Mahinda Rajapaksa
ON HIS India trip, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is on a pilgrimage after holding bilateral talks with the Indian leadership. On Sunday, he offered prayers at the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi. He also visited Buddhist pilgrimage site Sarnath and paid tributes at the Dhamek Stupa, where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon. He will also visit Tirupati.
The Shield
LAST WEEK, during the acrimonious scenes in the Lok Sabha, it was BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, MP from Gonda, who jumped into the well of the House to “shield” Union Minister Harsh Vardhan. According to Congress MP Manickam Tagore, Singh had “pushed” him and “threatened to kill” him. But for BJP MPs, Singh is a hero. This is not the first time that Singh is at the centre of tussles inside the Lok Sabha. Earlier, on two occasions, he had to jump in to “save” members on his side — once when Nitish Kumar came under attack from some Opposition MPs and another instance when JD (U) MP Prabhunath Singh was confronted by angry RJD MPs. Interestingly, a wrestler himself, Singh is the president of Wrestling Federation of India.
On The Job
THE GOVERNMENT took time to announce the Ramjanmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust but the Trust is not going to waste time. The newly established Trust has called its first meeting on February 19. The meeting is likely to discuss the future course of action for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Among other things, it is expected to deliberate on issues such as a permanent office for the Trust and the modalities of the Trust’s functioning.