FOLLOWING the ignominy of a washed out Winter session of Parliament, in which hardly any business was transacted, it is heartening to sense that both the Opposition and the government seems to be backing off from the brink, which means trying to arrive at a compromise that would ensure that we have a relatively smooth Budget session.
The fact that most of the political parties are being forced to resolve the deadlock not so much for Parliament's sake but mainly due to the upcoming Assembly elections in crucial states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Kerala should not undermine the importance of the efforts towards a compromise.
It is of utmost importance that the Union budget and railway budget are thoroughly scrutinised and debated by Parliament and to that end the government and Opposition must arrive at some sort of an understanding.
The proposal that is said to be emanating from sections within the United Progressive Alliance— one which seems to have the support of the Left parties— that there should be a discussion in Parliament on whether or not there is need for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe on the 2G Spectrum scam, appears to be a viable compromise formula.
There can be no two opinions even within the Opposition that the 2G Spectrum issue needs to be debated; therefore parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's offer that it be discussed as a priority item during the Budget session should be considered favourably. The Opposition, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party, must overcome the temptation of seeing the barracking of Parliament as a tactic that can bring the UPA to its knees.
On its part, the government must act in right earnest and not use it as a short term ploy to buy peace with the Opposition.
HAVE THE WILL FIRST
NEWS that the authorities in Liechtenstein and Switzerland are not likely to share information with India regarding its black money stashed away in their banks anytime soon — citing treaty issues — may disappoint the common citizen. But the same cannot be said about the attitude of the Union government.
They appear to be anything but keen on this front. Had this not been the case, the Union government would have got the list of Indians with an account in LGT Bank of Liechtenstein through the diplomatic route that was available, rather than through the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with Germany which foreclosed the option of the names being made public.
Recent reports have said that India is in the process of hammering out agreements with 22 tax havens to get information on tax evaders. While this raises the prospect of forward movement in the future, this must not be an excuse to do nothing now.
India can look for inspiration at the United States which used its sovereign heft to make a Swiss bank reveal the names of all tax evaders, even forcing it to pay a fine of $ 780 million in the process. Treaties certainly help, but what matters even more is sovereign will which has so far been lacking.
A master passes away
IN the firmament of Hindustani classical music, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, who passed away on Monday, was perhaps the brightest star. With his mellifluous voice and mastery over his art, it seemed, sometimes, that he was the voice of God. His Kirana Gharana is noted for the khayal form of singing, but he was equally well known for his devotional songs, mainly bhajans and abhangs . Fortunately, he was no forgotten artiste. He was honoured throughout his professional life and showered with awards, the highest being the Bharat Ratna conferred on him in 2008, on top of other honours from the Union government, various states and private bodies.
Panditji was the product of the famous guru- shishya parampara ( the guru- disciple tradition) and for him, on the highest pedestal was his own guru, Sawai Gandharva, a student of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, who lived and taught at a place near his hometown Gadag. As homage to his guru, Panditji organised the well known Sawai Gandharva Music Festival in Pune, an annual cultural festival of Hindustani classical music lovers.
