My Opinion

Danish is that unfortunate victim who happened to witness the gruesome murder of his father Md Akhlaq. Perhaps there is nothing more painful than this. He himself was pushed to the jaws of death but despite having gone through so much, he does not see any pre-planned conspiracy behind this. He blames it at the crowd that was provoked by rumours being spread by certain unruly elements and those elements need to be severely punished. Danish’s comments certainly raise a question mark on those who feel that the country has become intolerant!

The bitter truth is that on the issue of terrorism, Pakistan has been exposed in front of the whole world. Prime Minister Narendar Modi has raised the issue of terrorism in all the countries he has visited. He has even called for isolating those countries that breed terrorism in their own soil. Nawaz Sharif and his adviser Sartaj Aziz have repeatedly tried to corner India but it has not made any impact internationally. Rather they have drawn flak for crying hoarse and therefore it is but obvious that Pakistan has no other option but to engage in talks with India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the ground for it in Paris when he had extended his hand to the Pakistan Prime Minister and then despatched Ajit Doval to Singapore for NSA level talks. Currently the Union Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj is in talks with her counterpart in Pakistan. Now Pakistan cannot claim that India is not ready for talks rather it would have to show to the world that it is indeed serious about tackling terrorism.

It is a good sign that both the State and the Central government are worried about the alarming pollution levels in Delhi and have decided to work together on this. This will certainly yield positive results. However the efforts of the government can fully succeed only when we as citizens undertake our responsibilities to reduce pollution and cooperate with the government in all its efforts.

With Sonia and Rahul having to appear in Court this month in the National Herald case, the Congress has accused the government of political vendetta. The party wants to strategically exploit this issue as a means to stall the Parliament, take their protest to the streets and force the central government to go on the defensive. However this strategy seemed have had the exact opposite effect with the Government and the party adopting an extremely offensive mode. Perhaps the BJP leaders are well aware that the case against Sonia and Rahul is very strong…it is a case of corruption and with the Court having issued the summons, the Congress will not be able to carry on with their protests for long.

India and Pakistan resuming talks, augurs well for both the countries. There are discussions on resuming cricketing ties. This is being viewed with optimism in Pakistan. On the contrary in India there are voices of opposition. When the government had decided to put an end to all talks, the Opposition had clamoured for better ties with Pakistan by insisting on talks. And now when the Government has decided to engage with Pakistan, the Opposition will start questioning what has brought about a sudden change in Pakistan to have prompted India to reach out to its neighbouring state. This seems like a double speak by the Opposition!

Today during a discussion in Parliament, all members agreed that once the situation in Chennai is brought under control, all states would be advised to take a fresh look at their existing drainage system. Chennai has witnessed the worst floods primarily due to a dysfunctional drainage system. The Central Government is rendering every possible help to the State. But it is the Army, the Navy and the Air Force jawans who deserve a special mention for their commendable rescue efforts in such difficult conditions.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s comments on the Ram Mandir issue in Kolkata is nothing new. He has often said that he would want the Ram Mandir to be built in Ayodhya in his lifetime. The RSS Chief was addressing a programme in the memory of two young men who lost their lives in police firing in Ayodhya about 25 years ago. His comments have snowballed into a controversy since December 6 when the Babri Masjid demolition took place, is round the corner and the Ram Mandir issue will once again start dominating headlines.

The worsening condition in Chennai and other areas in Tamil Nadu can be attributed to primarily two reasons. One, is the sudden incessant rainfall which is wreaking havoc in the state. It has even broken a 100 year old record! However another major reason for the flood is the unplanned and illegal construction in the state which is destroying the natural water paths thereby preventing the water to flow out. As a result, whenever there is a rainfall, the city is bound to resemble a huge lake. Srinagar, Uttarakhand, Mumbai and now Chennai are victims of such encroachment and flawed urbanisation. While on one hand it is difficult to fight nature but with better planning, the scale of devastation can surely be arrested.

Narendra Modi is well aware that despite having a majority in the Lok Sabha, his party lacks the numbers in the Upper House or the Rajya Sabha. Without the Opposition’s support, it is not possible for him to get any bill passed which is what happened in the last two sessions of the Parliament. The most important bill at this moment which the Prime Minister has to get cleared, is the GST Bill and in order to get this bill passed, the Prime Minister has decided to keep his doors open for the Opposition. He has reiterated in both the Houses that he would like all parties to come on board, he would like to work together especially on such vital issues. Atleast for now Rahul Gandhi cannot say that because the government does not pay heed to them, the question of supporting the government does not arise.

Developed countries like the US, UK, Germany and France want India and other developing countries to adhere to strict carbon emission norms but China and India are together on this. Both the countries agree that the World’s developed countries in order to achieve higher standards of living, have exploited the natural resources according to their whims and fancies and now want the developing nations to limit themselves. India and China have said that all developing nations have a right to grow and it is the industrialised countries who need to shoulder a bigger responsibility towards cutting down their own carbon emissions.

One may well remember that just two days back, on Saturday, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had told the British Prime Minister David Cameron, that Pakistan was ready for talks with India without any pre-conditions. And today when Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif met in Paris, the warmth that was exchanged between the two is perhaps an indicator that there could well be a thaw in the relationship between the two countries. However, having burnt our fingers with Pakistan in the past, India will have to tread the ground very cautiously.

Rahul Gandhi is well aware that GST is a necessity for the country. The proposal to introduce GST incidentally was first mooted by the Congress government. However the Congress Vice President’s opposition to pass the GST bill is guided purely by political reasons. If GST is introduced, there will be a spurt in economic growth which would be attributed to Modi fulfilling his promise of ushering in development in the country. Rahul Gandhi has realised that this would benefit the BJP. Even if GST is beneficial for the country, in the long run it may not be beneficial for his party. Naturally he will not want the bill to be passed now.