A team from Pakistan is set to arrive in India to probe the Pathankot attack
Meenal Thakur
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: PTI
New Delhi: Even as finance minister Arun Jaitley rejected Congress’s demand to cap the goods and services tax (GST) rate, more work remains to make the GST Bill a reality. In other news, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Islam for its message of peace and harmony but asserted that the fight against terrorism will continue, a team from Pakistan is set to arrive in India to probe the Pathankot attack.
In pursuit of good economics, BJP risks middle-class wrath
Good economics does not always make for good politics. The move in budget 2016 to impose levies on jewellery, while economically sound, has triggered a political backlash from the trading community, an important constituency of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party is in a spot as the government has rejected demands for a rollback. Finance minister Arun Jaitley, in this year’s budget, proposed an excise duty of 1% without input tax credit and 12.5% with input tax credit on articles of jewellery except silver jewellery.
Modi praises Islam for its message of peace, harmony
Praising Islam for its message of peace and harmony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said none of Allah’s 99 names stand for violence and asserted the fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion and the two should be de-linked. Addressing the first World Sufi Forum, he said, “This is an extraordinary event of great importance to the world, at a critical time for humanity. At a time when the dark shadow of violence is becoming longer, you are the noor, or the light of hope. When young laughter is silenced by guns on the streets, you are the voice that heals.”
Arun Jaitley rejects Congress demand to cap GST rate
A day after the government managed Parliamentary approval for Aadhaar bill, it moved to draw the battle lines in the next legislative fight on goods and services tax (GST). On Thursday, speaking at the India Today Conclave, finance minister Arun Jaitley rejected the Congress’s demand to cap the tax rate under GST in the Constitution amendment bill itself. He said it would be difficult to accede to Congress’s demand.
Pathankot: Pakistani investigation team to arrive on 27 March
A team from Pakistan will arrive in India on 27 March to probe the attack on India’s Pathankot airbase in January. The outcome of the probe will determine whether the two nations resume bilateral engagement. This was one of the main outcomes of the meeting between foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan’s national security adviser Sartaj Aziz on the sidelines of the 37th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Council of Ministers in Pokhara, Nepal.
Aadhaar will be backed by law, but there’s more to do
The Aadhaar bill is just a signature away from becoming a law, but the government still has much to do to shape its financial inclusion plans through the unique identification number. The Unique Identification Authority of India will be a statutory body with the power to issue regulations. These regulations cover several areas, the framework for which the Aadhaar bill provides. However, there are at least 20 other aspects on which regulations will be needed. Read more
Samajwadi Party to contest Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu polls
The Samajwadi Party (SP) has decided to contest in three of the four states going to polls in April and May, in a bid to expand its reach beyond Uttar Pradesh, where the party is currently in power. “The party has decided to contest in Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. While we will contest from 25-30 seats in Assam, the number will be around 20 in West Bengal. The final list of candidates will be released in a day or two,” said SP leader Kiranmoy Nanda, who is also in charge of these two states. The party has ruled out an alliance with the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) or the Left Front in these states.
The origins of Bharat Mata
There is much debate around the slogan Bharat Mata ki Jai! but the question is where and how did it originate? From various accounts, the origins of “Bharat Mata” can be traced back to a play by Bengali nationalist Kiran Chandra Bandyopadhyay that was first performed in 1873. Set during the famine of Bengal in 1770, it dramatizes the story of a housewife and later her husband who have to flee into the jungle and fall in with a group of rebels. A priest then takes them into a temple to show them Mother India. Read on to find more about the origins of the now controversial slogan.