My Opinion

On Tuesday, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, appearing in Supreme Court on behalf of Sunni Central Waqf Board in the Ayodhya title dispute case, requested the judges to begin hearing only after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but this was promptly turned down by the bench. The apex court fixed February 8 next year for the commencement of the hearing.

After the court proceedings were adjourned, BJP president Amit Shah demanded that the Congress should clarify its stand on whether it wanted the Ram temple built in Ayodhya or not. The Congress stuck to its old stand that it would abide by the court verdict. In recent years, the Congress had been regularly making fun of the BJP and Sangh Parivar alleging that they had no interest in building the Ram temple and that the BJP was only interested in using this issue for electoral gains. Congress leaders like Manish Tewari and Digvijaya Singh used to remark “Mandir wahin banayengey, lekin taareekh nahin batayengey”. Now that the BJP leadership wants the temple to be built after an early apex court verdict, Kapil Sibal wants the matter to linger on till the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The intention is clear. If the Ram temple is not built by the time 2019 Lok Sabha elections are held, Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders will go to town to tell the public that the BJP failed to build the temple despite being in power at the Centre and in UP. The present problem relates to timing. Kapil Sibal made this request in Supreme Court on the eve of polling in Gujarat, where the party is trying to prove Rahul’s identity as a devout “janeu” (sacred thread) wearing Hindu by saying that he was a devotee of Lord Shiva. Amit Shah has now queered the pitch for Congress by asking the party to clarify whether it wants the temple to be built or not.

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On Monday, as Rahul Gandhi went to file his nomination for the post of Congress president in Delhi, one party leader Mani Shanker Aiyar told media outside the Congress office that dynasty succession has been the norm during Mughal period too, like Jehangir followed Akbar, Shahjehan followed Jehangir and Aurangzeb followed Shahjehan. More than a thousand kilometres away, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned this in an election rally in Gujarat and said, if Congress believes in ‘Aurangzeb raaj’, so be it.

I have two observations to make. One, whatever opinion Congress leaders may voice in public, they know in their heart of hearts that in order to keep the party united, the post of president should be kept with the Nehru-Gandhi family, since there is no way out. Two, which is more interesting: Mani Shanker Aiyar has this knack of making a funny remark at the wrong time. He sought to compare Rahul’s ascension with Aurangzeb. Before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, he had remarked during an AICC session, that Modi would lose and he should better put up a tea stall at the next AICC session. The Congress is yet to recover from that fatal ‘chaiwala’ remark about Modi, who went to town over this. After taking over as the new Congress president, Rahul Gandhi must first take care of his leaders who excel in putting their foot inside the mouth.
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On Friday, the BJP recorded a landslide win in 14 out of 16 municipal corporations of Uttar Pradesh. It also scored a convincing victory in municipalities and nagar panchayats, decimating the Samajwadi Party and Congress. The credit rightly goes to chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who addressed most of the election rallies during the civic elections. Though Yogi has given credit to the “vision” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the “strategy” of BJP chief Amit Shah, the credit rightly goes to him. It was he who went before the electorate and told them the work that his government had done in the last eight months. The people in the cities and towns of UP trusted his words and voted overwhelmingly for the party. Yogi will now be concentrating on 2019 Lok Sabha elections in India’s most politically crucial state. The results of UP civic polls are bound to have an impact on Gujarat assembly elections this month, and already Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is under pressure within his own party.

Rahul is going to be elected Congress president next week, but questions are going to be raised as to why the party lost badly in his parliamentary constituency Amethi. Questions will be raised about his leadership qualities and Rahul will have to be ready with answers.

Looking at the civic poll results in UP, four things are now clear. One, there has been no negative impact of GST on people living in UP cities and towns; Two, the Modi and Amit Shah magic continues in UP and the poor response to Congress has raised questions about Rahul’s leadership abilities; Three: the Samajwadi Party has been almost decimated and questions are being raised about Akhilesh Yadav’s capabilities and his friendship with Rahul; Four: BSP is back in the reckoning after grabbing second position, and the party has done well only in those pockets which are Muslim dominated. It is now clear that the Muslims of UP have shifted their allegiance from SP to BSP.

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On Thursday, the Central Statistics Office reported that GDP growth rate during the second quarter from July to September this year has recorded 6.3 per cent compared to 5.7 pc in the previous quarter. The notable fact is that this growth was recorded under the new GST regime which was ushered in from July 1. GDP growth in the manufacturing sector has been commendable, and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has predicted that the upward trend will now continue.

One may remember when the GDP recorded a slump in the last five quarters, former finance ministers Yashwant Sinha and P. Chidambaram, and former PM Dr Manmohan Singh had stridently criticized Centre’s economic policies, and they made it appear as if Jaitley’s handling of GST has badly damaged the economy. Some of these leaders predicted that darkness was now looming on the horizon. At that time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Arun Jaitley had assured the nation that this was a temporary phase and there was no need for a knee-jerk reaction. Both Modi and Jaitley have now been proved right. Whenever big reforms are carried out in an economy, such temporary shocks do occur. GDP statistics now make it clear that the economy is presently on the right path. This should give a sense of relief to the nation at large and the Finance Minister should be complimented for this.

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On Wednesday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi along with senior party leaders Ahmed Patel and Ashok Gehlot went to the historic Somnath temple to pray. In the entry register kept for non-Hindus at the temple, the names of Rahul, Ahmed Patel, Gehlot and others were written. This created a furore in the already surcharged poll atmosphere in Gujarat. Nobody, as such, is questioning whether Rahul is Hindu or not, but the Congress leadership had to clarify to say that Rahul was a “Shiv-bhakt” and old photographs of Rahul wearing the sacred thread were circulated. The question is: who was responsible for this faux pas during elections? Naturally, neither Rahul nor Ahmed Patel would have committed such an error. A small-timer Congressman could have committed this mistake. But the party may have to bear serious consequences for this minor error because the matter is related to religion. Voters in Gujarat are very much sensitive to the issue of religion, and BJP is bound to take advantage out of it.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched his election campaign in Gujarat addressing four rallies. Judging by the crowds at these rallies, BJP poll managers seem to be confident about the assembly poll outcome.

In Hindi, there is a proverb: a goldsmith uses his small hammer a hundred times to beat a metal, while a blacksmith uses his hammer only once. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had made six trips so far in Gujarat. He had levelled many charges against Prime Minister Modi and his government. Rahul describes Modi government as anti-farmer. He also alleged that Modi had been favouring a handful of industrialists. He also criticized the government on issues like GST and demonetization. Prime Minister Modi remained silent for the last two months. He did not respond to these charges. But, on Monday, Modi turned the tables on Rahul Gandhi. He raised issues which touched the sentiments of Gujaratis. It will be difficult for Congress to reply to Modi’s charges.

So far, the Congress tried its best not to make the poll campaign in Gujarat, a Modi versus Rahul battle, but on Monday, Modi demolished their strategy. The Prime Minister described all charges levelled by Congress as allegations levelled against Modi. And the Congress is now searching for answers to counter the Modi juggernaut.

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All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has warned sections of Muslim society who are in favour of out-of-court settlement of Ayodhya dispute. In his latest speech, Owaisi has vowed not to give a single inch of the disputed land to Hindus, and has warned Shia Central Waqf Board not to offer building of a mosque outside Ayodhya.

Owaisi is a good orator. He uses logic while speaking, but this time he has questioned the Supreme Court over the Ayodhya dispute. The MIM chief said that he was waiting to see if the apex court gives its verdict “on the basis of faith or on the basis of Constitution”. This statement is objectionable. If the apex court gives its verdict in favour of Hindus, he will say the court decided on the basis of faith, and if the court decides to the contrary, he will say the court followed the Constitution. Now that both the sides have left it to the Supreme Court to decide, Owaisi’s remark has created a piquant situation. Clearly, the MIM leader is trying to polarize Indian society on the lines of religion, which is unacceptable.

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Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, who has been designated a global terrorist by the US and UN, has been set free by a Judicial Review Board of Lahore High Court on Wednesday.

The Pakistan Punjab government had sought a further three-month extension for Saeed’s detention, but it was rejected on grounds that no sufficient evidence has been provided by the authorities. Here, in India, nobody expected Pakistan to punish Hafiz Saeed, nor was it expected that the Pakistani authorities would submit any concrete evidence against him in court. There was no such hope, nor should we hope.

Pakistan had put Hafiz Saeed under house arrest after considerable pressure from the US. Pakistan’s foreign minister Khawaja Asif had himself said ‘Hafiz Saeed and Lashkar-e-Taiba are a liability for us’, but these same leaders will now say that they have no control over courts which have released the terror mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Pakistan government will never disclose what evidences, that have been received from India had been submitted before the board. The core question that remains is related to Pakistan’s intention. Until and unless Pakistan’s intentions are clear, no solution can be achieved.

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The chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have opposed Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmavati, with some of them declaring that they would not allow the film to be released in their states. Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amrinder Singh has also joined the chorus saying nothing objectionable should be shown. The problem is: none of these chief ministers have seen the film themselves, but have jumped to the conclusion that there are objectionable scenes in the film. It appears that these chief ministers have been swayed by angry protests which are purely based on imaginary issues. There have been calls to attack the film artists and the director, but action has been taken in only a few cases by the police.

I can say with full confidence that if all the chief ministers watch the film themselves, they will themselves feel ashamed about their unwarranted remarks about the film. I repeat: there is not a single scene in which Queen Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji appear together. All the talk about love scene and dream sequence are mere rubbish and baseless. There has been no compromise on the issue of Rajput pride in this film. On the contrary, the valour and sacrifice of the Rajputs have been portrayed in an effective manner.

I will once again appeal to Sanjay Leela Bhansali to arrange a screening for those who are protesting, and I would request chief ministers Yogi Adityanath, Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan to first watch the film personally and then make remarks. A leader is one who leads, not the one who is led by the mob and follows the mob meekly.

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In the past few days, two militants in Kashmir valley have returned home, while parents of several other militants have issued appeals to their sons to come back. Some of the appeals that I have seen on video are really touching. One feels sorry for the parents, sisters and wives of these youths who have taken up the gun and vanished. A mother or a father can understand the pain when their son leaves them suddenly in old age to join militancy.

In Jammu and Kashmir, any militant who wishes to come back can ring up this phone number: 14411. Our security forces will help them in returning home. I am proud that India TV was the first news channel which showed to the world the cry and pain of Majid’s mother. After her emotional appeal, Majid came back to his family. I hope the appeals of these parents will not go waste and their sons will surely return to a peaceful life.

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Gwalior, Nov 18: The Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki on Saturday conferred ITM University’s honorary D. Litt. degree on India TV chairman and editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma at a convocation ceremony.

Addressing students and professors of the university, Rajat Sharma stressed on the need to strive hard to achieve goals in life.

“In life, you can dream while sleeping, and you can also dream while you are awake. It is easy to dream in sleep, but one has to strive very, very hard to fulfill dreams when one is awake.”

Governor Solanki lauded Rajat Sharma’s achievements and exhorted students to follow his ideals.