My Opinion

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is fighting a personal legal battle with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, but the Delhi government wants the people of the capital to pay for his defence. The criminal defamation case was filed against Kejriwal by Arun Jaitley, and senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani had appeared for the chief minister in court. It has now come out in the open that Jethmalani has sent bills for Rs 3.42 crore to Kejriwal so far, and the latter has sent it to his deputy for clearance. Documents reveal that deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has written on the file that the bills be cleared by the government. It is strange that Kejriwal first levels baseless allegations against an individual, and when the defamation case is filed by the aggrieved party, he wants the people of Delhi to pay for his legal defence. Similarly, Kejriwal campaigned for his party in several states, issued advertisments and splurged Rs 97 crore from the state exchequer. On one hand Kejriwal claims, he would not allow a single paisa of taxpayers’ money to go waste, but the question now arises: why should the people of Delhi pay for his baseless allegations and party campaigns? Let Kejriwal pay for the bills from his own pocket or from his party funds.

The former minister of UP Azam Khan is embroiled in a waqf properties scam worth more than Rs 500 crore, not only in his home district of Rampur, but also in several other cities of the state.

The Central Waqf Council has prepared a detailed report of irregularities committed by Khan and his cronies, who parcelled off several Waqf properties to trusts operated by his yes-men.

The report clearly calls for registering FIRs against Azam Khan and his cronies for these irregularities.

Till two weeks ago, Azam Khan was the most powerful minister in Uttar Pradesh, and common people were afraid of publicly airing their grievances. Now that his party is no more in power, people are coming forward with numerous charges of irregularities against the former minister.

While reacting to all these charges, Azam Khan has started to cry foul, saying he was being targeted, but it would be better if he replies to all the hard facts narrated in the report, point by point. The facts and figures speak for themselves.

The unsavoury incident that took place in Meerut Municipal Corporation over the singing of national song, Vande Mataram, by councillors makes all of us hang our heads in shame. A section of councillors refused to sing the song and stayed away from the meeting, citing religious reasons. It is really surprising that people who live in India are openly opposing Vande Mataram, the song that fired up several generations of Indians during the freedom movement. Such persons should emulate revolutionaries like Ashfaqullah Khan and Ghaus Khan who chanted Vande Mataram during the freedom struggle. Param Vir Chakra awardee Abdul Hamid laid his life for the nation during the 1965 War. Were they not Indians? Actually, the majority of Muslims have no objection to the song Vande Mataram, per se, but some of their leaders are indulging in vote bank politics. The Meerut civic body polls are due after four months, and Vande Mataram is being leveraged as an issue to polarize the voters. The sorry part is that the Samajwadi Party is yet to learn its lessons from the UP assembly poll rout. What Muslims really need are education, employment and a better life. Raking up religious issues will not benefit anybody in the least.

On Tuesday, Yogi Adityanath began his stay at the official residence of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. The residence at 5, Kalidas Marg, which had an opulent look during the regimes of his predecessors, is now completely austere. Gone are the plush leather sofas, costly furniture and crockery items and airconditioners. The king-size bed, on which the UP CM sleeps, has been removed. Yogi will now sleep on a wooden plank put inside his bedroom. Such is the austere lifestyle of a yogi, and the ministers and MLAs of UP government should learn a lesson or two from their chief minister. Yogi’s message is clear and unambiguous. No more splurge and wasteful expenditure. Normally, whenever a change of government takes place in India, ministers splurge on redecorating their offices and residences. It will be good for the people of Uttar Pradesh, if the ministers follow their CM and promote austerity.

The sordid incident in Kashmir’s Budgam, where stone pelters were openly used by separatists to target security forces, at a time when they were busy fighting terrorists hiding inside a building, clearly shows the unholy nexus between terrorists, stone pelters and their masters sitting across the border.

The diabolical plan of terrorists and their handlers sitting in Pakistan is to create frenzy in the Valley so that security forces are forced to open fire on crowds of stone pelters. The ground reality is that sons and daughters of most of the separatist leaders in Kashmir are studying outside the state.

These pro-Pakistan leaders are misguiding gullible youths by asking them to pelt stones, and when firing takes place, they give calls for strike in the Valley. The day the common people of the Valley understand the nefarious motives of these leaders, most of their prob

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal has come out with a pre-poll promise to discontinue house tax in the capital, days ahead of the MCD polls. Till last year, he was seeking hike in house tax rates in Delhi, but has now changed his tune.

It seems Kejriwal is daydreaming. He thinks voters are gullible, but the common man has the power to give him a stinging reply.

The Delhi CM has not learnt any lesson from his party’s ignominous defeats in Punjab and Goa assembly polls. It is because of his attitude and the coterie that surrounds him that his colleagues have begun deserting him. On Monday, an AAP MLA in Delhi resigned and joined BJP.

He was among those who had joined Kejriwal’s bandwagon and had high hopes from AAP brand of ‘aam aadmi’ politics.

Normally, an MLA of a ruling party never resigns with nearly three years of tenure remaining, but this MLA disclosed one significant fact. He said, AAP ministers including Kejriwal have stopped taking even telephone calls from their own MLAs.

On the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute, there are still diverse opinions. Some want the matter to be sorted out through negotiations, while others want the Supreme Court to have the final say. But on one point, all parties to the dispute are unanimous. They want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appoint a mediator. If all parties do not agree on resolving the dispute, the apex court should start a day-to-day- hearing and decide. The issue now before the court is: who should be given the ownership title right. It has been established that Babri mosque was built after demolishing a temple. The Supreme Court has to decide about the title issue. Even now, if all parties agree, the Prime Minister should appoint a mediator, and all parties should accept his/her decision.

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad not only thrashed an Air India staffer with his sandal 25 times, but openly boasted in front of media that he had done the right thing. The reason: he had a business class ticket, but was given a seat in an all-economy flight. One should praise the Managing Director of Air India Ashwini Lohani who stood with his staff and directed them to contact his office immediately if any passenger misbehaved. Nobody, whether he is a leader, an MP or a minister, has the right to beat any airline staffer. Stringest action must be taken against the Shiv Sena MP. The action should be such that it should act as a deterrent and a lesson for such unruly people.

Like tobacco products, pan masala and gutkha are injurious to health, and yet, a large section of people are unable to discontinue the habit of chewing gutkha and pan masala. People who chew these products, more often than not, spit on roadside, on staircases, on walls, inside washrooms and in public places. With Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in place, it is the duty of every citizen to contribute towards cleanliness, and the decision of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath to ban the use of pan masala and gutkha in government offices and hospitals is a welcome step. I appeal to the people of India to discard the habit of chewing pan masala and gutkha. This would be their greatest contribution to cleanliness in public places, and would definitely make our Prime Minister’s Swacch Bharat Abhiyan a success.

The Ayodhya dispute lingering over last several decades, can be resolved only if all parties read the underlying message behind the Supreme Court’s advice given to all parties on Tuesday. The stand taken by Chief Justice J S Khehar is truly praiseworthy. He did not speak on legal issues, nor stood his ground on technicalities, but called for reconciliation through talks. The apex court has correctly understood the sensitivity of the people at large. The most important part of Tuesday’s proceedings was that the Chief Justice of India himself offered mediation. Chief Justice Khehar’s observation that “all must adopt a ‘give a bit and take a bit’ approach to find a solution”, is indeed praiseworthy. He also observed that “this is not one of those issues which can be decided in a huff. Given the sensitivity attached to the issues in question, it is better to settle the differences through negotiations between parties.” It is now time that the government, leaders and religious heads from both sides sit together and find an amicable way out, so that brotherhood among communities can prevail.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath is still to take complete charge of his government, but some Opposition politicians, notably Mayawati, have already started criticizing him. In my view, one should give at least six to eight months to the new government to work, and then analyze and raise questions. Already questions are being raised about Yogi’s incendiary comments made about minorities in the past. People have also raised questions about the special “purification” pooja conducted at the UP chief minister’s official residence. One should understand that Adityanath is a yogi and pooja is part of his daily routine. Nobody should object to this. Critics have begun predicting that Muslims during Yogi’s rule in UP, will have to live in fear, but the fact remains that in Yogi’s own workplace in Gorakhpur, a large number of Muslims flock to him daily to get their grievances addressed. It will be unfair to level charges against Yogi without giving him time to perform. He is on record of having said that he would implement Modi’s ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ vision in UP. So give him a chance.

Navjot Singh Sidhu is not only a politician. He has been quite popular as a cricketer, as a cricket commentator and has achieved fame on TV shows.

Nobody should question if one makes earnings from TV shows through talent and merit, but Sidhu should understand that he is no more an MLA or an MP, he is now a minister in the Punjab government.

He will be getting the salary and allowances given to a minister and he will be getting government accommodation and all other perks. Naturally, the people and the government of Punjab will expect Sidhu to serve the public in the post of a minister.

A minister appearing on TV comedy shows by taking fees will go against established traditions of governance. It may be that Sidhu lacks experience, as he has made his debut as a minister. He should think over it and understand that appearing on shows without charging fees would be better.