Student protests in BHU over the appointment of a Muslim professor to the Sanskrit faculty had attracted flak from the academic and political community. On Monday, Khan resigned from the Sanskrit faculty to join the Arts faculty. This evoked a reaction from Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa. He tweeted, “After exulting in their success in making Firoze Khan quit his job due to their protest, what would BHU students like to do with ‘Gul-e-Naghma’ by Raghupati Sahay (Firaq Gorakhpuri) for which he got the Jnanpith Award? He earned respect and fame for his unmatched Urdu poetry.” Jovial Mood PM Narendra Modi, who could not attend the BJP parliamentary party meetings during the winter session, was present at Tuesday’s meeting — the last one of this session. He addressed MPs on a serious issue like CAB, but seemed to be in a jovial mood, said sources. During the address, he expressed regret for not attending two meetings, which he said he would not have avoided if he did not have important meetings including a Jharkhand poll rally. Modi said he decided not to miss Tuesday’s meeting hoping that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi would distribute sweets for the party’s victory in Karnataka bypolls. He added playfully that he was disappointed that no sweets were distributed. Back In Chair As voting on several sections of the CAB was under way more than eight hours after the discussion started in Rajya Sabha, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu asked the Deputy Chairman to take over. Though Naidu had not been sitting for the entire duration of the discussion, he was present for the commencement and the conclusion. As soon as he left, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and his junior minister V Muraleedharan went to check after him. They were stopped by the marshal, who apparently assured them that he would be back. Naidu was back in minutes, in what appeared to have been a toilet break.
