New Parliament
Cong calls it multiplex, prefers old House
Congress general secretary in charge of the media department Jairam Ramesh has described the new Parliament building as a multiplex and said “perhaps a better use for the new Parliament building will be found after regime change in 2024”. He said the old Parliament building not only had a certain aura but it facilitated conversations. “It was easy to walk between Houses, the Central Hall and the corridors… the old building gave you a sense of space and openness while the new one is almost claustrophobic,” Jairam said, and added “after four days what I saw was the death of confabulations and conversations – both inside the two Houses and in the lobbies.” Jairam said “If architecture can kill democracy, the PM has already succeeded even without rewriting the Constitution”. Another Congress leader Pramod Tiwari complained about the new building’s ventilation and said dozens of MPs felt suffocated. He said the hasty construction has created many problems and termed the building unscientific and impractical.
Easing Crypto Trade
Govt sets up panel, report likely in early ‘24
The Union government has set up a panel comprising CBDT Chairman, Economic Affairs Secretary, Director of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and India’s G20 Sherpa to formulate regulations for the crypto currencies. According to sources, the committee is likely to submit its report early next year. The mood in India has changed on crypto-assets. The Reserve Bank of India has for long demanded a ban on crypto currencies. The Government of India was moving towards accepting the RBI line on the issue. But the G20 nations at their meeting in New Delhi decided against a ban on these assets and instead supported the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund and the Financial Stability Board to put in place a regulatory framework. With the world moving against banning the crypto-assets, India too has decided to go with the global opinion.
Battle of Karnataka
Sidda-DKS fight divides top Cong leaders
The simmering disaffection between Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar has reached the Congress headquarters in New Delhi. The two leaders have been hitting out at each other through their proxies. But Shivakumar loyalist B K Hari Prasad’s latest jibe against the Chief Minister has forced the latter to raise the issue with the party’s central leadership. At a recent rally of the backward Ediga community to which he belongs, Hari Prasad targeted the Chief Minister without naming him. He said: “Someone who wears a panche (dhoti), a Hublot watch, and a khaki chaddi inside cannot be a socialist.” Siddaramaiah had faced a controversy over his expensive wrist watch in his previous term as chief minister. Angry Siddaramaiah has asked the party’s top leadership to initiate disciplinary action against Hari Prasad. While one section of central leaders supported cracking a whip, a group of powerful leaders ruled against it saying such statements are made against leaders in almost every state. Hari Prasad is a former AICC general secretary and has powerful friends in the central headquarters. Sources said Siddaramaiah has now taken up the matter with Rahul Gandhi and the final word on this issue is yet to be spoken.