pitch was really commendable, and India should hope more foreign investments would flow in.

Our armed forces have been successful in eliminating a large number of terrorists and infiltrators in Kashmir in the last two weeks. Three years ago, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, he had offered the olive branch to our neighbour Pakistan. He invited Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his oathtaking ceeremony. Later he broke protocol to visit Lahore, but in return, Pakistani terrorists wreaked havoc in Pathankot and Uri, and beheaded two of our army jawans The Centre has now given a free hand to our armed forces to take action against terrorists inside the Valley and also across the Line of Control. In the last two weeks, our forces have identified and eliminated a large number of terrorists, and destroyed terrorist camps across the LoC. Though the army has not shared operational details with the media fully, I have definite information that in cross-LoC action, a large number of Pakistani terrorists and soldiers have been killed. This aggressive approach is meant to teach terrorists a lesson, and it is yielding results.

On Wednesday, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath visited Ayodhya, paid obeisance to Lord Ram at the disputed site, and then promised the people of Ayodhya that his government would facilitate all efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the dispute. He told those assembled that he knew what they were expecting to hear from him, and since the Supreme Court had suggested a dialogue between both the parties, his government would facilitate any such initiative. Those in the opposition were waiting to pounce, had Yogi uttered any inflammatory remark about building a Ram temple. Yogi made his point, but in a subtle manner, and in consonance with the dignity of his Constitutional post. A day before, I was in Lucknow and Yogi was the guest in my show Aap Ki Adalat, where I asked him many questions. I noticed that Yogi has changed a lot since becoming chief minister. The man who had once said, he would prefer to have a rosary (mala) in one hand, and a spear (bhaala) in the other hand, has now changed his stance to ‘mala’ to pray for the welfare of all, and ‘bhaala’ to protect every citizen. I asked Yogi about the law and order situation in the state, and the promises that he had made to the people. I also asked about hooliganism by some small-time leaders of Bajrang Dal and Hindu Yuva Vahini. Yogi did not hestiate from replying to all these questions. He revealed many details about his personal life. The Aap Ki Adalat show with Yogi Adityanath will be telecast on India TV on Saturday at 10 pm.

The grisly incident in Kerala in which some Congress leaders openly slaughtered a calf and distributed its meat among people, is bound to cost the party politically.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi tried to limit the damage by condemning the incident and suspended three party leaders, but it has put an indelible scar on the minds of Hindu society, whose sensibilities have been offended.

The Congress and other political parties should understand that cow slaughter is not merely an issue relating to animal protection.

The sensibilities of Hindu society are closely linked to this emotional issue. The party will now have to face the consequences, and mere apologies or distancing the party from the perpetrators will not suffice.

Meanwhile, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has opposed the Centre’s notification regulating sale of cows and buffaloes at animal markets, saying it goes against the federal structure.

She is well aware of the fact that the Centre has issued the notification from the Environment Ministry knowing fully well that it falls within its jurisdiction.

She is free to challenge it legally, but it may not stand legal scrutiny. Moreover, her party is already facing charges of Muslim appeasement in Bengal. There have been demonstrations on this issue in her state, and her opposition to regulation of cow slaughter is bound to cost her politically.

On Thursday, when Indian national Uzma Ahmed crossed the border at Wagah, she bent down and kissed the Indian soil. Hours later, when she met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Delhi, she hugged her and wept. She then described how Pakistan has become a “well of death”(mout ka kuan) where women are not safe. We should commend the efforts made by Sushma Swaraj and the Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad in securing her safe return to India. Uzma Ahmed was forced to marry at gunpoint by a Pakistani national. Sushma Swaraj also praised the Pakistani high court judge, who when told by Uzma’s so-called husband that it was an issue of “prestige for Pakistan”, snapped back and said: “this is a marital issue, why are you dragging India and Pakistan into it”. This shows that humanity is still left across the border. Sushma Swaraj also praised the Pakistani foreign and interior ministries for arranging safe return of the Indian girl.

The Pakistan army has a long history of faking news relating to conflicts with India. On Wednesday, in response to Indian army’s video of punitive action against Pakistani army posts in Nowshera sector, the Pakistani army spokesperson released a video purported to show Indian bunkers being blown up in shelling by Pakistan near Line of Control. Within minutes, this video proved to be fake. India TV had already telecasted this old video several days ago. Earlier too, the Pakistani army had released video of a Naxalite attack as its own. The question that arises is: why Pakistan is resorting to fake videos? The answer is: the world has changed since the advent of social media. Even before the actual conflict begins on the ground, video wars erupt on social media. This is part of the game of psychological warfare. It has been reported that Pakistan has created a team of 40 to 50 personnel, exclusively assigned to create and circulate fake videos on social media. This Pakistani team has circulated a large number of fake videos of so-called “army oppression” to spread poison in the minds of Kashmiri youths. We have information that our armed forces have also made preparations to counter such fake videos on social media. Pakistan will now be paid in its own coin.

As the nation welcomes the International Court of Justice’s order granting stay on execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav in Pakistan, one note of caution: we should be ready to face a long-drawn battle in court. Pakistan is going to come up with more ruses, and India should respond accordingly. If one carefully studies the court order announced on Thursday, one fact becomes clear: the ICJ rejected each of the arguments made by Pakistan, whether on issue of jurisdiction, or on granting consular access. The Pakistani media is livid with anger, and Nawaz Sharif government is facing severe criticisms. The Pakistani lawyer was given 90 minutes to place his country’s arguments, but he had hardly 30-minute worth material to defend his country’s case. According to Pakistani media, he was given a fat fee of Rs 5 crore to appear before the ICJ, compared to Re. 1 taken by our lawyer Harish Salve. The Pakistani lawyer was completely unprepared while defending his country’s position. On the other hand, Harish Salve appeared before the court with solid facts, and he was fully prepared. India was won Round One of the battle, and should now be prepared for the next round. This is just the beginning.

On Wednesday, a large number of RJD supporters attacked the BJP party office in Patna, and scuffles ensued between the BJP and RJD workers. This was RJD supremo Lalu Prasad’s style of deflecting public attention from the Income Tax raids through political manoeuvres. A day before, when Income Tax authorities raided 21 locations to find out facts relating to spurious realty acquisitions made by Lalu Prasad and his kin, the RJD supremo furiously tweeted, describing himself as an “undefeatable warrior” and complimenting BJP on its “new alliance partners”. He was obliquely pointing towards Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s RJD, but he soon realized his mistake. He knew that BJP would not help in his hour of crisis and he would have to rely on help from Nitish Kumar, because his two sons may have to resign if chargesheets are filed. So he promptly tweeted “don’t rejoice too much, our alliance is unbreakable”. Wednesday’s protest by RJD workers outside BJP office was a step in that direction. Lalu Prasad now wants to give a political swing to the Income Tax woes that he and his family members will have to face.