My Opinion

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done the magic. He has shown the power of love of the people of India to the leader of the world’s most powerful nation.

US President Donald Trump was so much touched by the grand reception given to him at the world’s biggest cricket stadium that he publicly praised Modi several times during his speech. He also praised India’s democracy and the tremendous progress it has achieved since independence and also the success of the big schemes under Modi’s tenure.

In all, Trump hugged Modi seven times, shook hands with him nine times, named Modi at least 27 times and named India 55 times on Monday. You can call it the Modi effect, as a huge 1.25 lakh crowd chanted ‘Modi, Modi’. Not only Trump, any world leader would have been hugely impressed on watching this grand spectacle.

The level of affection was evident from the manner in which Trump was praising “my dear friend” Modi. Normally, Trump prefers self praise and is prone to making acerbic remarks at other leaders, but on Monday, it was a completely different tune. And the entire grand spectacle was telecast live on international news channels like Fox News, BBC, CNN and other networks.

Normally, whenever US presidents visited India, news about their visits used to get passing reference in international news channels, but this time, almost the entire world was watching the grand spectacle across TV news networks.

On Monday, the US President praised Modi’s work style and he attributed the tremendous progress that his government had achieved to the hard work and toil put by our PM. Trump described Modi as his “true friend”, described him as “a tough negotiator” and promised to do a “very major, among the biggest ever made” trade deals with India.

Trump also gave a clear warning to terrorists based in Pakistan. “The US and India are firmly united in our ironclad resolve to defend our citizens from the threat of radical Islamic terrorism”, Trump said. He also gave a personal touch in his fulsome praise of Modi, by recalling how he rose from a tea seller to become India’s prime minister through sheer hard work and perseverance. He also mentioned the landslide victory secured by Modi last year to say how much the Indian people loved their Prime Minister.

Those who keep a watch on Trump’s Twitter handle surely know the extent of self praise that he indulges in, but this is probably the first time when Trump openly praised Modi to the skies before the world’s eyes. There are nearly four million people of Indian origin in the US, and Trump knows that most of them are supporters of Modi. Trump values the support of these people of Indian origin in an election year.

For Narendra Modi, this is a moment of utmost satisfaction. The strong ties of friendship that he has forged with the US President are surely going to reflect in the official level talks that are going to take place on Tuesday.

For every Indian, Trump mentioning Pakistan while speaking about radical Islamic terrorism is a vindication of all the statements made by Modi over the last several years. That until and unless Pakistan gets rid of jihadis from its soil, there cannot be any lasting true friendship.

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In what could be a stunning projection of India-US friendship on the world stage, US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner will be accorded a grand reception in India on their arrival in Ahmedabad on February 24.

Lakhs of people are expected to line the route that the US President will take from the airport to Motera, where the world’s largest cricket stadium has been built. More than a lakh people will pack the stadium to greet Trump, a spectacle no US President has seen yet on an overseas visit.

On Thursday, Trump spoke about the huge reception he was expecting in Gujarat. He compared the massive reception that was awaiting in India with the 60,000-seat stadium in Colorado by remarking, “It’s going to look like peanuts, from now on”.

The First Family from the US will be spending the evening at the world famous Taj Mahal in Agra. The second day of the visit will be devoted to serious talks in Delhi between Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with their ministers and officials.

I would like to view Trump’s visit as special on several counts. US presidential elections are due later this year, and after seeing the 50,000-strong NRI crowd at the Howdy Modi! rally in Houston, Texas last year, Trump has gauged the popularity of our Prime Minister among people of Indian origin in the USA. Trump has admitted on record that he is now habituated watching huge rallies. This time, Narendra Modi has invited almost 1.25 lakh people to greet Trump at the Motera stadium.

Normally, huge crowds rarely turn up in the US, but we know, in India, Modi has the magic to bring in 10 lakh people at a single rally. Naturally, Trump is very excited with the numbers. Earlier, he said, seven million people will turn up to greet him, and on Friday he hiked up the number to 10 million.

Trump may have confused millions with lakhs, but keeping that aside, one should try to understand the thinking behind his expectations and excitement. Trump values his personal rapport with Prime Minister Modi.

On Thursday, Trump claimed that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg personally told him that he was No. 1 on Facebook. At an event, Trump said, “The head of Facebook Mr Zuckerberg came in three weeks ago. He said, Congratulations. I said, On what? He said , you’re Number One on Facebook. I said, that’s cool, I’m number one on Twitter too. …And I congratulated Prime Minister Modi. I said, but you know, you have 1.5 billion people, I have 350 million. You have an advantage.”

Facts however show that Modi is Number 1 on Facebook, as of now. He is followed by 44 million people, while Trump’s Facebook account is followed by 27 million people.

I remember, when Prime Minister Modi spoke to me last year during the Lok Sabha polls in India TV’s ‘Salaam India’ event, he had disclosed the personal rapport he had already established with Trump.

Modi then revealed how Trump personally took him on a tour of White House and showed him Abraham Lincoln’s Room and other relics from US history, and spoke extempore without taking help from notes.

This India visit by Trump and his family denotes the personal bonding that has taken place between the two great personalities. India is certainly going to derive advantage from this visit. One one hand, it will send clear signals to Turkey and Malaysia, the two countries that have sided with Pakistan, and on the other hand, China will get to know the extent and depth of India-US friendship.

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All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi was caught unawares on Thursday when a female activist suddenly went up to the mike at his Bengaluru rally and chanted Pakistan Zindabad slogan. Owaisi had to intervene and hand her over to the police and the woman was sent to 14 days’ judicial custody. Owaisi had to explain at the rally and later to the media that he and his party always stood for Hindustan Zindabad and not Pakistan Zindabad,

Five days ago, in Gulbarga, Karnataka, AIMIM leader Waris Pathan, in the presence of Owaisi, in a challenging tone said that 15 crore Muslims have the ability to overpower 100 crore Hindus. The AIMIM chief was seen holding his head in his hands because he knew the consequences of this hate remark.

Owaisi is an experienced leader from Hyderabad and he should know it better what will happen if he continues to play with fire, by making speeches to incite the Muslims. Owaisi may be thinking that he can gain political advantage by inciting the Muslim community but he should understand that by spreading the poison of hate, he is lowering the level of patriotism among his supporters in the Muslim community.

I know Owaisi loves India. I have seen the video in which Owaisi strongly defended India when he was in Pakistan. Owaisi told the Pakistani TV anchor point blank that he must not utter a single word of abuse against his Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Owaisi also told the Pakistani TV anchor that his views may be different from those of Modi in India, but Modi is the Prime Minister for every Indian. Owaisi told him that no outsider has any business meddling in the domestic affairs of his country. He said, ‘I love India’, and I personally know that Owaisi is true to his conviction.

I also know that Owaisi never spoke the language that Mani Shankar Aiyar used against his own country when he was on Pakistani soil. But Owaisi should understand the effect of his provocative speeches among Muslims. He should know that he could be raising a wall between communities in his quest for expanding the supporter base of his party. Inciting a community on sensitive issues can cause big harm to the composite fabric of our nationhood.

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On Wednesday, hours before the Supreme Court appointed interlocutors visited Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, a video surfaced from BJP IT Cell showing how human rights activist Teesta Setalvad was “tutoring” women protesters on what questions to ask the lawyers sent by the apex court.

After watching Teesta’s advice on the video, one thing is clear: that the Shaheen Bagh movement is not spontaneous as is being claimed and that there are individuals and forces working behind the protesters.

The interlocutors, Sanjay Hegde and Sadhna Ramachandran, both lawyers, who came to listen to the protesters after keeping the media out, later left and promised to come again as they have been given a Sunday deadline. There was no breakthrough after the women protesters gave an emotional account of what they had gone through during their 66-day-long sit-in.

The mediators assured the protesters that the apex court had taken note of their right to protest but there are also rights of people who have to commute on this route, shopkeepers who have to reopen their shops, doctors who have to reach the hospital and students who have to go to schools.

Clearly, the protesters sitting in Shaheen Bagh are not so ignorant as to expect the two lawyers to initiate withdrawal of Citizenship Amendment Act and promise non-implementation of National Register of Citizens. The protesters know this very well that the two interlocutors have no powers to do so and that they have been sent only to explore if the road at Shaheen Bagh could be reopened.

These protesters also know this well that the CAA has nothing to do with Indian citizens and that it is not going to affect their citizenship in any manner. The protesters also know this fairly well that the process to compile National Register of Citizens has neither been initiated nor is there any such measure in the pipeline.

The question then arises: why are these protesters sitting on dharna for more than two months now? I feel the Shaheen Bagh protest is being projected as a symbol of agitation against the Modi government. There are political forces inimical to Prime Minister Modi who will not allow this protest to end tamely. They are creating a fear psychosis in the minds of Muslims and provoking them towards confrontation.

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India TV on Monday night in its ‘Aaj Ki Baat’ show telecast the story of a Pakistani Hindu girl, who narrated the ordeals of Hindu community in Pakistan. The girl, a Chartered Accountancy student, was sent by her parents on pilgrimage visa along with other Hindus in the first week of February. All the Pakistani Hindus who have crossed over to India are now unwilling to return as they fear persecution on grounds of religion.

The girl narrated how Hindus are being forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan, their daughters are abducted and forcibly married to Muslim men, and how they live as second class citizens in Pakistan. The Hindus, who have fled and are seeking asylum in India, are being taken care of by Sikh humanitarian groups and are being fed in the langars of gurudwaras.

Hindus living in Pakistan do not have the freedom to raise their voice against persecution that occurs almost on a daily basis at all levels. None of the Pakistani leaders care to listen to their woes lest they run foul of their own community. It is my fervent appeal to the government to give proper assistance and asylum to all the Hindus who have fled Pakistan because of religious persecution. They must be given Indian citizenship and must be conferred all the rights that are given to Indians.

These persecuted Hindus deserve help from India in pursuance of the solemn promise given by Mahatma Gandhi at the time of Indepence that India must give shelter to all Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities facing persecution in Pakistan.

I want to take this opportunity to tell all those who are protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act to cast aside their worries for a minute, and think about the atrocities that are being faced by Hindus in Pakistan. If their demand for revoking the CAA is accepted, what will happen to these old men, women and children? Will it be humane to send them all back to Pakistan to face persecution? The Citizenship Amendment Act was brought precisely for helping these persecuted minorities who live in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, all three Islamic countries, where they practically live as second-class citizens.

It is time for those sitting on dharna at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh to do a serious rethink. The government has, time and again, assured that the CAA has not been brought to deprive any bonafide Indian of his or her citizenship. Let the CAA open up the path for rendering help to the persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis and Christians who want to leave Pakistan.

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On Friday, the nation paid homage to those 40 CRPF martyrs who laid down their lives during a terrorist suicide attack in Pulwama, Kashmir. A memorial was erected at the CRPF camp in Lethpora, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in paying homage to the martyrs.

The solemnity of the occasion was marred by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who tweeted: “Today as we remember our 40 CRPF martyrs, let us ask: 1. Who benefitted the most? 2. What is the outcome of the inquiry? 3. Who in the BJP govt has yet been held accountable for the security lapses that allowed the attacks?”

I am surprised at Rahul Gandhi’s remarks. February 14 was the day for remembering our fallen heroes, a day to console their families and say that the nation stands solidly behind them. At least, this was not a day for making political capital out of martyrs’ sacrifices.
I remember Rahul Gandhi had made similar snide remarks after the famous Indian Air Force air strikes on Balakot and after the ‘surgical strike’ on terrorist camps inside Pakistan. He had questioned the authenticity of the claims of the armed forces.

Rahul Gandhi may have his political rivalry with Narendra Modi, but I do not think it is right to question the valour of our armed forces.

The terror attack in Pulwama was an attack on India. We lost 40 of our brave jawans. Our air force took revenge by destroying terror camps in Balakot inside Pakistan. The whole world supported India after it bombed those hideouts. But, if Rahul Gandhi and some of our opposition leaders express doubts about the intentions of the government in the wake of Pulwama attack, it amounts to insulting our martyrs. Nobody can support this.

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Today I want to share with you the grief of Asha Devi, mother of Nirbhaya, the girl who was gang raped inside a bus in Delhi more than seven years ago, brutalized and thrown out, causing nationwide outrage. I marvel at the tenacity of her mother, who made it a point to attend every court hearing for the last seven years, in the hope of finally getting justice.

The Supreme Court gave the death sentence to all the four Nirbhaya case convicts three years ago, the death warrants were signed twice by the lower courts, an executioner was also brought to Tihar jail for carrying out the death sentence, and yet the execution process seems to have got entangled in a maze of judicial procedures with the lawyers filing petitions, one after another, in different courts to stall the execution.

On Thursday, a division bench of Supreme Court had to deal with two petitions – one by the Union government seeking separate hanging of the four convicts, and the other by a convict challenging the President’s rejection of his mercy plea. The apex court reserved its verdict on the convict’s petition for Friday, when it will hear counsels on the Centre’s plea for carrying out separate hangings.

The Supreme Court has already rejected the review and curative petitions of all the four convicts, but in the meanwhile, one convict filed a plea in High Court claiming he was a juvenile at the time of offence. This, too, was rejected.

The Supreme Court is aware of the delaying tactics being employed the lawyers of the convicts, but it can do little except hear the petitions. On Thursday, a sessions court in Delhi observed that “Article 21 of the Constitution protects the life and liberty of a condemned convict till his last breath”.

Nirbhaya’s mother, with her voice breaking, told the court, “I come here every day with the hope of getting justice but I have to return disappointed.” The judge sympathized with her, but said, everyone has to function within the ambit of the law.

Just imagine the trauma the lady has to go through. First her daughter was gang raped and brutally murdered, the entire nation sympathized with her in her hour of grief, and then the long journey for seeking justice began. On every hearing date, the lady used to go to courts, waiting for justice, which is yet to come. This has been going on for more than seven years, even after the death sentence has been pronounced.

I only want to ask: what is her guilt? Is it because she wants death for all the four murderers who pounced on her inside a running bus? Is it because the sympathies of the entire nation are with her? Is she guilty because the President, the Supreme Court, and all lower courts refused to show mercy to the convicts?

The guilt lies with our judicial system. Imagine, for seven years the Nirbhaya case went through the courts, the death sentence was given by the Supreme Court nearly three years ago, their mercy petitions were rejected, and yet her mother is still getting adjournments after adjournments (‘tareekh par tareekh’ in Bollywood lingo).

Imagine the travails of a mother, when the courts give adjournments, and the lawyers for the convicts proudly claim outside the court, for her to hear, that the execution has been stayed “forever”. Nirbhaya’s mother, Asha Devi, wept again outside the courts on Thursday and left, and yet the nation watched in silence the blatant manipulation of our judicial system.

The lawyers for the convicts are so wily that they never file petitions together in order to gain time. They file petitions in different courts – Patiala district court, Delhi High Court and Supreme Court, only to gain time. And every time it is Nirbhaya’s mother who has to walk out with tears in her eyes.

The lawyers for the convicts argue in court, why is the government in a hurry to execute the convicts, when cases of so many death row convicts are pending. One of the lawyers, A. P. Singh, even went to the extent of saying “justice hurried is justice buried”. I want to tell him, there is also the saying ‘justice delayed is justice denied’.

Judiciary must not brook any more delay now. To those who demand that death row convicts must be heard till their last breath, I want to say, where was the ‘right to life’ when these criminals were snuffing out life from the body of a girl? Did she not have the right to life? Legal rights for a convict does not mean resorting to delay tactics and fooling the judicial system.

My heart is filled with anger when I see Asha Devi’s eyes brimming with tears and asking plaintively, ‘when will we finally get justice?’ The law against rape was changed after the sordid Nirbhaya incident, but now, the time has come to dispense with the provision of mercy petitions for those death row prisoners who have committed the most heinous crime on earth. So long as this is not done, our daughters will continue to suffer.

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Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal led his Aam Aadmi Party to a historic hat trick in the assembly elections, scoring a landslide win of 62 out of 70 seats, leaving the remaining eight seats to the BJP. Only last year, BJP had won all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi as euphoric voters after the Balakot air strike had given their unflinching support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This time, the BJP marshaled al its leaders and resources to make a comeback in Delhi politics but failed miserably. Home Minister Amit Shah put in his best efforts, sent party heavyweights like Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan to nooks and corners of Delhi to canvass for votes. Nearly 200 MPs were asked to join the campaign and not a single area in Delhi was spared. And yet, the party failed to reach even double digits.

Let us try to understand the reasons behind the people’s verdict in Delhi. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had meticulously planned for the elections almost one and a half year ago. He had prepared his strategy and had finalized the names of candidates. On the other side, in the BJP camp, the local leaders were a worried and harried lot. Even 15 to 20 days before the campaign was about to begin, nobody knew who would lead the party and what would be the party’s strategy.

Everybody in Delhi knew that Kejriwal would contest the elections on issues of free power, free water, mohalla clinics, better schools, but the BJP was yet to decide whether to oppose or support freebies. There was complete confusion in the state party unit.

Kejriwal’s strategy was clear: As the leader and face of the campaign, he would seek votes on issues of free power and free water, and, to top it all, he would refrain from making the remotest criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kejriwal had made up his mind to shun negative campaigning and there was clarity about this among his party workers. He ultimately led his party to another historic win.

On the other hand, BJP made Shaheen Bagh, ‘tukde tukde gang’ and sedition as its agenda, and, as the campaign progressed, the attacks became shriller.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur gave the slogan ‘desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maro saalon ko’, party MP Pravesh Verma described Kejriwal as a ‘terrorist’, but the Delhi chief minister refused to bite their baits. He was quite clear about seeking votes in the name of what his government had done in the spheres of water, electricity, transport, education and health.

BJP leaders tried their best to trap Kejriwal on the issues of Shaheen Bagh and Pakistan, but the Delhi CM appeared to be a slippery customer. When a Pakistani minister tweeted about Modi’s impending defeat in Delhi elections, Kejriwal was quick to snub him on Twitter by saying that ” Modi is my Prime Minister and he is also India’s prime minister,” and the “sponsors of worldwide terrorism should not meddle in our internal affairs”.

On being labelled a ‘terrorist’, Kejriwal replied that he was “the son of Delhi” and on a plaintive note, said, how could a “son of Delhi” become a terrorist? By then, the voters of Delhi had made up their mind to elect Kejriwal and his party.

You might be wondering why Congress came up with a pathetic performance by failing to win a single seat. Congress had indeed made up its mind to help Kejriwal win and see the BJP bite the dust. On Tuesday, a Congress leader during election debate in India TV studio remarked that his party “had sacrificed itself in order to defeat BJP in Delhi.” Even Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath knew that his party would not win a single seat in Delhi. Congress had neither projected any leader in Delhi nor did its heavyweights campaign much, leaving the field wide for a straight contest between AAP and BJP.

It is astonishing to note that Kejriwal maintained his party’s vote percentage at 54 per cent that he had secured five years ago. This was achieved despite accounting for any anti-incumbency factor. BJP leaders may feel satisfied that their party’s vote percentage has jumped from 32.2 to 38.5 per cent. But one should remember that was because Congress vote percentage plummeted from 9.7 to 4.3 per cent.

Amit Shah addressed scores of meetings, took out roadshows and spoke to booth level workers till late in the night. He meticulously micro-planned his party’s campaign, and sent several chief ministers and Union Ministers.

However, on the ground level, these chief ministers and national level leaders seemed to be completely clue less, because only a Delhiwallah would know the nuances of conversations and behaviour of voters in the bylanes of Delhi. Leaders who knew the Delhi voters, like Vijay Goel and Vijay Jolly, were absent. There was utter confusion among party workers and local leaders had simply nothing to counter Kejriwal’s claims.

BJP needs serious introspection if it wishes to script a plausible narrative for the average Delhi voter in the coming months. The party must address basic issues that affect the common Delhi voters.

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The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the propriety of blocking a public road in Shaheen Bagh for the last two months by anti-CAA protesters.

A division bench of the apex court observed that “there cannot be an indefinite period of protest in a common area. The protests have been on for a long time. It could be done at an area identified for protests. Can someone block the entire road for an indefinite period?”

On the death of a four-month-old infant at Shaheen Bagh, the court observed: “Did that four-month-old girl go to the protest site? Mothers should support this scrutiny.”

Despite the clear observations from the Supreme Court, the anti-CAA protesters in Shaheen Bagh are unwilling to call off their protest. They are being egged on by the likes of leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Asaduddin Owaisi. Also, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid was seen a video where a child was shouting ‘azaadi’ slogans.

I was a bit surprised over Salman Khurshid encouraging and supporting the child chanting ‘azaadi’ slogans. Khurshid is an eminent lawyer, he has been the country’s External Affairs Minister, he understands the intricacies of law. Yet, by joining a kid in chanting ‘azaadi’ slogans, Khurshid appeared to be overcome with emotion. This is not going to convey a good message to the people.

The government has already declared through a written reply in Parliament that there was no proposal of implementing National Register of Citizens (NRC) at the moment. The Prime Minister has, time and again, clarified that the Citizenship Amendment Act has nothing to do with Indian citizens. There is nothing more than this government can do. The Shaheen Bagh protesters should discard their adamant attitude and call off the protest. The sooner, the better.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed both Houses of Parliament while replying to the debate on Motion of Thanks for the Presidents Address. He cited latest development figures about Jammu & Kashmir and silenced his critics on Citizenship Amendment Act by quoting from former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri, who had supported giving citizenship to Hindus persecuted in West and East Pakistan.

First, Kashmir. Modi revealed that in the last 18 months, 24,000 houses were built in J&K, compared to only 3,000 houses built during Congress rule. For the first time, after becoming a Union Territory, J&K policemen are getting the same benefits that are being given to central paramilitary forces. For the first time, elections of more than 35,000 panch and 4,400 sarpanches were conducted, Ayushman Yojana medicare gold cards were given to more than 3.5 lakh people, old age pension scheme was launched and for the first time, anti-corruption law was enforced in J&K.

Modi justified the detention of former CM Mehbooba Mufti and quoted one of her remarks in which she had cast doubts about the decision of people of Kashmir to join the Indian Union in 1947. He effectively silenced his critics on the issue of abrogation of Article 370 by saying that these steps have already been approved by Parliament.

Modi then turned towards Congress and other opposition parties and pointed out how these parties were deliberately creating fear and suspicion in the minds of Muslims over CAA and NPR issues. He quoted from letters and speeches by former PM Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, B. R. Ambedkar and Ram Manohar Lohia to justify granting of Indian citizenship to Hindus and other minorities persecuted in West and East Pakistan.

Modi tried to clear all nagging doubts about CAA and NRC, and there now appears to be no reason for anti-CAA protests to continue in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, Mumbai’s Nagpada, and in Kerala and Kolkata. Since it is physically impossible for a Prime Minister to visit each of these places to assuage the feelings of Muslims, he gave his firm assurance on the floor of Parliament.

The Prime Minister took potshots at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remark the previous day at a Congress election rally. Rahul had said that if youths were not given jobs, they “will start beating Modi ji with sticks after six months”. Without naming Rahul, Modi quipped that he would utilize these six months to tone up his physique by doing Surya Namaskar to face the blows of ‘lathis’.

The problem with Rahul Gandhi is that he is under the false impression that one can become a mass leader if one shouts and attacks opponents mercilessly. In the process, Rahul has been committing blunders. Nearly four years ago, Rahul had bragged that there would be an earthquake if he was allowed to speak for five minutes inside Parliament. Modi made fun of his earthquake remark during his reply, leading to guffaws inside the House. Rahul had said on Wednesday that he never lies and only Modi and Arvind Kejriwal speak lies. The fact is that he had to tender an unconditional apology in Supreme Court for telling a lie.

Rahul should learn from Arvind Kejriwal, who used to attack Modi by calling him a psychopath and Pakistani agent, and had to face the wrath of the voters. Kejriwal has brought a sea change in his attitude, and he has refrained from attacking Modi for the last one and a half years. The sooner Rahul learns the benefits of refraining from personally attacking Modi, the better.

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On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the formation of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, four days before the deadline set by the Supreme Court was to end. This trust will build the Ram Temple at his birthplace in Ayodhya on a plot of 67.7 acres. The Cabinet has cleared a detailed scheme for building the shrine and its surrounding complex.

Simultaneously, in pursuance of the Supreme Court verdict, the UP government has allotted five acres of land for building a mosque, nearly 25 km away from the temple site on the Faizabad-Lucknow highway. The land will be handed over to UP Sunni Central Waqf Board.

The Prime Ministers announcement was greeted by members in the Lok Sabha, Outside Parliament, yoga guru Swami Ramdev was the first to welcome the announcement saying that the nation is fortunate in having a PM like Narendra Modi, who has taken this decision keeping in mind the sensitivities and faith of crores of Hindus.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangimahali of Lucknow said “divisive politics over temple must now end and it is up to the Sunni Waqf Board whether to accept the land gifted by the government or not. ” This is a welcome reaction.

I remember, when the apex court was about to give its verdict, the RSS and BJP leaders had directed their supporters to maintain peace at all cost, and refrain from celebrating in public. The Ayodhya verdict was finally accepted peacefully by all sides.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi sought to link the PM’s announcement of the Trust to the forthcoming Delhi elections and said that the timing of this announcement will not help the BJP in the polls.

Politics is a strange subject where leaders draw their own conclusions to suit their line of thinking. Owaisi and leaders of his ilk must know that the formation of the Trust is a sequel to the directions given by the Supreme Court. The court had given deadline till February 9, which was going to expire. The Trust was bound to be set up, and leaders like Owaisi must stop polarizing the society on this dead issue any more.

I believe, politics over temple issue must now end and our leaders should at learn from common Hindus and Muslims who have accepted the apex court verdict peacefully, and with humility.

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India TV in its prime time news show ‘Aaj Ki Baat’ on Tuesday showed Pakistani students stranded in China’s coronavirus-hit Wuhan crying for help from their government. This happened after Indian government sent two special Air India flights to bring home all Indians trapped in Wuhan city. So far, 647 Indians and seven Maldivians have been brought back from China. Most of them have been quarantined in Manesar for tests and observation, in order to contain the spread of deadly coronavirus.
In several video messages going viral, these trapped Pakistani students are openly praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his quick action and slamming their own Pakistani government for refusing to rescue them in this hour of distress.
The Pakistani government has refused to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan in order to show ‘solidarity’ with its all-weather ally Pakistan. A group of Pakistani medical students wearing masks are seen in videos saying, “Indian students are returning back because their government has sent planes to evacuate them…We want to ask our government, are they waiting for us to die? If not, then please evacuate us as soon as possible.” A female student was seen saying on video, “Sadly, our embassy has said that death is Allah’s willing, which can come at any place.”
There are nearly 30,000 Pakistanis residing in China, out of whom more than 500 students are in Wuhan, the epicentre of coronavirus outbreak.
I have only this to say. Narendra Modi has always excelled in rescuing and evacuating people during natural disasters, wars and pandemic outbreak. He plans to the minutest details any relief, rescue or evacuation plan that is to be executed. He has used his vast experience in providing relief and rehabilitation after the disastrous Gujarat earthquake. He launched operations to evacuate Indian nurses trapped in war-hit Iraq and Yemen. As chief minister of Gujarat, his exploits in evacuating stranded tourists from flood-hit Kedarnath are legendary.
Narendra Modi always believes in forward planning. Even before China allowed Air India special flights to land in Wuhan, Modi had kept ITBP quarantine centre in Manesar and Army hospital ready to handle the inflow of Indians from China.
One is appalled at the obduracy of Pakistan government. If Pakistan lacks resources, I believe, Modi will surely come forward to extend help if Prime Minister Imran Khan sends him a request. In the same way, as India saved Pakistanis trapped in Yemen along with other nationals.

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