BIDEN BOWS OUT

THE President of the United States of America Joe Biden had rightly bowed out from the upcoming Presidential race. As difficult as it is for a politician of his stature, who had been elected to the US Senate at the age of 29 and served with distinction in the Senate as Chair of the Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees twice and as Vice President for two terms, he should have gracefully taken the decision to stand down and pass on the baton a little bit earlier, considering his health was inevitably faltering.
But it’s better late than never and all’s well that ends well. This is evident in the endorsement by President Biden of his Vice President Kamala Harris, who has swiftly energised the party and country’s voters, especially the younger people, offering hope and a real alternative. Whether she makes history by becoming America’s first Lady President shall soon be known.
Having a healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body! Good health is the balance of mind, body and soul. The inspirational leader the late Martin Luther King Jr advocated that “The measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge.” So, when the challenge of making a final decision was necessary, President Joe Biden made his stand clear – he put country and party before self!
— Aires Rodrigues, London

GOVT REAL ESTATE AGENCY?
AAM Aadmi party Goa state president adv Amit Palekar vehemently criticises the BJP government for the controversial Investment Promotion Bill (IPB) which he claims will devastate the livelihood opportunities of Goans and the environment of Goa.
Speaking at the AAP office in Panaji, Palekar accused the Promod Sawant-led government of functioning like a real estate agency! He asserted, “The controversial IPB bill is nothing short of a special economic zone drafted by the real estate lobby. The bill grants draconian powers to the chief minister and his colleagues. It proposes a board chaired by the CM, which would have supreme authority and certain proposed amendments would tale away powers of local bodies as well as the GIDC, the Town & Country Planning Department and other departments.”
Under the guise of this board the government aims to set its own rules, selling Goa to outsiders. He accused the CM and Minister Mauvin Godinho of acting as chief real estate agents. Palekar emphasised that the recent monsoon assembly session was historic, with a record number of bills not benefitting Goans withdrawn following robust opposition from AAP and other Opposition leaders. “In this assembly session, seven opposition leaders effectively outweighed the 33 ruling legislators, making it seem as though the roles were reversed. Our AAP MLAs, in particular performed exceptionally well, prompting Goans to consider the impact AAP could have if it were in power. The response from the public has been overwhelmingly positive,” he added.
As AAP working president I welcome the fact that this monsoon session was held without any curtailment or distractions. This is the first time since CM Sawant took oath as CM that the assembly session has happened for the entire announced length without curtailment. Otherwise we had witnessed how the BJP government would curtail the sessions on one pretext or the other, or would concoct some controversy to derail the proceedings. Because of the long duration our leaders could address a lot of issues concerning Goans and could take assurances from the government. The assembly is a major feature of democracy and this time it happened properly.
People like us who are common people are an important part of democracy. That’s why AAP always wanted to eradicate the VIP culture in governance and give access to common people in this democratic process. Therefore, during the first assembly session after AAP leaders were sworn in as MLAs, we asked the people to send their questions, and we presented those issues in the assembly house. This time we not only sourced questions from common people, but we also made sure that common people could get a chance to witness these assembly sessions in person. We facilitated the issuance of hundreds of passes so that people across age groups could watch the session in person, and we received an overwhelming response.
I condemn the CM’s constant personal attacks on the Delhi AAP government and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. Our AAP MLAs exposed the Sawant government’s failures, to which the CM had no answers. Instead he resorted to taking personal digs at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. This shows how threatened the Sawant government is by AAP’s effective leadership. CM Sawant despite being a former speaker has forgotten the assembly’s basic rules and responsibilities of not casting aspersions on someone who is not a member of the house, indicating the government’s fear of AAP’s growing influence in Goa and India.
—Valmiki Naik, AAP Media Cell, Goa.