My Opinion

It is well known that in order to avoid paying taxes, people stash their black money in accounts abroad and there is always a veil of secrecy over such shell companies and overseas accounts. However this is the second time that a list of exact names who operate offshore accounts have been leaked. The account holders will either state that there is no element of truth in such leaks or will claim these accounts and companies are legitimate owing to their earnings abroad. Despite the fact that it can be difficult to establish these accounts and the names of Directors of these shell companies owing to the anonymity clause, it is noteworthy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has immediately called for a probe into these accounts. Being apprehensive of who all are involved, usually governments refrain from taking immediate action but this Government has taken the first step forward.

China may not have supported us on Masood Azhar but India today managed to get a huge boost in its fight against terrorism. The US and Saudi Arabia have joined hands to impose sanctions against outfits deemed at funding terror organisations. A joint decision was made to undertake strong action and choke the financing of these outfits acting as terror fronts for groups like Hafiz Saeed’s Lakshar. This comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit where he met President Obama and is now on his way to Saudi Arabia.

In Congress ruled states, its own party MLAs are voicing their opposition against their respective state governments causing enough headaches for the Party high command. Currently there are seven states that the Congress is in power – Karnataka, Kerala, Himachal, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya. Of these, Kerala and Assam will soon go to polls and there is a possibility that Congress may not be voted back here. If the Congress were to lose these two states, then it would be left with only Karnataka as the biggest state. In such a situation the party will certainly want to avoid a Uttarakhand and Arunachal like rebellion in the states of Himachal and Manipur and thereby lose these two states as well.

There can never be any room for politics when such horrific tragedies occur. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cannot put the blame on the previous government. Even if the Left Front government awarded the contract of building the bridge to a company without much experience during its tenure, how can the Chief Minister forget that she has been ruling the state for the past 5 years? On the contrary she should have undertaken the responsibility to rectify the past mistakes. Whether the construction company is to be blamed or not for the collapse will be known only after investigations are complete. But the company’s reaction to the tragedy by calling it an act of God is certainly insensitive and irresponsible.

Till Vijay Mallya repays the banks, the Government will have to face the onslaught of the Opposition. However with the Supreme Court tightening the noose around him and the Centre coming down heavily, Mallya has proposed to pay 4000crores. He is well aware that leaving the country and staying abroad will not lessen his troubles and probably that is why he is slowly trying to get back on track.

Even if Pakistan were to repeatedly send its team to investigate the Pathankot terror attack or allow our team to visit their country for interrogations, there is not much that our Government or intelligent agencies can expect from the outcome of such visits. There are mere conjectures and posturing for the world to see. If Pakistan is sincerely committed to tackling terrorism, it would have ensured the most stringent punishments for the perpetrators after nabbing them by now instead of merely engaging in a flow of investigating agencies between both the countries.

It is not easy being a journalist in India. Those who use the media for their interests eventually turn out to be against journalists. There have been situations where the media has been found lacking and there is need for more focus on research. By and large, media has done a good job over the past few years. Journalists understand that they have to live with criticism. At a recent interaction with an enthusiastic bunch of LSR alumni from London, the participants were curious about the political narrative in India and the relationship between the judiciary and the legislature. They were particularly curious about the Media in India and the paradigm shift it has undergone over the years. Formed in 2014 with 150 members in the UK, the LSR Forum was represented by members across different fields and backgrounds who have been contributing to the British society in their own unique ways.

There is no doubt that Vijay Mallya has violated the law by not repaying his loans that he took from the banks. However if he has deposited the money in his account overseas and utilised it for some other purpose then this is indeed a very serious offence. However one would have to wait till investigations are over. Besides Mallya should refrain from making statements through the media and twitter and instead face the CBI and ED. If he has done nothing wrong he should not be scared at all.

Whether or not Asaduddin Owaisi raises ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ slogans will not make any difference. However there was no need for Owaisi to even mention that he would not raise such slogans since this unnecessarily rakes up a controversy and provides fodder for others to talk. Even Shiv Sena’s call to send Owaisi to Pakistan is wrong. Rather we should all rise above such loose talks for India can develop only when all of us think in terms of what will benefit our own country.

Vijay Mallya knew that several cases were pending against him. Banks would have recovered money easily and quickly, had he not moved out of the country. Now that Mallya has moved out of India, Government is left with two options – first, to revoke his passport and second, to try and bring him back to India, in case there is an extradition treaty with the country where he is presently staying. This process, however, is long and complicated. Since, most of Vijay Mallya’s properties are in foreign countries like England and South Africa, the recovery would be more difficult as well as time-taking.

Some very valid concerns have been raised over the Art of Living event to be held on the banks of the River Yamuna. With such a colossal stage being built, with thousands of people being invited and with such a huge parking space — all these are bound to have a negative impact on the environment. However massive preparations have already been made and foreign delegates have been invited and if at this point the show is cancelled, it would result in a huge embarrassment. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar should rather take responsibility and compensate for the damages likely to occur.

Mehbooba Mufti has made it very clear that she wants assurance on the implementation of the Common Minimum Programme that her party has finalised with the BJP. She wants to fulfil the promises that her father made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Even the BJP would like to form the government in the state with Mehbooba but there are some leaders who are apprehensive that Mehbooba might just walk out of the alliance on some pretext within a year and a half. Overall, the issue is about a lack of confidence which can only be resolved through negotiations.