I've probably appeared as a guest on more podcasts in India than anyone else. Every host has been gracious and welcoming.
But I've noticed a recurring expectation: that I should praise India and celebrate its achievements.
I could easily say what people want to hear: "India is a great nation. It has achieved remarkable progress in the last decade."
But if I ignore the frustrations of millions of young people facing unemployment, rising costs, and limited opportunities, I'd be betraying them. More importantly, I'd be lying.
I can't do that.
न्यायमूर्ति सूर्यकांत की अध्यक्षता वाली पीठ ने पीएम केयर्स फंड को लेकर दायर की गई जनहित याचिका खारिज कर दी।
अदालत ने याचिका की मंशा पर सवाल उठाते हुए याचिकाकर्ता को कड़ी फटकार लगाई और अपमानजनक टिप्पणी की।
याचिकाकर्ता को कहा गया कि वह ......“लुधियाना वापस जाकर दो-तीन और स्वेटर बेचें”
माय लॉर्ड यही तो याचिकाकर्ता भी और यह देश भी जानना चाहता है कि "पीएम केयर्स फंड" की जानकरी छुपाने के पीछे की आखिर मंशा क्या है ?
पीएम केयर्स फंड में कब, किससे, कितने पैसे आए और उसे कब, कहां, कितना, कैसे खर्च किया गया? इतनी साधारण सी बात जाहिर न करने के पीछे सरकार की आखिर मंशा क्या है?
लोकमान्य सच और अनुभवजन्य सच तो यही कहता है कि जहां गड़बड़ घोटाला होता है, वहीं परदादारी की जाती है, इतनी सी छोटी बात न समझने वाली अदालत की आखिर मंशा क्या है ?
अदालत का कर्तव्य नागरिक अधिकार और संविधान का संरक्षण है न कि सरकार का कवच बनना।
माय लॉर्ड क्या आपको नहीं लगता कि जो अदालत अपना डर और अपनी झेंप छुपाने के लिए याचिकाकर्ता को अपमानित करने पर उतर आए उसकी मंशा पर देश को सवाल उठाना चाहिए ?
It should be Indian prime minister Modi who sparks controversy for refusing to answer media questions while abroad, not a journalist for simply asking. https://t.co/trFVTeEUZh
To the people accusing me of just wanting fifteen minutes of fame, remember: It is the media that made this about me. I would have liked it to be about press freedom in India. And press freedom in general in the world and other topics of my interest is also what I will continue discussing here.
😢📍This man was hounded, humiliated, and targeted in false cases, who will return the 2.5 years he spent in jail, and then you talk about vendetta.
Even if @ArvindKejriwal forgives those behind it, I will keep reminding him of the torture faced by many AAP leaders, just because they refused to bend.
It is deeply unfortunate that the Prime Minister chose to mislead the nation rather than address it honestly.
Let me put this on record. Trinamool Congress has always championed higher political representation for women. We have the highest proportion of female elected representatives in both Parliament and the State Legislature. In the Lok Sabha, 37.9% of our elected members are women. In the Rajya Sabha, we have nominated 46% women members.The question of opposing Women's Reservation does not arise and never has.
What we are fundamentally opposed to is the Delimitation exercise that the Modi Government was plotting to push through by using women as a shield for its vested political agenda. What we are fundamentally opposed to is the altering of Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution, the division of this nation and the usurpation of power through gerrymandering, by redrawing political contours to hand greater representation to BJP-ruled states at the expense of others. This is an assault on federal democracy. And we will not watch it happen in silence.
If this government was genuinely serious about this noble cause, why did it wait nearly three years after the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill on September 28, 2023? Why rush it through when several states are in election? And why couple it with Delimitation? Trinamool Congress has stood for women for decades. We will continue to. But we will not be lectured on a subject that the ruling dispensation neither understands nor respects.
And Mr. Prime Minister, the next time you address the nation, have the courage to do so from the Floor of Parliament, where you are subject to scrutiny, challenge and accountability. What you did yesterday was cowardly, hypocritical and fork-tongued. You can feel power slipping through your fingers. And you are prepared to go to any extent to hold on for just a little while longer.
That is all this was.