IN the second week of the Winter Session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off a debate on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram. Taking part in the debate in the Rajya Sabha, V Sivadasan said the occasion reminds us of the history of the great national movement. The stanza of the poem is not only to salute the soil of the nation but also to salute the fighting spirit of the masses. Vande Mataram is our national song, Vande Mataram is a salute to the mother -- millions of mothers who struggled to feed proper food to their children in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh; the mothers who walk kilometres to bring drinking water to their homes in Maharashtra and Rajasthan; the ‘Mother India’ who walked barefoot to participate in the struggle from Amritsar to Delhi, from Nashik to Mumbai, as part of the great Kisan struggle; the mother who was forced to give birth on the street in Uttar Pradesh; the mother who is forced to sleep on the pavement with her children on a winter night because their house was demolished in the Bulldozer Raj. Jawaharlal Nehru told us about ‘Mother India’. The great freedom fighters had a dream. It is reflected in the stanza of the poem. But where is Sujal, clean water? Here, in the name of cleaning Ganga project, crores of rupees were plundered. It exposes the inefficiency of the government, extreme inefficiency of the government. Where is Sufal? Farmers are cultivating Sufal, but they are not getting proper remuneration. The apple farmers in Himachal and Kashmir and sugarcane farmers in Maharashtra are struggling, but, in the market, the prices are very high. There is a very little chance to get Sufal in the market. Only fruits, extremely polluted by harmful chemicals, are getting into the market. Where is the greenery? Where are the cool winds?  In Andaman & Nicobar, they are on the way to cut 10 million trees in an ecologically fragile area. The people of Delhi are inhaling the most polluted air in the world. Where are the cool winds? Delhi has become a gas chamber. The disciples of Nathuram Godse are making hate speeches like their British colonial masters. Gauri Lankesh, Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare were killed by the disciples of Nathuram Godse. People have been killed for what they write, what they eat and in the name of religion. Vande Mataram is our song, not of those disciples of Nathuram. The disciples of Nathuram are trying to pit Urdu against Hindi; Sanskrit against Tamil; they are trying to create division in society, between people. Our legacy is not the legacy of those who told the Hindus that fighting against the British is a waste of time. Who said that? Everybody knows the answer to that question. Now, they are trying to pit Hindus against Muslims. This is the month of December. On 6th December, 23 years ago, the disciples of Nathuram demolished the great symbol of the secular legacy of our nation. The Congress was in power at that time. The Congress did not learn anything from history. That is why one of the Congress Party MPs has been continuously praising them. The author of our national anthem, Rabindranath Tagore, wrote that those who are standing against the unity of the people don’t have the right to rule the people. That is what Tagore had taught us. That means the existing government has no moral right to rule the people of the country. Tagore has spoken in the sharpest of sharp words about the importance of unity of the people and harmony of the society.

In the Rajya Sabha, A A Rahim raised the issue of mass cancellations of IndiGo flights, and demanded immediate relief and regulatory measures for affected passengers. I firmly believe that the crisis was not created by IndiGo alone; the Union government is also responsible. This is the direct outcome of the government’s neoliberal economic policies, privatisation and deregulation of the aviation sector. The government has turned India’s aviation sector into a duopoly ecosystem. IndiGo now operates 65.6 per cent of all flights. Air India handles 25.7 per cent. This means that more than 90 per cent of the Indian aviation sector is controlled by just two bosses, IndiGo and Air India. The government propagated the idea that the privatisation of Air India would create a miracle. But what is the reality today? In terms of safety, quality of service and quality of aircraft, the situation is extremely poor. The government created a misconception that the public sector is useless while private players are saviours, capable of miracles. What is the Tata-led Air India doing during this so-called IndiGo crisis? It is profiteering from human distress. The government issued an order on aircraft capping, stating that the airlines can charge only up to Rs 18,000 for routes above 1,500 kilometres. But, today morning, I would like to explain my own experience. Today, I tried to book a ticket from Delhi to Trivandrum for tomorrow. Can you imagine what the price is? The price shown is absolutely shocking! It is Rs 64,783 for today’s Delhi to Trivandrum economy class! The government has no control on the private carriers. So, in this situation, I urge the government not to dilute flight duty time limitations (FDTL) norms. The government is now forced to give exemption to IndiGo from FDTL. So, don’t dilute FDTL rules. The government must regulate the aviation sector and end the duopoly. A strong mechanism must also be implemented to control airfares and ensure the safety of air passengers.

In the Lok Sabha, Amra Ram participated in the discussion on election reforms. He opposed special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on behalf of the CPI(M). The voter list used to be updated every January. The names of deceased voters were removed and those who turned 18 were added. So, where did the need for SIR arise? A notification for SIR was issued. In 75 years of independence, the Election Commission is demanding a certificate of Indian citizenship from someone who has already voted 60 times. More than 950 million people across the country are being asked to fill forms. Those who rose to power on the basis of communalism are using this same communalism to manipulate people's minds and harass millions across the country. It has become mandatory for a 95-year-old to have his photo taken and fill out Form No. 6. In this, those who migrate to earn a living will be excluded from the voter list through SIR. SIR was first implemented in Bihar. BJP members are claiming that 3.5 million people hadn’t filled forms. I want to ask them how many of them are infiltrators? This is the third time the BJP, NDA, is in power. The Prime Minister and the Home Minister say that the SIR is meant to expel infiltrators who have entered the country. The government, the Home Minister, or the Prime Minister should explain how many of these 3.5 million are infiltrators. This government was responsible for expelling them, but it hasn't been able to do so. This is the first time booth level officers (BLOs) have been recruited for SIR. Currently, SIR is being conducted in 12 states. What is their condition? Dozens of BLOs have taken their own lives due to harassment. Were they also infiltrators? Some were wealthy, some were educated. I believe that if anyone has corporatised this election, it is this NDA government. Narendra Modi’s government introduced electoral bonds. Only the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has claimed that it has never contested an election with corporate funds. They went to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court declared the electoral bonds illegal. Will they return the money? This is how illegal work is being done. The Election Commission’s selection process used to be based on the advice of the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India (CJI). This government replaced the CJI with a cabinet minister. This way, two of the three will be from the ruling party. Undoubtedly, if anyone has tried to prevent the Election Commission from becoming independent, it is the BJP. When the Supreme Court abolished electoral bonds, in February the Cabinet granted Tata a subsidy of Rs 44,203 crore for two semiconductor factories. This resulted in Tata donating Rs 758 crore to the BJP before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Electoral bonds contributed 80-85 per cent to their support. Reforms can only be achieved through fair elections and restrictions on corporate funding. Because, a government elected with corporate money will only work for the corporate.