The prolonged deadlock in Parliament continues with only a day left for the monsoon session to end. Amidst sloganeering by opposition, Lok Sabha today passed a resolution sending the FCRA (Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act) amendment bill to a joint parliamentary committee. Home Minister Amit Shah wrote a letter to the Speaker seeking a debate on police action in Jantar Mantar, but Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi brushed aside this offer saying, “we are not interested in listening to his speech”.
Opposition members came to the well carrying posters in Lok Sabha, shouting slogans. The House was later adjourned till Thursday. Clearly, the monsoon session is going to be a washout because of the stubborn stance of opposition parties. The opposition is unwilling to listen to the government’s point of view. I do not think Rahul Gandhi’s objective is to seek the Home Minister’s reply on police action at Jantar Mantar. His real objective seems to be to belittle Amit Shah and to show to the world that neither Narendra Modi nor Amit Shah are powerful.
Rahul Gandhi may also be trying to tell the world, “look, they ran away, they cannot face us”. By repeatedly saying so, and then refusing to hear the Home Minister, what does he want to prove? Rahul is free to ask questions, level charges, and once the minister decides to speak, he changes his stance and says, we do not want to listen to Amit Shah’s speech. Parliament is a forum for debate. The post of Leader of Opposition is a responsible one. Rahul should know, Parliament is not a street battle. Debate is the norm, not hit-and-run.
US clean chit : Rivals of Adani have now no ammunition left
A US federal court has permanently dismissed criminal charges against Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar. The court approved the Department of Justice’s request to dismiss the charges. Adani welcomed the decision, saying he accepted it with “humility” and “deep respect” for the judicial process. The charges related to securities-fraud conspiracy, wire-fraud conspiracy and securities fraud. The dismissals were with prejudice, meaning the charges cannot be refiled. The Adani Group has consistently denied the allegations, saying it acted in accordance with applicable law. The fact that the court in the US did not find any evidence of fraud or corruption against Gautam Adani is significant. Adani did not stop his business plans when the case was in progress. Last year, Adani group invested more than Rs 2 lakh crore in infrastructure, energy, ports, airports and logistics. The problem now is with those who had been using Adani’s pictures to level charges against him. Will they now question the verdict of the US court? How will they level charges against Adani?
Vande Mataram : Singing is necessary for every Indian
After President Droupadi Murmu signed the Vande Mataram Bill into law, every citizen of India is expected to stand up and sing our national song Vande Mataram with the same zeal, as we do when the national anthem Jana Gana Mana is sung. Singing of Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana has become mandatory for all government events.
On August 15, Vande Mataram will be sung from the ramparts of Red Fort along with Jana Gana Mana, before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address. In Maharashtra, several Congress leaders have alleged that the government is trying to embarrass Muslim community by making singing of Vande Mataram mandatory. Vande Mataram was the clarion call for our freedom fighters. On the 150th year of its creation, singing of Vande Mataram from Red Fort is therefore justified.
To view this from the prism of Hindu-Muslim lens is not right. Vande Mataram continues to be our badge of patriotism. There could, however, be a practical problem. Singing of Vande Mataram, Jana Gana Mana and the state song at any government event will take at least six to seven minutes. We should consider whether this will be practical. We must find some way out.