My Opinion

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced a slew of measures to revive growth, boost consumption and uplift investors’ sentiment, but more similar steps are needed soon.

Sitharaman announced cheaper retail loans for homes, cars and consumer goods, removal of surcharge on gains by domestic and foreign portfolio investors, speeding up of GST refunds, simplified KYC norms for foreign portfolio investors, lifting of angel tax on all registered startups and lifting of freeze on purchase of new government car purchases.

The Finance Minister also announced that violation of corporate social responsibility regulations by corporates will now be taken as a civil offence and not a criminal offence. She also announced amendments in the definition of MSMEs, release of Rs 70,000 crore for recapitalisation of PSU banks, speeding up of loan documentation process, and provision of Rs 30,000 crore by National Housing Bank for disbursing loans to home finance companies.

These announcements are sure to provide comfort to the market as FPIs had withdrawn nearly $3.4 billion since July. Tax rates for FPIs are expected to come down from 11 pc to 7 pc, according to market analysts.

Concerns about the state of economy had been raised over the last several weeks by several top industrialists and Nirmala Sitharaman had met most of them during the last two weeks to find out ways and means to overcome the current slowdown.

The industry was apprehensive about penal measures that had been proposed in the budget for corporates that flout CSR regulations, and the minister has sought to allay those apprehensions.

She also announced several steps to curb unnecessary harassment by Income Tax department officials, and clearly said that businessmen and investors being wealth creators will be given due respect. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech had said that wealth creators need the nation’s respect.

Nirmala Sitharaman has indicated that government would come up with more measures to give a boost to real estate sector next week. The moot point is that the Narendra Modi 2.0 government has understood the concerns of the industry and is trying to address them.

Yet much more needs to be done because this is a gigantic work. Many of the industrial sectors are facing the brunt of slowdown and they need stimulus from the government. The apprehensions being expressed are genuine and most of the people have begun losing confidence in the face of economic slowdown.

We hope the government will come up with more innovative measures to create confidence in the minds of wealth creators. The super rich class is presently paying more than 42 per cent as income tax including surcharge. The Finance Minister will also have to pay attention to this aspect too.

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The dramatic arrest of former Finance Minister and former Home Minister P. Chidambaram by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday night in connection with the INX Media case signifies the determinaton of the Modi 2.0 government to combat and root out corruption.

The senior Congress leader went incommunicado for more than 27 hours, after a Delhi High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail petition saying that he was the “kingpin” in the case that involved payment of bribe and offshore money laundering through firms owned by his son.

Before the Rouse Avenue CBI court judge in Delhi on Thursday, senior counsels Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi pleaded on behalf of Chidambaram, while the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta spoke on behalf of CBI.

Chidambaram’s counsels said that the co-accused in the case Karti Chidambaram is on bail, while two other accused Indrani and Peter Mukerjea are also on bail, hence there was no point in sending the former Union Minister to custody.

These counsels also argued that there was no scope of further interrogation as the charge sheet has already been prepared. They also pointed out that the Foreign Investment Promotion Board sanctions given to INX Media had the consent of six secretary-level officials, but no attempt had been made to arrest them.

On behalf of CBI, the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta said that the Delhi High Court has considered the seriousness of the offence and has prima facie found Chidambaram guilty, because of which he was denied anticipatory bail.

Tushar Mehta told the court that custodial interrogation of Chidambaram was necessary to establish evidences about the money trail. The SGI said that Chidambaram played an “effective and informed role” in the entire conspiracy, and had evaded questions from both CBI and ED last year.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar said the charges were serious and sent Chidambaram in CBI remand for five days.

The Special Judge said, “the enormity of the alleged money involved in this case and the persons who are accused” required an in-depth investigation”. The judge however told the CBI to ensure that “the personal dignity of the accused is not violated in any manner”.

Whatever may be the final outcome of the judicial process in this case, a clear message has now gone to the people of India that nobody, in howsoever exalted position he or she may be, will be spared in cases involving corruption, money laundering and similar other charges.

It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who during the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, had launched the “Main Bhi Chowkidar” campaign and had emphatically said in his election meetings that “whoever looted the country will have to pay the price for it”. Modi had then mentioned the National Herald case involving Gandhi family and the dubious land deals involving Robert Vadra.

Modi had then said: “I have been compiling proofs since 2014 and things are now moving in the right direction. While someone is on bail, others are shuffling between hearing dates from courts. Those people are making rounds of courts today. In my 5 years, I have managed to take these people to the doors of the jail. Now, I will put them behind bars,”

The fear of law has now set in and those who have been involved in wrongdoing will now have to face the full brunt of law.

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India TV on Tuesday night in its prime time ‘Aaj Ki Baat’ show, telecasted a special investigative report on mass scale ragging inside the campus of Uttar Pradesh University of Medical Sciences based in Saifai, Etawah.

The video showed nearly 150 first year medical students, walking in a single file, with their heads bowed, and their heads shaven. They were all wearing the same white clothes. The freshers were following a set of
“guidelines” set by their senior colleagues: not to raise their eyes in front of seniors and take deep bows whenever a senior colleague approached them.

This was not a scene out of the iconic Bollywood movie ‘3 Idiots’. The video depicted the harsh realities in which the freshers found themselves, when they got admission to the university. These freshers are supposed to ride on the dreams of their parents who want their children to become doctors.

This video strikes at the innate sense of self respect of these medical students. It shames the civil society that we live in. It amply proves that the shameful practice of ragging is still prevalent in our educational institutions despite enactment of a law that bans ragging.

Normally freshers undergo mental stress during their first year in colleges. They are required to perform better in academics and adjust themselves to the new surroundings. Instead of offering them a helping hand, senior students of this medical university forced them to (1) shave off their heads (2) wear simple white dress (3) refrain from raising their eyes in front of seniors (4) deeply bow whenever a senior student approached them, and (5) walk in single file to their classrooms.

This is nothing short of a medieval practice. Initially, when I was showed the video, I could not believe my eyes, but after I got it crosschecked and found that the video was authentic, I was shaken. Are we living in the 21st century or not?

The vice-chancellor of the medical university initially pooh-poohed this video when our reporter showed it to him. He said, these freshers were only following the guidelines so that they remained disciplined.

To buttress his argument, the vice-chancellor said, medical students in the past had to undergo severe ragging, and that freshers had to comply with certain “set of guidelines”. After shooting off his mouth, the VC then realized his folly and assured that action would be taken.

According to a study, there were 4,700 complaints of ragging in India during the last seven years. Fifty four students committed suicide during these seven years because of ragging.

There were 1,078 cases of ragging in UP alone, followed by MP, West Bengal, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. After the anti-ragging law was enacted, educational institutions implemented tough rules to prevent ragging, but it seems the guidelines are being ignored more in practice than as exceptions. There was the case of Aman Kachroo, a medical student in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, who committed suicide after ragging in 2009.

The UP government must take stern action against the culprits and set an example so that others should refrain from carrying out this ignoble practice in educational institutions.

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United States President Donald Trump on Monday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on phone for nearly half an hour and later rang up Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. He urged both countries to work towards easing tensions.

Later, Trump tweeted: “Spoke to my two good friends, Prime Minister Modi of India, and Prime Minister Khan of Pakistan, regarding Trade, Strategic Partnerships and, most importantly, for India and Pakistan to work towards reducing tensions in Kashmir. A tough situation, but good conversations!”

This tweet conceals more than it is supposed to reveal. The Prime Minister’s Office on Monday evening, informed media that Prime Minister Modi raised the issue of “extreme rhetoric and incitement to anti-India violence” by the neighbouring country.

Soon after, Trump is reported to have told the Pakistani PM over phone to tone down his anti-India rhetoric in the interest of peace in the region. This was confirmed by the White House which said in a readout of the telephone call that the US President told Imran Khan about “the need to reduce tensions and moderate rhetoric with India over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the White House, Trump “reaffirmed the need to avoid escalation of the situation and urged restraint on both sides”.

The ball is now in Pakistan’s court. Since August 5, when India announced full integration of J&K with the Indian Union, and abrogated Article 370 that granted special status to the state, Pakistan has been crying hoarse. It sought to raise the issue in the UN Security Council with its ally China, but the world body declined to issue even a statement, leave alone discussing the issue in an emergency UNSC meeting.

Following abrogation of Article 370, Pakistan has snapped trade relations with India, expelled our High Commissioner, unilaterally suspended railway and bus services, and escalated the situation along the Line of Control by resorting to shelling. Its Prime Minister and all senior cabinet ministers went to Pak Occupied Kashmir on their Independence Day,in what they called a show of “solidarity”. Their leader Imran Khan used adjectives like “racist”, “supremacist” for our Prime Minister. This was the extreme rhetoric that Modi was referring to during his telephonic talk with President Trump.

All attempts by Pakistan to internationalize the Kashmir issue have failed miserably. None of the Big Five except China in the UN Security Council sided with Pakistan. It is now an openly acknowledged fact that Pakistan is the cradle of terrorism in this region. It harbours and trains terrorists and seeks to destabilize its neighbouring countries like India and Afghanistan.

It was in this background that our Prime Minister clearly told President Trump that India has exercised maximum restraint despite provocations from Pakistan, and if the latter continues with its extreme rhetoric and terror cnspiracies, it will have to face the music. India will no more tolerate any adventurist design by Pakistan. The punitive air strike on Balakot is a clear example of India’s firm will and determination.

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With the situation fast returning to normal, Jammu & Kashmir government on Friday announced that schools will reopen in the Valley from Monday. State government offices reopened on Friday after a 12-day gap, and people offered Friday prayers in mosques.

The state chief secretary said, restrictions on movement are being removed in a phased manner, while landline connections in some places have been restored. The chief secretary said, life has returned to normal in 12 out of 22 districts, while there are limited restrictions in five districts only. There has not been a single loss of life during this 12-day period, nor was a single bullet fired.

Telecommunication services like internet and cellphone networks will be restored gradually, because separatists have been using social media to circulate inflammatory and false rumours. It is because of these separatists that the common man is facing problems due to restrictions on cellphone networks.

I agree with Governor Satyapal Malik that peaceful law and order situation during the last twelve days was the topmost priority, due to which these restrictions were imposed. These restrictions nevertheless caused problems for the common man, but from a wider perspective, the ground reality is that there has been no incident of violence during this period. The entire credit goes to the peace loving common Kashmiris, who exercised utmost restraint despite inflammatory statements from across the border.

Pakistan is still trying hard to create an atmosphere of violence in the valley, but has failed so far. It also tried to internationalize the Kashmir issue by going to the United Nations, but failed. The Pakistani army will now try to foment tension in the valley by carrying out terror strikes, but our security forces are on high alert.

Meanwhile, preparations have begun to hold assembly elections at the earliest. From what I have learnt, the Election Commission has initiated the process for holding assembly elections before the onset of winter, and dates are being finalized. The people of Jammu & Kashmir will have the freedom to choose their representatives.

Peaceful conduct of elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be a resounding slap on the face of Pakistan which had been crying hoarse after the scrapping of Article 370. Let us all hope, sanity will prevail in the Valley.

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Watching Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak for 92 minutes on Independence Day from the ramparts of Red Fort reaffirmed my earlier view that he knows how to touch the pulse of the people. Modi refrained from political rhetoric and spoke on public issues that touched the people at large.

It was his sixth speech as PM from the Red Fort. Modi gave a quick analysis of what his government did during its first five year term, and what it has done in the first seventy days of his second term. Modi connects directly with the common man, and leaves the impression of a leader who does what he promises, and promises what he intends to do.

The decision to scrap Article 370 in Kashmir was a courageous one. Abolishing Triple Talaq practice by law was not an easy task. These were decisions which had wider political ramifications, and which earlier governments had shunned because of the political risks involved. But Modi is a leader who does not bother about political fallout, particularly when the issues relate to the interests of the nation and society.

One has to admit that Modi has got tremendous support from all sections of countrymen over the issue of scrapping Article 370 in Kashmir. He also got the support from most of the Muslim women, who have now been freed from the Damocles’ sword of Triple Talaq. Modi succeeds because his intentions are well meaning and there is clarity of will (neeyat saaf, iraade nek).

The most important point to note is that Modi realizes that he cannot succeed without massive support and cooperation from the people. Whether it was Swachhata Abhiyan or Jan Dhan Yojana, these could not have been successful without public participartion.

On Independence Day, the PM spoke of three new issues – one, population control, two, ban on use of plastic and polythene, and three, water conservation. He spoke of his intention to make laws and seek popular support on these issues. I would like to add to his appeal and request all of you to contribute your mite in achieving these three objectives. It will ultimately benefit all of us.

Controlling population explosion should be our topmost priority. The population of UP alone is more than the population of 114 countries. In 1947, India’s population was 32 crore, today it is going to touch 132 crore. Since land, water and natural resources in India are limited, we must take up this issue on a war footing. Everybody knows what happened during Emergency, when Sanjay Gandhi resorted to forcible sterilization. It is a good omen that Muslim ulema have come forward and offered their support to Modi on this issue. Let us all, irrespective of religion, decide that we should have small nuclear families.

The next issue concerns environment. Every day, 26,000 tonnes of plastic garbage is generated in India, out of which Delhi alone accounts for nearly seven tonnes. Polythene products are carcinogenic and they take a thousand years to decompose. Nearly one tonne of plastic garbage pollute our sea coast daily, endangering marine life. They are a threat to our environment both on land and water. All of us should vow to shun the use of polythene.

The third issue concerns water. Even after 72 years of independence, nearly 60 per cent of our people do not have access to clean drinking water. This in a country which gets the largest amount of rain water, but most of the flood water during the monsoon flow down to the seas and go waste. We should join hands to conserve every drop of water, because our ground water resources are depleting fast. Modi has created a separate Jal Shakti ministry which will oversee water conservation, recharging of ground water and work towards providing piped water to rural households by 2024.

Modi also spoke of ‘One Nation, One Election’. I wholeheartedly support his suggestion. For the last several years, he had been persuading political parties to agree to holding of parliamentary and all state assembly elections simultaneously.

In 1952, the first General Elections to both Lok Sabha and state assemblies were held simultaneously and this practice continued till 1967, when the era of coalition governments began and the Congress begun losing its monopoly over power. Presently, we find that there are state assembly elections almost at least twice a year and our Election Commission is busy holding assembly elections almost every year. This results in unnecessary electoral expenditure, policy paralysis in states due to enforcement of Model Code of Conduct, and populist promises made by political leaders to garner votes.

This poll cycle continues till the Lok Sabha elections, which take place every five years. These massive poll exercises result in heavy outgo from public exchequer. Many of the political parties are still not on the same page over this issue. Modi has now taken the issue to the people, so that voters themselves should pressurize their leaders to agree to the proposal of ‘One Nation, One Election’.

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Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, his ministers and army generals were present in Pak Occupied Kashmir on August 14 to express their solidarity over the Kashmir issue, but the tone and tenor of the Pakistani PM was disturbing. Imran Khan alleged that India was planning another strike inside POK similar to the one at Balakot after the suicide terror attack in Pulwama.

“The information that we have is that they (India) have made a more sinister program to divert the world’s attention from what they are doing in Kashmir” – this was a desperate Pakistani Prime Minister speaking, after the international community snubbed his country’s efforts to raise the issue of abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir. Imran Khan vowed that he and his army would fight “till the end” if attacked.

The Pakistani army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa also spoke on more or less similar lines. This reflects the desperation of the Pakistani civilian and military leadership. They are desperately trying to boost the sagging morale of the separatists and terrorists in Kashmir.

India TV on Wednesday showed video clips of common Pakistani citizens expressing their anger against Imran Khan and his government because of runaway inflation in the prices of essential commodities and mounting debts that his country is facing. The Pakistani Prime Minister is not being trusted by his own countrymen who had voted for his party in the general elections.

Imran Khan is carrying on with the facade of “solidarity with Kashmiris”, but is unwilling to listen to the woes of Pakistanis. He has been going to the IMF, World Bank, China and Arab countries with a begging bowl, seeking loans to bail out his country’s deteriorating economy.

One thing to note is that whenever Pakistan gets loans and grants from other countries, it channelizes a large chunk of it to fund terrorists who have been lodged in training camps across the Line of Control. It is because of this dubious reputation that most of the developed countries of the world now distrust Pakistan’s claims of “combating” terrorism.

Soon after coming to power, Imran Khan blatantly copied Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies. He initiated an austerity plan for his government and cut expenditure, launched a scheme on the lines of “Swachhata Abhiyan”, distributed LED bulbs just as Modi did, and tried to copy several other schemes that were implemented by Modi government in India.

It is easy to copy Modi’s popular schemes, but it requires unlimited courage to take hard decisions like Modi took while okaying the IAF air strike on Balakote, and revoking Article 370. Imran Khan clearly lacks courage. This is the reason why he is crying wolf about another impending Indian strike.

The most interesting part is that most of the Pakistani leaders are nowadays talking about war, and that too, at a time when their government is unable to feed its poor.

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With the situation in Kashmir valley slowly returning to normal, the authorities are busy making preparations for Independence Day events. A dress rehearsal was conducted on Tuesday at Sher-i-Kashmir stadium in Srinagar.

The state government has also announced that it would host a three-day Global Investors Summit from October 12 in Srinagar. The summit is expected to lead to investments from India and abroad. New industries will create job opportunities for the local youths and instill a sense of confidence in them.

Presently, the common people in the valley are facing problems relating to communications. This is giving rise to unnecessary rumors fanned by Pakistani state media from across the border. The Governor has already indicated that cellphone and internet services will be restored after the Independence Day celebrations are over.

I would suggest two more steps. Firstly, the Centre should start preparations for holding of assembly elections at the earliest so that power can be handed over to the people’s representatives. Secondly, if the assembly polls are conducted fairly and smoothly, the Centre should consider giving back full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. This will open up avenues of peace and progress.

Pakistan is trying to boost the sagging morale of terrorists and separatists by deploying more troops, fighter jets and artillery near the Line of Control. The Pakistani army chief was present near LoC two days ago to oversee preparations by his forces to destabilize the region. The Pakistani Prime Minister and his senior ministers are camping in Muzaffarabad, Pak Occupied Kashmir, to send the symbolic message that their country stands with the Kashmiris. They are however fighting a futile battle.

Our armed forces have a twin challenge: One, to ensure that peace is not disrupted in the valley and work with utmost restraint, and Two, to foil the nefarious designs of Pakistani terrorists and their handlers from Pakistani army. Our security forces are maintaining utmost vigil.

On the diplomatic front, the Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi returned from China with an empty hand. His Chinese counterpart clearly told him that Pakistan and India should iron out their differences bilaterally. A crest fallen Qureshi had to tell the media in Muzaffarabad that “we should not live any more in a fool’s paradise. Those at the UN are not waiting for us with garlands.” Clearly, Pakistan has been snubbed diplomatically by the US, China and Arab countries on the issue of Kashmir.

The only option left before the Pakistani army establishment is to foment violence both at the Line of Control and in the valley, so that the world can sit up and take notice. Such desperate measures will however not work, because the Kashmiri people have seen through their game.

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On August 12, Eid ul Azha, people throughout the Kashmir valley offered namaaz peacefully in mosques and not a single bullet was fired by security forces. The attendance was in thousands, with the largest turnout in Baramulla. The only problem that common people are facing is the lack of internet and cellphone facilities. They are unable to connect with their relatives and other acquaintances.

The Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik told India TV reporter on Monday in an interview that internet and cellphone services would be resumed very soon, probably within a span of five to six days. His concerns, too, are valid. We have seen over the past few years how social media, through internet and cellphones, had been misused to spread fake propaganda and create tension among people.

The Central Reserve Police Force has launched a helpline ‘Madadgaar’, under which any citizen can ring up 14411 and seek assistance. Citizens can go to the Deputy Commissioner’s office and speak on landline phone. A few landline connections have been activated at some reputed shops in Srinagar.

I agree that this is not adequate, but given the security considerations, the common people may have to bear with this for some more days. Let’s hope, all restrictions will be lifted within a week.

The situation will definitely improve in the valley if peace and tranquility prevails. Let’s give peace a chance so that new industries and multiplexes can come up. Let Bollywood return to the valley for film shooting. All these will surely create jobs for the unemployed. Let more schools and colleges come up, so that Kashmiri youths can study and compete with their counterparts in the rest of India.

I am not surprised over the unusually aggressive postures of Pakistan, which has recalled its High Commissioner and has snapped trade, rail and bus links with India. Pakistani authorities are planning to observe India’s Independence Day as ‘Black Day’ in their country to boost the sagging morale of Kashmiri terrorists. Let them do so, but the people of Kashmir have now seen through the veil of lies dished out by Pakistan.

Our security forces are there to tackle any misadventure by Pakistan and its trained terrorists, and I am confident that they will surely come out with flying colors. Jammu and Kashmir was and is an integral part of India, forever. The only unfinished task that remains is: regaining that part of Jammu and Kashmir which was illegally occupied by Pakistani invaders in 1948.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first public speech since the scrapping of Article 370, on Friday tried to reach out to ordinary Kashmiri people by promising to restore full statehood at the earliest. Modi said that the people of J&K will get the opportunity to elect their MLAs and a chief minister, once normalcy sets in and assembly elections are held.

In his speech, the Prime Minister described how the people, panchayats and state government employees of Jammu and Kashmir were being deprived of the benefits of Central schemes and laws because of Article 370. Modi however made it clear that the region of Ladakh will continue to have the status of a union territory.

One key thing that the PM said in his speech was that every Indian citizen should come forward to convince our Kashmiri brethren that they are now part of the mainstream and are co-partners in the march towards progress.

I would appeal to all Indians to tell every Kashmiri they meet that the promises made by our PM for the upliftment of their region will be fulfilled and they will no more feel alienated because of hindrances that had been placed by history in the form of Art. 370.

While security forces will continue to do their job of eliminating terrorists in the Valley, it is the duty of every Indian to tell our Kashmiri brethren that they will now enjoy the fruits of development which they had been deprived of till now because of Art. 370.

It was this Article that had created a schism, a wall between Kashmiris and the rest of Indians. It is our duty to ensure that this sense of alienation created over the years is removed and Kashmiris are brought into the national mainstream. We must tell common Kashmiris whom we meet on the streets that our hearts beat for them.

We should tell ordinary Kashmiris that they have suffered enough because of being deprived of benefits due to Article 370, and that the time has now come to script a new history. We should contribute our mite in ushering a new era of peace and progress for the people of Kashmir.

This new era in Kashmir will surely witness a plethora of schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, trains and highways, and the ‘jannat’ (heaven) that had been bedeviled because of violence and terrorism, will truly became a paradise for all. Kashmir will surely become a heaven on earth where people of all religions can live and breath freely in an atmosphere free from hatred and rancour.

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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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