Ramdev says 'very difficult' to predict next PM
Madurai, Dec 26 :Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has said it was "very difficult" to predict the country's next Prime Minister in view of the current political situation.
Noting that he was "not focussed" on politics, the 53-year-old yoga guru said he would not support or oppose anyone in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Talking to reporters at the airport here Tuesday, Ramdev said, "We can't say who will become the next prime minister (after the 2019 general elections)."
"We do not have a political or religious agenda... We want to make a spiritual India and world... Not Hindu India or communal India," he added.
His comments come days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suffered a big blow as it lost power in its earlier ruled Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The Congress won convincingly in Chhattisgarh, less so in Rajasthan and edged out the saffron party in a cliffhanger in Madhya Pradesh.
Referring to the Ayodhya dispute, Ramdev claimed that the BJP would lose trust if the 'Ram Mandir' was not built in Ayodhya now.
The yoga guru was in the state to attend a national executive meeting of Bharat Swabhiman in Rameswaram.
On Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah's remarks on mob violence in Uttar Pradesh, he said, "accusing India of religious intolerance amounts to degrading the country's pride".
The charge that country was religiously intolerant was tantamount to "ungratefulness, disrespect and treason," he added.
Apparently referring to the recent violence in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr, Shah had said that at many places in the country the "death of a cow is being given more importance than the killing of a policeman".
The veteran actor had also expressed anxiety over the well-being of his children, who he said, have not been brought up as followers of any particular religion.
The violence, which occurred earlier this month over an incident of alleged cow slaughter, had claimed two lives, including that of a police inspector.
Later talking to reporters in Rameswaram, Ramdev said he was neither against any political party nor supporting any political party.
He said the three-day yoga programme being organised herefrom tomorrow was an effort to make "a prosperous and spiritually rich India."
Similar Yoga programmes were being held through out the world by their organisation.
Around 5,000 participants from across the country would participated in the programme, he said adding it was "non- political".
"Yoga is for people of all the religion. It is purely a spiritual programme... it is a scientific way of living," he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Lok Sabha refers Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill to JPC
New Delhi (PTI): The Lok Sabha on Monday referred the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, to a joint parliamentary committee comprising members from both Houses of Parliament for a detailed analysis and recommendations.
The decision was taken following a voice vote after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman suggested it.
Earlier, after the Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha, opposition members Manish Tewari (Congress), Saugata Roy (Trinamool Congress) and T Sumathy (DMK) strongly opposed it, alleging that the legislation sought to dilute the provisions of law under which companies mandatorily have to pay 2 per cent of their profits towards corporate social responsibility (CSR).
The finance minister strongly refuted the allegations and said that the Bill has been introduced after two years of deliberations.
She said the apprehensions of the members were unfounded as the Bill seeks to amend only the criteria of net profits, not the entire clause related to CSR.
Sitharaman then suggested to Speaker Om Birla that the Bill be sent to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) for extensive deliberations and proper suggestions.
At this, Tewari said that since a parliamentary standing committee on corporate affairs is already in place, the Bill should be sent to that panel rather than constituting a new JPC.
Intervening the Congress MP, Home Minister Amit Shah said that none of the opposition members talked about referring the legislation to a parliamentary committee, and now, when the finance minister herself has sought it, they were arguing as to which panel the Bill should be sent.
Speaker Birla then put the proposal of the finance minister to a vote, and it was approved with a voice vote by the House, sending the Bill to a JPC for which the members will be selected later.
The Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, aims to amend the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act, 2008, and the Companies Act to facilitate ease of doing business and address the gaps identified by the Company Law Committee in its 2022 report.
The Union Cabinet had already okayed the proposed Bill, aimed at further easing the compliance burden on businesses and advancing the government’s agenda of decriminalising minor corporate offences.
The proposed amendments are expected to rationalise penalties, shift several minor procedural lapses from criminal liability to monetary penalties, and streamline regulatory processes to promote ease of doing business.
The reforms are also aimed at improving the overall corporate compliance framework while reducing litigation and encouraging a more facilitative regulatory environment for companies and LLPs.
Sitharaman also said the Bill is aimed at promoting further ease of doing business and ease of living for corporates by decriminalising more provisions and amending certain other provisions.
It is aimed at providing ease of compliance for ‘one person companies’, small companies, startups and producer companies, the minister said in the Bill's statement of objects and reasons.
According to Sitharaman, the amendments also seek to streamline the existing regulatory practices to strengthen as well as recognise new concepts in light of the rapidly evolving corporate landscape and changing business practices.
