SHINING OPPORTUNITY
India’s 75th Independence Day celebrations will be preceded by the participation of its athletes in the 18th Commonwealth Game which will unfold at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham, England from Jul 28, 2022 to
Aug 08, 2022 with a house full of 30,000 spectators emboldening their treasured sportsman and performers. The countdown has started and the stage is set. More than 5,000 athletes from 72 commonwealth nations will compete in various games. 215 qualified Indian professionals will participate in 16 games. Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu is the flagbearer of the
Indian contingent. Notably, this year the friendly game is marshaling Women’s Cricket for the first time in the history and more medals are at stake for women. In the last Commonwealth Games in 2018, India secured 3rd position with a total of 66 medals. This year too, the Indian contingent is quite strong. The Indian team has set its sights on crossing the 100-medal mark this time. Neeraj Chopra’s absence lessens expectation of success only by one medal. But we are confident that India will be on the top of the podium in all the events.
— TASHI BAHETI, UJJAIN via email
SUPPRESSIVE GESTURE?
The suspension of 19 Opposition parties’ leaders by the Speaker in the Rajya Sabha is a grave cause for concern as the voice of the representatives are being suppressed and precious time is being wasted from conducting the most important debate that is directly related to the welfare and progress of the common masses of our country. At this point in time, the most important issues include the issue of price hike of essential commodities and the levy of GST on the essential eatables that are adversely affecting the lives of one and all and more so the lives of the poor and wretched people who are finding it extremely tough to meet their ends in such turbulent scenario. The Speaker’s duty is to help conduct the debate smoothly without any disruptions but what he is apparently doing is just trying to quell the anger and fury of the Opposition parties’ leaders by not allowing them to express their demands. All parties’ leaders must come above their respective parties’ concern and help each other in trying to resolve the most critical issues of the common men without subjugating one another.
— IFTEKHAR AHMED, KOLKATA via email
— TASHI BAHETI, UJJAIN via email