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Not just yet another news item.The New Leam evolves a way of seeing, and reflects on the mood of our times.
Privacy over Rafale Deal Leads Congress to Bring Privilege Motion in Parliament
After a stormy session in the Parliament during the No-Confidence motion where Rahul Gandhi’s iconic hug to the PM made national news. The Congress is all set to move the Privilege Motion against the Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaram for not letting the nation know of the costs incurred during the Rafale deal. The Congress asserted that there is nothing in the deal that the prices cannot be told to the country. In his speech in the House during the no-confidence motion against the government, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said that the ruling party had lied to the nation on the Rafale deal. Ms. Sitharaman, stated that the agreement of secrecy was signed by the then Defence Minister and this agreement stated that the value of the jets could not be disclosed. The debate in the Parliament has once again revived the opposition and the Rafale Deal has been at the centre of attention for a long span of time. The nation surely deserves to know the costs of such expensive deal after all it is the collective money that is at stake.
CM of Bihar Nitish Kumar Faces Backlash as Liquor Ban Undergoes Amendment
The banning of liquor in Bihar by Nitish Kumar for the cause of women and the poor who wasted a prime period of their lives due to alcohol was accepted by a large section of the population. But in this session of the Parliament the ban is undergoing an amendment and the rules are being relaxed to a greater extent. According to the amendment, a first time offender would now be charged a fine of Rs 50,000 and be let free instead of being imprisoned for five years. If the person is offending the second time he will be given jail term for five years. The punishment for liquor manufacturers has been curbed to five years for the first offence and ten years for the second time. The ban had received massive support of women whose lives were most affected by men’s liquor consumption but the relaxation of the rules against liquor will again damage their lives.
Toronto Mass Shootings Kill and Injure Many
On Monday a series of gunshots were fired in Toronto, Canada killing more than fourteen persons and injuring several others. Mass shootings in Toronto have increased many times since the last year, injuring and killing several people. The police teams are investigating the matter. The rise of violence and the attack on innocent people is on the rise in America in the form of ma shootings, the media, the lonely culture of growing decadence of social and communal bonds, the sense of meaninglessness in life and the lack of qualitatively alternative sources of entertainment collectively lead to this tragic state of affairs in the country. The increase in mass shootings in a shared concern which has to be addressed before it damages further. Moreover, the crisis demands that a rigorous introspection on the contemporary culture unfolds.
