OM Birla SPEAKER OM Birla has in the past earned praises from the opposition benches for giving them opportunities to speak and for his efforts to take everyone along. He rarely loses temper, but on Wednesday he raised his voice to say “chup” to AAP MP Bhagwant Mann. The Speaker warned Mann, who was among the first opposition MPs to rush to the well protesting against the government handling of the farmers’ agitation, once earlier in the day. After the first adjournment, when the House met again, Mann came to the centre of the House and started shouting slogan. When the Speaker said “chup” angrily, the BJP MPs thumped the desk.
The Appreciation
WHILE RIHANNA and Greta Thunberg were making headlines in India for commenting in support of the farmers’ protests, another international personality received warm praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. Former cricket star Kevin Pietersen responded to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s tweet about India’s vaccines landing in Johannesburg, South Africa. Pietersen wrote: “Indian generosity and kindness grows more and more every single day. The beloved country!” A day later, Modi responded: “Glad to see your affection towards India. :) We believe that the world is our family and want to play our role in strengthening the fight against COVID-19.”
Iran Ties
DAYS AFTER a small blast outside the Israel embassy in Delhi, for which Iranian links are being probed, Iran’s Defence Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Bangalore ahead of the Defence Ministers Conclave of Indian Ocean Region nations. Felicitating Hatami, Singh gifted him a Kashmiri Pashmina shawl. Iran was among the few nations that had publicly criticised the scrapping of Article 370 in August 2019.