Pandit Nehru was the apostle of peace, progress and development

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is not only the first Prime Minister but also the maker of modern India. He may be the first among equals if we talk of all the PMs of the country so far, but he is the only one who made a great sacrifice for the freedom of the country by passing his youthful days in different jails of the country. He has been considered to be the statesman of the international repute. As far as the freedom fighters are considered, he is the greatest after the father of the nation Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi. Pt. Nehru spent his youth in different jails during the freedom struggle. Pt. Nehru's contribution is only second to Mahatma Gandhi in freeing the nation from the shackles of British rulers. Pandit Nehru was not only the leader of India but also the world. He gave the nation a direction of peace, progress and development. He made an immense contribution to the launching of the Non-aligned Movement to make the world multi-polar. He had a scientific bent of mind and laid the plinth of industrialization and helped much in developing scientific temper in India. All symbols of progress in the country so far testify the fact that Pt. Nehru was the apostle of peace, progress and development. He was a liberal, forward-looking, progressive, vibrant and multi-faceted personality. If anyone in India thought about the development of the nation, it was Nehru who was the first to do so. He has been incomparable all his life. He was a giant while other PMs were dwarf before him in terms of political and national stature if we ever tried to put him in their line. In the given position of Pt. Nehru, any attempt by the incumbent government at the Centre to undermine Nehru Memorial Museum and Library at the historic Teen Murti Bhavan in New Delhi where he spent his life as the first Prime Minister of India would certainly boomerang on it. Nehru Memorial Museum and Library has kept the memories and description of the legendary Pandit Nehru. His contribution and works for the nation would prove to be an inspiration for the coming generations. He was a versatile genius. Pt. Nehru also wrote books of world repute. He was an acclaimed political leader. He led the nation from the front before and after the Independence. He was a true democratic who never undermined his political opponents and rivals despite being the most popular mass leader of the country. He was very fond of children. Which is why he was also called Chacha Nehru. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rightly written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to leave the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) "undisturbed". He has rightly said that this would be respecting both history and heritage. The NMML was established in the memory of India's first prime minister and the museum at the Teen Murti House has preserved some rooms as they were at the time of Nehru's death.

A legendary political personality with national vision

Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was the tallest statesman, political leader, parliamentarian and multi-faceted personality after country's first PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. His sad demise has created a vacuum, which cannot be filled. In his more than six decades of political life, he has been flawless in all fields whether it is public or private. Former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee was lovingly called Atal Ji by his friends, fans and followers. He was a versatile genius and outstanding poet. His poetic talent was incomparable. He was the last leader of his generation, who treated his political opponents as rivals, but not as enemies. He was the first Indian representative at UNGA who spoke there first time in Hindi. He was opposition leader at that time when the then Prime Minister Narshimha Rao sent him to UN to represent India. It was his political astuteness, diplomatic skill, liberal outlook and forward looking qualities that attracted the attention of the ruling party despite the fact that the party he represented was ideologically opposite to it. He was an extraordinary orator and exponent of political conscious. He was a political genius and it was his qualities that despite major differences with the ruling Congress party, he always supported the government on foreign issues in the interest of the nation. Atalji was a true democrat and nationalist who always kept national interest uppermost. He was the member of Parliament for more than 5 decades. It was Atal Behari Vapayee about whom Pt. Nehru had said that one day he would become the Prime Minister of India. Nehru always praised Atal's oratorical talent. It would not be out of place to say that former PM Atalji was Pt. Nehru of the BJP. He was loved as much by his party workers as by others. His contribution to the nation building is immense. He was always positive. As Prime Minister of the nation, the Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojna has been his brainchild. He became PM of the nation three times. Atalji never belittled the development made by the Congress government for the nation after India got Independence. He said that if he would say that there was no development work in the last 50 years, it would be undermining the nation. The nation has developed in the last 50 years, but a lot still to be done. He was a large-hearted politician. It is who said about Pakistan that we can change friends but we cannot change neighbour. With broad thinking, he started peace process with Pakistan despite its misadventure like Kargil war. Atal Behari Vajpayee was a true democrat and believed in the principle of live and let live. In Atal's demise, BJP has lost its jewel while nation has lost her great son. He was one of the ablest sons of Mother India. People, political leaders and workers irrespective of their affiliation, all loved him very much. We along with the entire nation condole his death.

Legendary Dravidian politician

Kalaignar M Karunanidhi, five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, one of the tallest political personalities of the nation and the symbol of regional politics, is dead. The entire nation is sad and shocked at his demise. He was 94-year-old. His death has created a vacuum not only in Tamil but also national politics as he was regarded as the master of alliances. It was his political shrewdness that he had aligned with both former Prime Minister Atal Behari -led NDA govt. and the previous Dr. Manmohan Singh -led UPA govt. at the Centre. He knew the pulse of the people. His mentor was great Annadurai, the exponent of Dravidian politics in Tamil Nadu. Karunanidhi was the champion of Dravidian politics and he was also a blue-eyed man of Anna Durai. It was Karunanidhi who under the leadership of Annadurai led the anti-Hindi movement. Karunanidhi was against the Brahmanism way of life, culture and tradition and launched an anti-Brahmin movement. He was also a great Tamil Literary figure and excellent scriptwriter. His command on Tamil literature was very strong. He mesmerized the audience before whom he gave a political speech. With the selection of word aptly appropriate to the occasion, he kept his audience spellbound. With his strong political clout and connection with the commoners in Tamil Nadu, he became the Chief Minister of the state for five times. He was so expert in sewing alliance that he even aligned with the BJP which is dead against the things he stands for. Karunanidhi was also one of the most respected politicians of the country. Both Congress and BJP national leaders hold him in high esteem. With the rise of MG Ramachandran in Tamil politics, he posed a challenge to Karunanidhi but his sheer determination and political guts always kept him ahead of all. The AIADMK government of EPS in Tamil Nadu must pay due respect to the departed leader. Karunanidhi was a grass root politician and he connected himself with the people on the ground even when his party DMK was out of power. Power matters nothing before his colossal personality. His death has caused a great loss for the people of Tamil Nadu. His contribution to the development of Tamil Nadu is incomparable. He made an invaluable contribution to the development of the state. It appears in Tamil Nadu that in his death, the people have lost their family member. It was so great a connection with the people of the state that everybody feels as he/she lost his/her own family member. He was a leader of the masses. His charismatic personality attracted people very much in Tamil Nadu. In his death, Tamil Nadu has suffered a great loss.

Nitish under pressure to act

The alleged rape of girls in the Muzaffarpur shelter home hangs the heads of all the people of Bihar in shame. It is a sheer act of negligence and callous approach towards running the shelter home by the state government through its chosen and favourite NGO. The husband of the Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma is also under the cloud. The entire opposition parties in the state, including some BJP leaders demand the immediate resignation of the Minister. They have also staged a massive protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and demanded the resignation of the Social Welfare Minister on moral ground at least. Though the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held an hour-long press conference and brought the senior most officers of the departments concerned before the media at the press conference, he rejected outright the opposition demand of the Minister's resignation. He said that there was systemic failure because of which this shameful incident has occurred. He also commented on some opposition leaders, who held a protest at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi, saying that it would be better if they had looked their face in the mirror. Muzaffarpur incident of alleged rape of girls is a blot on the head of the state. It is clearly the case of negligence and it has taken place under a nexus between the politicians close to power in any way and the criminals of Muzaffarpur. It is not only the state administration but also police and intelligence agency of the state has completely failed. The TISS report, which revealed the sordid incident of rape of girls, awakened the Nitish Kumar govt. after three months to initiate action. Some Brajesh Pathak whose the NGO was reportedly running the shelter home in Muzaffarpur is alleged to be the kingpin of the horrible incident of rape.He is also reportedly very close to the ruling politicians. Muzaffarpur incident also clearly shows that no crime on major level can be committed until and unless there is a deep nexus among politicians, police and administration. It also appears clearly that administration and police departments are hand in glove in not action against the culprits in time. Since Nitish Kumar went into the lap of BJP in Bihar, crimes have shoot up instead of going down in Bihar. CM Nitish Kumar was known for good governance and that is why he is also called Sushan Babu in Bihar. But since he re-aligned with the BJP in the state, crimes and corruptions have shot up. Law and order has fallen to its lowest ebb. Sushasan Babu is no longer proving to be effective in dealing with the prevailing situation in the state. Moral compunction calls for the resignation of Bihar Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma over alleged rape of girls in Muzaffarpur shelter home. It is also the moral responsibility of CM NItish Kumar to ask her to resign till the time investigation is over and all clouds over her husband drift away. Otherwise, his reputation of Sushan Babu will itself come under the cloud.

Cong's smart move for unity

Congress Party is ready to forgo PM candidature claim prior to LS elections so that no hurdle could come in uniting all the opposition parties under one banner of Mahagathbandhan against the ruling BJP-led NDA. Though Congress President Rahul Gandhi had expressed that if his party emerged as the largest single party, he would be PM. He said this in reply to a question. Congress Working Committee had also decided to project its natural choice of Rahul Gandhi as its Prime Ministerial candidate in the elections. But now observing that no unanimity among the opposition parties could be reached with Rahul Gandhi as PM candidate before the Lok Sabha elections, it decided to take decision on this issue after the result of Lok Sabha elections who should lead the opposition. It means that this contentious issue of leadership will be decided post poll. It clearly reflects that Congress party is bent on uniting all the opposition parties against the ruling BJP-led NDA. Its main aim is to unseat the Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Lok Sabha elections. Leaving the issue of Prime Ministership to be decided post-poll is a smart move of the Congress Party. The party which emerges as the largest after the elections will lead the coalition. One thing is also crystal clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the single most powerful leader in the country. The ruling BJP has a great asset in him. No leader from any opposition party stands anywhere before him. Currently, there is no match for PM in the country so far as the leadership issue is concerned. It is a good move by the Congress party that it has left the decision on the issue of combined opposition party for PM candidate post poll. Otherwise, the Lok Sabha elections might turn out to be on presidential cult in which PM is much taller than any other leader from the opposition camp. The elections will be fought as presidential one where personality matters and every other thing takes the back seat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the undisputed leader of his party whereas there are as many claimants for the PM candidate as the parties constituting the Mahagthbandhan are. Some parties in the opposition camp are in no mood to accept Rahul Gandhi as their leader their leader. So, Congress realized that it is not important that who leads the opposition camp but to unseat PM Modi from power in Lok Sabha elections 2019. Currently, there are at least 7 to 8 claimants for the post of PM. But the decision is to be taken on the issue of leader when the result will be announced. Whichever party emerges as the largest one its leader will lead the coalition or Mahagathbandhan. As far as stature of PM Modi is concerned, it has no match in the opposition parties. PM Modi's charismatic personality holds the audience spell-bound. He connects with the people in one go. His speech is very appealing and his track record is unblemished. Congress has to unite the opposition parties to give a formidable challenge to BJP. Otherwise, PM Modi’s victory juggernaut is impossible to stop.

Political point scoring over NRC

The uproar in Parliament over the release of National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft dropping out 40 lakh people from it is deliberately created by the opposition and ruling parties for polarizing their respective voters. Parliament has almost come to a standstill for 3 days over NRC issue. All are unaware of the ground realities in Assam after the release of NRC but speaking over it full-throated in Parliament. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Bannerjee is raising the issue of discrepancy in NRC and the deliberate attempt to polarize Hindu voters by the BJP in its favour over the alleged dropping out 40 lakh people from it of a particular community. Mamta's TMC and Congress are opposing the way NRC Draft has been prepared. While the ruling BJP is making it an issue to fight elections in 2019. BJP claims to be the only saviour of the Hindu community. But it must be understood that the nation belongs to all and the government in power has to treat every citizen irrespective of their caste, creed, religion, community and belief equally. India is a sovereign secular democratic republic. There cannot be any discrimination against anyone on the basis of his/her caste, region, religion. But here in the country caste, creed and religion play a vital role in the victory and defeat of a political party. Even the political party whose base is secularism sometimes deviates from its ideological belief in the hope of garnering votes of a particular, caste and community. Though the govt. has assured the people whose names have not figured in NRC draft that they need not be panicky, there is recourse in place for correction in the NRC draft. They have been given time for removing the grievances about their names not figuring in it. Though NRC campaign is, especially, meant for Assam and it is going on the order of Supreme Court. It is monitored and supervised by the apex court. SC has also ordered not to resort to any coercive measure against all those who have not made to NRC draft. They are the citizens of India till the final verdict in this regard. So, they have nothing to fear. Undoubtedly, the campaign for NRC is massive and on the large scale in Assam. The discrepancy has been there in the NRC draft on the large scale. Otherwise, one family member has not made to the NRC while another of the same family has made to it. So, the debate and discussion in Parliament should be on how to set everything right in NRC. By not allowing the BJP president Amit Shah speak on the issue of NRC in Rajya Sabha, opposition members have shown disrespect to the House. Mr. Amit Shah is the President of the ruling BJP. He has every right as the member of the Upper House also to speak his party's views on the burning issue of NRC. Opposition blame against the ruling the BJP holds some water that NRC draft was deliberately released in view of the coming assembly elections in MP, Rajasthan and Chattishgarh by the end of the year. NRC draft has created human tragedy in Assam. So, the politicians and MPs belong to ruling as well as opposition party must not make it an issue of politics in view of the coming assembly elections.

Show magnanimity towards India in terms of the relation

With the victory of Imran Khan and his party Pakistan Tahreek-e- Insaf (PTI) emerging as the largest one after the results of the elections held in there recently, there appears to be building a positive atmosphere. It also shows the role of democracy in our neighbourhood. Pak PM -designate Imran Khan is yet to show magnanimity in terms of improving relations with India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already greeted Imran for his victory in Pak elections. PM's greeting to him clearly shows that how much importance India attaches to democracy. All hope that the relation between Pakistan and India will improve with Imran Khan PM -designate of Pakistan assuming his office after taking oath. It is all likelihood that Imran will form govt. in coalition with the like-minded parties. Though like all other political players of Pakistan, Imran has also never fallen short of India bashing during his electioneering. It is necessary in Pak to adopt anti-India stance by the political party leaders irrespective of their affiliations to be in reckoning. As Pakistan army is instrumental in all democratically elected governments in formulating policy on India, Imran govt. too will bow to them. They have strong control on all activities of the Pak government in relation to India. Imran Khan has also been portrayed as the stooge or puppet of the Army. He is considered to be the blue-eyed boy of the army. Imran Khan PM-elect of Pakistan is expected to invite PM Modi to participate in his oath taking ceremony which is to be held on August 11, 2018. Whether PM would go to Pak to attend his oath taking ceremony or not is yet to be decided, one thing is clear that Imran may emulate him. PM Modi had also invited former PM Nawaz Sharif to attend his oath taking ceremony as PM but how much relation between the two countries improved is all before us. To act against the perpetrators of Mumbai attack of 26/11 is the main demand of India before Imran. It will expose him before the world that how serious he is in taking action against the home-grown terrorism. It will be also tested how much control the Army exercises on him. The Army and the government have given patronage to the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai attack in Pak. Imran Khan has been a world famous cricketer. He is expected of displaying sportsman spirit by coming out of the dragnet of the army, which forces every democratically elected government there to toe its line. Otherwise, confrontation starts between the two and ultimately ends in the coup by the army. The history of Pakistan is that it has been ruled by military half of the period since it came into existence in 1947. We hope a new dawn with the Imran Khan becoming the Pak PM.