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India Gazette
2 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Flawed": Congress's Manickam Tagore on new attendance system in Parliament
New Delhi [India], July 15 (ANI): Calling the new attendance system in Parliament 'flawed,' Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Tuesday called for the need for 'systematic reforms' in the Parliament. In a post on X, the Congress Lok Sabha MP from Virudhunagar claimed that the new multimedia device for marking attendance, which is set to be introduced in the upcoming Monsoon session, failed during the voting of the Waqf amendment Bill. 'The new multimedia device for marking attendance from Lok Sabha seats will be rolled out this Monsoon Session. But we already saw it fail during the Waqf vote, where the system didn't function reliably. Why repeat a flawed system?' the Congress MP said. 'If attendance marking is about transparency and accountability, why are the Prime Minister and ministers exempted? Shouldn't the PM lead by example instead of being above the process?' he said, emphasising the need for mandatory attendance and transparent participation metrics in the parliament. 'It would reveal how many days the PM is actually present in the Lok Sabha--typically just 3 to 4 days out of 18 to 28 in a session,' he added. 'Instead of merely digitizing attendance, we need systemic reforms: Mandatory attendance for all, Transparent participation metrics, Auto-publication of speaking records & voting behaviour. Digital tools are only as good as the intent behind them. If accountability is selective, the system defeats its purpose,' Tagore further said. This came as the backdrop of the Lok Sabha deciding to introduce a Multi-Media Device (MMD) system to register the attendance of their MPs for this Monsoon Session of Parliament starting July 21. The move came as part of its ongoing efforts to modernise and digitise Parliamentary functioning. the Lok Sabha Secretariat has undertaken a number of initiatives under the guidance and leadership of the Lok Sabha Speaker to enhance transparency, inclusivity, and accessibility of Parliamentary processes for Members and the public alike. To promote a digitally empowered working environment for Members of Parliament, the Lok Sabha Chamber has been equipped with dedicated multimedia conferencing devices at every seat. In order to save time and resources, a new feature has been added and now all members will be able to mark attendance through MMD (Multi Media Device) installed at their respective seats. This will reduce one stage and save time for members on a daily basis. In a significant step towards linguistic inclusivity and citizen engagement, the Lok Sabha Secretariat is now publishing daily Parliamentary business and agenda papers in 12 languages using AI based tools--Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu. (ANI)
Time Out
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Kolkata Social
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. The poetry of Tagore. Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity. The roar of a cricket match at Eden Gardens. Kolkata – once the capital of British India and formerly called Calcutta – pulses with poetry, politics and passion. And now, you can have a taste of the 'City of Joy' on Newtown 's vibrant King Street. After spearheading Colombo Social, Kabul Social and Kyiv Social, man on a (social justice) mission, Shaun Christie-David, founder of Plate It Forward, opened Kolkata Social in March. You might remember Ukrainian eatery Kyiv Social won Time Out Sydney's Impact Award 2025, so we're excited to see what's on offer. It's a sunny Sunday when we are seated in a cobalt blue room with a view to the open red-tiled kitchen where the chef Ahana Dutt is in charge. Kolkata-born, Dutt earned her culinary cred at Firedoor and Raja before Christie-David roped her in. With every set menu ordered, Kolkata Social donates meals to those in need – one in Sydney and one in Kolkata via their charity partner, Calcutta Rescue. This isn't your typical Indian restaurant There's no chicken tikka from North India, or idli sambar from the South. Instead, Kolkata Social is a celebration of Bengali cuisine – and we're here to savour it. First up, our entrées. The dry chilli chicken features boneless chicken bits, batter-fried then tossed in a garlicky sauce with green capsicum and onions. One bite and we're transported straight to Kolkata's Chinatown, the birthplace of 'Indian Chinese ' (IYKYK). Next, moong dal el boram. The menu says 'think falafels, but Indian', and most Indians will recognise them as dal vadas (lentil fritters) sold at street corners as an afternoon snack. Made from a mix of ground moong dal with spices and finely sliced green chilli for punch, these moreish morsels are deep fried and sent to our table piping-hot. We dunk them in the tamarind chutney and think how we'd gobble them up on a rainy day with a cup of chai. Speaking of which, our drinks are served: a lebu cha which is refreshing lemon iced tea with a zing of marmalade; a lassi slushie made with crushed ice; and a glass of Majama Zibibbo – a floral Hunter Valley white with notes of Turkish delight. The drinks menu itself is a nod to nostalgia. Printed on a replica of an old-school Indian inland letter, it's got a variety of whites and reds, beers like Mountain Culture x Kolkata Social lager and the ever-popular Indian beer Kingfisher, as well as some interesting offerings like mini mustard Martinis and vodka-spiked lassi. Our mains arrive – and this is where chef Dutt's homage to her Bengali roots shines The barramundi is served in a smoked yoghurt sauce with a generous slick of mustard oil, the mainstay of any Bengali kitchen. The result? Subtle, smoky, sublime. While Aussies claim barra as their own, you also get Indian barramundi in the mangrove estuaries of West Bengal where it is called 'bhetki'. How's this for a fish curry that connects countries? Our waitress tells us that the goat kosha has been slow cooked for more than six hours – evident from the way the meat falls off the bone into a thick, aromatic curry. We sprinkle the jhoori aloo bhaja – crisp matchsticks of fried potato – over the goat and this combo reminds us of Salli boti, a beloved Parsi dish. Paired with our mains is the birista pulao, taken from Bengali Muslim households, where onions are fried until caramelised and stirred through fragrant, cardamom-scented rice. And then, as a surprise from the kitchen, began and bori is brought to us. Instead of the smokiness of a baigan bharta, this eggplant is cooked down to a luscious sweet-sour pulp in panch phoron (Bengali five-spice) that's perfectly mopped up with some flat bread. Kolkata Social is an ode to chef Dutt's mum Sharmila Basu Thaur and her home-style cooking – apparent from her mural by artist Marlon Dalton in the inner mustard-yellow room that's kissed by the afternoon sun. The menu is novel; the dishes are nuanced. There are no flourishes of this and foams of that, but the food is cooked with finesse. It is food that you can eat with your hands and comes from the heart. Food that makes us want to go in for just one more bite despite the waistband of our protesting jeans. So we oblige, ordering a dessert to share. Not the familiar Bengali sweets of rasgollas or mishti doi, but patishapta, a jaggery and coconut-stuffed crêpe, flambéed in rum and nestled in custard. It's doused with a peg of rum and flambéed in front of us. Devoured in seconds, it's a fitting finale to an exceptionally fine meal.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
18 come together on stage after beating cancer, spread message of resilience
Kolkata: Retired schoolteacher Mousumi Banerjee from Siliguri, former banker Goutam Roychowdhury from Behala, and guitarist Neeta Dutta of Kasba didn't know each other even two months ago. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Bound by a common thread and a new calling, when the three, along with 15 others, took to the stage on Saturday evening, they left the audience awestruck with their courage, resilience and hope. Presented by Medica Oncology in association with Natyaanan, the show opened with Arya-Anarya to rousing applause from the packed audience at Kala Mandir. They are cancer champions who refuse to look back and celebrate life beyond the disease, which is feared by all. They performed with the likes of established actors Falguni Chattopadhyay and Masood Akhtar, playing various roles in 'Rongo Byango', a play based on five short stories by Tagore. "I beat two cancers back-to-back. However, there is always the risk of relapse. But I would rather look ahead, and being a part of theatre helps me in staying positive," said Amitabha Sarkar of Anandapur. The play was directed by theatre personality and actor Chandan Sen, who himself is a cancer survivor. The performers have been rehearsing for at least two months. "This actually is a brainchild of doctors Subir Ganguly and Sourav Dutta. All the five stories are satirical and have a powerful message for society. What Tagore wrote 170 years ago still bears relevance. I think that the positivity of the cancer survivors should send a message of hope to other cancer patients," Sen told TOI. "If one can win against cancer, no other battle in life is tough. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now We've been looking forward to collaborate with Sen, who himself refused to get pinned down by cancer," said Rita Ghoshal, a breast cancer survivor. "While there is still a lot of stigma around cancer leading to societal discrimination of patients, cancer survivors also have the fear of relapse. Various studies have shown that such group activities like drama act as therapy," said senior radiation oncologist Ganguly. Head-and-neck surgeon Sourav Datta, director and surgical oncologist at a hospital which is part of Manipal, said the idea of engaging cancer survivors was to tell the story of strength and resilience to cast a positive impact on cancer patients as well as society at large. "These cancer champions have undergone a lot of challenges, and now this comeback with a difference will encourage everyone going through tough times to move ahead in life," said Datta. "We plan to take this play to other parts of the state in the future and involve more cancer patients and survivors," added Datta.
Hans India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Is the bird becoming a parrot?
New Delhi: In a veiled swipe at Congress MP Shashi Tharoor after he penned an article on the Emergency, party leader Manickam Tagore on Thursday said when a colleague starts repeating BJP lines word for word, one begins to wonder whether "the bird is becoming a parrot". Tharoor has said that the Emergency should not be remembered merely as a dark chapter in India's history, but that its lessons must be fully understood. Without naming anyone, Tagore, who is a Congress MP from Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu and party's whip in the Lok Sabha, said on X, "When a Colleague starts repeating BJP lines word for word, you begin to wonder — is the Bird becoming a parrot? Mimicry is cute in birds, not in politics." Tharoor and Tagore had also indulged in "bird talk" last month to convey their views. The Tharoor-Congress rift had taken a turn towards what some termed a "war of birds" as Tagore had sought to establish the pecking order with an X message to his colleague last month.
India Today
7 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Bird becoming parrot: Congress MP's veiled dig at Shashi Thaoor's Emergency op-ed
Congress leader Manickam Tagore on Thursday appeared to aim a sharp but indirect dig at his party colleague Shashi Tharoor, questioning whether the Thiruvananthapuram MP was echoing the BJP's narrative on the cryptic message came after Tharoor, in an opinion piece published by Project Syndicate, argued that the Emergency should not be remembered solely as a dark chapter in India's history but that its complexities and lessons must be fully to X, Tagore wrote, "When a colleague starts repeating BJP lines word for word, you begin to wonder — is the Bird becoming a parrot? Mimicry is cute in birds, not in politics". Though he did not name Tharoor directly, the target of his post was clear. In his searing op-ed, Tharoor recalled the excesses during the Emergency imposed by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 25 June 1975 to 21 March 1977. He pointed out that measures intended to bring discipline often descended into brutality."Sanjay Gandhi, the son of Indira Gandhi, led forced sterilisation campaigns, which became a notorious example of this. In poor rural areas, violence and coercion were used to meet arbitrary targets. In cities like New Delhi, slums were mercilessly demolished and cleared. Thousands of people were rendered homeless. Their welfare was not taken into consideration," Tharoor Tharoor also warned that the urge to concentrate power, suppress dissent, and sidestep constitutional checks could resurface in different ways."Often, such tendencies may be justified in the name of national interest or stability. In this sense, the Emergency stands as a strong warning. The guardians of democracy must always remain vigilant," he RIFT DEEPENSAmid simmering unease within the Congress, Shashi Tharoor's recent remarks on the India-Pakistan conflict and New Delhi's diplomatic approach have stood out for not aligning with his party's official was last month that Tharoor, who has lately drawn notice for his overt praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leadership of a delegation to spread the government's message on Operation Sindoor, kicked off what has now become a 'bird analogy' sparring match within the a cryptic post on X last month, the Thiruvananthapuram MP shared a picture of a bird and wrote: "Don't ask permission to fly. The wings are yours. And the sky belongs to no one". The post was widely read as Tharoor's subtle but firm rejoinder to critics within the Congress, a signal that he would chart his own course and not be tethered by the party's internal up the same metaphor, Tagore appeared to fire back the very next day. "Don't ask permission to fly. Birds don't need clearance to rise. But in today even a free bird must watch the skies — hawks, vultures, and 'eagles' are always hunting. Freedom isn't free, especially when the predators wear patriotism as feathers," Tagore wrote.- Ends
