Christmas cheer bypasses House

December 23, 2022

Last week, a Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu surprised a few of us in Central Hall. He placed his black duffel bag on the desk, unzipped it, and announced, “Here is some traditional Christmas cake”. The day before yesterday, an MP from Bengal brought two boxes of rich-fruit Christmas cake to share with colleagues across all parties. The cakes from Kolkata were hand-made from a recipe invented 120-years ago at Nahoum’s, a Jewish bakery located in New Market. Rich in history, legacy, and flavour, it is a true taste of Christmas in the city. This was exciting. Everything else in Parliament was bland.

Of Messi, Mbappe, World Cup Final And The Politics Of Football

December 16, 2022

Sunday, 18 December, 8.30 pm IST. Messi versus Mbappe. After 63 matches that began on November 20, the world and India are waiting.

The oft-asked question – 1.3 billion of us and we can’t come up with a top-notch football team?

My six-point challenge to BJP

December 9, 2022

The Winter Session of Parliament began on Wednesday. The BJP has a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha. They effortlessly manufacture a majority in the Rajya Sabha. The numbers are on their side. But do they have the courage to take up even one of these issues in the ongoing winter session of Parliament?

Parliament Now The Interval Between Elections And Modi’s PR

November 21, 2022

Nowadays, sadly, a parliament session is the interval between elections and Modi’s Public Relations exercises. 

Usually, the winter session of parliament begins in the second half of November and adjourns before Christmas. This winter session, however, will begin from 7 December, just two days after voting ends in Gujarat.

What Next? Now BJP Slogans In Parliament Panel Meetings

November 7, 2022

Parliament is being undermined even when it is not in session. There is enough evidence, from records of official debates to live telecasts and statistics, to show how this sacred institution is being subverted.

Messrs Modi, Shah Preside Over The World’s Largest Diarchy

October 12, 2022

It’s amusing to see how Modi-Shah’s BJP is so obsessed with the question of leadership and power centers in political parties opposed to them. BJP diehards – often egged on by a fawning media – pontificate on the key players in the opposition. Instead of sharing plans to resolve issues like price rise or unemployment, the so-called gyan gurus from team Modi-Shah pass judgement on how the election for a new Congress president is a farce or whether KCR’s son deserves, at any point, to take over the party his father founded. Or why Stalin got a free hand-me-down to run the DMK or how Abhishek Banerjee, the national general secretary and two-term TMC MP, is still only “Mamata’s nephew”. Or why there is no internal democracy in the parties founded by the late Mulayam Singh Yadav or Lalu Prasad Yadav. Or is the Thackerays’ Shiv Sena…the list is endless.

Supreme Court’s Live Stream – Sunlight As Disinfectant

September 30, 2022

They say sunlight is the best disinfectant. With the live streaming of constitutional cases (Challenge to Economically Weaker Section Quota, Shiv Sena Defection case and Challenge to All India Bar exam) in the Supreme Court, this will culminate into reality. This has been a long time coming. Live streaming of parliament happened as early as 2006 (Lok Sabha) and 2011 (Rajya Sabha). Critics might say that judges and lawyers will play to the gallery, but I am sure this transparency will do more good than bad. 

Food Insecurity- The Story That Won’t Make Prime Time News

September 24, 2022

Here’s a story that won’t make the 9 pm news. As per reports in a few regional language newspapers (yes, they still have The Spine), the Union is proposing an increase in the prices of rice, wheat and cereals sold through the National Food Security Act (NFSA) by Rs.7 per kg for Priority Households (PHH)

Money Advice On Social Media – Who Protects Us?

September 12, 2022

Parliament is not in session but there’s so much to be said. So let’s pull out the laptop and share a few thoughts on an issue that has always interested me: content creation.

A Dangerous Precedent

January 19, 2022

By holding the Budget before the Assembly polls, the BJP government has shown scant regard for Parliament.