My Opinion

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.

There was a major ruckus in the parliament today when CPM MP Md Salim wrongly attributed a quote in the Outlook magazine to Home Minister Rajnath Singh. However the magazine had erroneously quoted Rajnath Singh when in reality the comment was made by the late Ashok Singhal of the VHP leaving the Home Minister not only hurt but also very angry. The Speaker of course expunged Salim’s remarks from the proceedings of the House but a privilege motion has been moved against the Outlook Magazine and its Editor will now have to appear before the Privilege Committee of the Parliament.

Major developments were seen at the swearing in ceremony of Nitish Kumar. Firstly, Nitish has tried to send out a message from Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, of a new political beginning. All anti-Modi leaders were brought together on stage. Secondly, Lalu Yadav has made it clear that his younger son, Tejaswi Yadav, would be his political successor. Another visible development was the fact that the RJD supremo did not give those a chance to become a part of Nitish’s cabinet, who had left him and joined Nitish when the two were rivals. Shyam Rajak, who was part of Nitish’s cabinet for the past 10 years, had to be content watching the ceremony on his TV screen. Nitish has relied on people who have supported him for a long time now. Similarly Lalu has ensured that those who stood by him even in the most trying times, got good portfolios. Abdul Bari Siddique has been allotted the crucial finance ministry.

One question that is repeatedly being raised is whether Peter Mukerjea was actually unaware about Sheena Bora’s murder? What stopped him from taking the initiative to find out Sheena’s whereabouts? CBI is confident that Peter knew about the murder and the proof of this was given by his own son Rahul Mukerjea. Now, CBI needs to find out the motive behind this murder. Was it only money or the relationship between Sheena and Rahul which led to this gruesome crime? Another important aspect which has surfaced is a certain police officer’s role in trying to help Peter. It is equally important to find out the reason behind this help.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rightly pointed out that the supply lines of the ISIS would need to be choked. According to certain reports the ISIS is being funded by 40 odd nations. The terror outfit does not have any weapons manufacturing facility and yet is managing to procure arms and ammunition. The only way to stem their onslaught is to curb their sources of funding. And this is applicable not just to the ISIS but to all terror organisations in the world.

Maulana Madani’s initiative needs to be appreciated. Organisations like the Taliban and now the Islamic State have insulted Islam and created a nightmare for Muslims across the globe. In the Holy Quran, it is stated that Islam does not allow the brutal murder of an innocent man. But these terrorist organisations are misleading people and using religion as a tool to gather support of the masses. The Islamic State has killed around 1.5 lakh Muslims around the world. In the name of Islam, it is misleading the youth. It is our responsibility to educate the young generation and make them aware of these terrorist organisations and their intentions and thereby prevent them from joining such dreadful terror outfits.

In the aftermath of the attacks on France, President Francois Hollande has been repeatedly urging nations to unite together to fight terrorism. He stressed on the need to join hands to combat terrorism. He would be meeting US President Barack Obama on the 24th of November followed by a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 26th of this month.