Where is Sonia Gandhi?

The Italian Job has been in the news of late. It is quite possible that the Supreme Court will hold the Italian Ambassador guilty of contempt of court tomorrow. Does this mean the diplomat will be jailed? He certainly cannot be let off lightly. He has given an undertaking to the highest court in the land and broke his word. Even if it is his government which is responsible, he as its representative is to be held responsible. Amidst all of this the Congress leadership seems to be strangely silent. One would like to know the reaction of the Congress President to the entire incident.

Further in the name of increasing compliance and security the government seems intent on framing laws that can be very well abused. The arrests made in the name of the IT Act are well known. Now even possession of laundered money, irrespective of the value is being made punishable. For e.g. if a father launders money via his daughter's account she can be arrested. I got this information from today's Economic Times. Why is the government intent on framing such laws? Why this hunger for power?

Really, Mr. Khurshid? Also, build apartments for our MPs

Our External Affairs Minister had a "courtesy meeting" with the visiting Pakistan Prime Minister, Raja Pervez. No terrorism-related issues were discussed as this was a personal visit. So why did the External Affairs Minister meet him? And this after the recent blasts in Hyderabad!

"Abhyaagatah swayam Vishnuh" is an ancient saying of this land. We believe in treating our guests as divine beings. Apparently the Pak PM prayed for peace in his country. We hope that Mr. Khurshid prayed for some sense to come into the Pakistani leadership - I do believe the people want friendly ties. It is the ruling class that needs to change.

Another thought came to my mind recently. The area in Delhi which is designated as Lutyens' Delhi is a property gold mine. Why should our "public representatives" live in luxurious bungalows? The present moment, when the economy is down, is the right time for our MPs to show their public service credentials. Imagine that we build a set of apartments, okay luxurious apartments for our MPs. Imagine what can be done with the land that can be freed up. There will be vociferous objections on the grounds of security. But seriously, if that is indeed the case our rulers' faith in our security forces will be apparent.

Another objection that would come up would be that this is a protected area heritage wise. Is this the heritage we want to preserve? If the government does not want to demolish the existing buildings let them designate them for different purposes. Throw these open to the public, develop these as parks, educational centres, science centres etc. The possibilities are many. What is needed is will.