BJP whip makes Lok Sabha MPs miss out on 2 holidays of Parliament session

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a whip to all its members to be present in the House on December 27

The Narendra Modi government has been a killjoy for Members of Parliament, particularly those of the Lok Sabha. The winter session of Parliament usually ends before Christmas. This year, the government agreed to keep December 24 and 26 as parliamentary holidays only after a request from MPs. However, it has poured cold water on the plans of MPs who were considering an extended stay in their respective constituencies. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a whip to all its members to be present in the House on Thursday when it plans to take up the politically sensitive Triple Talaq Bill for discussion in the Lok Sabha. The government had introduced the Bill in the lower house on December 17.

Not welcome

Air India’s pilot community seems to be isolated from the #MeToo campaign that has forced many corporations to redraw their strategy to handle sexual harassment cases. In August, a cabin crew member of the airline went public accusing Captain D X Pais of sexually harassing her. While Pais was removed from the post of general manager, inflight services, after the victim wrote to the civil aviation minister, the senior executive has been elected unopposed as a member in Air India Pilots’ Welfare Society. The development hasn’t gone down well with many of the society’s members and there are murmurs about removing Pais from the body.  

One more joins the network 

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) provides ideological support to a host of outfits. FANS, or Forum for Awareness of National Security, is the latest to join this list. The official launch of FANS is scheduled for Thursday in New Delhi by RSS second-in-command Suresh 'Bhaiyyaji' Joshi and senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar. Union ministers R K Singh, V K Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Rao Inderjit Singh will be present at the event. 

FANS claims to be “deeply engaged in building national consensus on every aspect of national security through participation and dialogue of various stakeholders…” The day will also see Sparsh Ganga, an outfit run by former Uttarakhand chief minister and BJP leader Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ distribute awards for the Clean Ganga campaign. Pokhriyal’s daughter Arushi Nishank is the convener of the outfit. Several Union ministers are slated to attend the event, including Nitin Gadkari, Harsh Vardhan, Thawar Chand Gehlot and Mahesh Sharma.