My Opinion

On Tuesday, Kapil Sibal, appearing for All India Muslim Personal Law Board, argued before the Supreme Court that Triple Talaq was a 1,400-year old practice in Islam, and it was a matter of faith, just like the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya is a matter of faith for the Hindus. This reminds one of the infamous Sati practice among Hindus, in which the widow of a deceased male was forced to sit on her husband’s funeral pyre and die. Sati practice among Hindus was several centuries old, but it had to be abolished as it amounted to inhuman killing. Any religious or cultural practice, howsoever old it may be, has to be abolished if a society is to progress towards enlightenment. The practice of untouchability among Hindus was several centuries old, and it had to be outlawed, though the practice still prevails in some parts of India. Similarly, the ban on entry of untouchables into Hindu temples had to be lifted, after many social reformers launched movements and the people at large were persuaded to abandon such practices. So, to argue that the practice of instant divorce, as in Triple Talaq, is a 1,400-year old one, and is a matter of faith, does not hold water. If a religious or cultural practice is wrong and inhuman, it has to be stopped, either through courts, or through enactment of law.

The Election Commission’s decision to hold all future elections with the help of paper trail linked to Electronic Voting Machines is a welcome step. As of now, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and Mayawati’s BSP had alleged tampering with EVMs, but they have been unable to show concrete evidence to probe that tampering indeed took place. The demand for reverting to the old ballot paper system is entirely illogical. Kejriwal may not know: in the past, in every general election conducted in India, nearly two lakh trees were cut to make ballot paper. If you add the state assembly elections and local bodies and panchayat elections, the number of trees that would be cut for ballot papers will be really huge. Those parties, like the CPI and BSP, who have demanded reverting to ballot paper system, should also consider the harm that we would may be doing to our environment.

On Thursday, when Nasimuddin Siddiqui, one-time confidante of Mayawati and recently expelled from BSP, played out taped audio conversations with his former party supremo, the lady was quick to react. She hastily called a press conference and tried to reject charges that she had asked Siddiqui to give her Rs 50 crores in cash. Siddiqui claims he has taped 150 such conversations. The revelations point out to three important facts: one, in BSP, the only thing that matter is money, two, Mayawati may have publicly alleged EVM tampering for her defeat, she knew that Muslims, other backward castes and a large chunk of Dalits have deserted her, and three, the way in which Mayawati reacted swiftly to Siddiqui’s audio tapes clearly shows that she knows her ex-confidante has many more secrets to reveal. In short, this was just the beginning, and more skeletons are expected to tumble out of the closet. Mayawati is feared by all in her party. She ensures that her leaders do not carry cellphones, pens, watches and diaries, when they meet her, and yet Siddiqui taped her secret conversations. Clearly, Mayawati has reasons to worry.

The dastardly manner in which a Kashmiri army officer Lt. Ummer Fayaz, who had come on leave to attend a family wedding in Shopian, was murdered by terrorists, nails the claim of separatists that they are fighting for the rights of Kashmiris. Lt. Fayaz was a Kashmiri youth, who opted for the mainstream, joined the army and was a role model for other youths in his locality. He was unarmed and was off-duty. He was dragged by terrorists from the wedding and then shot multiple times. His bullet-ridden body was recovered the next morning. The question arises: why did terrorists kill this Kashmiri youth? The answer is: Lt. Fayaz, by his shining career, was a source of inspiration for other Kashmiri youths who dream of achieving success by dint of their merit and courage. Terrorists do not want youths in the valley to study and do government jobs. They want them to throw stones, go to jail and get bullets. And on the other hand? The Hizbul chief Syed Salahuddin, sitting in Pakistan and masterminding terror attacks at the behest of his political masters, quietly sends request for visa for his son, so that he can pursue medical studies. Separatists like Salahauddin want their own children to become doctors and professionals, but want other Kashmiri youths to take up the gun. This is double standard on their part, and the gullible people in Kashmir, should wake up to this reality.

By enacting a dramatic demonstration about tampering of a dummy lookalike EVM inside the Delhi Assembly, Arvind Kejriwal has questioned the very integrity and credibility of a reputed Constitutional authority like the Election Commission.

Using legislative immunity, Kejriwal has sowed seeds of distrust in the minds of people on the way polling is being done. As per law, an FIR should be filed against Kejriwal. The problem with Kejriwal is that he considers himself a real life invincible Bahubali. If his party wins elections, he attributes it to popular support, and if he loses, he attiributes it to EVM tampering. After securing a landslide majority in Delhi assembly polls, Kejriwal dreamt of becoming India’s Prime Minister.

He used to blame all ills on Narendra Modi, but when his party lost elections in Goa, Punjab and Delhi, he lost his sleep. His partymen told him that his arrogance cost him the elections, but Kejriwal was unwilling to accept his mistake. This fake Bahubali faced fresh problems when his trusted Katappa levelled charges of bribetaking against him.

This surely necessitates a CBI probe. And, the Income Tax department must also investigate the sources and amount of donations collected by Aam Aadmi Party.

The man who rode the popular wave of expectations of probity in public life, must now reply to charges levelled against him before the public. This is what real democracy is all about.

In the ongoing mud-slinging drama unleashed on Delhiites by AAP leaders, Arvind Kejriwal and his cohorts have suspended ‘rebel’ Kapil Mishra, and Kejriwal himself, for the first time, tweeted cryptically ‘truth will prevail’. Let us see what happens at the special Delhi assembly session today. Even if, for a moment, we agree with Kejriwal’s assertion that Kapil Mishra’s charges are a bunch of lies, some questions do arise: Who made Kapil Mishra a minister for the last two years? He was one of Kejriwal’s select ‘diamonds’. Who made Satyender Jain a minister, against whom the CBI has started probe? Who made Jitendra Tomar a minister, who went to jail for acquiring a forged degree? Who made Sandip Kumar, implicated in sex scandals, a minister? Who made Asim Ahmed Khan a minister – the man who was caught taking bribe? All these were, what Kejriwal had claimed, “diamonds” – men of impeccable integrity. Now what can we say about the leader, who has selected liars, fraudsters and corrupt men as ministers? It is for the people of Delhi to decide.

The Supreme Court’s three-judge bench has upheld the death sentence given to four convicts in the infamous Nirbhaya gangrape case that rocked the nation’s conscience after December 16, 2013. I welcome this judgement as I believe, it should serve as a warning to future offenders. One of the rapists escaped the death sentence, because he was a juvenile (below 18 years) at the time of incident. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment under the Juvenile Justice Act and then released from jail. This juvenile’s act during the gangrape incident was horrendous, and he should have also been given the death sentence. We read news of rape incidents in newspapers almost daily, and watch faces of the accused on TV screens. Our blood boils when he see these offenders, and yet the common man, somehow or other, feels helpless. Because rapes continue to take place in our society. The Supreme Court verdict may strike some level of terror in the hearts of rapists, but what is required is this: Every mother should teach her son, every sister should teach her brother, to respect women. This is the only way out.

I had once visited Swami Ramdev’s plant where his Patanjali brand products are manufactured.

‘Aaonla’ fruits were unloaded from trucks, then washed and pressed, and juice was packed in bottles, without being touched by human hand.

On Thursday, when Ramdev announced that his Patanjali venture’s turnover has crossed Rs 10,000 crore, I was reminded of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a few days ago in Haridwar, while inaugurating Ramdev’s Ayurvedic medicinal plant park. Modi had said, once Ramdev decides to do something, he achieves it by his sheer will, grit and determination.

Swami Ramdev is a Yoga guru, who has studied Ayurveda. He is a brand ambassador for his own venture and he knows the tricks of marketing and advertising. Last year, when his Patanjali venture’s turnover reached Rs 5,000 crore, he had announced he would achieve double the figure in the very next year, and he did.

On Thursday, Ramdev promptly announced he would achieve double of what his venture achieved this year, but I feel, the yoga guru has understated his claim. I would not be surprised if his turnover reaches Rs 50,000 crore next year. The secret of his success lies in the purity of his products.

His customers are satisfied and they spread the message about his products through word of mouth. Therein lies his real strength.

The spate of bank robberies in Kashmir Valley in the last few days points towards one thing: terrorists are fast running out of money. Their ‘supply line’ from Pakistan seems to have broken. Those funding the terrorists seem to be in trouble. But there is one more thing that needs to be underlined. The terrorists, out of frustration, have resorted to killing Kashmiri Muslims. The Hizbul Mujahideen outfit on Tuesday claimed it killed 2 bank security guards and three policemen while trying to rob a bank, but, late in the evening, it corrected its press release to say that it did not kill the security guards. Both the security guards were Muslims, and with their deaths, they leave behind families with four Muslim orphans and two widows. Clearly, terrorists have no sympathy for either Kashmiris or Kashmiri Muslims. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is right when she says that terrorists in the valley are destroying both Kashmir and Kashmiris.

There is continued anger among the people across the country over the beheading of two of our jawans. Our hearts cry out for the next of kin of those jawans killed. But, now is the time to keep our anger and emotions under control, and steel our determination to teach the enemy a lesson. Prime Minister Narendra Modi understands the anger and emotions across the nation, he also feels the pain in the hearts of people, but the decision to take revenge against the enemy must be left to our army. The Prime Minister cannot reveal such strategy on camera, or on social media. I have full confidence in our army. Pakistan will be taught a lesson soon, but as our Vice Chief of Army Staff said on Tuesday, the army will choose the place and timing on its own.

There is nationwide anger and revulsion over the beheading of two of our martyred jawans by Pakistani army soldiers near the Line of Control on Monday. The anger is justified. No civilized army on earth ever beheads the bodies of dead soldiers. It runs against all canons of human behaviour, leave alone the Geneva Convention. The time is now ripe for a swift retaliatory action. I do understand that neither the top echelons of the government, nor the Defence Minister is going to share with the world at large, what they intend to do in retaliation. But the nation expects action, and fast.

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force has done a commendable job in nabbing 23 persons on charges of cheating customers at several petrol pumps in Lucknow on Thursday. Our reporter says, chips had been inserted in nearly 99 per cent petrol pumps of Lucknow to cheat customers. The man who inserted the software chips had come from Delhi. I think this could be the handiwork of an inter-state gang. UP is not the only state where this nefarious activity was going on. There could be other neighbouring states like Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. Police in these states must coordinate with UP STF and nab the petrol pump owners cheating the customers.