My Opinion

Rahul Gandhi had hit out at Narendra Modi the other day and the manner in which the Prime Minister deflected every volley with finesse and decorum was witnessed by all today. But that aparat, certain suggestions made by the Modi are worth a mention. He spoke of the need to rise above party politics and work together towards improving primary education, take steps to save water and ensure judicial reforms so that justice is not delayed. He said he would like all parties to give their suggestions, point out the flaws of the government and also consider new policies. Essentially the Prime Minister through these issues would like to kick start some positive politics. On the 8th of March on International Women’s Day he said he would like only women MPs to speak while all others would listen to them. He even pointed out that one week should be devoted for only the first time MPs who despite being talented and brimming with new ideas are generally shy of speaking out much. What Narendra Modi has recommended should not be difficult for parties to accept since these suggestions are bereft of any party politics.

What Rahul Gandhi raised in Parliament today is a repeat of what he had already mentioned at public gatherings in Kerala and Assam. His speech sounded more like a public meeting speech. He spoke about the Naga Accord, the issue of Black Money, of unemployment, MGNREGA and hit out at the PM for betraying people on rising prices. His speech was centred around attacking and mocking Narendra Modi. Rahul instead should have come forward with facts and figures before attacking the Prime Minister. He should have had pointed questions for the Prime Minister. This would have instead not given Modi’s ministers the opportunity to easily tackle each and every of his accusations.

Two things stand out in this entire Karti Chidambaram controversy. After a long time the BJP finally seems to have got the much needed fodder to go on the offensive and Congress which is now on the defensive is clearly having to justify itself. And secondly it is worth mentioning that many within the Congress are opposed to P Chidambaram and are therefore keen to rake up old issues. This appears to be a bigger embarrassment for the Congress.

Perhaps the biggest pointer to this year’s Budget is that even Rahul Gandhi did not have much to criticise. Digvijay Singh who is generally known for his criticisms, for once was forced to agree with the Budget. Leaders like Anand Sharma and Kapil Sibal weren’t very vocal either. Normally most of these senior Congress leaders never miss out on an opportunity to hit out at the Modi Government. Even within the party, Shatrughan Sinha who considers Jaitley his political opponent and Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan’s political elder too came out in support of the Budget. If people like Shatrughan Sinha and Yashwant Sinha who usually love taking potshots at Arun Jaitley have supported the Budget, one does not need to elaborate much about the Budget or how it would impact people.

The Rajya Sabha had started a discussion on the action being taken against those who had raised anti India slogans in JNU. The Left and the Congress had wanted a discussion on this issue. But soon things began to take an ugly turn when the discussion got steered towards the politics in Bengal. The Left and the Congress are eager to forge an alliance for the upcoming elections in West Bengal this year. Even Rahul Gandhi went to JNU in an act of solidarity with the Left. Both Anand Sharma and Sitaram Yechury are well aware that any reference to Goddess Durga would have a direct impact in Bengal and that is why Smriti Irani’s remarks resulted in such heated exchanges in the Upper House.

In today’s Rail Budget, Suresh Prabhu has underlined that there will not be any hike in passenger fares or freight charges. However he laid stress on capacity enhancement. Stations would better equipped with wifi and put under surveillance. New rail lines and tracts would be introduced, locomotive factories would be set up, smart railway stations and smart coaches would also be introduced. However all this would require substantial capital. Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha somewhat outlined the mode of financing. He said they would ensure that there is a threefold increase in the advertising revenue and they would develop the infrastructure that would generate more revenue from the freight handled by the Railways. Suresh Prabhu being a Chartered Accountant knows how to maintain a balance sheet. One can hope that he has worked out the arithmetics before making such big announcements.

Her emotional and animated speech today proved that Smriti Irani has been deeply affected by the accusations heaped against her. This was noticed both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. She even stated that she took all these accusations against her personally when someone from the Opposition that she need not get so personal. What is noteworthy is that the Opposition was completely silenced by the manner in which Smriti Irani delivered her speech today.

More people would have lost their lives in the ongoing Jat agitation had the Army and the CRPF not been rushed to maintain law and order. The situation has more or less now been brought under control. The government has also assured the protestors that it would look into their demands. However lot remains to be answered. Was the Haryana Government completely oblivious of the impending stir? Did they not have any information that the Jat agitators were preparing themselves for a such an assault? If reports are to be believed, is it true that a section of the Haryana police turned a blind eye towards the violence that followed? Did any top leader finance this entire agitation? And perhaps the biggest question remains is whether the Government will be able to identify those involved and severely punish them?

There is no doubt that anti India slogans were raised inside the JNU Campus. Slogans of diving the country were also raised. There were slogans in support of Afzal Guru. Such anti India slogans can never be supported by any citizen of the country. However the main question at the centre of this controversy is who raised those slogans? Did Kanhaiya raise them or was Umar responsible for them or those who raised such slogans were outsiders and not belonging to JNU? A thorough impartial investigation is necessary for the truth to come out and for that one would have to have faith in the police and the Judiciary.

Umar Khalid and his fellow students are facing charges of allegedly raising anti India slogans in JNU. The police want to interrogate him about the sloganeering but Umar and his associates after having returned to the campus appear to take full advantage of their situation. The police on the other hand has decided to exercise restraint. The manner in which Umar and his associates have laid conditions before the Court pertaining to their surrender, it seems as if he an iconic figure engaged in some freedom struggle. It would be better if all those involved instead of taking law in their own hands, surrender and appear in Court. It should be left to the Courts to decide whether they are guilty or not. The more they linger their surrender, Umar Khalid and his compatriots will end up weakening their own case against them.

It is amply clear that come what may, the Congress is determined to stall the Parliament proceedings this Budget session. Whatever may be the outcome of the All Party Meet and however hard the Government may try, the Congress will not be prepared to give any safe passage to it. There can be no doubt on this if one were to carefully listen to what the Congress President Sonia Gandhi had to say today at the Congress Working Committee meet.

In a democracy while every citizen has a right to protest and has a right to one’s own opinion, it does not mean that the right to protest should be at the cost of others. It does not entail the right to plunder, the right to arson or the right to block rail and road. The kind of agitation that is being witnessed in Haryana today is similar to what has already taken place in Rajasthan, in Andhra Pradesh, in Telangana or even Maharashtra over the Maratha reservation issue. Every State government has had to accept their demands and pass the quota bill. However each time the Supreme Court has rejected it on grounds of being unconstitutional. Those agitating over the Jat reservation issue should therefore realise that pressurising the government and causing inconvenience to the common people will ultimately not yield any results.