My Opinion

The sudden passing away of former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday night has shocked and saddened the people of India. I knew Sushma Ji for nearly three decades.

Her biggest quality was her communication skill. She was known for her superb oratory, as if the Goddess of Learning, Saraswati, had given her this divine blessing in the form of oratory. She had the knack of dealing with the most difficult topic in a simple manner, understandable to all.

The second big quality was her clean image in politics. Not a single charge of corruption was ever leveled against her throughout her long political career. She had a spotless image.

The third big quality of Sushma Ji was that she was a forthright speaker and never minced words whenever it mattered. She never bothered if any body took umbrage of her plain speaking. She used to speak out her mind clearly in the face of those whom she wanted to criticize.

The biggest quality of Sushma Ji was that she was a nice human being, easily accessible to all and always ready to help those in distress. Her followers on Twitter, both in India and outside, know this very well. Whenever people faced visa-related problems, it was Sushma Ji, who as External Affairs Minister, used to come to their help. As a result, she brought smile on the faces of many. These included Indians, Pakistanis and people of other nationalities.

All these qualities made Sushma Ji a leader with a bigger than life stature. Her absence will surely be felt by all for years to come.

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The historic passage of Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Bill and the resolution to scrap Article 370 of Constitution that had granted special status to J&K heralds the beginning of a new era. It was a proud moment when 370 members of Lok Sabha voted in favour of the J&K Reorganisation Bill, and 366 LS members voted in support of the resolution to scrap Art. 370. A major historic blunder committed nearly 70 years ago now stands rectified.

Kudos to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for working tirelessly in bringing about the safe passage of these landmark legislative measures in Parliament. This could not have been possible without a strong political will, undaunted courage and careful precision shown by Modi and Shah in bring about structural change in the history and geography of a turbulent region.

For 70 long years, the nation was being ‘warned’ by so-called Kashmir ‘experts’ about the perils of scrapping Article 370 from the Indian Constitution. None of the previous Prime Ministers had the courage and political will to take this drastic step that had bedevilled the lives of several generations of people living in Jammu & Kashmir.

Modi and Amit Shah not only scrapped this Article but did so in such a smooth manner that no less than three-fourths of the members present in Lok Sabha supported the step. Nearly two-thirds of members in Rajya Sabha supported the landmark legislative measures.

Till 11 am on Monday morning, nobody, except a handful of persons, had the slightest inkling of what was going to happen about the future of Kashmir. It was a tightly, closely guarded secret known only to a select few.

Credit goes to Home Minister Amit Shah, who after becoming a Union Minister for the first time, deftly handled the debates in both Houses of Parliament on such a crucial legislative step. Nowhere was it evident that he was a first-timer central minister unable to tackle the flow of debate. Amit Shah skillfully replied to each and every question raised by members in both Houses.

The Opposition failed in both Houses to cite a single valid advantage of Article 370. On the other hand, Amit Shah outlined a plethora of advantages that will accrue to the people of J&K, which they had been deprived of over the years because of Article 370. Education, jobs, panchayati raj, central welfare schemes, sale and purchase of properties, new industries were some of the major advantages that Shah outlined in his speeches.

The political arguments put forth by three former J&K chief ministers, Mehbooba Mufti, Farooq Abdullah, Ghulam Nabi Azad did not hold water, because their present statements were totally at variance with what they had said earlier. After forging a failed coalition government with BJP three years ago, it was Mehbooba who had once said that Modi was the only leader who can solve the Kashmir problem.

A news channel showed how Farooq Abdullah was coming out of a hotel in Srinagar on Tuesday, instead of attending the historic debate in Lok Sabha. Farooq later lied to mediapersons from the balcony of his house by alleging that he was under custody. This was promptly denied inside the Lok Sabha by Home Minister Amit Shah, who said he had spoken to the state police DGP and the former CM was neither under house arrest nor in custody.

The historic steps on Kashmir also exposed in public the rift among the Congress leaders. Senior leaders like Janardan Dwivedi, Deepender Hooda, Manish Tewari, Pradip Bhattacharya and Milind Deora refused to toe the high command’s official line on Kashmir. Hearing Manish Tewari, none could understand whether he was supporting or opposing the legislative measures. All this happened even as Sonia Gandhi was silently watching.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took a historic decision by taking several vital steps together – a Presidential order repealing the previous 1954 President’s order incorporating Article 35A, a Presidential order rendering all provisions of Article 370 except one ineffective, a Reorganisation Bill for bifurcating Jammu and Kashmir into two entities, one J&K and the other Ladakh, and giving them the status of Union Territories, the former with an assembly, and the latter, without any assembly.

Within hours of the Union Cabinet approving these measures, Home Minister Amit Shah piloted these legislative measures in Rajya Sabha, which after extensive debate, passed them by two-thirds majority. The special status granted to J&K under Article 370 by the Nehru government thus stands null and void.

The consequences of these historic measures will give all Indian nationals the right to purchase property in J&K, right to apply for government jobs in Jammu & Kashmir, industries can now be set up in Kashmir without any hindrance, and all laws applicable to the rest of India can now be enforced in J&K.

The people of Jammu & Kashmir will get all the benefits under Right to Information, Right to Food, Right to Education, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and Panchayati Raj Act, which they had been hitherto denied because of Article 370.

The moment these legislative measures get passed on Tuesday in Lok Sabha, where the NDA commands overwhelming majority, Jammu & Kashmir will cease to have a separate Constitution and a separate Flag. Like all other states of India, Jammu & Kashmir will become a part of the Indian Union. Home Minister Amit Shah, while replying to the debate, assured that the status of J&K as a union territory could later be changed into full statehood, once normalcy returns.

With this, a historic blunder committed seven decades ago during Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s tenure, has now been set right, largely due to the political acumen and decisive vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his astute Home Minister Amit Shah.

The most heartening part of Monday’s debate was that regional parties like AIADMK, Biju Janata Dal, YSR Congress, Telugu Desam Party, Aam Aadmi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party supported the measures to revoke provisions of Article 370 and Art 35A.

The historic move finally buried the ghosts of fear that were being raised by leader like Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar, and Mehbooba Mufti that it may lead to untold consequences in the Valley. Mehbooba Mufti had once threatened that if Art. 370 was revoked, there would not be a single soul to hold the tricolour aloft in the Valley. Farooq Abdullah had recently bragged that nobody, not even Modi, can ever revoke Art. 370. All these bombasts have now been put to rest with a single stroke.

Much meticulous planning had gone into preparing the ground for revoking J&K’s special status. Prime Minister Modi had been working on this for several years, and it was Amit Shah who put in his best efforts to plug all possible loopholes, arranged two-thirds majority support in the Upper House, sent troops into the Valley, and with a single ‘surgical strike’, the dream of “a single flag, a single constitution” was fulfilled within hours.

It was a dream for which men of the stature of Late Syama Prasad Mookerjee had given their supreme sacrifice. A dream for which leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L. K. Advani and Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, spent the most part of their political life, fighting for a cause.

The story starts from 26th October 1947, when the then Maharaja Hari SIngh of J&K, signed the Instrument of Accession, when Pakistani tribal invaders almost reached the Srinagar valley, and the maharaja had to flee. Two years later, on 17th October, 1949, Article 306 was inserted into the Indian Constitution, which later on, in 1952, became Article 370 giving special status to J&K. It was a “temporary, transitional and special” provision that gave the state of J&K a separate flag and a separate constitution.

For seventy years, no political party or leader had the courage to revoke Article 370 because of vote bank considerations and the fear that it could cause unrest in the Valley, but simultaneously, this was the very Article that was, over the years, sowing the seeds of separatism in the Valley. Article 370 clearly stipulated that most of the provisions of the Indian Constitution, and all legislations passed by our Parliament, shall not be applicable to the state of J&K. Clearly, it was a major aberration, that struck at the very roots of a strong and unified India.

Because of Article 370 that provided for a separate flag, burning of our national tricolour in the Valley was not considered a criminal offence till now. No more. Not only disrespect to national flag, any form of disrespect to our national symbols shall now be treated as a criminal offence. There shall be no “dual citizenship”. The common people of J&K shall have no special privileges and rights, and they shall enjoy all the rights and privileges that are provided to Indian nationals.

You cannot imagine the measure of indignities suffered by refugees who had crossed over to J&K after 1947 Partition. These displaced people were denied government jobs, their children were denied scholarships, they were denied voting rights, they were not considered as “state subjects” of J&K because of the infamous Article 35A that gave rights to only “permament residents”. In 1957, nearly 600 Dalit families began residing in J&K. They were denied government jobs, and were considered only for the menial job of a “safai karmachari”. Over the years, their offsprings became doctors and engineers, and worked in other parts of India, but if they wanted to opt for a job n the state of J&K, the only job that was allowed for them was that of “a safai karmachari”. Such was the indignities heaped on common people due to Article 370 and Article 35A that gave special status to J&K.

And who benefited the most? It was Amit Shah, who told the Rajya Sabha on Monday, that “only three big political families” benefited the most because of the special status to J&K.

A new chapter has now opened in the history of Jammu & Kashmir. With its integration with India, the people of this region can now breathe freely and enjoy all the benefits that are given to all Indian citizens, irrespective of caste and religion. The new era will surely prevent the youths of the Valley from being misguided by radical ‘jihadi’ groups and open up avenues of progress for them throughout this vast Indian subcontinent. There shall be no more discrimination on grounds of “permanent subjects” and “outsiders”. Simultaneously, the peaceful people of Ladakh will surely glow in prosperity, free from decades of neglect and discrimination.

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The situation in Kashmir valley appears to be tense after the state Home department on Friday advised all tourists and Amarnath Yatra pilgrims to leave the valley at the earliest. Non-Kashmiri students staying in the hostels of National Institute of Technology in Srinagar have been asked to leave the Valley. Nearly 28,000 paramilitary personnel have been deployed in the past one week and around 32,500 troops will be disengaged from Amarnath Yatra security arrangements and moved to other parts of the Valley.

Both the Centre and the Jammu & Kashmir governor have allayed fears of political leaders about any move to abrogate Article 35A of the Constitution that bars outsiders from purchasing property and from getting jobs in state government.

Army and police officials have said that there are intelligence inputs about a major possible terror strike by Pakistan supported terror outfits during Amarnath Yatra, after a US-made sniper rifle, anti-personnel mines and explosives were seized on the yatra route. There are also reports of Pakistan army moving jihadi terrorists back to the Line of Control to carry out cross-border attacks.

Meanwhile, Kashmiri politicians in the Valley are busy with their rabble rousing remarks. Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has alleged that the Centre is trying to throttle democracy in the valley. Mehbooba has said that the people of J&K had agreed to accession with the Indian Union in 1947 on the condition that their separate identity would be protected. She has also said that any step towards removing Articles 35A and 370 from the Constitution will have major repercussions.

The common people in the Valley is flummoxed because of unending rumours and panic being created by vested interests. They should trust the Army and state police, whose senior officials said on Friday that Pakistan is planning to carry out major terror strikes in the Valley to shore up the sagging morale of terrorists. The security forces are working on twin objectives: one, to foil Pakistani plot and crush terrorism, and two, preventing youths from joining militant outfits.

Meanwhile, there are moves afoot to hold assembly elections in J&K before winter sets in this year, and the deployment of troops could be one of the steps to ensure a peaceful poll. The common people in the Valley should not be misguided by the fear psychosis that is sought to be created by vested political interests.

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The story of the death of a Muslim youth due to severe burns in Chandauli, near Varanasi, took a curious turn on Thursday when police arrested three persons, including the youth’s uncle, on charge of circulating fake news on social media alleging that four Hindu boys had set him on fire for not chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

SP, Chandauli, Santosh Kumar Singh said on Thursday dismissed the theory that four Hindu youths had set the Muslim boy on fire for refusing to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. He said, after investigation, it was found that the Muslim youth Abdul Khaliq Ansari had set himself on fire and had concocted the story after he was egged on by three persons including his uncle to add the ‘Jai Sri Ram’ angle.

The victim had earlier told police that he had gone for an early morning stroll, when four youths cornered him and set him on fire. He alleged that the youths were asking him to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ but he refused.

Chandauli SP said that some anti-social elements including the boy’s uncle had tutored him to add the ‘Jai Sri Ram’ angle. He said, the victim’s statements were inconsistent, because the sequence of events and location changed in each narration. CCTV cameras on each location were checked and the victim’s versions were found to be incorrect. Police quoted an eyewitness, a newspaper hawker, who said that he saw the boy setting himself on fire and thought the youth was crazy.

During police investigation, it was found that the uncle in question had an old feud with a Hindu neighbour, and in order to take revenge, he told his nephew to name youths from this family and add the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ angle. According to police, the three arrested persons, including the uncle, confessed that they spread this false narration on social media.

During investigation, police put the local social media groups on surveillance, and on Thursday booked all the three arrested persons under sections 153A, 295A, 420, 120B, 182 IPC and section 66 of IT Act.

We have no valid reason to doubt the police version. Since there have been incidents of lynching based on community in the recent past, people normally tend to believe versions that are dished out on social media.

A similar incident took place in Maharashtra involving two Muslim youths and later the communal angle was found to be fake. There were similar fake cases in West Bengal and western UP.

A few days ago, I had revealed in ‘Aaj Ki Baat’ how a rumour was spread on social media about a Hindu youth raping a Muslim girl in Jaipur. There was tension in the locality, and hundreds of Muslims went to the police station to stage protest. Later it turned out that the youth who raped the girl was a Muslim and he was arrested. Jaipur police promptly brought the situation under control.

Last week there was a rumour that a bus carrying Haj pilgrims was stoned by some Hindu youths. Later, some other buses were stoned out of revenge. Later it turned out that no stone was thrown at the bus carrying Haj pilgrims.

I am narrating all these incidents to underline how social media is being misused to create an atmosphere of fear and hatred all over the country. I would appeal to all not to blindly trust such messages on social media, and try to find out the truth before forwarding them to others.

Citizens should inform the local police if such fake messages land up in their phones.It is also the duty of local authorities to act promptly and nip the mischief in the bud. Strong and deterrent action must be taken against those who circulate such fake messages.

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India TV in its prime time show ‘Aaj Ki Baat’ telecast on Wednesday night a detailed investigative report about a medical analysis that shows that polluted air in the nation’s capital could be causing lung cancer. A noted chest surgeon of a Delhi hospital cited several cases where non-smoker patients coming from families with no history of smoking were suffering from lung cancer due to air pollution.

We sent our reporters to speak to these patients, and also leading doctors from AIIMS and other reputed hospitals to check whether the conclusion was correct or not. Almost all medical experts agreed that polluted air in Delhi could be the cause behind rise in lung cancer cases.

Doctors from all over the world had been telling us regularly that smoking was the main reason behind lung cancer. People who smoke constitute the biggest risk category for lung cancer cases. Rampant use of carcinogenic pesticides while growing vegetable and fruits was also one of the reasons for spread of cancer. Ground water polluted due to excessive use of pesticides reach our food chain and can cause cancer.

People can shun smoking tobacco, and avoid consuming fruits and vegetables grown after use of pesticide. They can also take care about drinking water, but what about the polluted air that we all breathe?

Clearly, pollution is our biggest enemy and we cannot afford to lower our guard while tackling pollution. No government on earth can tackle pollution alone. Citizens will have to come forward to combat air and water pollution. We must ensure safe drinking water, non-contaminated food and clean air for our children. Let’s combat pollution in all its varieties right now, because tomorrow could be too late.

In one of my earlier blogs, I had mentioned the name of three plants which you can use in your homes to get pollution free air. Students of IIT, Kanpur had researched about these three plants, which if used in our homes, can give us fresh oxygen and save us from air pollution.

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It was a historic day in Parliament, when the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill by 84 votes to 99. The enactment of this law will pave way for gender justice to Muslim women who had been suffering from the social practice of instant oral divorce over centuries.

This practice has now been declared as void, illegal and a cognizable offence punishable with up to three years’ imprisonment.

I spoke to several eminent experts in law and politics. Two main points emerged; one, it could be a socially prevalent practice in a particular religion, but it cannot be described as a minority community’s right, because rights are prescribed only through Constitution. The issue of triple talaq relates to the question of rights – that is, the right to equality given to women in the Constitution.

The second argument put forth was that triple talaq could be declared illegal, but it should not be declared a cognizable offence punishable with imprisonment. This argument is weak because if the practice is not declared a cognizable offence punishable with imprisonment, the law will only remain on paper.

A large section in Muslim community will then continue to give credence to this practice. If there is no provision for punishment, the violators of the law will continue to ignore the law and carry on with this pernicious practice.

If we have to provide true justice to Muslim women, this provision for punishment has to stay, so that it can act as an effective deterrent. Only the fear of going to jail can prevent men from resorting to triple talaq. This will ensure that this evil practice will vanish from society gradually with the sword of punishment hanging over the heads of violators.

This law will ensure that those who utter triple talaq will land in jail, and the wife will continue to live a respectable life in her husband’s home, since the practice itself has been declared void.

This law, formulated and going to be enacted by Modi government, is laudable and every right thinking person should welcome this.

With the passage of Triple Talaq Bill, the Modi government has crossed a big barrier that had been erected by Congress and other opposition parties in Rajya Sabha over the last five years. The government can now get bills passed in Rajya Sabha by managing numbers.

On Tuesday, when the Triple Talaq bill was passed, AIADMK, Janata Dal(U), TRS, PDP, BSP and TDP stayed away from voting by staging walkout, while Biju Janata Dal supported the bill. Several senior NCP and Congress members were absent during voting.

The passage of Triple Talaq Bill thus marks a clear victory for the BJP, and a defeat for the Congress in Rajya Sabha.

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On Sunday, an empty truck, with black paint over its number plate, dashed into a car driven by Unnao rape survivor’s lawyer in Rae Bareli. Two aunts of the rape survivor died, and the victim and her lawyer are presently in critical condition.

UP police initially said it was a case of road accident, but the victim’s family alleged that the main accused in the rape case, BJP MLA from Unnao Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his cohorts had planned this collision.

Surprisingly, the police escort provided to the rape survivor was not in car at the time of accident. Police said, the rape survivor had herself asked the police escort not to come due to lack of sitting space inside the car.

The truck owner told the police that the number plate was blackened in order to evade car loan financier who wanted to collect his arrears. The truck with a blackened number plate was not stopped anywhere on the road, because police said, it was raining and visibility was poor.

Following media uproar, the UP police changed its stance and offered to hand over the probe to the CBI ‘if there was a demand’. It may be noted that the CBI is already investigating the rape case and the murder of the victim’s father.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and other opposition leaders alleged that the accident was a plot to prevent the rape victim from giving her testimony in court. They questioned why the accused MLA was still a member of BJP.

Clearly, these opposition leaders got the chance to corner Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government, because Sengar has not been expelled from the BJP. Sengar is presently in jail.

This is a serious matter since all circumstantial evidences point to gaping holes in the police version. This collision cannot be termed as a road accident in which the truck, being driven on a wide road, crossed to the wrong side and dashed into an oncoming car. The black paint on the number plate of the truck and the absence of security personnel cannot be taken as coincidence.

The Unnao MLA seems to have wielded too much clout with the authorities since the time the rape allegations were first made public.

Family members of the rape survivor were being constantly threatened, the rape survivor’s father was killed, and her uncle was jailed in connection with an Arms Act case. Undue pressure was being exerted on the rape survivor to withdraw the rape charges. The rape survivor’s mother clearly said on Monday that the accident was a conspiracy to kill her daughter and family members.

Now that the UP government has agreed to hand over the probe into this road accident to the CBI, we can only pray and hope for speedy recovery of the victim and her lawyer, both of whom are in critical condition and are fighting for their lives.

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The Lok Sabha on Friday witnessed women MPs from almost all major political parties demanding action against Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan for making a sexist remark against the female presiding officer during the debate on Triple Talaq Bill. Members, cutting across party lines, demanded exemplary punishment for such crude remarks.

After consulting floor leaders of all parties, Speaker Om Birla issued a notice to Azam Khan asking him to tender an unconditional apology to senior BJP MP Rama Devi, who was presiding in the House at the time of incident, failing which he may have to face disciplinary action.

Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Nirmala Sitharaman, Supriya Sule from NCP, Anupriya Patel from Apna Dal, Kanimozhi from DMK and other women MPs condemned Azam Khan’s sexist remark and said that such a conduct was unacceptable.

In legal terminology, there are two types of offenders – one, a common offender, and the other, a habitual offender. Azam Khan seems to belong to the second category.

The Samajwadi Party leader used to describe former party colleague Jayaprada as his ‘sister’, but later on, he used crude and abusive language for her. All these remarks are in the public domain. He used words like ‘naachne waali’, ‘nachniya’ to describe the former Bollywood actress. When Jayaprada wept in public over such crude remarks, Azam Khan defended himself by describing her reaction as ‘drama’.

When he was out of power, he used words like ‘tankhaiya’ and ‘naali ka keeda’ for the District Magistrate of Rampur.

In the Lok Sabha, during the debate on Triple Talaq bill, Azam Khan was using objectionable language against ruling party MPs, and the presiding officer, Rama Devi, directed him to address the Chair. Flummoxed, Azam Khan said in Hindi that he liked her very much and he wanted to look into her eyes. These remarks in Hindi have a connotation that is normally used by roadside Romeos who ogle at women.

When Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and other BJP leaders objected to this sexist remark, Azam Khan changed tack and told Rama Devi, ‘you are my dear sister’. This is typical Azam Khan-ese. First, commit the offence and then retract by using sweet words. Azam Khan did the same in the august chamber of Lok Sabha, and he has been caught red-handed. Now that the female MPs are up in arms, he has been caught on the wrong foot, and will have to repent for his offence.

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The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed, for the third time, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, popularly known as Triple Talaq abolition bill, after the Congress, JD(U), DMK, TMC, SP and other parties staged a walkout after opposing the bill. The bill provides for a prison term of three years for Muslim males who divorce their wife after uttering the word ‘talaq’ thrice, either orally or through other means.

The bill had been passed twice earlier in the previous Lok Sabha but had lapsed because it could not get approval from the Rajya Sabha. Piloting the bill, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad pointed out that the Supreme Court had already struck down oral talaq as illegal and unconstitutional, and yet despite the SC verdict, several hundred cases of triple talaq have taken place across India.

This landmark bill, if enacted, will herald a new era for Muslim women who had been facing gender injustice due to the whims of their husbands. It is a progressive legislation that can change the face of Muslim community in India. Needless to say, divorcing one’s wife by uttering the word ‘talaq’ thrice either orally, or through WhatsApp or SMS or Skype, constitutes an act of injustice to Muslim womanhood.

No religion in the world allows such acts of instant divorce. Earlier, maulanas and ulema in India had promised to end this social evil in their community. Some of them tried, but their efforts could not bear fruit. On the other hand, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and other Muslim organisations brought out protest demonstrations to oppose this bill.

Since 2017 till now, there has been 574 reported cases of ‘triple talaq’ in India. Even after the apex court verdict, there were 345 reported cases of ‘triple talaq’. The government brought ordinances to enforce this bill thrice, and yet, 101 cases of ‘triple talaq’ were filed. The figures may seem to be miniscule in a big country like India, but the ground reality is that only a handful of such cases are reported, while majority of the cases go unreported.

Some Muslim leaders have tried to link this bill with religion. The ground reality is that 22 Islamic countries including Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have outlawed ‘triple talaq’.

It is also incorrect to allege that the government is trying to target Muslim community alone. The government, in the past, had enacted Hindu Marriage Act, and laws to ban dowry and Sati, with a view to eradicate these social evils from Hindu community.

All right-thinking and progressive-minded people should support Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his efforts to eradicate ‘triple talaq’ evil from Muslim community, and ensure gender justice to millions of Muslim women, whose fate hangs like the proverbial Damocles sword, dreading the very word ‘talaq’.

I would again appeal to all Muslim organisations and individuals to come forward and join hands in eradicating this despicable social evil.

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The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill which provides for classifying individuals having terror links as terrorists. The amendment bill also allows the National Investigation Agency to attach properties linked to terror outfits, without taking permission from the state police chief.

While replying to the debate, Home Minister Amit Shah hit out at those whom he called ‘urban Naxals’ who provide direct and indirect support to Maoists and other terrorists. Congress and Trinamool Congress members walked out, and the bill was passed by majority vote after division.

I am surprised why the Congress walked out while opposing this bill. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Bill was enacted in 1967 during former PM Indira Gandhi’s rule. The law was amended in 2004, when the Congress-led UPA was in power. It was again amended in 2008 and 2013 during Congress-led UPA rule.

The new amendments that were passed on Wednesday were based on recommendations made by the then Home Minister P. Chidambaram in 2013. Only the Congress leaders can tell why their party is opposing these amendments now.

The present law gives power to the state police DGP to give permission to attach properties of terrorists and their sympathizers. The amendment now empowers the NIA director-general to give permission to attach the properties of terrorists. Till now, the power of investigating terrorist acts was vested in the DSP or ACP of a state police. The new amendment gives this power to the rank of Inspector or above working in NIA.

These are vital amendments that can give power to the NIA to combat terrorism and Maoism. It will speed up investigation that has the potential to nip terrorism in the bud. And yet there are naysayers like AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi who say that the new amended law can be used to harass minorities. He should first worry about his own brother Akbaruddin Owaisi, who has been publicly spewing venom against the majority community.

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US President Donald Trump stirred a hornets’ nest when he said on Monday in the presence of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had requested him to mediate in resolving the 71-year-old Kashmir dispute. Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told Parliament that no such request was made by our PM during his meeting with Trump in Osaka, Japan.

Jaishankar said, ‘it has been India’s consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan, including Kashmir, must be discussed only bilaterally’ and there was no scope for third party mediation.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders demanded that the Prime Minister should himself clarify the position in Parliament. Rahul Gandhi tweeted to say: “A weak Foreign Ministry denial won’t do. PM must tell the nation what transpired in the meeting between him and POTUS (Trump)”

Opposition leaders should realize that if they demand a statement from the PM instead of relying on a categorical statement from our External Affairs Minister, the message would go out that our leaders do not trust our own government and instead believe in the remarks made by a foreign Head of State. who has been habitually telling lies.

Donald Trump is the President of the world’s most powerful nation. He seems to have the notion that he can mediate and solve any of the world’s problems, but the fact remains that Trump had given many statements in the past, which are at complete variance with truth.

Several leading US newspapers have published reports on how Trump had been telling lies over the years. The Washington Post published a report based on Fact Checker to say that Donald Trump is the US President who has told the largest number of lies. The report said, in the last 869 days, Trump made 11,769 remarks which were outright lies.. On an average, Trump has spoken more than a dozen lies a day. I’m not sure if this report is based on facts or part of the usual tirade of US media against Trump.

I am narrating these to underline the fact that there are Americans who do not believe in what their President says. Opposition leaders in India should realize this and stop making a mountain out of a mole hill. Prime Minister Modi never sought third party mediation on Kashmir, nor will he ever seek so.
The Kashmir issue has to be resolved bilaterally in accordance with the Shimla and Lahore agreements, which both India and Pakistan have signed. Any meaningful bilateral dialogue can start only when Pakistan stops aiding and abetting terrorists on its own soil.

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