My Opinion

The National Green Tribunal on Monday capped the number of pilgrims visiting the famous Mata Vaishno Devi shrine daily to 50,000. Additional pilgrims will be stopped at Ardhakuwari or Katra town, the NGT said. The tribunal said that Vaishno Devi Bhavan cannot accomodate more than 50,000 pilgrims at a time.

It also directed that horses or mules should not be allowed on the new route to the shrine, and they should be removed gradually from the old route as well. Mata Vaishno Devi shrine is visited by lakhs of pilgrims every year. During peak season, the number reaches 40,000 to 50,000, while during lean season, it hovers around 6,000. Crores of Hindus revere this shrine. The path to the shrine was modernized during the tenure of Jagmohan, the then Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Horses or mules are used for the benefit of old and infirm pilgrims who find it difficult to walk, and the NGT should reconsider its order. Hundreds of porters and mule owners make their living by transporting old and infirm pilgrims to the shrine. It seems nobody has thought about putting their livelihood in jeopardy. Moreover, the influx of tourists and pilgrims provides employment to thousands of people who are residents of Kashmir.

One should understand that the Mata Vaishno Devi Trust not only looks after the shrine, but also runs Mata Vaishno Devi University, nursing college, gurukul and Vaishno Devi Narayan Hospital. The daily earnings amount to Rs 40 lakhs and the annual earnings go up to Rs 500 crore. If the number of pilgrims is capped, it will adversely affect the earnings. Probably the NGT was not told that the Trust itself stops issuing entry permits when there is a large influx of pilgrims, in order to ensure safety for all. The NGT should holisitically re-examine its directions.

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Of late, there have been protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmavati, in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, and objections have been raised about Rajputs being shown in a bad light. I want to dwell on three points.

First, none of the protesters has yet seen the entire film Padmavati in which Deepika Padukone is playing the central character and yet too many unnecessary comments are being made about the film.

Secondly, had Bhansali shown his film, was there any guarantee that the film would have been allowed to be exhibited in theatres?

Thirdly, I do not understand why there are protests when Bhansali in a video statement made it quite clear that there is no dream sequence in the film and nothing objectionable has been shown about Rani Padmini. He has completely denied any distortion of history.

Those opposing the film first alleged that there was a dream sequence involving Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji. After this charge was found baseless, the outfits have now alleged that Rani Padmini has been shown dancing in the film, and this amounts to insult of the community. Well, the queen has been shown dancing in a song sequence.

One of my friends Mahavir Singh, who has seen the entire film, told me that there is nothing in the film which amounts to insult of Rajput community. On the contrary, he said, Rajputs will respect Bhansali once they watch the film. It would be better if both sides sit again and iron out the issues. There is no need for nationwide protests that may lead to violence, which should best be avoided.

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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