PARLIAMENT DIARY
U. S. ELECTION POPULAR TOPIC, MPs PREDICT RESULTS
The US presidential elections have become a hot topic in Parliament these days and a frequent question a front- ranking MP is asked is who he or she thinks will be the next US President.
Whether it’s finance minister Arun Jaitley or Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi, everyone is talking about the upcoming elections.
With the fate of the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill more or less settled, the leaders have a lot of time to discuss the fate of Republican candidate Mr Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Ms Hillary Clinton.
And while many ruling party members feel that Mr Trump will win, Opposition MPs are rooting for Ms Clinton.
NCP member Mr Praful Patel is sure about Ms Clinton’s win as he feels that President Barak Obama and former President Bill Clinton will ensure that Ms Clinton wins. There was even a heated, though informal, debate about the recent speech made by Ms Clinton and the counter by Mr Trump.
In fact these discussions are a welcome relief for the leaders from the acrimonious debates in the House.
RAJNATH FACES OPPOSITION FROM WITHIN HIS PARTY FOR GOING TO PAKISTAN
Home minister Rajnath Singh is facing flak from his own party members for his decision to go to Pakistan for the upcoming Saarc home ministers’ meeting.
On Friday BJP MP R. K. Singh indirectly criticised the government for a likely bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Saarc meet. On Thursday, a Pakistan Foreign ministry spokesperson had said that there might be a bilateral meeting between the visiting Home minister of India and the Pakistan Interior minister. The MEA spokesperson, however, categorically denied any such meeting.
Commenting on that, Mr R. K. Singh on Friday said that no bilateral meeting should be held with Pakistan on any forum. The Central government should instead “hit back at Pakistan” for its support to terrorist organisations, he said. The Union home minister is travelling to Islamabad on August 3.
INDIA FAILS TO WOO BANGLA DELEGATION WITH HILSA
Bangladesh home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal is currently in India, leading a delegation for a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart.
The meeting is being held in New Delhi almost after three and a half years and minister of state of home Kiren Rijiju is quite excited about it. He was seen pleading with the parliamentary affairs minister to spare him the rotational duties in the House.
The Indian government hosted a dinner for the visiting delegation where hilsa fish featured prominently on the menu.
However, the delegation could not relish the food because Mr Rijiju vetoed its proposal of giving longterm visas to Bangladeshis who travel to India frequently.
A member of the Bangladesh delegation later said that the Indian hilsa was not as delicious as the hilsa from the Padma river in Bangladesh.
AHMED PATEL MISSING HIS NIGHT SHOWS
Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, watches a movie in the night show once a month. But he does not go alone. He takes all his personal staff along. However, this month he hasn’t had the time to go for a movie and says that he trying to find the time to catch a show.