My Opinion

Dayashankar Singh can never be forgiven for what he uttered against Mayawati but there is no element of truth in what BSP’s Nasimuddin Siddiqui has been saying. The truth is yesterday in retaliation he and his party dragged Dayashankar’s mother, his wife and his daughter into the controversy. Dayashankar’s family has no connection whatsoever with politics and they hadn’t even made any comments. Now as an afterthought the BSP is giving clarifications. So far the BSP leaders and workers were staging protests but now the BJP has decided to protest against the BSP for hurling abuses at Dayashankar’s daughter. It seems like this matter will carry on for a while.

Bhagwant Mann was grossly mistaken. He was under the impression that he could easily get away with anything. He had thought he could make a video and show whatever he wanted to – all in the name of the common man. Till yesterday he was trying to project himself as the hero but today it was a reality check of sorts for him when he saw which way the wind was blowing in the Parliament. Bhagwant Mann should realised that the Parliament is not an arena for any circus…being an MP comes with lot of responsibility and one should act accordingly.

The earnestness with which Mehbooba Mufti is functioning, is becoming a sore point for the separatists. If Mehbooba Mufti is able to generate employment amongst the youth in Kashmir, give impetus to tourism in the state, emphasise on development and instil a sense of confidence amongst people, it would hit the separatists hard and choke them. The separatists with the help of Pakistan are therefore trying their best to foment trouble for Mehbooba. The current situation is Kashmir is but an outcome of such a conspiracy. Under such circumstances, the National Conference and other parties should cement their differences and come together…after all this is about the state of Kashmir and about the nation at large.

After the 2001 Parliament attacks, security has been tightened at the Parliament…sensors and barricades have been installed and various security measures have been undertaken. Bhagwant Singh Maan, the AAP MP today recorded and uploaded a video of his entry into the Parliament on his Facebook. His reckless act of trying to garner accolades from a few people has ended up putting the Parliament security at risk. And what is worse is his justification of his act. One cannot expect an elected representative to behave in such a manner.

Yesterday when BJP leader Dayashankar Singh had made an irresponsible comment about Mayawati, every party and every leader had condemned him and consequently he was expelled from the party. He is also likely to face arrest soon. However the language that Mayawati’s supporters are using in retaliation is equally condemnable. Instead of giving justifications, Mayawati should explain to her supporters to stop using such language since such exchanges and such comments bring down the level of politics and political discourse in the country.

The situation is Kashmir is slowly improving. Mehbooba Mufti in trying hard to work out a solution with all parties. Till the other day, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was raising questions on why an all party meet was not being called and why other parties were not being consulted. Today when Mehbooba Mufti summoned an all party meeting, Omar Abdullah’s party, the National Conference decided to boycott the meeting. It is clear now that the former CM only wants to attack Mehbooba and when the times comes, refrains from taking responsibility!

The whole world knows that the elections in POK are just a sham. The party that enjoys the support of the Army forms the government. In a bid to boost his stake in POK, Pak PM Nawaz Sharif has been consistently raking up the Kashmir issue and has sided with the Army with the hope that his party, PMLN would form the government there.

India has done the right thing by sending out a stern message to Pakistan to vacate Kashmir which it has forcibly occupied. It is a known fact historically that Pakistan has not just illegally occupied Kashmir but has also used the region to promote terror camps and train militants to carry out attacks against India. It is now time for India to undertake necessary steps to reclaim that part of Kashmir.

Even though BJP leader Dayashankar Singh may have apologised for his comments on Mayawati but what he said is deplorable and has crossed very limit. Arun Jaitley quite rightfully expressed his condemnation and promised action against him. The BJP immediately removed Dayashankar Singh from the post of the party’s Vice President in Uttar Pradesh. However in order to set an example legal proceedings must be initiated against him.

The horrific manner in which the Dalits were beaten up as seen in the video should never have taken place with any person. What is more hurtful is when such acts are committed against Dalits who have been discriminated against and victimised for years. Everything else become worthless if even after 68 years of independence Dalits have not been accorded a life worth living. However instead of playing politics over this contentious issue, people should come together, awaken the society and work out a solution.

The RSS has said that in a 1949 Court Judgement it was proved that the organisation did not have a hand in Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. The RSS has also claimed that the Kapur Commission instituted by the Congress Government had given them a clean chit in the matter but the Congress has opined that Sardar Patel through his letters had held the RSS responsible for Mahatma’s death. With Rahul Gandhi having held the RSS responsible, the organisation has decided to nail him for his irresponsible statement. A defamation case has been filed against him. Any apology from Rahul now would be an embarrassment for the Congress. The case is therefore likely to linger long and Rahul Gandhi will now defend himself in the matter.

Navjot Singh Sidhu has tendered his resignation from the Rajya Sabha but is yet to spell out his own future course of action. His wife Navjot Kaur who has been very vocal so far has also opted to remain tight lipped and left it to Sidhu himself to throw light on this. The Aam Admi Party is yet to confirm whether he would be joining their party or not. The Media has been speculating that Sidhu is likely to be the face of AAP in Punjab but what is surprising is that Sidhu who is generally known to be verbose on every topic has remained mute about himself. Perhaps there is some kind of negotiation work-in-progress between Navjot Singh Sidhu and the Aam Admi Party.