By Venkatesh Nayak* Our elected representatives seek information on a wide variety of topics from the Union Government when Parliament is in session. Ministers respond verbally on the floor of the House to only a handful of them. These are called Starred Questions. In response to the Unstarred Questions, which run into thousands, the Government only tables written replies without responding to them verbally. The text of the MPs' queries and the concerned ministry/department's replies are uploaded on the respective House websites.
By Ram Puniyani Choosing one’s religion is both a social and a legal right guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. Yet organisations that pursue politics in the name of religion often refuse to accept this fundamental principle. Dr. Mohan Bhagwat, the Sarsanghachalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has repeatedly asserted that all people living in this country are Hindus. At the same time, he has expressed concern that the Hindu population is declining due to conversions to Islam and Christianity, even suggesting that Hindu couples should have three children to address this “worrying” trend.