Karti Chidambaram pens letter to father on birthday; takes dig at BJP govt

International News

On the 74th birthday of former finance minister P Chidambaram, his son Karti wrote a letter to him, mostly taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his letter, Karti criticised the government and its ministers, citing various recent events.
At the beginning of the letter, Karti wished his father and said that "no 56!!! can stop you", a clear jibe at PM Modi. He said the family would have been glad to celebrate the birthday at home, and added "turning 74 is nothing compared to turning 100 days old". (The BJP government just completed 100 days in office).
P Chidambaram now has access to newspapers and limited television in the prison. Karti, through his letter, got him up to speed with the recent events that his father missed due to unavailability of mass media. He informed that Chandrayaan-2 failed to soft-land on the moon. He wrote that PM Modi took the opportunity to console K Sivan, the chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) which according to him was more of theatrics. Karti mentioned Piyush Goyal's 'Einstein and gravity' gaffe too.
He wrote that the government had been celebrating its 100 days in office which was nothing more than celebration of failures.
He informed P Chidambaram about the failing economy, car sale slump, Sensex hitting new lows, and more such events.

 He talked about the plight of the people of Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 and said that he was better off than them despite being in jail. He said that the BJP government had been trying to celebrate a bad patch of their tenure and they could not have found a better time to silence him...Read More

Brexit in numbers: The key amendments and how the British Parliament voted

International News

British lawmakers on Monday used a vote on the government's next steps on Brexit to wrest control of the process so that they can then try to find a majority for an alternative that would break the parliamentary deadlock.

Lawmakers are voting on amendments to a government motion saying that parliament has considered a statement made by May on March 15 which set out the government's next steps on Brexit, including its plan to seek a delay.

That March 15 statement also noted the government believes the best way forward is for Britain to leave the EU "in an orderly manner" with a deal, and that parliament had rejected leaving without an agreement.

Below is how parliament voted on Monday:
Amendment D - Withdrawn before voting

This has been put forward by opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and calls on the government to provide parliamentary time for lawmakers to find a majority for a different approach on Brexit, noting that the alternative proposals include holding a second Brexit referendum or seeking a customs union with the EU.

Amendment A - Passed 329 to 302

This has been proposed by a cross-party group of lawmakers, led by Oliver Letwin, a member of May's Conservative Party. It has been signed by more than 120 lawmakers.

 It seeks to change the rules of parliament on March 27 in order to provide time for lawmakers to debate and vote on alternative ways forward on Brexit, a process often referred to as 'indicative votes'...Read More

3 days, 3 key votes: How the Brexit unicorn has damaged British democracy

International News

On March 12, the British Parliament overwhelmingly rejected – for a second time – a Brexit plan worked out by Prime Minister Theresa May.

A day later, the lawmakers voted against a “hard Brexit” – one without any approved plan.
Then, on March 14, British lawmakers voted 412 to 202 to delay an exit from the European Union, which had been planned for March 29. They also voted not to call a second referendum to allow the British people to accept or reject Prime Minister May’s Brexit plan.

Three experts on the European Union consider the lasting effects of the delay and uncertainty.

A damaging spectacle

Garret Martin, American University, School of International Service

Another week of drama at the Palace of Westminster, host of the United Kingdom’s two houses of Parliament. The last three days witnessed a flurry of Brexit activities. Parliament scheduled multiple votes, debates, amendments.

Factions inside Westminster jockeyed for control and Ministers resigned. And Prime Minister Theresa May literally lost her voice.

With the dust now settled, this much is clear. Members of Parliament (MPs), from across the major parties, still greatly dislike the withdrawal deal from the EU negotiated by Theresa May.

 These same MPs also reject the option of crashing out of the EU without a deal.