Silent diplomacy
The government is maintaining a heavy silence over future plans of ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has currently taken refuge in India after being forced to flee her country by anti-government protestors. The only fact that has been officially revealed by the MEA is that India was given an extremely short notice before she arrived.
This would obviously mean that the government had very little time to weigh the consequences of sheltering the Bangladesh leader, although refusing her entry would have been an unneighbourly thing to do.
But what no one in the MEA seems to have an answer to is for how long can Hasina be sheltered. With reports coming in that some student leaders want her to face trial in Bangladesh things seem to be getting more complicated. If any of the European and Middle East countries where the former PM has reportedly sought asylum do not respond soon, what would India’s course of action be? The answers at the moment seem to be blowing in the wind.
Uff Jaya ji
In a heated showdown that had everyone talking, veteran actor and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan locked horns with Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar in Parliament this week. The flashpoint? Jaya’s sharp critique of the Chairman’s “unacceptable tone”, which she claimed disrespected not only her but also the decorum of the House. “I may be a celebrity, but I understand body language, and your tone is not acceptable,” Jaya boldly declared, only to be cut off mid-speech by a visibly irate Dhankhar, who insisted, “You may be anybody... you have to understand the decorum....Every actor is subject to director!”
The fiery exchange led to an Opposition walkout, with senior leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, rallying behind Jaya. Meanwhile, BJP leaders wasted no time in slamming the protest, calling it “indecent and irresponsible”. The drama has left the Rajya Sabha chamber buzzing, proving that in Indian politics, the stage is never without its stars.
Crash course for investors
In an amusing twist of investor anxiety, the SEBI chairperson and top officials found themselves in the spotlight this past week after receiving an intriguing email from a concerned investor. The investor demanded to know why the Indian stock market was plummeting just because Japan’s Nikkei index was falling due to carry trade unwinding. But it didn’t stop there — the investor insisted that SEBI take swift action to ensure the Indian market bounces back to its all-time highs by the week’s end!
This curious request has sparked a mix of humour and concern within SEBI. “When we get emails like this, we start to worry if people are adequately informed about the securities market ecosystem,” remarked a SEBI Whole-Time Member. While such cases might be rare, it does highlight a larger issue — too many investors have only seen the market’s sunny side and are unprepared for the inevitable corrections. As the market moves unpredictably, one thing is clear: some investors could use a crash course in market dynamics!